Lenoir Rhyne Ranked #18

[BearFan1]

Looking at the D2 Football rankings Carson Newman is ranked 17 and LR 18. As a loyal LR fan I like that. But having watched every game in person, and pride myself on trying to be as realistic as possible, I ask: do I really think LRU deserves to be ranked this high?

With the lost of RB Turner-Knox and the All American Defensive Lineman, with the way LR plays without discipline, with the O and D line getting equaled if not bettered many times each game, and with lack of a developing offensive game plan, I really do not see it.

I am pretty uncomfortable with our expectations for the upcoming games against Limestone and Wingate. I truly hope the coaching staff is seeing the things that I am seeing and addressing them.
We should have beaten Barton by a much larger margin and their is not much you can say about the Emory & Henry game. I mean, really, we lead that game for all but 1minute and 54 seconds and let/allow 14 points be scored in the last minute and half?

I knew coming into the year we would be thin caused by the graduations and transfer portals out, but we are really very thin. To the point that injuries are really impacting the team. Several years ago, maybe under Cronic, there was an attitude of "next man up" and things just kept on going. Those days are certainly gone.

I hope my nervousness is misplaced. I would be interested in what others think.

[crixus]

As an old guy who's been around the block a few times, my advice is to relax and enjoy it! Your misplaced nervousness won't change the outcome on game day and overthinking things can definitely take the fun out. I hope my teams win of course, but I don't stress over it. And I suggest you don't either. You'll live a happier life that way. You asked for input and that's mine. Best wishes to you and your Lenoir Rhyne Bears.

[Eagle74]

It's good to see the SAC represented in the latest D2 pole.
With that being said, what a breath of fresh air to see the huge turnaround Carson Newman has quickly made. I know that a lot of Eagles fans felt that most of the pieces were in place for success, and I believe the tough decision makers are now pretty comfortable with the changes that were made. Great to see the fan excitement and pride is coming back to the historically successful football program.
It looks like everything is now falling into place for the long-term success for the Eagles!!

🦅

[CNC Maniac 1]

Just to piggy back on this, obviously I'm thrilled that C-N is 7-0 for the first time in 21 years. But, we've had two games with a 1 pt win, and an overtime win over a really good Wingate team. We could be sitting at 4-3 right now too! Is C-N really a #17 team? I'm not so sure, but the top 25 label is always good to have for recruiting, but it's the Regional Rankings that matter! Again, still thrilled for the chance to lock in the Mountain Division title with a win this week, though E&H is really been impressive too. Who knew at the beginning of the season this would be the big matchup in our division. Football is crazy...

Still, the performance of this team has certainly leveled up from last year, even with resetting the offense to something pretty complex, and we've had the "4th string" QB in for the last few games, freshmen starting on the O-Line, lots of young guys. Whitson is really growing in that QB spot though, had some tough games to play through.

I still think Wingate may be the best team in the league this year, but, you know... any given Saturday.

[Eagle74]

Just to piggy back on this, obviously I'm thrilled that C-N is 7-0 for the first time in 21 years.

I believe that aside from new attitudes and direction given for both offence and defense, it's the overall discipline the Eagles now show that's making a big difference. Quite noticeable, no gametime nonsense and winning games.

[Bearhof]

LR ranked 16 in coaches poll and CN is 17, Wingate is 30th E&H also received a vote.

[FootballCoach]

As I've said before... I think the expectations for this season were simply too high. LR is definitely a talented team and SHOULD be year in and year out. It seemed as though many of the people on here believed that LR was going to have the same (if not better) season as the year before. That is a hard thing to do. ESPECIALLY when you bring in 60 new players to a roster. Things change. It takes time to develop a culture, get guys playing as a team and replace the talent lost. With as many starters as LR lost from last season, making a deep run in the playoffs was/is out of the question in my opinion. That is not saying that they won't/can't, but having the EXPECTATION that they do so was unrealistic. I predicted and STILL predict, LR loses 1-3 games (probably 2) and will be a first or second round out. I think fans should be happy with that outcome this staffs first season.

[Eagle74]

Just to piggy back on this, obviously I'm thrilled that C-N is 7-0 for the first time in 21 years. .

While on this subject, was former Coach Clowney chosen for the Campbell County High School coaching position he was in the running for?

[BEARS]

As I've said before... I think the expectations for this season were simply too high. LR is definitely a talented team and SHOULD be year in and year out. It seemed as though many of the people on here believed that LR was going to have the same (if not better) season as the year before. That is a hard thing to do. ESPECIALLY when you bring in 60 new players to a roster. Things change. It takes time to develop a culture, get guys playing as a team and replace the talent lost. With as many starters as LR lost from last season, making a deep run in the playoffs was/is out of the question in my opinion. That is not saying that they won't/can't, but having the EXPECTATION that they do so was unrealistic. I predicted and STILL predict, LR loses 1-3 games (probably 2) and will be a first or second round out. I think fans should be happy with that outcome this staffs first season.

This has been my thought all along. I’ve seen them as a first round po out all year. There have been some surprising trends (like the penalty issues) and the loss to E&H, but this has always been a culture building year. We’ll learn a ton about this team the next few weeks. The key is finishing strong and bringing momentum into the offseason.

[LRC Guy]

Grand Valley State and Ferris are penalized more than Lenoir Rhyne. Good teams managed to overcome obstacles. I guess you weren't around in 2016-17. Any LR fan that isn't spoiled by the success of the last seven years , would love to be 6-1 with a new staff, new culture, plenty of support and more depth than you care to mention. Are the Bears as good as 2023, who knows? But they are better than most. The sky is not falling.

[BearFan1]

A win is a win and yes all LR fans are proud of that.

But,,,,the quality of the play yesterday was anything but that of a "Championship" caliber team. The play calling was just not understandable at times especially very late in the game and all we had to do win was run out the clock and we were passing.
Or attempting to run the ball up the middle time and again and the entire game proved we could not do that against a much superior line.

But, perhaps, most baffling was the fact that we actually found a running back in number 23 who made much out of nothing running up the middle late in the 2nd quarter on 4 or 5 plays to only not be seen again in the rest of the entire game.

Yes we made the play at the end to stop the two point conversation and preserve the win, Thank goodness!! But it did not have to come to that with just decent play calling,

[Saints Tailgating]

No disrespect to LR & Congratulations on the win, but I don't see how the Bears are ranked at all based on what I saw yesterday. I thought our backup QB played pretty well all things considered. Too bad for us that Noller was out but you have to play the hand you're dealt.

[Bearhof]

Its been like this all year and it’s like we go in a shell and can’t close the deal. We either fumble a handoff or throw a interception in the red zone or commit stupid penalties. Yesterday for the most part we played good defense but our offense couldn’t make a first down so the defense was on the field for most of the fourth quarter. We will definitely need to play better to win the big game this Saturday. We might could make po at 9-2 but I would be surprised if there are three SAC teams in region two to qualify for postseason. Mr C is normally spot on with his analysis at this time of year.

[87Bear]

A win is a win and yes all LR fans are proud of that.

But,,,,the quality of the play yesterday was anything but that of a "Championship" caliber team. The play calling was just not understandable at times especially very late in the game and all we had to do win was run out the clock and we were passing.
Or attempting to run the ball up the middle time and again and the entire game proved we could not do that against a much superior line.

But, perhaps, most baffling was the fact that we actually found a running back in number 23 who made much out of nothing running up the middle late in the 2nd quarter on 4 or 5 plays to only not be seen again in the rest of the entire game.

Yes we made the play at the end to stop the two point conversation and preserve the win, Thank goodness!! But it did not have to come to that with just decent play calling,

I agree I was puzzled by the play calling in the 4th quarter and thought it didn’t allow for the clock to run. I guess if they work it’s great but if they don’t it puts more pressure on the defense.

Was 23 the RB that fumbled? I thought after that fumble I didn’t remember seeing that player on the field again. Speaking of RBs what is the deal, I know that Knox tore his ACL but yesterday 8 started and 10 wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Is he out now as well?

And I guess coach has given up on FGs as well.

[BearFan1]

I could not find the offensive # 10 on the sidelines anywhere. I asked several people but no one seemed to know anything.
RB Turner-Knox was on the sidelines but not in uniform as he was on cutches and is out for the season.
All-American Jefferson, I was told, had surgery on Monday and, of, course, is also out for the season.

I thought our DB's did better this week but still not great when you do not catch a ball that hits our DB in the chest and bounces to the ground and no one is within 5 yards of him. Also, it is apparent that somebody has told the DB's that they need to turn their heads once in a while to try and know where the passed ball is. Stops most interference calls and might even result in more interceptions.

Yes, we are all happy for the grit that it took to win this game. And grit is what it took at the end. Maybe, things are finally coming together. Somewhat.