Butler FB @ Valpo

[milanmiracle]

brutal. where do you go from here?  Drink a beer and chill and watch Oregon play tonight...

Personally I'll be watching the Catholics vs. Convicts. Go Irish! (yes, I know around here that's almost as bad as cheering for Butler!)

[crusaderjoe]

I was able to listen to a few minutes of the game.  I don't think I've ever seen in person or heard by  radio a football game where a team needed to burn TO's on at least two FG attempts because there was either no kicker or holder.  Not really allocating fault...it's just bizarre.

brutal. where do you go from here?  Drink a beer and chill and watch Oregon play tonight...

Personally I'll be watching the Catholics vs. Convicts. Go Irish! (yes, I know around here that's almost as bad as cheering for Butler!)

Since we appear to be going back in the day around these parts...

God made Notre Dame #1.
Miami made them #2.

[KL31NY]

What kind of leeway, if any, do we have for choosing opponents for homecoming? Since I've started paying attention it's always been PFL teams, and I wasn't sure if that was a rule. All respects to the positives of playing tough opposition, but it'd be really nice to get one or two non-conference teams on the schedule that we can confidently beat. 0-11's and 1-10's don't build programs. They build disappointment.

[vuweathernerd]

apparently we need van wilder to rally the troops...

[usc4valpo]

Perhaps it is time to call Coach Mike Ditka from his bar and grill to get things out of disarray.
Wow, what do you do now after this?

[historyman]

Richard Dent of the Bears was at tonight's Volleyball win over YSU. 3-1 set win. 21-25, 33-31, 25-17, 25-14. His daughter, Mary, plays on the VU volleyball team and it was parents night. I wish he could put some of that hard hitting NFL venom into the Valpo football team. They can't hit worth a plum nickel.

[usc4valpo]

maybe get Buddy Ryan out of retirement as defensive coordinator.

[valpopal]

Though the game was not very good, meeting with old friends, the crisp clear fall weather, and the beauty of the changing leaves on campus made the day worthwhile. Here are photos I snapped of a few better moments in the game: a big tackle, a Butler fumble by their goal line (unfortunately, we didn't recover), and a Valpo field goal.

[VULB#62]

.......and it doesn't get any easier.  Next up, Drake.  Drake smashed USD today 38-10.      Remember, Drake lost 24-34 to then #4 and now #2 Montana State earlier this season but took a 24-21 lead into the 4th quarter.

BTW YSU was #3 in the country as of last Monday.

[milanmiracle]

I was able to listen to a few minutes of the game.  I don't think I've ever seen in person or heard by  radio a football game where a team needed to burn TO's on at least two FG attempts because there was either no kicker or holder.  Not really allocating fault...it's just bizarre.

brutal. where do you go from here?  Drink a beer and chill and watch Oregon play tonight...

Personally I'll be watching the Catholics vs. Convicts. Go Irish! (yes, I know around here that's almost as bad as cheering for Butler!)

Since we appear to be going back in the day around these parts...

God made Notre Dame #1.
Miami made them #2.

Wow, the wayback machine must be working overtime today. Nice. Very Nice!

[milanmiracle]

.......and it doesn't get any easier.  Next up, Drake.  Drake smashed USD today 38-10.      Remember, Drake lost 24-34 to then #4 and now #2 Montana State earlier this season but took a 24-21 lead into the 4th quarter.

BTW YSU was #3 in the country as of last Monday.

They won't be this Monday, as they were destroyed 48-7 by North Dakota State.

[milanmiracle]

Though the game was not very good, meeting with old friends, the crisp clear fall weather, and the beauty of the changing leaves on campus made the day worthwhile. Here are photos I snapped of a few better moments in the game: a big tackle, a Butler fumble by their goal line (unfortunately, we didn't recover), and a Valpo field goal.

Glad to see they finally located the kicker.   

To quote John McKay (former Tampa Bay Bucs coach)

Reporter - "What did you think of your teams execution?"

John McKay - "I'm all for it"

[willy]

This was a very disappointing game and hard to watch! From the missing FG kicker on one attempt to the missing holder on the next, and five fumbles this was a complete train wreck from the opening whistle.  What happend today should never have happend with two weeks to prepare.

[VULB#62]

.......and it doesn't get any easier.  Next up, Drake.  Drake smashed USD today 38-10.      Remember, Drake lost 24-34 to then #4 and now #2 Montana State earlier this season but took a 24-21 lead into the 4th quarter.

BTW YSU was #3 in the country as of last Monday.

SUNDAY AM UPDATE:
No. 1 North Dakota State (5-0, 2-0 Missouri Valley) 45, No. 3 Youngstown State (4-1, 1-1) 7
No. 2 Montana State (6-0, 3-0 Big Sky) 48, UC Davis (2-4, 1-2) 41

[usc4valpo]

I guess the mighty Crusaders will hold on to their Sagarin 246 ranking.  Some changes have to be in store - the same old excuse of playing for 60 minutes and not turning the ball over will not cut it.  There is no excuse why we cannot compete non-scholarship against Butler.  Again, is Valpo committed to football as the students are in paying tuition to compete?

[vu72]

I guess the mighty Crusaders will hold on to their Sagarin 246 ranking.  Some changes have to be in store - the same old excuse of playing for 60 minutes and not turning the ball over will not cut it.  There is no excuse why we cannot compete non-scholarship against Butler.  Again, is Valpo committed to football as the students are in paying tuition to compete?

I guess i have to agree.  We aren't even close to Butler in football and I'm just wondering why.  Sure Coach Carlson inherited a mess but just like Obama, finally you have to stop blaming the previous administration (although I've never heard him or any of his staff make that excuse).

Losing is one thing and fumbling is another that you really can't blame on the coaches.  Still, penalties, kickers and/or holders not being on the field and poor play calling lands at the feet of the coaches.  Finally the idea of being "young" wears thin and I really don't expect much progress on that front for the balance of the year.

[KL31NY]

Though the game was not very good, meeting with old friends, the crisp clear fall weather, and the beauty of the changing leaves on campus made the day worthwhile. Here are photos I snapped of a few better moments in the game: a big tackle, a Butler fumble by their goal line (unfortunately, we didn't recover), and a Valpo field goal.

Glad to see they finally located the kicker.   

To quote John McKay (former Tampa Bay Bucs coach)

Reporter - "What did you think of your teams execution?"

John McKay - "I'm all for it"

http://www.defunctonline.com/forums/topic/480-john-mckay-quotes/ for more great John McKay quotes. Another good one in line w/ the way things have been.

"Can't stop a pass, or a run...otherwise we're in great shape." - John McKay on the sidelines of a poorly-played game

[VU75]

35-27-40-45-27-55-32-41-38-36-19-16-39

[usc4valpo]

I am sure he regetted leaving SC and coaching the Bucs.  Legendary colege coach, weak pro coach.
Sad as it sounds, McKay's record at TB was better than Carlson's at Valpo.

[new2ff]

 Don't know who said it, but I like this one by a coach with a big losing streak, " At least it makes practice easy all you have to work on is receiving kickoffs & blocking extra points.".

[willy]

I guess the mighty Crusaders will hold on to their Sagarin 246 ranking. Some changes have to be in store - the same old excuse of playing for 60 minutes and not turning the ball over will not cut it. There is no excuse why we cannot compete non-scholarship against Butler. Again, is Valpo committed to football as the students are in paying tuition to compete?

I guess i have to agree. We aren't even close to Butler in football and I'm just wondering why. Sure Coach Carlson inherited a mess but just like Obama, finally you have to stop blaming the previous administration (although I've never heard him or any of his staff make that excuse). Losing is one thing and fumbling is another that you really can't blame on the coaches. Still, penalties, kickers and/or holders not being on the field and poor play calling lands at the feet of the coaches. Finally the idea of being "young" wears thin and I really don't expect much progress on that front for the balance of the year.

I just hope the kids haven't packed it in for the season or lost there fight.  When they walked off the field last Saturday they looked dejected.   This Saturday against Drake will tell alot about the psyche of the team. I would like to see them playing hard for each other and their coaches at all times no matter the situation. 

[crusadermoe]

We all would.     But going down 28-0 in first quarter in front of a homecoming crowd has to be about the worst case you could imagine.
They won't see a decent crowd again this year and Butler should be a reasonable match up for us.    Drake played one or two D-1 schools tough so that one could easily be brutal.     
All you can do is keep pushing.    But you do have to question the ability of the coach to recruit now.   I have no idea of his gameday skills.  At this point he can only pitch to recruits the 3 horrific seasons VU has now achieved on his watch.

[usc4valpo]

Again, we can't we compete?  Is it the facilitiies, the committment from the school, bad recruiting?  Are we committed?  Or should we not dilute and focus on sports that we are successful in, have passion and can stay within our budget?