ISU Picked 7th in MVFC

[Dmills]

Missouri Valley Football Announces Preseason Team / Poll

For the first time since joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference for the 2008 season, South Dakota State has been tabbed as the league pre-season favorite in a poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors.

valley-football.org

 

[MadBird]

Wow. Pretty humbling. Many points behind the top two (more than twice our total!), closer to WIU in 11th place than UNI in 5th. Good "bulletin board" fuel if you believe in that sort of thing.

This will take one of Spack's best coaching efforts to pull this team up. Hope the new assistants are up to the task. Hope Jefferson has had a productive spring and summer. Go Birds.

 

[Dmills]

Wow. Pretty humbling. Many points behind the top two (more than twice our total!), closer to WIU in 11th place than UNI in 5th. Good "bulletin board" fuel if you believe in that sort of thing.

This will take one of Spack's best coaching efforts to pull this team up. Hope the new assistants are up to the task. Hope Jefferson has had a productive spring and summer. Go Birds.

I don't really mind the ranking, but also not putting too much stock into it. Looking at the schedule, I think a 6-5 record would be very attainable. Could very well finish 7-4 (or 5-6). I believe we could finish as high as 4th. I'm excited to see how Jefferson is able to perform. I feel good about our running back and wide receiver (as well as tight end) talent and depth, now we just have to stay healthy. Defense and quarterback are the big question marks in the eyes of the voters I'm sure. 39 days until a very winnable game against Butler followed by a big challenge against Western Michigan. Practice/Camp starts in the next couple of weeks?

 

[Dmills]

I don't really mind the ranking, but also not putting too much stock into it. Looking at the schedule, I think a 6-5 record would be very attainable. Could very well finish 7-4 (or 5-6). I believe we could finish as high as 4th. I'm excited to see how Jefferson is able to perform. I feel good about our running back and wide receiver (as well as tight end) talent and depth, now we just have to stay healthy. Defense and quarterback are the big question marks in the eyes of the voters I'm sure. 39 days until a very winnable game against Butler followed by a big challenge against Western Michigan. Practice/Camp starts in the next couple of weeks?

Butler was picked last in the PFL today

 

[Total Red]

What's the old saying? Something like, "respect isn't given, it's earned." Well the Redbirds certainly aren't being given much respect so I guess they'll have to go out and earn it. Actually, I don't think the 7th place pick is too far off.
I'm concerned about the attitude towards the spring season. I know it wasn't legit in the minds of some coaches and fans but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen and it doesn't mean that there aren't things that we need to learn from it. It didn't go well. Deficiencies were revealed and I don't think those deficiencies have been adequately addressed. We'll know more as we work through August practices but right now this is a team that needs to improve at throwing and protecting the football.

 

[TIMMY]

Someone's got to step up at QB. I don't know who that someone will be yet but that's got to get better. If they're in a position where they think they need to play for the future so be it but, they've got to get the QB thing solved.

 

[Total Red]

Timmy - thanks for rocking out the red helmet with interlocking ISU. That was the model when I arrived in the late 70's. You too I suppose.

 

[DannyCooksey]

Someone's got to step up at QB. I don't know who that someone will be yet but that's got to get better. If they're in a position where they think they need to play for the future so be it but, they've got to get the QB thing solved.

100%

until we see consistency and production from this position the rest of the analysis is pointless

 

[Virginia Redbird]

Pre-season predictions are really meaningless. They are usually based on the previous season and who is coming back. This time around after the weird spring season these types of predictions mean even less. Fun for fan talk but really no bearing on how the season will go. Having said that, I think this is a fair and maybe accurate assessment of where the Birds will end up this season. There were some significant losses from the team and the offense needs to get figured out. Like Timmy said, QB continues to be a big issue for the Redbirds and Jefferson did not show much this past spring to think the position is stabilized. New assistant coaches are on the line. Can they improve and shore up those weak areas? We will not find out until the games start. I also wonder about the mental side of things. The Birds did not look good in the spring and then quit. They lost some very good players. Quite a few new coaches. How is their mental outlook for the upcoming season? I think Coach Spack has some work to do and will need one of his best coaching efforts this 2021 season.

 

[fourthandshort]

Ive said before, 2021 is going to be a tough season .. possibly like 2013, when we sucked the first half of season, then slowly salvaged the season in latter half playing much better. I said then, the 2013 mid season turnaround was a major factor in the 2014 title run .. that and Tre Roberson transfer.

So I see same for 2021 ... agree on uncertainty at QB position, but we are young and loaded at skill positions. I am not ready to give up on Jefferson, but he must improve his decision making under pressure when throwing the ball. So we are a question mark on both sides of ball. I have no doubt Spack/coaches will figure it out and new studs will emerge ... no reason to think otherwise, just a question of how long it takes.

I think a distant 7th behind MoST is bit much, though they played well last spring ... nothing about the spring season means a whole lot in term of predicting the fall ... but given everyone we've lost since 2019 season, 6th would be more than fair.

But 2021 must be looked at as either a major reload or a minor rebuild ... either way ...

 

[Dmills]

Sometimes I forget we basically have 2 freshman classes. The Jackson Waring freshman class (Class of 2020) who have not gone through even half of a season of college football, and the Timothy Dorsey and Tommy Rittenhouse freshman class (Class of 2021). There is a lot of inexperience between these groups and you have to think there won't be a whole lot of separation between the 2020 and 2021 class in general compared to the typical year. This situation is similar to most schools, but as others have pointed out, other schools have not lost as many of their top players. I just think this situation with essentially two freshman classes is going to cause a ton of uncertainty about how these groups react/perform and it will be interesting to evaluate them.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

Sometimes I forget we basically have 2 freshman classes. The Jackson Waring freshman class (Class of 2020) who have not gone through even half of a season of college football, and the Timothy Dorsey and Tommy Rittenhouse freshman class (Class of 2021). There is a lot of inexperience between these groups and you have to think there won't be a whole lot of separation between the 2020 and 2021 class in general compared to the typical year. This situation is similar to most schools, but as others have pointed out, other schools have not lost as many of their top players. I just think this situation with essentially two freshman classes is going to cause a ton of uncertainty about how these groups react/perform and it will be interesting to evaluate them.

Yes, I have heard it said before that all the teams are in the same boat but that is not really true. It depends heavily on how many players the team lost and what experience the juniors and seniors have. The Birds lost quite a few good players and last year's freshman class had only a very, very short season in the spring. I guess the good news is that some young players will get more playing time than maybe they normally would have and that may be a big benefit in the next couple of years. I am not writing off this fall season just yet. Maybe of few new faces step up big. Maybe Jefferson has the breakout season. Maybe the new coaching staff jells and gets more out of the players than we expect. Adversity creates opportunity. It will be interesting to see if some players and coaches take advantage.

 

[Sanantoniobird]

I’ve probably not felt more pessimistic in my life. I’m just hoping no one gets hurt, we salvage enough respect to pull the top recruits on our radar, and we come back highly competitive in 22’-23’.

 

[redbirdfan04]

I can also remember in the past few seasons when we were ranked high and had high profile names many of us including myself talking about having the next great team and then we lay a goose egg for a season. For example being over a two TD favorite at Northern Arizona and gettting our teeth kicked in. The rest of that season was rough. The spring was ugly and we do not have many nationally hyped players but I guarentee the young men we do have are not going to be okay with 7th place. I am excited for this season and I am not willing to just say wait until 22-23.

 

[crazzymark]

i think this team has more talent over all than any other seasons, with the transfers and one of the best recruiting classes ever last fall. Sure defense will be outstanding but the RB position showed a lot in the spring fling thing. The WR corp has been improved as well, still have a couple mighty midgets but tall long and speed will be a much needed addition to the offence. And the TE's are big and have great hands and blocking. Wouldn't be surprised to see a big win at WMU. With the D and running game. GO YOU DAMN REDBIRDS AND WIN THIS GAME!!