RMAC media day

[twolfbenchwarmer]

Any thoughts on the coaches poll or preseason all conference teams?

https://rmacsports.org/news/2025/7/3...all-crown.aspx

[CSM alum 1993]

No surprises, IMO. I think the wildcard is how CSM will look with Stitt back at the helm. I suspect a season or two until he finds his groove and then back to the top of the conference.

[d2-football-fan]

No surprises, IMO. I think the wildcard is how CSM will look with Stitt back at the helm. I suspect a season or two until he finds his groove and then back to the top of the conference.

I have mixed thoughts on this.

1. Stitt was on the leading edge of the wide open offense, shotgun every snap, 3 & 4 WR sets as a base. In his first several seasons, they experienced success simply by being different. In '04, in what turned to be the tipping point for Mines football, he finally had an experienced group of good athletes running his system. The overwhelmed everyone (except Pitt State).

2. He focused on skill players. He had great QB's and WR's especially. The first part of his run was where the bulk of the rewriting of the Mines record book happened. Passing yards, total yards, receptions, receiving yards, all purpose yards, etc.

3. He did not do a great job of recruiting or developing, in mass, the guys in the trenches, even on offense. In his first 10 seasons, the entire offense did not break 1,000 yards rushing in half of those seasons.

4. He focused on offense and not defense. Much of Stitt's first stint at Mines was a game of "can you outscore us". When he had great offensive teams, they won. If the offense was not exceptional, the defense was not near good enough to carry the load.

5. It was not until Stitt left that Mines started to have an impressive running game (last 8 seasons the lowest team total was last year, at 2,224 yds with a couple of seasons over 3,000 yds). Simultaneously, the defense became balanced with the offense. Two seasons ago, they only gave up 195 points in 15 games, while also only surrendering 1,393 rushing yards.

The first time around, Stitt ran a very imbalanced program where:
Skill Players >> Heavies
Pass >> Run
Offense >> Defense
With these imbalances, the stars had to align for the couple of great seasons he oversaw.

Can he carry the program forward from where it is now, compared to building it from what he inherited in 2000? Possibly. But, it's certainly going to require him being different than he was.

I feel much more strongly that CSU-P is in a new season of being the RMAC flag bearer. WCU is definitely strong right now, I'm not yet convinced that they are a long term power. But, the brand of football both of these teams play, along with the talent that they have, has them rightfully esteemed at the top of the conference going into this season. Mines is comfortably at third, but I personally struggle feeling confident that they can / will finish above these two and subsequently qualify for the PO's again.

[crixus]

Good luck Skyhawks.

[Antonio Clark]

I have mixed thoughts on this.

1. Stitt was on the leading edge of the wide open offense, shotgun every snap, 3 & 4 WR sets as a base. In his first several seasons, they experienced success simply by being different. In '04, in what turned to be the tipping point for Mines football, he finally had an experienced group of good athletes running his system. The overwhelmed everyone (except Pitt State).

2. He focused on skill players. He had great QB's and WR's especially. The first part of his run was where the bulk of the rewriting of the Mines record book happened. Passing yards, total yards, receptions, receiving yards, all purpose yards, etc.

3. He did not do a great job of recruiting or developing, in mass, the guys in the trenches, even on offense. In his first 10 seasons, the entire offense did not break 1,000 yards rushing in half of those seasons.

4. He focused on offense and not defense. Much of Stitt's first stint at Mines was a game of "can you outscore us". When he had great offensive teams, they won. If the offense was not exceptional, the defense was not near good enough to carry the load.

5. It was not until Stitt left that Mines started to have an impressive running game (last 8 seasons the lowest team total was last year, at 2,224 yds with a couple of seasons over 3,000 yds). Simultaneously, the defense became balanced with the offense. Two seasons ago, they only gave up 195 points in 15 games, while also only surrendering 1,393 rushing yards.

The first time around, Stitt ran a very imbalanced program where:
Skill Players >> Heavies
Pass >> Run
Offense >> Defense
With these imbalances, the stars had to align for the couple of great seasons he oversaw.

Can he carry the program forward from where it is now, compared to building it from what he inherited in 2000? Possibly. But, it's certainly going to require him being different than he was.

I feel much more strongly that CSU-P is in a new season of being the RMAC flag bearer. WCU is definitely strong right now, I'm not yet convinced that they are a long term power. But, the brand of football both of these teams play, along with the talent that they have, has them rightfully esteemed at the top of the conference going into this season. Mines is comfortably at third, but I personally struggle feeling confident that they can / will finish above these two and subsequently qualify for the PO's again.

It's going to be interesting how he uses the talent at hand. This team and the players on it are faster than those outfits he had back in the day. Mines success during the Matocha era elevated the type of athletes they're getting in the building now.

[twolfbenchwarmer]

The first time around, Stitt ran a very imbalanced program where:
Skill Players >> Heavies
Pass >> Run
Offense >> Defense
With these imbalances, the stars had to align for the couple of great seasons he oversaw.

Not sure how much I agree with the trenches and defense comments especially at the end of Stitt's first tenure but maybe I just remember playing against Marc Schiechl and Blaine Sumner.

The fly game is an extension of the run game so not sure how much looking at the running stats are going to tell you. One of the consequences to scoring like Mines was able to under Stitt was the other team gets the ball more frequently so unless the defense is really special they're going to give up a few more points.

Mines has been able to shift their recruiting down to Texas and since then the overall talent of the team has skyrocketed. if Stitt can maintain that pipeline they'll continue to be a problem. I do think CSUP is set up better to succeed this year and into the future with their personnel, facilities, and ability to admit a much wider range of students.

[ccmoney8]

Not sure how much I agree with the trenches and defense comments especially at the end of Stitt's first tenure but maybe I just remember playing against Marc Schiechl and Blaine Sumner.

The fly game is an extension of the run game so not sure how much looking at the running stats are going to tell you. One of the consequences to scoring like Mines was able to under Stitt was the other team gets the ball more frequently so unless the defense is really special they're going to give up a few more points.

Mines has been able to shift their recruiting down to Texas and since then the overall talent of the team has skyrocketed. if Stitt can maintain that pipeline they'll continue to be a problem. I do think CSUP is set up better to succeed this year and into the future with their personnel, facilities, and ability to admit a much wider range of students.

He did coach at Texas State and Oklahoma State since his 1st term at Mines, so the table is likely set for recruiting. Just have to wonder if the game has gotten away from him.

[Lobo]

Regurgitating an old cliché -- defense wins championships. Western brings back an experienced, defensive front-7 unit that RMAC coaches recognize as best in the conference. Pueblo brings back an offensive machine with hyper-talented QB / WR duo, and ravenous O-line, that will enable the Pack to light up the scoreboard like a kid playing video games. Mines brings back one of the most experienced and winning coaches in RMAC history. The Nerds are devising a mathematical formula engineered to bring The Mines back to the top of the conference. Chewing tobacco, spit. Chewing tobacco, spit. If you ain’t a Nerd, you ain’t Stitt!