It was bluster, as outrageous as it was inspiring.
An audacious proclamation. Especially from a coach, who once wondered why a bunch of skinny English rock & rollers were hanging in his charge's bare bones Fairgrounds locker room.
As much as its utterance continues to induce bemused grins, it has become mantra among the faithful, a prophecy yet but inevitably to be consummated.
"We're on a collision course with the national championship, the only variable is time."
Thus there is an apprehension this pigskin preseason unlike any the Cardinal Nation has endured before.
With as many or more returning starters than any of the other national contendas, an upper echelon football mind on the sideline starting to get his groove fully back, a stadium as modern and plush if not as large as any across the land and a schedule that will give cause for the nation's pundits to take notice, there is a quiet hope that many denizens of Papa J's are almost scared to vocalize.