Anybody going to the battle of the piney woods? Or have been since it's been hosted at reliant / nrg? I read that there is a cash bar. What are the rules of bringing your own booze?
Absolutely. We go every year. My wife is an sfa grad... It's just like a Texans game. All beer stands are open for business. But get there early and tailgate. I don't think they allow you to bring anything in, but I usually pound enough beers before the games starts so that I don't have to buy once we go inside. It's cheaper and gives me a chance to sober up before going home. This year they are doing $1 hot dogs for the entire game!
Yeah, I was referring to pre-game. Didn't know anything about the tailgating rules. I'll be in the SFA area myself, but didn't know about any particular NRG stadium rules in regards to the tailgating for the game. SFA alumni said there'll be a cash bar, but if I can just bring my own stuff for pre gaming not sure why I'd use their bar. Didn't know about the $1 hot dogs....awesome.
So...are things falling in line for Sam to possibly secure a playoff position? Seems like a win against SFA would put them in a great position to win conference.
Still say we're going to have to win out. Would be nice if SELA could lose to McNeese because they're not going to lose to HBU or Nicholls. Not sure what the tiebreakers are for the SLC, especially for teams that haven't played each other.
What is the turnout like? I'm watching on ESPN3, but I haven't seen a good wide shot yet. The first year they had the game at Reliant, I remember the turnout being pretty much split. Of course, that was Jeremy Moses' senior season at SFA, when they were ranked in the top-five at the time (IIRC). Since then, though, the SFA turnout has been pretty poor. And I'm honestly not just saying that because I'm biased, although I obviously am. I remember being floored with how uneven the SHSU/SFA ratio was the last couple of times I went to the game.
HUGE win today (see why below). ACU likely took CA out of the equation, beating them handily today. McNeese is up 28-0 in the 2nd on NWSt. Would've been nice if NW could have been at least competitive. But the big game is McNeese vs. SELA on Nov 15. With HBU and IWU up next before finishing with Cent. Ark, little reason to think we shouldn't finish 7-1 in conference and tie SELA. According to this article, if we win out, there is little that can happen that wouldn't give us the automatic bid. Since we don't play SELA (the only other 1-loss team left that we haven't played and beaten), we'd win the conference since SELA lost to SFA. Even if we tie for the conference and somehow don't get the auto bid, it's pretty likely we'd get an at-large.
sfa turnout was a little better than the last few years. Sam Houston turnout was almost sold out like it is every year. I noticed sfa folks were a little more vocal this year while tailgating. I guess they figured they actually had a shot this time around. LOL... Like leroy says, a conference title is definitely in play now. Who would have thought that would ever be the case after getting blown out by CSU-Pueblo? Man, if we could just have that NWSU game back.... We just need to win out and we will most likely win the conference and make the playoffs. How fun would it be to play SELU in the playoffs. I'd love another shot at them....
I'm happy to be in the playoff conversation but I'm not expecting anything. We've been too up-and-down to get confident at this point. But I really hope we make the playoffs. Those games are always fun to go to.
My oldest daughter is transferring to Sam next semester... looking forward to seeing football games and basketball games in the future.
Getting to the playoffs would be huge for this team. Not only because getting in at least gives them a puncher's chance at a championship, but also because those extra practices after the regular season finish up and the experience of playing in those big games is great for a younger team. It's not just great for this particular team, either; it's also big for the program as a whole. I've long thought that the bellwether for whether this program will continue to grow or if the past three years were just a flash in the pan is whether or not the "down years" are borderline playoff years or if they are .500 (or worse) seasons.
Winning the conference in a "rebuilding" year would be epic. Especially when we only have 3 senior starters. And Cole Martin waiting in the wings.
This. Would say quite a bit about the state of the program is, even after early season adversity, they were able to pull a playoff run out of the hat. Not sure how in the world ND State continues to be a powerhouse year after year. I would not want to go play football in North Dakota in November and December.
I say this only partially joking, but I imagine playing their games in the controlled climate of the Fargo Dome doesn't hurt. That could go a long way toward mitigate worries from players about playing in the cold every week. Walking to class is another story, I imagine. To give a more serious answer, I just think they do a really good job of recruiting players that fit what they are trying to do, particularly on defense. If nothing else, they also appear to be a school willing to put in the work to uncover hidden gems in recruiting. By my count, they have players from 15 different states on their roster, and it's not just all states in the Midwest. They also have players from Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, and Hawaii. As they continue to dominate, it only gets easier for them. I'm sure a fair share of high school kids are at least somewhat aware of how dominant they have been at the FCS level from seeing them on TV or hearing them mentioned, especially if they live in the upper Midwest. And if your offers are Eastern Michigan, Akron, Western Kentucky, and North Dakota State, would you rather lose a bunch of games for the sake of saying you played FBS football and had the privilege of getting beaten 56-6 by a Big Ten team annually or do you want to win four national championships?
derp derp. And I think I watched a bit of one of their games on ESPN 8 or something like that last weekend and saw they were in a dome. duh. I'm guessing, though, playing some of the other regional teams sans dome is probably not that enjoyable mid-Winter. (There...saved face by verifying my original comment with a fact ). Winning usually breeds more winning. Hopefully Sam will be able to continue that ball rolling forward.
