Losing in Lake Charles: UTSA 21-McNeese St 24

The last time UTSA lost 24-21 it was to a team they should have probably beaten handily. That was September 10th. Nearly two months to the day that they dropped a decision to McMurray. This was another underachievement to another McTeam.

There is a tendency to dismiss this game like some of the others. I have been guilty of it at times. People say the losses don’t matter as much because they are not really playing for anything. It is true that they don’t matter but they shouldn’t be played as such.

That is the Big Challenge. We’ve mentioned it in this space before and probably will continue to do so. I cannot say for certain that guys on the team are checking out or not playing as hard or are pulling up with the finish line in sight. I do know that without senior leadership nor guys who have had to endure a full college season it seems likely that there would be fatigue in both the mental and physical varieties.

College football is a man’s game. It is mean and tough and usually takes three years to get built up to have success. Sure there are the guys that hop in and kick ass as 17 or 18-year olds. There are many more that need time in the weight rooms.

Maybe that accounts for the way Eric Soza seemingly has regressed. Maybe that accounts for all the arm tackles that allowed McNeese to rip through them for 190+ yards in the first half. * Maybe that accounts for all the fumbles, too.

*To be fair, Neal Neathery did some strategizing that stopped the bleeding and returned the Hardhat to the defense.

It is fantasy-shattering for some. No doubt it has and will affect attendance at the last home game. It already messed with the last one. None of that matters though. The “fans” have the luxury of being fickle and can wait until the team is good, playing for “something” or against a big name team.

The fact is that none of it matters. Sure there was a chance to capitalize on the initial excitement and fervor. Going a possible 4-6 with mostly freshman is impressive. The losses were freshman type losses. Turnovers, experience mistakes, being overwhelmed physically, and getting injured. Oh and losing to teams that they should beat.

There is a lot to look forward to. Not just next year but this week. I am excited to see Kam Jones do his thing like he has been doing live and not on a crappy internet feed. The dude has been killing it and Travis Bush has been getting it into his hands and putting him in space to do damage. Jailbreak screens, crossing routes, pitches.

How about Steven Kurfehs and Nic Johnson? Larry Coker thinks the former can play NFL ball and Nic Johnson is always making plays, yo. Also it is live college football for like fifteen bucks.

I know most of you who read this blog and post on rowdyville and rowdytalk are not hopping off the bandwagon but I needed to say it anyway.

Oh yeah and dammit I want some fireworks during the intros.

Go Runners.

Lake Chuckin' --UTSA v McNeese St.

Something Like A Preview of McNeese and More

There are lots of things to talk about. We have not touched on nary a one.

For this I apologize.

Anyhoo. We have a game this week. Apparently no one cares. Well, not as many people care as did in September. Fear not, loyal attendance watcher. This is November. There are a lot of other things occupying the San Antonian’s mind. All those students are taking a sobering look at theirs grades and gearing up for a hard run at the highest letter they can muster after giving less than full concentration in the first half. That means no skipping class, and being prudent with their time. Instead of reading college football blogs and perusing their favorite message boards, they are instead figuring what extra credit paper they can write to squeeze out an A, B or C respectively.

For those that have no chance, this is where they get angry at their professors and complain loudly that this “sucks man. They should work with [me] on this.” Some will decide that college “blows” and they instead will just get a job leaning heavily on the reasoning that “my [cousin, friend, uncle, etc.] makes $XXX,XXX a year and they didn’t even go to college.” That or “college isn’t for everyone.”

For the non-student, there is Thanksgiving to think about. Where are we having it? What are we eating (besides the staples)? How in the hell will I deal with (insert troublesome family member here)? Trips take some time to plan and can be fairly pricey. Time spent on priceline.com is time not spent on cokerchronicles.com and rowdyville.net.

What is your excuse?

Regardless, we have McNeese St this week. They are a solid team with some guys that can play. Darius Carey is a North Texas transfer and was expected to be the top guy in Denton until being unceremoniously let go because of a riff with the new staff. He transferred to McNeese and is now the leading pass catcher with 38 catches for 451 and 2 scores.

Fortunately they have been having trouble keeping Cody Stroud upright and the offense has been lackluster because of the offensive line. Sam Houston kicked their asses and had six sacks. The next week Stephen F. Austin rocked them for eight sacks off a simple four man rush.

Not only is their line terrible but injuries are killing them. Their starting linebackers were out and DE Desmund Lighten was hurt for the majority of the game. The replacement for the two injured starting corners was also taken out midway through the win over Nicholls State that stopped a four game skid.

So in a game that was billed by this site as a tough one looks like it could be a cakewalk. Yeah I said it. They are hurt, mentally beaten and barely scratched out a win over Nicholls State -- another hapless squad.

Their line is a sieve and their defense is injured. I’m predicting our first road win, guys.


PREDICTION: 34-10 on Senor Night in Lake Charles, LA. Home to 70,000 people.