SmooPower wrote:mc1135 wrote:Well, on most occasions we try to have a good team.
I looked at your team's record over the past twenty years - it seems your program has been just as inept as ours. What's your excuse?
At least Sam Houston State has been in contention several times for the national title in the Div. 1-AA playoff system (screw the BCS!). TSU3 can't lay claim to that at any time in recent history.
And mc1135: you and I both know that if a Mustang were to transfer to TSU3, you'd welcome him with open arms!
For a little more perspective on TSU3, here's a story from today's San Marcos Daily Record:
By RANDY STEVENS - Sports Editor
Posted: Thursday, Nov 17, 2005 - 04:02:32 pm CST
A lot can change in four years, especially if you are a member of the Texas State football team.
Imagine yourself as a high school senior four years ago, getting recruited to play football at a respected, but struggling program. The coach, a good man that is well-liked by players and the community, all of the sudden finds himself struggling to hold on to his job because of the lack of wins on the playing field. Exit coach number one.
Enter coach number two - a young hot shot from Texas Tech preaching crazy, new-age ideas like walking on coals and meditation visualization, while at the same time racking up enough NCAA violations to make Barry Switzer blush. Exit coach number two and his boss, the athletic director, too.
Now, as a player, where do your thoughts lie? The turmoil is obvious, the wins aren't coming, and you're starting to second guess your decision to come to Texas State.
But something makes you stick it out. Something tells you that a better future is ahead and your persistence winds up paying off.
Now, it's your senior year and your team is experiencing its best season in 23 years. One win remains from at least a share of the conference title, and perhaps, the program's first-ever Division I-AA playoff berth poised to make school history.
Kind of sounds like the plot of some Hollywood sports movie, right? But this is no fairy tale. The only question is will there be a storybook ending?
The answer will begin to unfold Saturday night, when the Bobcats host Sam Houston State-Huntsville for a 3 p.m. game at Bobcat Stadium. A win will give the Bobcats at least a share of the Southland Conference title and a shot at claiming a NCAA Division I-AA playoff berth.
Texas State needs Nicholls State to lose to McNeese State in order to claim an automatic berth and the outright SLC title, otherwise the Bobcats will have to anticipate an at-large bid.
Still, it's a pretty amazing story when you look back to where the program was four years ago.
Bob DeBesse was the coach then, and even though he was an admirable man that was liked and well-respected by many, his 27-39 record didn't make the grade with the Bobcat faithful and administration.
It was a time that players like Teddy Jones were questioning their decision.
“I was lost. I had never experienced anything like that,†said Jones, a senior defensive tackle. “Usually when there's a coach that everyone knows and likes, he stays through your time. So when he left, I kind of felt lost.â€
Word of DeBesse's ultimate departure came seven games into the season, when the athletic director at the time, Greg LaFleur, began to speak publicly about bringing in a new coach the next season. The team's record was 4-3 at the time.
“Halfway through the season (the coaching staff) knew they were leaving, so it didn't really give us a chance to find out what college football was like under DeBesse,†said senior defensive tackle Travis Upshaw.
“It kind of felt like they were trying to rush a coach in here,†said Jones.
Enter Manny Matsakis - a coach who had engineered a turnaround at Division II Emporia State before joining Mike Leach's staff at Texas Tech as the special teams coach. Matsakis' idea of a high-scoring offense with little emphasis on defense was a bitter pill for Bobcat fans to swallow, and when an internal investigation pointed out a number of NCAA violations, the university wasted little time showing Matsakis the door.
Now the program was in big-time turmoil. Not only was there no coach, scores of players were leaving because of the uncertainty of what kind of punishment the NCAA would hand down.
“I was thinking, ‘What's next?'†said senior offensive lineman Thomas Keresztury. “I didn't really care who they brought in. I just knew that I only had two more years left and I wanted to complete my college career here in San Marcos.â€
But others weren't so certain.
“I thought about leaving, but the only reason I ended up staying was teammates,†said Upshaw. “They were the people you met when you first came here and you got to know that they were good people. That's the only reason I stayed.â€
And it's a good thing he and others decided to stick around.
Enter current head coach David Bailiff, a passionate and enthusiastic coach that played and coached at Texas State before making his mark as one of the top defensive coordinators in Division I-A at Texas Christian. Bailiff came in talking a big game, promising to make the Bobcat football program one of the best programs in Division I-AA. He spoke of leading the hardest-working and smartest team in the conference, and thus far he has delivered.
Texas State, a program which had only two winning seasons since 1984, is now ranked fifth in the nation and poised for I-AA postseason play for the first time ever.
How has Bailiff made such a quick impact? Let's ask the players.
“There's a lot more organization and team unity,†said Jones.
“It's like old school, the way the game used to be coached and played,†said Keresztury. “This is the way things are supposed to work.â€
“Everybody's family now and it shows,†said Upshaw.
Signs of success are starting to show as well. More people are attending Bobcat workouts, the team is receiving more and more media attention, and students are beginning to take notice.
“Used to be that not many people would say much to you, but now it seems like almost everyone wants to stop you and say ‘Great job,' and stuff,†said Keresztury. “It's totally different than it was four years ago.â€
“When you consider the changes we have gone through and all the different players we have played with, it's all really amazing to be where we are.â€
How will this amazing story end?
Stay tuned to find out.
Randy Stevens is the Sports Editor of the San Marcos Daily Record. Contact him at rstevens@sanmarcosrecord .com.
