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I love what he said about the Sun Belt...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/05/16/mailbag/index.html

"None that approach Top 25 Status" with reference to CUSA should be amended to state "None that approach Top 50 Status". Can't disagree with our status as 9th best conference between WAC and Sun Belt. That's the truth. CUSA is lucky to have better bowl affiliations and Central TV market-wonder how long we can keep 5-6 bowl affiliations per year?

The Hawaii Bowl is reviewing CUSA, they would prefer Pac-10, but CUSA does deliver better TV ratings in the central and eastern time zones.

So god forbid we have to man up, pretend we're a division 1a football team and make something of ourselves. The world is so cruel.

SMUtrojanFAN wrote:I love what he said about the Sun Belt...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/05/16/mailbag/index.html

He's right. I don't know how any of the Sun Belt schools stay 1A! Or how the Sun Belt school just up the road from you is 18 points better..... Oh, wait, yes I do.

Would it be fair to say that SI's Stewart Mandel is not

totally enamored with C-USA or Dennis Franchione?

Stallion wrote:"None that approach Top 25 Status" with reference to CUSA should be amended to state "None that approach Top 50 Status". Can't disagree with our status as 9th best conference between WAC and Sun Belt. That's the truth. CUSA is lucky to have better bowl affiliations and Central TV market-wonder how long we can keep 5-6 bowl affiliations per year?

They're not lucky. Give the props to conference commissioner who did a great job marketing the conference and making CUSA a viable part of ESPN.

Meanwhile the Mountain West flounders with VS. Not good by their commissioner even with three quality programs.

do you suppose he just forgot to mention conf usa champ uhouston? and do you guys think its too much for smu, uh and those other four to lead c-usa past the wac and then maybe m-west in this kind of ranking in the near future?

Beating UT helped save Fran's job for one more year. He is on a year to year deal right now. If he falters this year he is gone. That's the way the big boys do it.

emmitt01 wrote:

SMUtrojanFAN wrote:I love what he said about the Sun Belt...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/05/16/mailbag/index.html

He's right. I don't know how any of the Sun Belt schools stay 1A! Or how the Sun Belt school just up the road from you is 18 points better..... Oh, wait, yes I do.

You are a sad, pitiful person who strives so hard to be consider equal to an SMU alum. You instigate fights to feed your inferiority complex. So do us all a favor and go away, or at least refrain from posting your unintelligent, pathetic attempt at trash talk.

4-27-1. Not equal. Not even fuzzy math equal.

damn do the ntscca&I'ers just lurk, waiting for the slightest mention or relation by extension to jump on a thread and pound their chest?

and whatever hppened to MeanGreenGem?

" For a deep sleeper, Illinois and Indiana have the potential to shock and get to a bowl. Both teams have dangerous skill players and should have better overall defenses. From the mid-major ranks, SMU could pull a Rice and be the Conference USA stunner thanks to QB Justin Willis and a fantastic group of running backs."

That hurts. For our program to ever be hopeful to "pull a Rice" in anything except in a classroom or on a baseball field hurts. Ouch.

RGV Pony wrote:damn do the ntscca&I'ers just lurk, waiting for the slightest mention or relation by extension to jump on a thread and pound their chest?

and whatever hppened to MeanGreenGem?

No, I just figured that before you cast aspersions upon a conference you should be able to beat their representative from just up the road. Especially if they are full of, how did he put it, "sad, pitiful person who strives so hard to be consider equal to an SMU alum."

I cast aspersions once. Landed me in a smoky jail cell in Tiajuana.