2014 Football Season Poll

[LaPorteAveApostle]

LAA I think you hit on something

Yeah, and because I'm a musician on vacation in Austin TX I therefore have nothing to do, since I'm only on Brazos & 6th, so I went back to research.

I'm not claiming to have read all setshot's 313-ish posts, but I definitely scanned them all. *shudder*

2013: predicted ZERO wins.  Actual:  ONE!

I'll take Campbell and hopefully a 0-11 season.

http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=1564.msg36238#msg36238

2012: predicted ZERO wins.  Actual:  ONE!

Valpo will be lucky to win a game this year. Should VU beat St. Joe,look for a 2-3 win season.

NOTE: we did not, actually beat St. Joseph.
http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=936.msg16972#msg16972

2011:  predicted ZERO wins.  Actual:  ONE!

we go 0-11 again

http://www.valpofanzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=232.msg3747#msg3747

So, if this year he predicts "2-3", then we will win...um...let me plug that into my calculator...DIVBY0 games!

GO VALPO

[usc4valpo]

62, I will agree to disagree on this one.  I see where you are going; but basing this on potential blowouts does not make a lot of sense to me.

[usc4valpo]

Apostle,

This is an interesting analysis of setshot's predictions.  But I have to appreciate setshot's wisdom as he has been fairly accurate in accessing the football team in the past few years.  He has been more accurate than most of the people on the board who have displayed false optimism over the Carlson years. Being off by one game is a good prediction.

This board has generally showed Chicago Cub optimism, and there's nothing wrong with objective reality checks.  You guys need to give some respect to setshot for his views.

This is a new season.  New players.  A football program that has been absolutely dismal the past 5 years.  I think things are looking better but it will not be an overnight fix.  Based on the schedule, if Coach Cecchini wins 4 games this season, we should be more than satisfied.  Also, seeing improvement over the season would be a great sign of better things to come.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Oh, exactly.  It was a fairly entertaining read, actually.

I purposely chose a geometric mean of projecting results based on his prediction (rather than the arithmetic), because he only predicted one fewer than actual, and multiplication is funnier than addition.

3-4 wins, then, would be nice.  And reasonable. 

[usc4valpo]

Hey, it is all good.


Also, where are the "Shields Up" slogans?

[historyman]

Hey, it is all good.


Also, where are the "Shields Up" slogans?

How about an Osteen quote?

I believe that God has put gifts and talents and ability on the inside of every one of us. When you develop that and you believe in yourself and you believe that you're a person of influence and a person of purpose, I believe you can rise up out of any situation.

[usc4valpo]

Please stop that bogusity on a lovely Sunday and helping him make his payment on his $11M house. It is depressing and making me think of those blowouts to Butler. Better times are ahead and we don't need a used car salesman.

[78crusader]

For me there are really two barometers for the upcoming season. The first, of course, is the number of wins. I would be really pleased with 4 or 5 but I think the more realistic estimate is probably 3.  The second is how we play against four of the really tough teams in the PFL – Drake, Dayton, San Diego, and Butler.  It's been a long, long time since we beat any of these teams, and just about every game we have played against them in the past five years has been a blowout loss. While I don't expect us to win any of these four games this year, it would be nice to play at least two of these games very close – maybe a touchdown or so behind going into the fourth quarter.

I realize there are other tough PFL teams, but the four schools I mentioned above are all private schools like us and are all in the same category as we are when it comes to annual rankings, etc.

Paul

[VULB#62]

I'd throw Marist in there as well.  Interesting is that of the four teams you mentioned, 78, Drake is the one team we were most competitive with over the last 5 years for some weird reason. 4 of the last 5 games were what we probably would consider 'competitive.'

  2009 (BC) - 24-34 (lost by 10)
  2010 - 19-21 (lost by 2)
  2011 - 0-50 (ouch)
  2012 - 21-35 (lost by 14)
  2013 - 10-23 (lost by 13)

During the past 4 years, those are some of the closest PFL losses on the VU record

{BC = Before Carlson}

[valpopal]

Pioneer League Coaches preseason picks are out: Valpo picked to finish last but only 1 vote behind Davidson.

1.	San Diego (5)	90
2.	Dayton	82
3.	Jacksonville (3)	80
4.	Butler (2)	77
5.	Drake (1)	73
6.	Marist	61
7.	Campbell	38
8.	Morehead State	35
9.	Stetson	30
10.	Davidson	20
11.	Valparaiso	19
		First-place votes in parentheses 10 points awarded for a first-place vote, with one point less for each succeeding place. (Maximum score = 100) Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team

Valparaiso will enter 2014 with head coach Dave Cecchini in his first year as head coach after the Crusaders picked up one win against the league's toughest schedule last season (they faced each of the top five teams). Valparaiso will also be under new leadership at quarterback this season, but will return running back Brandon Hall (89 carries, 365 yards) and wide receiver Tanner Kuramata (879 yards, 8 TDs, 56 receptions) – the leading rusher and receiver on last year's squad. Defensively, linebacker Alex Green (110 tackles, 4½ TFL) returns after ranking third among PFL tacklers last season.

Full article: http://www.pioneer-football.org/news/archives/2014/961/san-diego-gets-coaches-nod-to-win-2014-pioneer-football-league-race/

[VULB#62]

Wow,  didn't realize we played the leagues toughest schedule last year.  Interesting that Dayton got no 1st place votes but still came in as the #2 team in the poll.

Here's our 2014 opponents in BOLD below. So, it's about the same this year except if Jacksonville winds up #3 in the standings we'll only have faced 4 out of the top 5     Would have been a bit more helpful if we had gotten Stetson instead of, say, Dayton.


1.   @San Diego (5)   90
2.   @Dayton   82
3.   Jacksonville (3)   80
4.   Butler (2)   77
5.   Drake (1)   73
6.   Marist   61
7.   @Campbell   38
8.   @Morehead State   35
9.   Stetson   30
10.   Davidson   20
11.   Valparaiso   19

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Wow,  didn't realize we played the leagues toughest schedule last year. 

Always easier to have played the toughest schedule when you're in the basement

[VULB#62]

The PFL should learn from the NFL -- massage the schedule a little so that the bottom of the league has a better chance to get a few victories by scheduling more among themselves than among the steel of the league. Alas, that would not have helped us much in the past 4 years though.  Sigh.   

[usc4valpo]

Hey, at least they are facing John Davidson U.  They need to get revenge from the 2012 screwup.

[bbtds]

Wow,  didn't realize we played the leagues toughest schedule last year.  Interesting that Dayton got no 1st place votes but still came in as the #2 team in the poll.

Here's our 2014 opponents in BOLD below. So, it's about the same this year except if Jacksonville winds up #3 in the standings we'll only have faced 4 out of the top 5     Would have been a bit more helpful if we had gotten Stetson instead of, say, Dayton.


1.   @San Diego (5)   90
2.   @Dayton   82
3.   Jacksonville (3)   80
4.   Butler (2)   77
5.   Drake (1)   73
6.   Marist   61
7.   @Campbell   38
8.   @Morehead State   35
9.   Stetson   30
10.   Davidson   20
11.   Valparaiso   19

Too bad we can't schedule ourselves. Although it might be the first 300 something to 300 something football game in the history of the NCAA. Until they actually turn the team  around by winning more than 1 game a year I can keep the jokes coming. I'm hoping it's better motivation for the team and coaching staff. I'll probably be at the Butler at Valpo game this season especially if it looks like Valpo has a chance.   

[covufan]

Only two weeks left before the first game.  From other posts, it looks like there is some competition at the QB and RB spots, and I'm sure at almost every other position as well. 

So far, we have two voters saying the season will be another (in a long line of) 0 or 1 win; twelve voters in the 2-4 win column; seven voters in the 5-6 win column; and one very optimistic voter in 9-12 win column.  I personally do not see the 9 wins happening, but do feel it is possible.  If Cecchini performs his magic on offense and we average another 9 points per game (and keep the defense off the field), and the defense can limit the number of long scoring plays from scrimage getting down to the 32 ppg area (from 44 last year), anything can happen. 

Good luck to the 2014 Football Team!

[usc4valpo]

If Valpo wins 8 or more games ...
-   Valpo will get national recognition for an incredible turn around.  It would not matter if they are in the Pioneer League, this would make national headlines
-   Cecchini will get job offers for bigger opportunities and will likely be gone, and you cannot blame him if he left.


Again, in reality a 4 win season would be a significant improvement over the Carlson years.

[covufan]

Again, in reality a 4 win season would be a significant improvement over the Carlson years.

Reality is creeping up!