Bill Curry learning some things hard way at Georgia State
Bill Curry's team already has lost as many games this year (1-5) as it did last season (6-5).
Five straight losses, but not one person has thrown a brick through Bill Curry’s window. There’s a reason for that.
“I don’t think they know where my window is,” he said, smiling.
Obscurity has its advantages. But it’s Season 2 at Georgia State, and reality has hit Curry over the head like a sledgehammer. He turns 69 years old Friday. Football has consumed his post-crawling life, and when he first took on this project he figured there was little left to learn. But there he was Tuesday, using words like “blindsided” and “stunned” when answering questions about his fledgling program’s season. A five-game losing streak wasn’t on the blueprint.
“It’s been a quantum leap in learning for this old guy,” Curry said. “But we’re living in America. We’ve got to win.”
In the shadows of the SEC, ACC and almost everything else, Georgia State has followed a 6-5 first season with a 1-5 start this year. Saturday’s game against South Alabama is homecoming. The fact attendance at home games also has dropped off might be a bigger concern than the product itself, but Curry can’t fix everything. This team poses enough problems.
After an impressive first season, he anticipated the Panthers were ready to step up in competition and face more experienced teams. He was wrong. It mostly has shown in key moments of games, particularly in the fourth quarter. That State has been outscored 57-7 in the final quarter isn’t mere coincidence.
If you’re a proud and competitive individual like Curry, you don’t take this reality well. Maybe a torch-carrying mob hasn’t shown up at his front door or thrown a rock through his window (as one Alabama knucklehead did after only one loss, not five, in 1988). But this has kind of been a shot to his ego. He prides himself on reading people and situations and certainly knowing football.
“I would’ve prepared the guys entirely differently,” he said. “I just believe if I could have anticipated some of these things, I could’ve headed it off. Practicing situations: ‘It’s the fourth quarter. We’re being manhandled. What are you going to do about it?’ It never crossed my mind.”
Curry is taking one for the team. Great coaches do things like this. Fact is, no matter what Curry did, most of these growing pains were inevitable. The Panthers are so early in the building process and they’re working with athletes who are in this program for a reason. Maybe a more established team thought they were too small, or too slow, or not smart enough. Maybe there was a question about toughness, resolve or leadership.
That’s not meant to be a knock at the players. Every team has them. The difference at major programs is they’re mixed among the elite. There are others to lead them. There are others to say, “Hey, this is what we did four years ago.” There are alumni to say, “This is what we did back in ’62.”
Curry has more stories than anybody. He has stories spanning Bobby Dodd to Vince Lombardi. But without a program resume to draw from, run-through-a-wall speeches about potential have their limitations in Year 2.
It was a good start. Georgia State opened the season with a 41-7 win over Clark Atlanta. But then came a pounding in the Georgia Dome by Old Dominion 40-17. The Panthers played the Monarchs last season, and they’re only in their third season themselves. Two weeks later, State was leveled by Houston 56-0, but Curry lamented: “We were really stunned before we ever get to Houston. We were stunned by Old Dominion. Our confidence was shaken. We’re still fighting out of that.”
The old coach added, “We will learn how to win again.”
He says he’s not going anywhere. His five-year commitment to the start-up program runs through next season, and he said nothing that has happened changes that.
“I’ll be 70 next year, but I don’t feel old. I feel good,” he said. “I still get up at five and go to work. I’m not going to tell you that it hasn’t been surprisingly difficult, but it’s been so worth doing.”
A win would make him feel better. Somebody may find his office one day.
By Jeff Schultz
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211 comments Add your comment
Reality
October 19th, 2011
10:25 am
Difference between the Southern trolls and Ga State bloggers is the Southern trolls actually go to the games. I wish State’s Students, potential students, alumni, and fans at large would come to the games, but that is not today’s reality.
Nope
October 19th, 2011
10:25 am
Market Economics is the next excuse? That is so irrelevant… entertainment is always big during hard economic times. Most of Southern’s fan base travels to Statesboro and still has a huge crowd. Next excuse?
GT Letterman
October 19th, 2011
10:29 am
A local college with initials GSU starts playing college football in the modern era and succeeds within 4 years of winning the National Championship!
Great story…except it was Erk Russell and Georgia Southern University. Bill Curry is not Erk Russell (and neither is Todd Grantham).
Nope
October 19th, 2011
10:31 am
September 2010… Unemployment 10.1… Ga State with 30,000 in attendance in the Dome…. September 2011 Unemployment 9.1… Ga State with 10,000? in the Dome… No my friend… its a terrible program that is doing that.
Falconjim
October 19th, 2011
10:31 am
Making fun of the capital of this state and the entire Southeast just makes you sound provincial, and making fun of the homeless is classless.
Nope
October 19th, 2011
10:33 am
Wow… homeless? Nice strawman arguement.
Dr. Phil
October 19th, 2011
10:34 am
The former President of GSU was obsessed with having a big-time sports program. Students were never very supportive, particularly when activity fees skyrocketed. It was an ego trip for the president. He would put on his GSU warmup suit and watch Lefty and the basketball team practice. He followed Lefty like a puppy. He got to go on trips with the team and meet basketball legends on the road. Lefty had some success, mainly with players kicked off other teams or flunked out of other schools. Attendance was never great at home games and declined when Lefty suddenly quit. Undaunted, the president hired Dan Reeves as a football consultant and another unemployed senior citizen as head coach. Again, limited success in the first year followed by embarrassing attendance in the Georgia Dome. Georgia State is a fine school that filled a niche in Atlanta for working students and a graduate business school. Other successful academic programs grew from that base. Georgia State students will not identify with nor support a college football program. Curry is a decent man and had his moments as a coach, but he will not build a successful program at GSU. Neither would Nick Saban.
Yep Yep
October 19th, 2011
10:34 am
To:
“The GSU with 6 Rings”
“Nope” ”
#7 on the Horizon”
You are passionate fans and although I disagree with your agenda and the platform your using to voice your opinions you will actually go the next Southern Football game. I am really disappointed with the Ga State students and alumni and quite frankly they don’t deserve a football team! Furthermore there are Ga State bloggers on this blog that are talking smack and they have no intentions of coming to the game this Saturday. You know who you are so sit down and shut up.
Panther Town
October 19th, 2011
10:38 am
Again, if you call the economy an excuse, you should run for president.
Of course Georgia Southern’s fan travel: the team is more than two years old, and has had some success. My point is, if you and your fellow fans are so secure in your success, why beat your chest on this blog? You can offer your opinion about our program when 1) it plays in FBS, 2) it plays in Atlanta or as nearby as Athens, and 3) you figure out that any new team is a hard sell in a major city with tons of sports and entertainment options.
Again: Statesboro is nothing like Atlanta, and your opinion of GSU’s program is what’s irrelevant.
Delbert D.
October 19th, 2011
10:42 am
Let’s start arguing about KSU. There must be a lot of them, too.
What?
October 19th, 2011
10:42 am
Dr. Phil I disagree.
I spoke with Dr. Patton on two different occasions regarding issues in the Greek community. If Patton had his way Ga State would run a university without students if possible. I heard him on several occasion expressing his displeasure with the Greek system and his desire to abolish it altogether.
Falconjim
October 19th, 2011
10:43 am
I didn’t bring up homelessness, your fellow fan did. I’m just tired of the Atlanta = homelessness = crime schtick. People that are so scared of city life shouldn’t bother reading our newspaper.
Nope
October 19th, 2011
10:45 am
@Pather Town… Win something… then become relevant. Winning = relevance. Ask Charlie Sheen.
Nope
October 19th, 2011
10:46 am
Falconjim… I now see it.. that is horrible btw… sorry for the strawman.
Panther Town
October 19th, 2011
10:55 am
We KNOW we have to win. Coach Curry sure as hell knows that. The point is, we don’t need Georgia Southern fans trolling our blogs, telling us what we already know. We’re fans of a new football program, we’re NOT new to being football fans.
Nope
October 19th, 2011
11:02 am
Pather Town…. Atlanta Clark KNOWS you can win.
Panther Town 2
October 19th, 2011
11:02 am
Any Ga St fan with any sense of reality knows this is a experiment with a slim chance for success. Im sorry, I just can’t listen to the lies anymore. The stuff you spout just makes us look bad. It IS mostly a commuter school, we ARE having very serious attendance problems, and it is just going to get worse with the CAA schedule coming to town. Folks, its time to wake up and smell what our tailgate atmosphere is like….and it isn’t very good.
Panther Town
October 19th, 2011
11:16 am
My mistake, I really shouldn’t argue with an unreasonable person. Carry on.
Losing Faith
October 19th, 2011
11:17 am
I agree Panther Town 2… I don’t see if paying off either. We need to eb realistic and possibly go down in division.
Nope
October 19th, 2011
11:18 am
Panther Town 1, your still posting? Atleast you will get a good seat at The Dome this Saturday, something you can look forward too.
Same Ole Story
October 19th, 2011
11:21 am
Bill Curry sounds like a coach. Bill Curry looks like a coach. If I was casting a movie that had a role for a college football coach, he’d be perfect. However his record speaks volumes. Bill Curry is a lousy coach. 90–113–4!
That said, Bill Curry is probably the best person for this position. This is a brand new program that’s NOT expected to win. He has name recognition and brings creditability to a start up program. Let him complete his contract (barring any violations) then hire a real football coach.
Panther Town
October 19th, 2011
11:24 am
No, I’m done posting for now. But have fun posting here, since it’s all you have to look forward to, in life.
GSUFan
October 19th, 2011
11:25 am
Let’s be realistic Georgia State fans- we should be in division 2 right now. That’s not a knock on our team, just reality. After success at the D2 level we could move up to FCS. We just can’t start where we did and be successful. We have no fans at the game, a losing team and a coaching staff that just doesn’t get it. We’re already in rebuilding mode and it’s year 2. Yikes.
Nope
October 19th, 2011
11:25 am
Grab a tissue on the way out
Tommy
October 19th, 2011
11:32 am
Bill Curry is not a good coach.Never has been,never will be.
Tommy
October 19th, 2011
11:35 am
Georgia State and Ga. Tech should merge.Ga. Tech would have their engineering school with the addition of liberal arts.The transition would be smooth. Still be called Georgia Institute of Technology.
The Dome Is Our Home
October 19th, 2011
11:36 am
How come other start ups like South Alabama and Old Dom can start up and be winners but we’re expected not to be win right away? Is Curry really the best coach we can get? Why does he recruit kids he must consistently suspend?
Panther Student
October 19th, 2011
11:38 am
As a student, I can tell you that most of the student body do not care at all. Dead serious… its really bad. It is a terrible product and embarrasing. I agree with Georgia Southern guys, we are delusional.
leroy
October 19th, 2011
11:38 am
Sure puts what Erk Russell accomplished at the REAL GSU in prespective, doesn’t it?????
wardenerd
October 19th, 2011
11:44 am
Alabama plays real good high school football but UAB sucks year after year. It isn’t a coincidence.
Carrollton Dawg Fan
October 19th, 2011
11:45 am
Bill Curry is a quality person and an outstanding coach. GA State may never have started football without him. His persona has created interest in a program that has few other things going for it.
As he ages he may wish to help the program look forward by bringing in a ‘coach-in-waiting’. Either Terry or Tommy Bowden would be great choices. If the goal is to be competitive in the CAA, better athletes must be signed and induced to play at GSU.
wardenerd
October 19th, 2011
11:47 am
Troy would be in the same boat if not for the Auburn problem players that end up there. Now South Alabams is cranking up. Lets not even discuss the disaster of Mississippi college football.
Panther Student
October 19th, 2011
11:57 am
I just don’t want to be the UAB of Georgia…… I would rather be like the Northeastern University Huskies… they closed down the football program. Google it.
egeagle
October 19th, 2011
12:08 pm
We Southern “trolls” are a proud bunch who don’t react well to upstarts who sling insults with nothing besides false and unearned bravado to back them. Erk left a national championship program to build our program from scratch, and with literally nothing to work with, he built the FCS’s premier all[time program. We have a number of alums in the Atl metro area who routinely make the trek to the Boro for great tailgating,beautiful surroundings, and a formidable tradition of success. Who’s jealous? The “Statesboring” and hick comments are nothing new. We hear them from our uppity XoCon rivals and tons of the teams we have beaten in the past.
Winning is our usual respinse.
GSUFan
October 19th, 2011
12:10 pm
I’m worried of just that- Northeastern and Hofstra are two CAA teams that cancelled football recently. We might be next.
State Student
October 19th, 2011
12:11 pm
@Panther Student.. I have heard the same from alot of classmates and friends on campus. We spend so much money and we get nothing of value in return. I just hope we can close the books on this in a few years.
ARdawg
October 19th, 2011
12:15 pm
Curry can’t get the GST program working and Schultz can’t get the Sack Schultz pickem page working. Who the hell is in charge down there?
STATEment
October 19th, 2011
12:16 pm
I am proud of our team, program, school and Coach Curry. The whole GSU, GSU argument is pointless and comical. I hope Southern’s program goes far this year and would really think it great if they can remain #1 going in to Tuscaloosa.Hopefully Alabama is still #1 as well since I can’t remember the last time there was a #1 FCS and #1 FBS matchup with them basically sporting the same uniforms(outside of color).
Go Pathers..Not Football
October 19th, 2011
12:48 pm
This blog got emailed to alot of State students I know and see comments that are so true. We need yp end this experiment… fast. All we really have driving this is money and an attempt to get T.V profit. that is why we are terrible… we have the wrong motivation. GPTV dropped us for Southern ’s game.. and we are the Atlanta team. I dont want my fees to go to this anymore.
Panthers Rule!!
October 19th, 2011
12:50 pm
We will win a title next year and beat FakeGSU the first game! Go Panthers!
Top Jimmy
October 19th, 2011
12:53 pm
Even students are are the turning.. that’s not good for a fledging program.
Panther Student
October 19th, 2011
1:04 pm
Panthers Rule… come on man.. have you even seen us play?
Panther Town 2
October 19th, 2011
1:42 pm
At least it isn’t blind homerism on here anymore. I can’t stand that fake junk. We get less than 7k at most games when the campus is 30 k strong. The numbers don’t lie folks. Most studenst aren’t traditional students and most don’t want to fight the traffic to get to the dome. The last game I went to students were urinating off a bridge and various “urban raps and dances” went on everywhere you looked. I was embarassed for my friends and family. I now hear that they are debating blanketing the unused seats with sponsors dollars to make the Dome look more full. What a joke… this is a terrible idea plain and simple (FOOTBALL). For football to work you really need a more traditional school and campus layout…
State Student
October 19th, 2011
1:52 pm
Well put Panther Town 2! The homerism is sickening and that probably why Southern fans comment about us all the time. They have seen what it takes to do this and want us to eat some humble pie.
Impostor
October 19th, 2011
1:53 pm
Love the Southern trolls who write on the blog as impostor Ga State student. Funny stuff.
State Student
October 19th, 2011
1:55 pm
@Imposter… I guess you have your tinfoil hat on right?
Go Eagles
October 19th, 2011
2:01 pm
Why can’t I find a job. I mean I went to a school that has a football team and all that got me was good parking in the handicap spots.
Go Eagles
October 19th, 2011
2:03 pm
I guess Ga State should end their football program. If that is the argument then Southern should stop teaching classes. A degree from Southern takes you far…all the way back to the unemployment line.
Ha Ha
October 19th, 2011
2:05 pm
Southern….. why should we care about a school that has less than 20,000 students. Pretty desperate trolls if you asked me.
Statesboro
October 19th, 2011
2:07 pm
To Ha Ha,
We lead the nation in Agricultural and Horticultural studies.
Take that!