ISU vs Illinois State

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the way the offense played today, none, they had NO shot to move the ball today except on that very 1st drive. Schmidtke had NO protection, he ran for his life the whole time he was in there. It's no wonder they can't get any first downs let alone score a TD against MVFC competition.

ISU is definitely the laughing stock of all of college FB, you sure got that right, gonna be REAL interesting to see Miles' comments in the paper after this debacle.

and if someone who went to the game posts on here ISU made progress today they must still be wearing those rose-colored glasses. This season is OVER

They probably won't hit 100 because no one will want to run the score up on us, but maybe they should to send a message. We don't belong and haven't for four years now. It's frustrating. At least a couple of years ago we had a good offense. Now we have nothing. I don't see a bunch of players leaving. Only because they know they can at least start here. Maybe Schmidtke would move on, but he has to show other teams something and how is he going to do that with such a bad team around him? Every time I read Golden's blog it's dropped pass here, dropped pass there. We have to get some receivers and linemen.

I don't know how many years Miles gets but I could see a decision as early as next year if the scores are still the same. I don't even know how it works when you scrap a program. Do you just do it or do you have to fill out your schedule requirements for a couple of more seasons? For the longest time the thought of scrapping the program disgusted me, but I'm tired of having my school be the laughing stock of college football. Here is a question. Will we even score another TD this year? How many? Two, three maybe?
 

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for those keeping track of ISU football futilty, today's loss ranks as the 8th worst blowout in conference history, ISU has been on the receiving end of almost every one of the losses. Sad indeed, and alot of these are recent as well.

MOST-LOPSIDED WINS (League Games Only)
62 - Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State (72-10), 2007
56 - Missouri State vs. Indiana State (63-7), 2007
54 - UNI vs. Indiana State (68-14), 2007
53 - Southern Illinois vs. Western Illinois (66-13), 2004
52 - UNI vs. Indiana State (58-6), 2004
52 - Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State (55-3), 2006
52 - Illinois State vs. Indiana State (69-17), 2007
51 - Illinois State at Indiana State (59-6), 2008 (today's game)
49 - Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State (59-10), 2004
49 - Missouri State vs. Indiana State (68-19), 1991
49 - Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State (52-3), 1995 (ISU won this game)
45 - Western Kentucky vs. Indiana State (59-14), 2003
45 - UNI vs. Western Illinois (52-7), 1987
45 - Youngstown State vs. Indiana State (45-0), 2005
 
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Every game makes me so glad I transferred. Going 1-22 for two seasons was such an emotional drain on me that it just sent me in to a depression when I woke up each morning knowing I had to go to practice/workouts for what I deemed a futile cause. I can only imagine how the current JR's and SR's feel. I do feel so bad for them because I know those guys you know? A lot of them were verbally berated at the hands of Miles this off-season, being told they didn't care and the like.

Well. I don't care about the 1980s or the 1970s. This is 2008. It is next to impossible to care when these scores become the norm. Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois...god forbid the Dakotas...these schools will push the 72-10 scoring record for the conference and they will break it without trying too hard. Darker days are yet to come unfortunately.

So the talk turns to dropping the program here? It would take a blind man to not notice Prettyman's moves once Lloyd-Benjamin III announced he was retiring. He got a new coach in a rush because he knew a new president of the university would more than likely not care about the program. I agree with a previous poster. This year and next year. If the scores do not improve than the program is either gone or dropped in to the depths of division 2 or 3. The MVC is the best conference in D-1 AA. We have no business being here.

P.S - If you don't think Schmidtke's parents are telling him he's better than this team and needs to transfer you are nuts. Same with a majority of the freshman. Parents tend not to be supportive of coaches and an idea of what the future may hold. They support their sons.
 
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Guys, I think you're all dreaming if you think that ISU is gonna drop football. Look at the commitment that has been made in the last year. We've brought in a coach that is WAY above our ability to get (if he wasn't an alum). He's hired what seems to be a very impressive staff. Our recruiting has most certainly improved. We've got a new stadium on the drawing board, and that's not just for football. Drop football, drop the new facilities for AT LEAST two other sports.

It is a sad fact that ISU has neglected its football program for 20+ years. The last five or six have been deplorable. It has fallen to the point where we are, in the words of Coach Miles, an expansion team. The coaching staff isn't going to make that big a difference in 5 games when the cupboard was so totally bare. And don't give me the, "We've got enough talent to win games." Bull. We didn't have enough talent before this year to win much in the MIC, let alone the MVC.

Miles has made some impressive strides in the program, but we're riding on the Titanic here, and history being a good teacher, you can't turn this ship on a dime. But, there are some good things "waiting in the wings." Several of our best players are not playing right now. Aaron Archie, who was being raved about by almost everyone, was lost for the season before the first game. The gigantic offensive lineman from Auburn is in school (last I heard) and will play next year. Schmidtke has a gun for an arm and is nimble. If we get the linemen to keep him from running for his life, this kid's gonna be good.

I guess I'm saying that Miles hasn't even had a full year yet. We (myself most certainly included) were most likely being a bit too optimistic when thinking that we could win a few games this year. But good things are on the horizon. There is finally a commitment from the University to the football program. Give it some time. I'm sick of it, too, but it can be turned around, given the right people (which I think we have) and the right support (looking up). It's just gonna take a few more recruiting classes to get the right players. Remember, SIU was worse than us until about five or six years ago. Then, they got the right coach (Jerry Kill) and made a commitment to the program. It took Kill three years, but they got it done. If they can do it down there, we can certainly do it here.

And I haven't heard anything that suggests other than President Bradley is fully in support of the football program. I'd like to know where others of you got the info that he wanted to cut the program...
 
I never said he was or was not in support of the program. I said once it became apparent that a new president would come Prettyman came up quickly, fired West, and hired a new coach before the new President could give his opinion either way on the program. What else is a president going to say? "I hate that the football program costs this university millions of dollars each year and barely brings in over 500-600,000?" No, he is going to verbally support it for right now.

As for the excitement of the new stadium, don't assume more money will be pushed in to this just yet. Fact of the matter is, this is a money issue. All the pretty talk of potential gets you nowhere. There must be marked improvement next year or its done. At the very least, done within division 1-AA. The MVC could very well petition for removal if next season is as bad as this one has been so far. What are we gunna do in that situation? Ask the committee to "remember 1983 and 1984?"

Don't think I'm coming on here with baseless opinions. I played at ISU. I sat through the worst losses in conference history. You think the talk of dropping the program wasn't daily? When people are talking about dropping the program that is paying your way through school only an idiot would sit by and not prepare for the worst, as well as analyze the situation both for practicality and possibility. I've considered all outcomes of ISU as a football program and the one concrete is that nobody in their right mind is going to dump millions of dollars on a new stadium on campus for a program that can't field a competitive team. If ISU is competitive next season expect talk of a stadium to pick up again, as well it should. But to talk of a new stadium and even more financial support right now is ridiculous. Bottom line? I left the program for a reason. I gave back $45,000 because I saw no reason to believe this would be rectified during the next two years (all I had left) and I don't care to lose now so the team can win 5 years after I graduated, waste of my time.

As for Miles as a coach. Yes, he has made very good moves since coming here and managed to get some decent players in the mix. I do hope they stay after this debacle but everyone and their brother on this forum knows how I feel about that. However I am a bit more familiar with his coaching style than you people are. You hear what you read, I experienced it first hand. Once again, this is 2008, not 1980. The days of coaches just humiliating their players and expecting them to still respect them are long gone. I don't care what you say, its the truth. Miles takes this approach with his players, and if you read back in this forum I was not a fan of the way some of my friends were treated for quite literally no reason at all. I said when I left there was already a poison in that locker room with the veterans and he would be smart to keep them separated from the freshman. He could very well have changed his ways, I hope he has, because if anyone on this forum thinks yelling at these kids is the right way to coach right now then I hope you can hear my laughter all the way from Ohio.

In fact? If I'm Miles, tomorrow I cancel practice and hold a team meeting. Sit in a chair (do NOT stand) in front of my players and calmly ask them what the problem is. Accept full and brutal honesty. If they feel they are mistreated now is the time to let it be known, if they feel the game plan sucks, speak now or forever hold your peace. Preface all of this by saying there will be no punishment for anything said. I would say that we need to come together as people who care about this program and find a way to get competitive. No more talk of winning. Talking of winning right now gets you mocked in the locker room, it happened with coach West. Coaches who are mocked end up not winning anything. No more player/coach distinction, not for tomorrow. Then I think the suggestions must be taken seriously and changes made. What we've been doing has not worked, at all, nor will it (unless we schedule SEMO every season for the next 4-5 years apparently haha) so why not scrap it and turn this into a quasi-democracy (at least as much as a football team can be one).

Miles says the players are getting tired of hearing about "possibility". Well, I'm sorry but at the moment you have nothing else. If you want to keep these kids in Terre Haute, IN then some serious work needs to be done. Every team we play knows these kids are 18 years old. You don't think every big play, or successful drive is viewed as potential? If these kids want out there will be places to go. Its a lot easier to stomach the idea of possibility when possibility is limited only to your playing time, not winning.
 
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TLS, what you're proposing might sound reasonable, but a coach can't just open it up for players to speak their minds and run the locker room and expect to maintain any control. If my bosses did that they'd be fired so fast you'd forget they were ever there. The lack of respect that would foster would be comparable to what you saw with West. I know because I've been a disgruntled employee and I've seen how it works a few times now.

At this point we might as well be the Chicago Cubs trying to win a playoff series. It seems like that's the kind of pressure this team is facing, that's the kind of mountain we're up against. Just like fans, players know the program is about 1 for 40! You can have Golden and Tom James post all they want about realistic expectations. The players and fans want results now and that's why this program never should have been allowed to fall to where it has. We don't have to have wins, just give us some conference games where you show some kind of progress. Hell, a 35-14 loss today would have had me feeling better about things. 57-6!!! Scrap the program! It's done! Do that or find a way to dump more financial support into it than is feasibly possible. If Miles does turn this program around he deserves to have this new stadium named after him! I'm disgusted with my university!
 
According to the game notes ISU had 12 starters (7 frosh, 5 soph) that were sophomores or less in experience. Going up against teams that are normally comprised of mostly juniors and seniors. 18-19 year olds taking on 21-22 year olds is literally men against boys. I'm hoping this explains the misery on the field to some degree. If so we should see some marked improvement next year.
 
In fact? If I'm Miles, tomorrow I cancel practice and hold a team meeting. Sit in a chair (do NOT stand) in front of my players and calmly ask them what the problem is. Accept full and brutal honesty. If they feel they are mistreated now is the time to let it be known, if they feel the game plan sucks, speak now or forever hold your peace. Preface all of this by saying there will be no punishment for anything said. I would say that we need to come together as people who care about this program and find a way to get competitive. No more talk of winning. Talking of winning right now gets you mocked in the locker room, it happened with coach West. Coaches who are mocked end up not winning anything. No more player/coach distinction, not for tomorrow. Then I think the suggestions must be taken seriously and changes made. What we've been doing has not worked, at all, nor will it (unless we schedule SEMO every season for the next 4-5 years apparently haha) so why not scrap it and turn this into a quasi-democracy (at least as much as a football team can be one).

Miles says the players are getting tired of hearing about "possibility". Well, I'm sorry but at the moment you have nothing else. If you want to keep these kids in Terre Haute, IN then some serious work needs to be done. Every team we play knows these kids are 18 years old. You don't think every big play, or successful drive is viewed as potential? If these kids want out there will be places to go. Its a lot easier to stomach the idea of possibility when possibility is limited only to your playing time, not winning.[/QUOTE]

Come together. Remember Coach Herman Boone's speech in "Remember the Titans". Same thing here. Miles has a plan, and he must believe in it, and see it through. Ever heard " You either Win or you Learn?" Well, hopefully, these kids are learning alot right now, and one thing would be that if you believe in something, you don't quit when adversity hits. You chose (or they chose for you) to leave, and that is certainly your right. But, just remember this, the next time you face adversity in your life (and you will), it will be easier to quit then too because you have all ready done it. I don't claim to know your circumstances, I just know that this has been proven time and time again. Remember this, "You're to small to lead if you are too big to follow". Good luck.
 
Speaking of poison, what is it that you are spreading. That is a completely clueless statement--also the ones on other posts about Rose Hulman and being the worst team at any level. How much college football have you played? Or even watched??
 

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TLS49. I am the parent of one of the promising Freshmen in the program. He had other offers, including a couple from the upper tier teams in this conference. His decision to come to ISU was based on the coaching staff, his ability to get on the field, and the possibility of being part of the expereince of helping to turn a program around. Your vindictive comments demonstrate the attitude of why this program is where it is now. I spoken to several of the upper classmen--some have good attitudes, some don't. It's interesting to me that the ones with the more positive attitudes are those that are actually producing on the field? Things are not cheerful all of the time in any program--high school, college, pro--it all boils down to who's with the program and who produces. Those who follow the program, are positive, work hard...prosper. If not, you're gone. Obviously you chose the latter option.
 
I admire the players willing to come to ISU who want to change things. I greatly appreciate they're commitment to a program with such a sad recent history. However, as fans it gets more and more frustrating watching this year after year. I think that's why you see the comments you do. We understand this season may not produce a lot of wins, but at some point that has to change. The Sycamores were absolutely thrashed a couple of years ago at home by St. Francis of Ind. Now granted they're considered a powerhouse in their division, but it makes me wonder how well Indiana State would compete against those teams.
 
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