LBPop
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Still proud...always proud
Posts: 276
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Post by LBPop on Jul 2, 2004 12:22:07 GMT -5
Just saw the following on HoyaSaxa.com. It's the Street & Smith pre-season predictions for the Patriot League. I love it. Hopefully, everyone else will be reading it and it won't be until mid-season before they wake up and discover that there is something good going on with the Hoyas. Can't wait!
Street & Smith Previews 6/29/04
Street and Smith's college annual has made its 2004 Patriot League picks, although it looks more like the 2003 end of season standings. The picks:
Colgate Lehigh Bucknell Fordham Lafayette Holy Cross Georgetown
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DFW HOYA
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,777
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jul 2, 2004 19:34:32 GMT -5
Hopefully, everyone else will be reading it and it won't be until mid-season before they wake up and discover that there is something good going on with the Hoyas. Can't wait! I think that's part of the problem. The I-AA media is not taking Georgetown seriously, largely because the Hoyas have been knocked out early in recent years and its non-conference schedule is more MAAC-like than PL-like, which will be changing soon, of course. Case in Point: Sportsnetwork ranked the top 98 I-AA schools (leaving out the MAAC, NEC, and Pioneer. Holy Cross, 1-11, was ranked #55. Georgetown was ranked #85. What's needed is some quality wins. A team like Fordham or Colgate needs to get stepped on before PL people stop looking at the Hoyas the way Big East basketball fans used to look at Virginia Tech when they were in the league--a bigger school down south that you don't see very often and fans don't get worked up over when they play in your stadium. 2004 needs to be the year the Hoays start earning some respect from the PL first tier teams.
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DFW HOYA
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,777
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jul 3, 2004 22:17:14 GMT -5
Sports Network's picks, actually, rankings out of 98 I-AA teams (they did not include the NEC, Pioneer, and what remains of the MAAC).
Colgate (9th) Lehigh (17th) Fordham (38th) Bucknell (45th) Holy Cross (55th) Lafayette (69th) Georgetown (85th)
85th is bad enough, but how does anyone explain a 1-11 Holy Cross team ahead of New Hampshire, The Citadel, and five of the eight Ivy teams?
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Post by Hannibal on Jul 5, 2004 19:35:54 GMT -5
I was at the Holy Cross - Georgetown game this past year and my only guess is that so too were the pollsters that ranked HC 30 spots ahead of GU...it wasn't nearly as close the 42-34 score. I was, of course, pulling hard for the Hoyas, but sadly had to admit that we've got a long way to go before becoming a legitimate PL team.
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Post by 16 on Jul 5, 2004 19:58:20 GMT -5
Not a good game to judge either team--clarke banged up his shoulder early in the game and the hoyas had a green secondary. Of course, so did the crusaders and it came down to which team had the ball at the end.
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LBPop
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Still proud...always proud
Posts: 276
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Post by LBPop on Jul 6, 2004 8:22:56 GMT -5
I saw two games last year--Monmouth where the Hoyas should have won, but sadly allowed a late score and Bucknell where they got scored upon early and often before putting up some points of their own. Bucknell simply was too fast for Georgetown and I'm not sure that the better team won vs. Monmouth.
The reason for my optimism is coaching and speed. This year the staff was very focused on speed when recruiting, but coaching will make the difference this season. Uzelac is the real deal as an offensive coordinator (watch this year's O line) and Benson's decision to run the defense will be major. That man took no time off during the prime recruiting season even while enduring the worst kind of heartache. He and his staff will get these kids playing with a different level of commitment and I think they will steal a couple of games and surprise a few people. I'm not predicting a PL championship...maybe only a .500 season. But I am predicting a big improvement.
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