1,445 days since Valdosta last beat West Florida. #NeverForget

[Blazer88]

Glad that Dang Clock Reset Go Blazers!

[UNALions]

I'll be sad if/when UWF moves from D2. A handful of years ago I would have been eager to move up to that "next level" but I've learned that D2 football is really special and I've learned to really love the GSC and the schools and rivalries in it. I didn't understand at first why GSC fans cheered for other GSC schools when they played out of conference. I definitely did not do that at first, quite the opposite. Now if UWF isn't involved my next favorite team is any GSC team that is playing. I hope the rivalry with Valdosta goes on for a long time.

I love GSC football and was very sad (and mad) when UNA announced the move to D1. I wrote angry letters to admin and the local paper in Florence. I was the GSC columnist here and enjoyed it. I miss the family feel of the GCS but have grown to feel that with our current conference mates now. The main problem with GSC football was scheduling. UWF and others experience that problem now and I’m not sure the GSC office can reverse the trend of what appears to be a dwindling football conference making scheduling even tougher.

Now, about 7 years later, I love UNA being D1. The Lions play for the ASUN women’s soccer championship this weekend and we’re excited! They knocked off top seeded Lipscomb yesterday after they looked unstoppable all season. The ASUN is very competitive and fun to watch in all sports.

Pensacola is much different than Florence, though. This is a D1 town with all the necessary amenities to be a good one. We’re hosting the SEC Soccer Tournament this week. We host the Sun Belt basketball tournament. The locals love sports but are mostly into D1 programs. It feels the interest has waned a bit of UWF football since the excitement of the first few seasons. I feel that being D1 would pull this town together to support the local team more especially when schools like South Alabama, Southern Miss, Tulane, and Troy start coming to town for games in Olympic sports. Troy sends their coaches here annually on a “tour” just like we’re in their backyard. Heck, I remember when the Trojans were in the GSC!

UWF will likely be D1 in the next few seasons. I’m so excited for it! I hope they join the ASUN but even the Southland would be good. Then I can watch UNA games here in town again either in conference matchups or non-conference games. UWF is larger than a lot of D1 schools already including FBS Jax State.

[Mouth of the South]

I was wrong. I really didn't think it would ever happen again. I was wrong. It was a good run, but I was wrong.

We have 4 or 5 really good logos to choose from to wear on our helmets and we would rather have a script font that nobody can read that doesn't look anything like West Florida football. We used to be able to have nice things. Maybe it's a good call though to change it up so we don't look like West Florida anymore though because the product on the field matches that. When we play we don't look anything like West Florida anymore. Not the West Florida football I loved watching at least.

We can't pass anymore. We can't make 20 yard field goals. We go from the shotgun on 4th & 1 so that we have to gain 6 yards instead of 1. This isn't one of the top 5 West Florida teams and we've only played football for 7 years. Nobody in D2 has the recruiting advantages that West Florida has and this is what we do with that now. I'd make the case it's not even fair the advantages West Florida has. UWF should win the National Championship 8 out of 10 years at this point. That's how much of advantage we should have. West Alabama is our daddy though. Valdosta State is back to a team we admire and wish we could be.

Coach Shinnick isn't walking in that door. Austin Reed isn't walking in that door. Tate Lehtio isn't walking in that door. David Durden isn't walking in that door. Our old awesome uniforms and helmets aren't walking in that door. It's starting to feel like 30 years has past since we beat Minnesota State with the way everything looks. The UWF magic is gone.

We have a bunch of guys on this team that don't care if they get a 15 yard penalty. They absolutely know they will get a 15 yard penalty to penalize the entire team and school and they don't care at all about that. I know they don't care because they have done the same exact thing now for 9 games. I've never seen a more penalized team and the penalties are well deserved. This team taunts other teams players on about every tackle. Yet, this team may not even make the playoffs. This team is 6-3 with some of those wins against schools like Kentucky Wesleyan, McKendree and Shorter. So really this team is 3-3 and that makes us so good that we can afford 15 yard penalties left and right.

If we make the playoffs, we make the playoffs. We will beat Wingate despite double digit 15 yard penalties and then we will lose to somebody the next week.
If we don't make the playoffs, we don't make the playoffs. More time to hopefully fix whatever the heck happened to West Florida football. I miss it.

Zero days since Valdosta State beat once mighty West Florida.

I was wrong.

Is this the over reaction of a lifetime???
West Florida lost a game to a top 10 FCS team…
UWF has lost 2 conference games by a combined score of 7 points…
You’re right the old UWF is not walking back in those doors… but to sit here and act like the program is crumbling because you don’t like the uniforms? There is no lack of talent on the field.
can’t pass the ball? UWF has the best WR in the nation in Jon Jiles who leads the NATION in every category. And the top two leading receivers in the GSC… weird thing to do when you can’t pass the ball… And the fact that the Argos have the best Defense in the conference, has been widely overlooked.
Calling out the schedule they’ve played is also strange since when you look at the regional rankings they have the highest strength of schedule out of all the other 7 teams in the region…as far as penalties did you not watch the Valdosta game? They only had 5 penalties… clearly it’s been something that has been emphasized.
whatever your beef is with the new head coach you should let it go or go root for another team.
this Argo team will be in the playoffs and there’s not a team in this region that is going to be looking forward to playing them.

[West Florida]

Is this the over reaction of a lifetime???
West Florida lost a game to a top 10 FCS team…
UWF has lost 2 conference games by a combined score of 7 points…
You’re right the old UWF is not walking back in those doors… but to sit here and act like the program is crumbling because you don’t like the uniforms? There is no lack of talent on the field.
can’t pass the ball? UWF has the best WR in the nation in Jon Jiles who leads the NATION in every category. And the top two leading receivers in the GSC… weird thing to do when you can’t pass the ball… And the fact that the Argos have the best Defense in the conference, has been widely overlooked.
Calling out the schedule they’ve played is also strange since when you look at the regional rankings they have the highest strength of schedule out of all the other 7 teams in the region…as far as penalties did you not watch the Valdosta game? They only had 5 penalties… clearly it’s been something that has been emphasized.
whatever your beef is with the new head coach you should let it go or go root for another team.
this Argo team will be in the playoffs and there’s not a team in this region that is going to be looking forward to playing them.

I don't have a beef with the new coach. I have a beef with not playing to the standard that West Florida should play to. I have no idea what team you pull for since you've only posted 8 times total but whatever school you went to or pull for Im sure this would be a terrific season for them if they had the year UWF is having. I'm sure with what they have to offer it would really be something to remember for a long time. That's great. That's not the University of West Florida.

If Southern Mississippi for example was in the GSC and finished 3rd I would hope their fans wouldn't be happy. What a joke it would be if they were. Every part of West Florida football should be held to a higher standard than the rest of D2. This is a D1 school located in Pensa-freaking-cola that is playing at the D2 level. West Florida should be a sleeping giant at the D1 mid-major level and we can't beat the teams we should be blowing out at the D2 level. UWF should completely dominate D2 football at the point. 6-3 is unacceptable. Not winning the GSC is unacceptable. Not competing for a National Championship every single year is unacceptable. If a player or coach isn't comfortable with that then they should go somewhere like Mars Hill or Wingate. Do I think UWF should beat Central Florida right now? Hell no. Not yet. Do I think they should be able to beat West Alabama by 4 touchdowns? Honestly, yes. Do I think they should ever lose to Valdosta State at this point? No. That's not to talking crap about those schools. It's just as simple as everything is in West Florida's favor.

You can lower your standards all you want. It would be a shame for West Florida to do that. I'm proud to not be happy with only beating the bad teams on our schedule. I'm proud that I expect a lot more from such a top notch school. Clemson fans aren't happy with their football program this year and Clemson has a hell of a lot less to offer at the high D1 level than West Florida does at the D2 level. It's kind of amazing Clemson competes like they do. West Florida has every single advantage baked in and for this team to be as hard to watch as many times as they have been hard to watch this year it's just not acceptable.

[Wide_Right]

UWF will likely be D1 in the next few seasons. .

By D1; are you meaning FCS?

And football isn’t the only sport to consider; funding must available for all men and women’s sports...

[UNALions]

By D1; are you meaning FCS?

And football isn’t the only sport to consider; funding must available for all men and women’s sports...

Yes, D1 in all sports with football in FCS.

[boyblue]

I don't have a beef with the new coach. I have a beef with not playing to the standard that West Florida should play to. I have no idea what team you pull for since you've only posted 8 times total but whatever school you went to or pull for Im sure this would be a terrific season for them if they had the year UWF is having. I'm sure with what they have to offer it would really be something to remember for a long time. That's great. That's not the University of West Florida.

If Southern Mississippi for example was in the GSC and finished 3rd I would hope their fans wouldn't be happy. What a joke it would be if they were. Every part of West Florida football should be held to a higher standard than the rest of D2. This is a D1 school located in Pensa-freaking-cola that is playing at the D2 level. West Florida should be a sleeping giant at the D1 mid-major level and we can't beat the teams we should be blowing out at the D2 level. UWF should completely dominate D2 football at the point. 6-3 is unacceptable. Not winning the GSC is unacceptable. Not competing for a National Championship every single year is unacceptable. If a player or coach isn't comfortable with that then they should go somewhere like Mars Hill or Wingate. Do I think UWF should beat Central Florida right now? Hell no. Not yet. Do I think they should be able to beat West Alabama by 4 touchdowns? Honestly, yes. Do I think they should ever lose to Valdosta State at this point? No. That's not to talking crap about those schools. It's just as simple as everything is in West Florida's favor.

You can lower your standards all you want. It would be a shame for West Florida to do that. I'm proud to not be happy with only beating the bad teams on our schedule. I'm proud that I expect a lot more from such a top notch school. Clemson fans aren't happy with their football program this year and Clemson has a hell of a lot less to offer at the high D1 level than West Florida does at the D2 level. It's kind of amazing Clemson competes like they do. West Florida has every single advantage baked in and for this team to be as hard to watch as many times as they have been hard to watch this year it's just not acceptable.

I do understand your frustration, you're spoiled and that's a good thing. What UWF has done to this point is amazing and as I alluded earlier I don't think the dynasty is over. You've gone through some major Changes and although you're not as dominating, you're good enough to get Back to the NC, honestly I give you guys a better shot than my Blazers. But your expectations are so high I'm afraid you're setting yourself up for some serious heart ache.

[Argonut]

This thread has a lot of speculation about UWF’s D1 future and longing for the past and I understand this forum is a lot of talk about the past and the future, but I prefer to enjoy the present as much as possible.

Yes, coach Shinnick left after 9 years of building a great championship foundation through a non season in 2015 and a pandemic missed season. Yes, UWF will probably move up to FCS one day in the future and I am looking forward to a new stadium when that happens.

Yes, the Argo offense has had some stumbling misfires this season, but that was also the case in the two championship seasons in 2017 and 2019.

Like the preceding comment I believe this year’s Argos have a lot going for them besides new uniform tweaks. They have one of the best defenses and running game in school history and those two things can take you deep in the playoffs. They also have a deep threat QB and the #1 WR in D2 along with a roster full of WR that are dangerous too. They have competent kicking and better returners than past teams.

The only glitch is that the offense doesn’t run like a well oiled and dominating machine on every drive, but really who scores on every drive against good playoff teams? No one- not even the 2019 Argos.

The 2023 Argos are a balanced offensive team that can score on offense, defense and special teams and they have improved drastically on the stupid penalties since the Delta State game. I am looking forward to next week and the rest of the ride this year. I believe the sting of their losses this year has made them more resilient and capable of coming back if they get down in a game. The 2023 Argos are dangerous to any team that draws them in the playoff bracket and I’m crossing my fingers for a home playoff game at Pen Air this year before they put on their Stormtroopers and wreak havoc everywhere else.

[crixus]

Counting the days only makes the pain worse. :(