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why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:37 pm
by Hoop Fan
honestly, why is this series on the books? Did we both look at each other and say its a winnable D1 game? Like many have commented, the midafternoon attandance is gonna be brutal for this. We should be playing Baylor this season. Baylor played Buffalo last week. why the hell are they playing? There are so many more schools that we could try to schedule that would bring lots o fans and be winnable games at the same time (Baylor, Kansas, Mizzou, Illinois, Minnesota come to mind). Oh well, Wazzu beats playing Sam Houston State.

strange thought: a week from saturday night, we will have completed half of the 2010 home schedule. Gone.

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:40 pm
by PK
Recruiting inroads to the Northwest?

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:41 pm
by Stallion
This may be a replacement game for Missouri when they extended their Illinois series. I agree-doesn't make much sense except to beat a BCS school.

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:41 pm
by Pony_Fan
Bennett years - probably scheduled then..

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:42 pm
by Stallion
nope June Jones scheduled this series

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:44 pm
by Mustangs35SMU
Stallion wrote:This may be a replacement game for Missouri when they extended their Illinois series. I agree-doesn't make much sense except to beat a BCS school.


This was my first thought. I was really looking forward to the Missouri series before they pulled out.

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:45 pm
by Hoop Fan
Stallion wrote:This may be a replacement game for Missouri when they extended their Illinois series. I agree-doesn't make much sense except to beat a BCS school.


which has now ended for the foreseeable future because playing in St Louis every year was not worth it for either Mizzou or Illinois. I'd sure approach Illinois about a home and home if we have an opening, they are gonna be bad for awhile and they have a large dallas alumni base.

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:47 pm
by WSGJ
Hoop Fan wrote:honestly, why is this series on the books? Did we both look at each other and say its a winnable D1 game? Like many have commented, the midafternoon attandance is gonna be brutal for this. We should be playing Baylor this season. Baylor played Buffalo last week. why the hell are they playing? There are so many more schools that we could try to schedule that would bring lots o fans and be winnable games at the same time (Baylor, Kansas, Mizzou, Illinois, Minnesota come to mind). Oh well, Wazzu beats playing Sam Houston State.

strange thought: a week from saturday night, we will have completed half of the 2010 home schedule. Gone.


Why exactly would Minnesota bring more fans to Ford than Wazzu? Besides, I think they have their hands full with the South Dakotas of the world...

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:48 pm
by smupony94
Patton would love Minnesota to come to Ford

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:53 pm
by Hoop Fan
WSGJ wrote:
Hoop Fan wrote:honestly, why is this series on the books? Did we both look at each other and say its a winnable D1 game? Like many have commented, the midafternoon attandance is gonna be brutal for this. We should be playing Baylor this season. Baylor played Buffalo last week. why the hell are they playing? There are so many more schools that we could try to schedule that would bring lots o fans and be winnable games at the same time (Baylor, Kansas, Mizzou, Illinois, Minnesota come to mind). Oh well, Wazzu beats playing Sam Houston State.

strange thought: a week from saturday night, we will have completed half of the 2010 home schedule. Gone.


Why exactly would Minnesota bring more fans to Ford than Wazzu? Besides, I think they have their hands full with the South Dakotas of the world...


while not as many as Illinois, Indiana and Purdue, my guess is that Minny has a ton more alums in Dallas than Wazzu.

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:55 pm
by stc9
WSGJ wrote:
Why exactly would Minnesota bring more fans to Ford than Wazzu? Besides, I think they have their hands full with the South Dakotas of the world...[/quote]

All of the Big Ten teams travel very well. Minn is the largest school in the Big Ten. They might not be top in their conference, but they get a lot of support.

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:56 pm
by 1983 Cotton Bowl
[quote="WSGJ"] Why exactly would Minnesota bring more fans to Ford than Wazzu? Besides, I think they have their hands full with the South Dakotas of the world...[/quote]

For one thing, UM is approximately 3 times the size of Wazzou. Its also a much easier trip to Dallas from Minneapolis-St. Paul than from Pullman. I don't have any numbers, but I'd be willing to bet there are a much larger number of UM grads in DFW than Wazzou grads. I think attendance for a game against UM would be pretty good.

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:57 pm
by Stallion
there was a large migration of Midwesterners to Dallas in the 1980s-I ran into a bunch of Minnysodas. I'd bet they would have a decent crowd-not great. Plus snowbird retirees down here

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 3:01 pm
by Hoop Fan
my guess is that JJ scheduled Wazzu based on one of his Pacific Northwest past connections. Maybe we didn't have any other options because of time, but I sure haven't seen any strategic scheduling from SMU football. We need wins/competitive games against D-1 name schools and we also need butts in seats, and the lower tier Big10 schools are perfect fits and they would come. When was the last Big 10 school we played? Wisconsin at Ownby in 1994? The big10 with its lack of overall speed is the perfect scheduling target for a southern school of marginal size (on the field and off) like smu.

Re: why play Wazzu anyway?

PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 3:11 pm
by stc9
Hoop Fan wrote:my guess is that JJ scheduled Wazzu based on one of his Pacific Northwest past connections. Maybe we didn't have any other options because of time, but I sure haven't seen any strategic scheduling from SMU football. We need wins/competitive games against D-1 name schools and we also need butts in seats, and the lower tier Big10 schools are perfect fits and they would come. When was the last Big 10 school we played? Wisconsin at Ownby in 1994?


Was at that Wisconsim Game... There were at least 50 Campers with Wisconsin plates parked on campus. We were out numbered at least 2 to 1 (more like 3 or 4 to 1) by cheese heads in the stands. We played really tough in the first half... then... well... we... we had a really strong first half. I think we might have been leading going into the locker room.

When the deal with Wazoo was inked we just came off a 1-11 season and were in the process of another 1-11 season. The JJ turnaround plan seemed a lot further off. The optimists among us said a bowl might be possible in year 4.