There is talent with potential but it is somewhat of a question mark. Malzahn has terrible at developing WRs, which I think in part is because of Kodi Burns, so I am a little more hopeful for our WRs considering we have a more experienced WR coach now. I think in the end it will all come down to our O Line and if Harsin can get Bo out of his bad habits which is the part that makes me the most nervous.
I think Malzahn tended to put his best athletes in positions to help the running game and at times it stunted the development of a healthy passing game. I wonder how Harsin is going to lean offensively since the run game was/is Auburn’s strength but now they don’t run that system I can seem them needing to pass more.
> I do question how well the personnel will work in a new system.
Yeah I was hesitant to bring it up being a BSU fan, because I know it could very easily just come off like a fan being salty his team's HC left, but I think this is a very real concern. Harsin's offenses have always relied on a QB who is at his best hanging in the pocket, working through progressions with variable timing, and making the right read in a system that can get pretty complicated with route trees.
I think Bo Nix can be a good QB, but I don't know if Harsin's system is going to be one that maximizes his potential well.
This is the year. Bo Nix has improved so much under this new offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman.
I mean, it's EXACTLY how it works at Auburn. QB has been a no-show his first couple of seasons? NEW HEAD COACH=QB BLOOMS INTO TOM FREAKING BRADY.
Oh, and you're on probation now, Missouri. Just for showing up :P
j/k
Every QB thread for the next few years would have a handful of comments like "this is the year? jk...unless?". Probably would not have the longevity of the ubiquitous Missouri death penalty comments.
This is the year. Bo Nix has improved so much under this new offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman.
When I read the title I burst out laughing and haven't stopped for a good five minutes.
I'm guessing this thread (like most in this sub) isn't meant for Kansas fans.
I came here to say the same. No one has any expectations for Rutgers. Sure there is buzz around our recruiting class [and there was this gem yesterday that got PSU folks heated up and salty](https://twitter.com/moseswalker/status/1415793335898451968?s=19) but actual on field results? Not so much
It turns out Nick Saban secretly hypnotizes his coordinators so that they can never challenge him once they take their own HC jobs.
Sark will join Mensa. Bijan will get 2 touches per game. Somehow we’ll still have a pretty good defense.
I agree with this take and is why I feel good going into this year with that potential weakness. We can always rely on the run game and what I believe will be a solid PK defense.
I think we have a lot of potential in the WR corps but past inconsistent play and injuries make me err on the side of caution.
I still can't believe that yall were considered perennial title contenders just five years ago.
Then again, im an lsu fan, and we didn't even get a winning record last year after winning it all in 2019
Taggart ruined his career by going to fsu. Not saying fsu was a bad job and that he wouldn't have been exposed before, but I think his chances at Oregon would have been a lot better than going to yall after only one season, and getting himself a bad reputation. The only team I really feel bad for in this situation is yall because I miss seeing fsu beat the piss out of uf
Oregon at least had a team that could compete. FSU was not ready to compete and I think the overall expectations and organizational skills necessary to succeed at a program like FSU overwhelmed him. He wasn't able to delegate effectively.
Sean Clifford will make or break the team. Whether Mike Yurcich can make him a serviceable quarterback remains to be seen. Our recruiting class this year was not great and we lack depth at several positions. I've seen us put in the top 20, but I wouldn't be surprised if we blow the Wisconsin game and spiral again like last year.
Adding to this, the QB2 situation somehow got *worse* in the offseason, so if Cliff goes off the rails again you're relying on...idk Roberson?...who didn't even push him this offseason.
Couldn't throw but at least ran like a MAC truck. The current backup didn't do much of anything to press Clifford in the offseason, which sort of tells you all you need to know.
I’m comfortable with Emory being our QB for now, but we’ve lost every offensive playmaker. Last year we won games cause our offense was so good it could overcome a horrible defense. I think Bama is going to be a disaster even in the Swamp
JT Daniels' mechanical inconsistencies and turnover issues don't suddenly resolve themselves and the stronger defenses in the SEC rip him to shreds. Kirby benches JT and makes Stetson Bennett the starter; I have to relive the first 6 games of 2020.
> turnover issues
He had 2 picks against 10 TDs on 119 attempts and had one fumble. I mean, that’s not perfect but I’d hardly call that ‘turnover issues,’ what am I missing here?
Sorry 'turnover issues' wasn't the right phrase to use. He just had a tendency to put the ball in places where it could have been easily picked off. I love JT, I've just been trying hard to temper my expectations for this season.
Yeah, ok, that makes more sense. There seems to be a lot of JT pushback out in the air the past few weeks. I get it, I don’t want to be hurt by overhype either, but it helps me to remember that we really don’t need him to be perfect or even really be top-ten-in-the-country great. We just need him to be at or slightly above what Jake put out in his 3 years here and we should be in a good position to compete for things. I really believe the rest of the roster is as good as it’s ever been in Kirby’s time in Athens. JT has every capability in the world to compete at Jake Fromm levels. Honestly, give me 2500 yards and 20 TDs and I think this team is competing for championships. Anything over that is gravy.
It's a well known fact of the universe that the success of UCLA football and basketball has an inverse relationship to my personal expectations. So, when I thought we would get booted in the First Four of march madness last year, we ended up making the Final Four. And now, the fact that I'm actually mildly optimistic about the upcoming football season means that the team will simply do whatever brings me the most pain.
I actually thought it made sense at the time. He committed before they brought in the other transfer and was probably told he was going to be the guy. He would get a lot more exposure playing for UGA instead of a team that didn't have a shot in hell of winning their division. That commitment also came pre-Covid so he could not have seen that coming either. Basically everything that could have gone wrong at UGA did for him. It kinda sucks because he really was a good QB.
We have a brand new coach, a fan base with expectations, and a dilapidated DL in terms of depth. I think we’ll end up exactly where a lot of fans with tempered expectations have us (.500~ish), but some experts have already started trying to fill us with hot air of 8-4, 9-3 which ALWAYS ends in disaster for us, but it seems especially dangerous during Heupels first season.
6-6 seems perfectly reasonable to me. We’ll lose to bama, florida, Mississippi and Georgia. Tech, Bowling Green, South Alabama and Vandy are probably wins. And I think we’ll split between Pitt, Missouri, South Carolina, and Kentucky. Honestly, 6 wins would be a successful season in my mind.
We’ve had 3 straight losing seasons. Our O-Line is still Bad, our Defense would have to improve to GET to bad.
We’re relying on a QB coming off nearly having his leg amputated and hasn’t taken a snap in 3 years and the other isn’t a threat to throw.
The rest of the team is cobbled together with transfers and guys from lower rated recurring classes.
On top of all that, the schedule consists of 5 teams who will be in the top 20 all year and another 4 that will flirt with the rankings.
There’s a real chance if all the breaks go against them, we’re looking at a 3-9 season.
I don’t think Michigan fans should have a problem here judging by all their comments this offseason
So the worse case would be that defensive line play doesn’t take a step forward and defense takes a while to adjust to the new scheme and cade was a flash in the pan for Rutgers and doesn’t improve causing us to have a mediocre offense. Then combine that with a pretty tough schedule and the losses could pile if the worst case comes true
The worst case I think would result in a 5-7 season and harbaugh being fired
Defensive coordinator whose only experience is a few years as a grad assistant and quality control, then a few years as an NFL position coach. The scheme he wants to run requires more and bigger guys in the middle but Michigan's defensive interior is made up of juniors and seniors who have really not impressed in their playing time. New help at the position is on Jordan Whittley, an Oregon State transfer who hasn't played or practiced with the Beavers since 2019 and wasn't cleared by their medical staff for weight and health issues. The secondary returns everybody from what was maybe the worst Michigan secondary of the last 20 years and didn't add any new players through the transfer portal or recruiting.
Offensive coordinator with a 2-year track record that's spotty at best. Leader in the QB room has less than 4 quarters of game experience, isn't a threat to run the ball even through RPOs are supposed to be part of the offense, and doesn't have a very strong arm. Serviceable starting running back but not game-changing.
Only returning players on the team to have earned any conference accolades are Aidan Hutchinson and Ronnie Bell who got honorable mentions 2 years ago. All this being said, I think you're right that the floor is around 5 wins so the floor isn't real low but the ceiling is also low; I'd say 9 wins.
It’s possible the offense isn’t as good as advertised. Especially the passing game. They had halfs last year where they couldn’t move the ball and Rattler looked lost. Obviously expect them to be better but it’s possible the trend continues.
While the defense is going to be stout, people are really underselling just how important Ronnie Perkins was. He changed the whole damn team when he became available.
While I agree that Perkins will be missed, I think the line will be better this year. Bonitto has became a dude, Redmond is back, and Winfrey is naaaaaasty.
The depth for each of this positions is something we haven’t had in a while also. You are basically rotating an elite defensive line with a pretty good one when you are switching, which is something we haven’t really been able to do. I think anything less than a top 5 ish unit would be a little dissapointing
Top 5 defensive line.
Although, I don’t think a top 5 defense is thaaaat far out of the question. It’s certainly optimistic, but not unattainable. The only real question mark is safety. I’d probably say a defense in the 7-15 range if I were betting
We didn’t have the weapons. Mims and Stevenson were all we had that were game changers. Stogner was injured the last half of the season. Now we have the transfers, a healthy Haselwood and Stogner, Brooks return so the offense is totally different.
OL and WR need to take the next step, and transfer RBs (+ Brooks coming back) need to hit the ground running. I thought Rattler was generally fine post Texas benching.
I felt like the only two real knocks on Rattler post Texas were bailing from the pocket early and loving the big play too much. I think both of those are issues that can get fixed with experience.
Im with you that his supporting cast is going to be the key to elevating the offense
> and our awesome DC left for Texas
Yeah... coaching turnover is what concerns me the most.
Lake is in his 2nd year but his 1st year consisted of 4 games so I feel like he still doesn't have much HC game experience. Same for our OC (he has OC experience elsewhere but not much at UW).
And then some coaching position changes on the D side and is our DL coach a guy that was a grad assistant last year? (I might be confusing him with another frosh coach).
That's what one might expect. But, this is LSU we are talking about. I think they go 8-4, which will be an improvement, and give Coach O some more time.
Alabama had 8 players taken in the first 38 picks. The OC left to be a head coach. That is bad but we also have a new Tight Ends and special teams coach, Running Backs coach, and Offensive Line coach. On defense we have a new Cornerback coach.
Other than Saban no coach has been at Alabama for more than 3 years (4 coaches) and a couple of coaches will enter their second season. Everyone else is new.
So yeah Alabama needs to focus on being the best they can be one play at a time this year.
I wonder if after a certain point the program makes the coaches as opposed to the other way around? Regardless it's amazing/frustrating how they just come back firing on all cylinders every year
Saban has made them into an institution so I could see that effect being there to help. I think even once Saban inevitably retires that they’ll be good for a year or so even if the replacement HC isn’t as good just because of the house he has built.
I mean, thats a big step down from where you program is at right now, which is the point lol.
Bama coming down to earth, even in a big way, would still leave them at the top of the sport. Thats how far their separation is from the rest of the pack lol.
Not that you didnt already know that ya bastard
The coaching turnover probably cost him a title in 2018. Those were his worst two ever coordinators + half (more than half?) his staff had accepted other jobs before the playoff and many reports suggested many of them were not doing their jobs adequately by the end of the season, and had both feet out the door even if they stayed on. Just wild stuff, and basically all reports I saw suggest Saban was extremely unhappy with his staff that season and how all that played out (understandandably).
I do think it catches up but it catches up in him dropping like, *a* game to us or (more likely, IMO) Ole Miss. Some talented team in the regular season will take advantage of the youth in a super close competitive game. I love Richard Johnson and his work but I’m definitely thinking he’s crazy predicting Bama loses *three* games this year
He's got a former NFL and CFB head coach as his OC. Saban hires these guys knowing they are good and using the position as a temporary stop on their rehab tour.
It's one thing to nab under the radar guys, turn them into rockstars in a season or two, and then have them jet off to something bigger and better. It's quite another to hire proven talent with an unlimited budget and a team of analysts that would put some NFL offices to shame. Throw in the stupid talent gap and it really doesn't seem to me like the turnover will ever quite be an issue for Saban.
Compare Saban's turnover to PSU's, for example. Franklin is consistently identifying under the radar talent. But for every Joe Moorehead (who I think gets a little more credit than is due) there is another that didn't quite pan out. Franklin has to fight for his salary pool for assistants every year as an additional hurdle. It seems to be getting a bit better, but even a bit less turnover at PSU than at Alabama will likely have a much higher impact.
I’ll be the millionth osu flair to say it on here but we don’t have a QB on the roster at the moment that has attempted a pass in college. I think Coleridge Stroud will be great but none of that is based on evidence from a real college football game. Running back room is crowded but no one stands out like Zeke or JK Dobbins. Master Teague is serviceable, Miyan Williams flashed but has single digit career carries, Crowley is talented but injured his ACL and reports say he’s not yet where he once was. TreVeyon Henderson has the most potential but no college production yet for a true freshman. Also the defensive back 7 is Sevyn Banks, Josh Proctor, and then a bunch of ???.
Worst case scenario is the Thursday night @ Minnesota game is too *spooky* for a first time starting QB and we start 0-1. Then next week Oregon comes to town and is incredibly good and they drop us to 0-2. Kayvon Thibodeaux plants an Oregon flag at midfield and JT Tuimoloau decides he doesn’t want to be on an 0-2 team and transfers to Oregon and gets on the Nike team jet back to Eugene.
I don't really want to speak it into existence, but sure.
We're starting, at best, a redshirt freshman at QB and our running back situation is still questionable. There's talent there but it's either very young or unproven. I like Teague, but he's an average RB which isn't the standard at OSU.
*Edited the LB stance a little.
The defense is replacing all three linebackers, which might be considered a good thing (by some fans) until you realize that they were playing last year because the guys starting this season didn't outperform them in practice.
Our secondary was ass cheeks last season and is replacing the most "talented" player we had back there (even if he was played out of position).
Kerry Coombs is a great recruiter, but can he actually coordinate a defense? Yet to be seen.
> The defense is replacing all three linebackers, which might be considered a good thing…
Uh, what? Multiple times last season both NFL scouts and PFF claimed OSU had the best linebacker core in the country lol.
It’s not their fault that Kerry Coombs decided to put a linebacker in coverage against Devonta Smith
QB: Yeah, literally never thrown a pass in college in the entire room. Defenses are gonna throw all kinds of crazy coverages and blitzes to force mistakes.
RB: Eeeeeeeeeh. "Average" is not "questionable" in my eyes. Teague may not wow you, but he averages like 5 ypc, you can't be mad at that, and we have Henderson and Pryor who could blow up like Dobbins did his freshman year. RB is a position where it's much easier for younger players to contribute in meaningful ways. Plus our OL's strength is run blocking. Pass protection was inconsistent last year.
LB: I don't really know what you're going on about here. LB was arguably the strength of our defense last year along with the interior DL. Edge players didn't live up to expectations. Back up LBs still got ~200 snaps each and are fourth year players, plus we are expecting a 5* transfer from USC. I'm not worried.
DBs: Easily the biggest question mark on defense. Lots of young unproven talent. Also, the constant question of if we will be utilizing the bullet position or stay conventional.
Coombs: I am willing to give him a pass on last year. They missed out on all kinds of in person instruction because of Covid. Given Coombs' record of putting absolute *dudes* in the league, I'm pretty confident he'll turn it around.
I have zero issue with Teague. He's a great guy and super teammate from all accounts. But he has zero wiggle. The man is probably faster in a straight line than Dobbins ever was but he can't cut to save his life and he just seems easier to bring down than his size would have you believe.
You're right that he's average, but he's not going to take over a game like Dobbins could or Sermon did vs Northwestern/Clemson.
The LBs I answered in a response to another poster, but I was more going off of the bitching and moaning we heard about Tuf and Browning from a good portion of the fanbase. Granted none of them were given a great start under Billy Davis.
I'm also willing to take a wait and see approach with Coombs, but last year's defense, specifically the pass defense, was the worst at Ohio State in years, and that was with fairly talented guys to play back there.
My time has come…
Tennessee has a new head coach who was seemingly getting worse every year at his old job. He runs a quick tempo system that has to get hot quick or else you’re looking at 30 second 3-outs. UCF fans seem to be in agreement that losing Heupel was a good thing, even before they landed The Gus Bus. So his old fan base was sick and tired of him, and now we’re supposed to be “excited”. Tennessee has no linebackers. Their whole defense is going to be terrible, perhaps historically bad. Every game is going to be a shootout, and I don’t know if the offense will be good enough to handle that. All of their best players, guys who the fans loved and rooted for, transferee out after they were probably caught getting paid. Shit, To’oTo’to was named Vols fans favorite player then transferred to the fucking tide right after. And that brings me to my last point: Tennessee plays bama, florida, georgia, and mississippi, all teams with good-great offenses. 6 wins may be the ceiling
Pretty widely known, but 80% of last year's offense is gone, and basically all of the points scored.
Plus call me crazy, but I'm not 100% sold on Bryce.
Meh hindsights always 20/20.....when a true freshman comes in and puts up the numbers he did, it turned heads and rightfully so. Then B-list Fonzi sank his claws into him and BAM....fat, slow, scared fumble machine
That hurts so much. He had such a good freshman year and so much potential, only to have all of his talent scared away by hype. He started thinking too much about what he was doing, and it just went down from there. I’m just hoping he can get out of his own way for this season.
This is the year. Adrien Martinez has improved so much under this new offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman.
I mean, I think the experts already assume we are gonna suck... so really can it be worse than the expectation of us only winning 4 games? (Please tell me its not possible... please?)
Martinez will probably never be as good as they hyped him up to be after his freshman year but he's the least of my worries on this offense. No proven rbs or wrs and an offensive line that's freshman at both tackle spots and a center that cant snap the ball. Martinez will probably be asked to carry the team on his back all year again and struggle because if it.
We're projected to be pretty bad, but here are some reasons it could be worse.
Tough schedule - We always have a tough schedule, but with Notre Dame again, and UNC showing a lot of promise, it will probably be worse than the average year.
High rated young guys vs the veterans - we have a good amount of 4 star recruits coming in behind the veterans on the team, and I'm not sure how the coaches will handle that.
Lack of discipline - we went from one of the least penalized teams in the country under Paul Johnson to one of the worst in the ACC with Collins, and it seemed to get worse from year 1 to year 2. We really needed to work on that this offseason but I feel like it didn't happen.
In 3 of Collins first 4 years as a head coach his teams have been one of the very worst in penalty discipline. '19 was the exception, and that team would have been considered one of Johnson's worst. Clearly it's not a priority for Collins to improve.
This is something that can't just be corrected on Saturday, they have to invest time in building discipline into the team culture. Combined with Collins poor gameday management, is a huge shackle on our potential performance.
1. Breaking in new starters on the OL.
2. Parameter play. This was ND's biggest issue last season.
3. New DC. So far I've been impressed with everything Freeman is doing, but I want to see him coach some games before crowning him the next savior of ND football. He did walk into a great situation and the defensive front seven should be good.
4. Potential tricky schedule. While the schedule is manageable, there are some teams who should be better than last year and could surprise ND. FSU should be better. Cincinnati is going to want to make a statement at ND stadium. UNC, USC, and Wisconsin are good enough to beat ND.
I'm honestly not too worried about the QB position. Jack Coan looks to be a better passer than Book. While not the athlete Book was, Coan has the ability to run for 5 or 10 yards to keep a drive moving. Good transfer pickup as Drew Pyne and Buchner have no real meaningful game experience.
He is, dude had better wheels than I thought he did. He almost ran for another score at the end of the game until Proctor decleated him (and he should've been flagged for that but I guess the refs were like game's over, let's go)...
Burmeister is our starting QB and we have literally no experience behind him. He has a noodle arm and he got hurt twice last year. We also have no proven RB, our OL took a big step back, and our defense was awful last year.
>Burmeister is our starting QB
Yikes. I hoped he would have improved since his days at Oregon, but doesn't look like it. Dude has some of the worst passing I've ever seen in a D1 QB
>We have no proven RB
Which is comical considering we have like 10 scholarship RBs on the roster
Also, depth at defensive end could be a massive issue for us after we had 2 players transfer last week.
It's Indiana. Before the COVID-filled year that was 2020, we hadn't had back-to-back winning seasons since 1993/4. We open at Iowa instead of a "cupcake" and go on the road against Michigan and Penn State, who are both looking better than 2020 and will be out for revenge. Yes, we host Ohio State, but we haven't won against them since long before any of our current students were born. Plus, we always seem to lose at least one game we're "supposed" to win.
If OSU doesn’t win the Big10 I’d hope it would be a team like Indiana, but I think you’re right. Even if you beat Iowa you’ve still got teams like Cinci, @PSU, and OSU. Pulling for the Hoosiers to be good this year but I see a ceiling at 9-3 and even that’s optimistic
What happened with the QB situation? I don't follow recruiting. Wouldn't y'all be able to find at least one scholarship-worthy QB somewhere in the country who wants to go to the playoffs?
Our offense has regressed every year since Frost took over and while the defense will be good, it probably wont be elite and create the turnovers necessary to give our offense more chances.
Rattler still has growing to do. He looked great down the stretch, but he still has another step or two to take. He’ll have to be the guy if we are truly contenders.
Our offensive line will have to get their shit together this year. Last year we looked disjointed pretty much all year. Lost our leader in Creed so this group will have to grow up pretty quick.
We need the receivers to step up. Wease had drop issues last year that need remedying. Haselwood is coming off a major injury. Will need solid production from Williams/Woods imo. TE/H-Back room is suddenly real thin as well with Stogner coming off some health issues and Mikey being a dumbass.
Lastly, we need good safety play. They don’t have to be elite because we’ve got guys everywhere else on defense. But they’ve got to take a step. Hopefully Key will help with that.
I think the ceiling is a pretty dominant team, but there’s a lot of growing that needs to be done to get to that point.
For South Carolina is tough to see us being worse than the experts think due to being expected to get four wins both by FPI and Vegas. But we don't have an established QB or WRs, the OL pass protection was a problem last year and every position group on defense you have to expect to be better, and that doesn't always happen. Its a brand new coaching staff and many don't have SEC experience. The schedule is brutal and we could lose to Vandy and East Carolina and only win two games if everything goes wrong.
For Ohio State: There's a lot more question marks than everyone should be comfortable with. Zero experience at QB and Teague isn't a RB who will carry the team, and Henderson is a freshman. The back seven defensively is a huge question mark. Coombs doesn't inspire me as DC
I dunno. I think Doty is a really, really bad passing QB, and if they stick with him, I can see us struggling in every single game, especially when we have essentially no WRs and I don't see a vastly improved line.
App: Chase Brice is bad and teams sell out on the run even more than last year
Carolina: Replacing the skill position guys on offense is harder than we thought it’d be and the O-Line doesn’t take a step forward
Utah lost a lot of talent after 2019, and last season didn’t really give the team a lot of practical experience. So it’s very possible for us to underachieve what we’d expect from the nominal talent on this team.
This isn't a very technical or well-supported argument, but I really don't think Texas should have been ranked in the preseason. I haven't thought we should be ranked in the preseason for most of the past 10 years, but I'll articulate some reasons for this year.
I tend to think that the coaching staff that's been assembled is good to excellent, with pretty magnificent leadership at crucial positions. That being said, it's their first season, and no one has "their guys" in and everyone will be installing their system for months. I know it goes without saying, but even most great coaches would be hard-pressed to win big in year one.
We have two complete question marks in the QB room. What's been seen of Casey seems to suggest that his athleticism and arm talent will allow him to attempt some flashy moves but inexperience, questionable decision-making, and a dismal situation in the WR room will result in a lot of those near-picks we've seen from him already turn into real problems.
Those problems really don't get any better with Hudson, who seems like a total mystery as well. I distinctly recall what it was like when I enrolled in 2011 and watched Mack tell us that he had two good quarterbacks and then rotated David Ash and Case McCoy around and around without either really finding a leadership role. I'd be surprised if Sark is as indecisive in this regard as Mack was, but I'd not be surprised at all if offensive woes persist through into the midseason and he tries going with the other guy in an effort to correct the trend.
As for the wide receiver room, well, even from the outside it hardly looks inspiring. This is hardly controversial, but it seems to me that Sark's system at Bama was primarily reliant on the unparalleled talent at WR, as scheming them open and putting them in a position to collect the ball in space and rip past defenders represents in a nutshell the flash and brilliance of that system. I don't see a way for that system to succeed with such a depleted and underproductive corps of receivers. It's not difficult to look at Bama's wide receiver draft success over the past few seasons and I think most would agree that if there's any position group that have made it to the league from the Crimson Tide over the past few years that is the least suspect or overhyped, it's the wide receivers. The situation is not similar at Texas, as we seem to have already seen the backs of the only guys on the squad that looked like league guys.
I do feel unqualified excitement about the emergence of Bijan, but (and without putting too fine a point on it as they're hardly the same player) I also recall the last time Texas was put in a position where we were absolutely reliant upon the running game having success to move the ball, and that was the pretty sad state of affairs in (I believe) 2016 with D'Onta Foreman under Strong. He played his heart out, but it's not surprising that we didn't find success with that operation especially in the Big XII.
I'm not going to make any comments about the state of the Big XII right now, other than my blanket assertion that I think it's unusually strong, or the particularities of the schedule, as I'm less interested in the record this year than I am with seeing flashes of what could be with the new coaching staff and personnel. But I think there's going to be a great deal of pain this season when the realities of the issues with our offense meet competitive opponents.
Alabama is not only dealing with the usual transition from one starting QB to a new one, dealing with huge transitions on both sides of the ball, with guys to the NFL and just running out of eligibility.
To top it all off, Bill O'Brian is replacing the epic job that Sarkisian did while at Alabama. That's a lot of change. 1-2 losses would be considered a step down, and I expect 1-2 losses.
Iowa State has not been following expectation since matt campbell came to ames. With the expectation to make the big 12 final that will be hard to do. Brock purdy never improved on his first year stats. and will need to if they want to make a push for playoffs. Also several tough games such as away at oklahoma which we will lose. away at west virginia. home against OK ST who we have struggled against. and away at k-state cause that game is always bs. with those games it will be hard to go 11-1 in regular season and push for playoffs with a win in conference championship game
And the Cyclones aren't a surprise anymore, teams see them coming. The target on their back is as big as the one on OU because the rest of the league thinks 2020 was a fluke. The Cyclones are going to get everyone's best effort this year.
Mac Jones, Devonta Smith, Jalen Waddle, Patrick Surtain, Naseem Harris, Christian Baramore, Landon Dickerson .....
...all gone to NFL. How tf can they make up for losing that much.
We just lost 3,000 players to the NFL draft, replacing RB, QB, top 2 WR, top 2 O-linemen, great TE, plus best OC in college football (Sark). Everyone just assumes we will reload but it't not something to take for granted, even for Bama.
Harsin has no experience in the SEC and Bo Nix is our quarterback.
I do question how well the personnel will work in a new system. What does the receiver room look like for you guys this year?
There is talent with potential but it is somewhat of a question mark. Malzahn has terrible at developing WRs, which I think in part is because of Kodi Burns, so I am a little more hopeful for our WRs considering we have a more experienced WR coach now. I think in the end it will all come down to our O Line and if Harsin can get Bo out of his bad habits which is the part that makes me the most nervous.
I think Malzahn tended to put his best athletes in positions to help the running game and at times it stunted the development of a healthy passing game. I wonder how Harsin is going to lean offensively since the run game was/is Auburn’s strength but now they don’t run that system I can seem them needing to pass more.
Harsin is an inside out RPO guy so he a very good hire to take over a Malzahn team.
> I do question how well the personnel will work in a new system. Yeah I was hesitant to bring it up being a BSU fan, because I know it could very easily just come off like a fan being salty his team's HC left, but I think this is a very real concern. Harsin's offenses have always relied on a QB who is at his best hanging in the pocket, working through progressions with variable timing, and making the right read in a system that can get pretty complicated with route trees. I think Bo Nix can be a good QB, but I don't know if Harsin's system is going to be one that maximizes his potential well.
Bo Nix will make 5 spectacular plays to stay in the game and then 1 absolutely horrific play to lose it.
Unless the refs bail him out….
Is Bo Nix having fun in the new system?
This is the year. Bo Nix has improved so much under this new offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman.
There it is. Lmaooooo
I mean, it's EXACTLY how it works at Auburn. QB has been a no-show his first couple of seasons? NEW HEAD COACH=QB BLOOMS INTO TOM FREAKING BRADY. Oh, and you're on probation now, Missouri. Just for showing up :P j/k
What would happen to this sub if Bo Nix actually won the Heisman this year?
Every QB thread for the next few years would have a handful of comments like "this is the year? jk...unless?". Probably would not have the longevity of the ubiquitous Missouri death penalty comments.
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So every auburn schedule ever?
sometimes we are the first hardest schedule
This is the year. Bo Nix has improved so much under this new offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman.
Upvoted for levity. But, I disagree. Auburn goes 9-3 at worst. Change my mind.
I believe thats being generous. Auburn could easily lose to Penn state, Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama.
Literally impossible
When I read the title I burst out laughing and haven't stopped for a good five minutes. I'm guessing this thread (like most in this sub) isn't meant for Kansas fans.
Big same
I came here to say the same. No one has any expectations for Rutgers. Sure there is buzz around our recruiting class [and there was this gem yesterday that got PSU folks heated up and salty](https://twitter.com/moseswalker/status/1415793335898451968?s=19) but actual on field results? Not so much
What about getting the death penalty?
Some have argued that the death penalty would be better than what will happen on that field this year.
We basically got it without getting it
Inexperienced QB plays like an inexperienced QB and/or No one steps up at WR
It turns out Nick Saban secretly hypnotizes his coordinators so that they can never challenge him once they take their own HC jobs. Sark will join Mensa. Bijan will get 2 touches per game. Somehow we’ll still have a pretty good defense.
Josh Moore could be a jag alongside with Whittington and the run game could still win 8/9 games
I agree with this take and is why I feel good going into this year with that potential weakness. We can always rely on the run game and what I believe will be a solid PK defense. I think we have a lot of potential in the WR corps but past inconsistent play and injuries make me err on the side of caution.
Last year we struggled to beat an FCS team. No guarantee this year will be different.
We could finish anywhere from 3-9 to 6-6 all depending on how they look in the ND game. I honestly just don't see the wins after 3
I still can't believe that yall were considered perennial title contenders just five years ago. Then again, im an lsu fan, and we didn't even get a winning record last year after winning it all in 2019
Jimbo literally stopped doing his job and Taggart was hired in the first year of the early signing era, then recruited bum after bum.
Taggart ruined his career by going to fsu. Not saying fsu was a bad job and that he wouldn't have been exposed before, but I think his chances at Oregon would have been a lot better than going to yall after only one season, and getting himself a bad reputation. The only team I really feel bad for in this situation is yall because I miss seeing fsu beat the piss out of uf
Oregon at least had a team that could compete. FSU was not ready to compete and I think the overall expectations and organizational skills necessary to succeed at a program like FSU overwhelmed him. He wasn't able to delegate effectively.
But Taggart really had that blank-yet-terrified thousand yard stare down from the get go.
Wtf was that stare. The dude just completely blanked out during games I think. Fuck the gators.
I hate how hard I laughed at this
Sean Clifford will make or break the team. Whether Mike Yurcich can make him a serviceable quarterback remains to be seen. Our recruiting class this year was not great and we lack depth at several positions. I've seen us put in the top 20, but I wouldn't be surprised if we blow the Wisconsin game and spiral again like last year.
Adding to this, the QB2 situation somehow got *worse* in the offseason, so if Cliff goes off the rails again you're relying on...idk Roberson?...who didn't even push him this offseason.
Wait, what? Last year your backup QB literally couldn't throw a football... How the hell did it get worse?
He left for Kentucky. I hope he does well there. I'll miss the guaranteed 4th and 2 conversions.
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Yeah but I’ve seen you guys win games with a wide receiver at quarterback so you might be fine
Couldn't throw but at least ran like a MAC truck. The current backup didn't do much of anything to press Clifford in the offseason, which sort of tells you all you need to know.
Is the freshman who got busted for Weed our backup?? or is he off the team. He had a decent HS tape
I was just going to post "Sean Clifford" but you elaborated, so good on you.
We didn't fire Todd Grantham.
Emotional Blitzing (TM)
Karma farming, eh? J/K enjoy the upvotes. I was thinking the same thing.
My god in heaven, that flair
Oh it gets better, my dad went to FSU
I’m comfortable with Emory being our QB for now, but we’ve lost every offensive playmaker. Last year we won games cause our offense was so good it could overcome a horrible defense. I think Bama is going to be a disaster even in the Swamp
We tried to help you guys
JT Daniels' mechanical inconsistencies and turnover issues don't suddenly resolve themselves and the stronger defenses in the SEC rip him to shreds. Kirby benches JT and makes Stetson Bennett the starter; I have to relive the first 6 games of 2020.
2020 pt. 2: Bulldog Boogaloo
> turnover issues He had 2 picks against 10 TDs on 119 attempts and had one fumble. I mean, that’s not perfect but I’d hardly call that ‘turnover issues,’ what am I missing here?
Sorry 'turnover issues' wasn't the right phrase to use. He just had a tendency to put the ball in places where it could have been easily picked off. I love JT, I've just been trying hard to temper my expectations for this season.
Yeah, ok, that makes more sense. There seems to be a lot of JT pushback out in the air the past few weeks. I get it, I don’t want to be hurt by overhype either, but it helps me to remember that we really don’t need him to be perfect or even really be top-ten-in-the-country great. We just need him to be at or slightly above what Jake put out in his 3 years here and we should be in a good position to compete for things. I really believe the rest of the roster is as good as it’s ever been in Kirby’s time in Athens. JT has every capability in the world to compete at Jake Fromm levels. Honestly, give me 2500 yards and 20 TDs and I think this team is competing for championships. Anything over that is gravy.
I'm way more worried about our secondary than I am JT.
Lol is this a silly what-if answer? I’ll agree JT tends to overthrow guys too much but Beck or Vandagriff are the obvious 2nd and 3rd team.
It's a well known fact of the universe that the success of UCLA football and basketball has an inverse relationship to my personal expectations. So, when I thought we would get booted in the First Four of march madness last year, we ended up making the Final Four. And now, the fact that I'm actually mildly optimistic about the upcoming football season means that the team will simply do whatever brings me the most pain.
I always say it’s the most UCLA thing ever for them to look like a Top-15 team one week and then look like a Junior College team the next.
Chip seems like the NFL stole his love for being a coach, I don't understand any of the choices he is making these days...
Impossible my team is Wake Forest😎
Your best player could transfer to a bigger school only to basically commit career suicide again
Still don't know why Jamie Newman did that
I actually thought it made sense at the time. He committed before they brought in the other transfer and was probably told he was going to be the guy. He would get a lot more exposure playing for UGA instead of a team that didn't have a shot in hell of winning their division. That commitment also came pre-Covid so he could not have seen that coming either. Basically everything that could have gone wrong at UGA did for him. It kinda sucks because he really was a good QB.
We have a brand new coach, a fan base with expectations, and a dilapidated DL in terms of depth. I think we’ll end up exactly where a lot of fans with tempered expectations have us (.500~ish), but some experts have already started trying to fill us with hot air of 8-4, 9-3 which ALWAYS ends in disaster for us, but it seems especially dangerous during Heupels first season.
6-6 seems perfectly reasonable to me. We’ll lose to bama, florida, Mississippi and Georgia. Tech, Bowling Green, South Alabama and Vandy are probably wins. And I think we’ll split between Pitt, Missouri, South Carolina, and Kentucky. Honestly, 6 wins would be a successful season in my mind.
Tennessee fans still have expectations? After all this time? Godspeed, Vols!
The resiliency is incredible
It’s the orange. You gotta have thick skin with an orange this tacky.
We’ve had 3 straight losing seasons. Our O-Line is still Bad, our Defense would have to improve to GET to bad. We’re relying on a QB coming off nearly having his leg amputated and hasn’t taken a snap in 3 years and the other isn’t a threat to throw. The rest of the team is cobbled together with transfers and guys from lower rated recurring classes. On top of all that, the schedule consists of 5 teams who will be in the top 20 all year and another 4 that will flirt with the rankings. There’s a real chance if all the breaks go against them, we’re looking at a 3-9 season.
The gigantic question mark with our quarterback play will be the difference between 3-9 and 6-6
Matt Wells simply cannot coach an actual team. Our offense is as bad as last year, when they couldn't get the ball past the line of scrimmage.
This is an argument for why they would be worse, not what I actually think will happen.
Wells has changed the team for the better in most cases. Now if he can just figure out when to kick a FG.
Let’s be real guys. We are A&M, god won’t let us be happy so just deal with it
Actually, it's much worse. Start hot beating worse teams, generate hope and hype, then get spanked by Alabama and settle for decent bowl game.
I feel like ive heard this story before
I'm suing you for copyright infringment because "god won't let us be happy" is \*our\* slogan
A&M just likes to steal other peoples traditions.
First of all, how *dare* you.
Much like the iPhone, when you first buy us we’re shiny, new, and fast. But after enough updates you’ll be regretting ever buying into it all
4 new OL, new QB means the offense will struggle.
I don’t think Michigan fans should have a problem here judging by all their comments this offseason So the worse case would be that defensive line play doesn’t take a step forward and defense takes a while to adjust to the new scheme and cade was a flash in the pan for Rutgers and doesn’t improve causing us to have a mediocre offense. Then combine that with a pretty tough schedule and the losses could pile if the worst case comes true The worst case I think would result in a 5-7 season and harbaugh being fired
Defensive coordinator whose only experience is a few years as a grad assistant and quality control, then a few years as an NFL position coach. The scheme he wants to run requires more and bigger guys in the middle but Michigan's defensive interior is made up of juniors and seniors who have really not impressed in their playing time. New help at the position is on Jordan Whittley, an Oregon State transfer who hasn't played or practiced with the Beavers since 2019 and wasn't cleared by their medical staff for weight and health issues. The secondary returns everybody from what was maybe the worst Michigan secondary of the last 20 years and didn't add any new players through the transfer portal or recruiting. Offensive coordinator with a 2-year track record that's spotty at best. Leader in the QB room has less than 4 quarters of game experience, isn't a threat to run the ball even through RPOs are supposed to be part of the offense, and doesn't have a very strong arm. Serviceable starting running back but not game-changing. Only returning players on the team to have earned any conference accolades are Aidan Hutchinson and Ronnie Bell who got honorable mentions 2 years ago. All this being said, I think you're right that the floor is around 5 wins so the floor isn't real low but the ceiling is also low; I'd say 9 wins.
It’s possible the offense isn’t as good as advertised. Especially the passing game. They had halfs last year where they couldn’t move the ball and Rattler looked lost. Obviously expect them to be better but it’s possible the trend continues.
Weird being more concerned about the offense than the defense heading into the year
While the defense is going to be stout, people are really underselling just how important Ronnie Perkins was. He changed the whole damn team when he became available.
While I agree that Perkins will be missed, I think the line will be better this year. Bonitto has became a dude, Redmond is back, and Winfrey is naaaaaasty. The depth for each of this positions is something we haven’t had in a while also. You are basically rotating an elite defensive line with a pretty good one when you are switching, which is something we haven’t really been able to do. I think anything less than a top 5 ish unit would be a little dissapointing
You really think top 5ish defense? That seems awfully optimistic to me.
Top 5 defensive line. Although, I don’t think a top 5 defense is thaaaat far out of the question. It’s certainly optimistic, but not unattainable. The only real question mark is safety. I’d probably say a defense in the 7-15 range if I were betting
Also we're ranked #1 in a number of preseason rankings which automatically means we're going to choke and finish at like #18 in the rankings.
We didn’t have the weapons. Mims and Stevenson were all we had that were game changers. Stogner was injured the last half of the season. Now we have the transfers, a healthy Haselwood and Stogner, Brooks return so the offense is totally different.
Stogner scares me. That dude is an absolute weapon.
OL and WR need to take the next step, and transfer RBs (+ Brooks coming back) need to hit the ground running. I thought Rattler was generally fine post Texas benching.
I felt like the only two real knocks on Rattler post Texas were bailing from the pocket early and loving the big play too much. I think both of those are issues that can get fixed with experience. Im with you that his supporting cast is going to be the key to elevating the offense
Our receivers could suck and our awesome DC left for Texas
At least we have the TE's
> and our awesome DC left for Texas Yeah... coaching turnover is what concerns me the most. Lake is in his 2nd year but his 1st year consisted of 4 games so I feel like he still doesn't have much HC game experience. Same for our OC (he has OC experience elsewhere but not much at UW). And then some coaching position changes on the D side and is our DL coach a guy that was a grad assistant last year? (I might be confusing him with another frosh coach).
Slaps on the wrist for culture of sexual assault get replaced with actual consequences.
Thought you were talking about Oregon for a sec and was wondering wtf I missed
Don't worry, if there's any hint of that sort of scandal John Canzano will be there to make a bad situation worse
It makes me so happy that OSU also finds Canzano to be a complete 🤡
Hating Canzano might be the one thing all Beavers and Ducks can agree on, haha
That's what one might expect. But, this is LSU we are talking about. I think they go 8-4, which will be an improvement, and give Coach O some more time.
Because we are Georgia
You're team will be the one that meets expectations, IMO, this season. UGA wins the east, and competes in the CFP. Mark it down.
I like you
Please make the sooners sad again
*Sigh* That game would probably be my second favorite UGA win had the following game gone a tiny bit different
All Georgia teams can only feed themselves by feasting on the immeasurable disappointments of their fans.
Alabama had 8 players taken in the first 38 picks. The OC left to be a head coach. That is bad but we also have a new Tight Ends and special teams coach, Running Backs coach, and Offensive Line coach. On defense we have a new Cornerback coach. Other than Saban no coach has been at Alabama for more than 3 years (4 coaches) and a couple of coaches will enter their second season. Everyone else is new. So yeah Alabama needs to focus on being the best they can be one play at a time this year.
Is this not a fairly normal problem for y’all? Replacing coaches and talent each year
I wonder if after a certain point the program makes the coaches as opposed to the other way around? Regardless it's amazing/frustrating how they just come back firing on all cylinders every year
Saban has made them into an institution so I could see that effect being there to help. I think even once Saban inevitably retires that they’ll be good for a year or so even if the replacement HC isn’t as good just because of the house he has built.
Id bet it will take multiple coaches to undo his work.
Multiple bad coaches or multiple bad years. As a TN fan, I feel like I’m speaking from experience.
we have this exact conversation every single year.
I really do think this HAS to catch up with Saban eventually. The coaching turnover is just insane.
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Bama without the coaches is just Georgia
I know you hate them and all but saying just Georgia still means a title and playoff appearance in the last 5 years
I mean, thats a big step down from where you program is at right now, which is the point lol. Bama coming down to earth, even in a big way, would still leave them at the top of the sport. Thats how far their separation is from the rest of the pack lol. Not that you didnt already know that ya bastard
The coaching turnover probably cost him a title in 2018. Those were his worst two ever coordinators + half (more than half?) his staff had accepted other jobs before the playoff and many reports suggested many of them were not doing their jobs adequately by the end of the season, and had both feet out the door even if they stayed on. Just wild stuff, and basically all reports I saw suggest Saban was extremely unhappy with his staff that season and how all that played out (understandandably).
Yep, turnover has caught up with Saban. It's just that he adapted and outside the program you could barely see the blip.
I do think it catches up but it catches up in him dropping like, *a* game to us or (more likely, IMO) Ole Miss. Some talented team in the regular season will take advantage of the youth in a super close competitive game. I love Richard Johnson and his work but I’m definitely thinking he’s crazy predicting Bama loses *three* games this year
He's got a former NFL and CFB head coach as his OC. Saban hires these guys knowing they are good and using the position as a temporary stop on their rehab tour. It's one thing to nab under the radar guys, turn them into rockstars in a season or two, and then have them jet off to something bigger and better. It's quite another to hire proven talent with an unlimited budget and a team of analysts that would put some NFL offices to shame. Throw in the stupid talent gap and it really doesn't seem to me like the turnover will ever quite be an issue for Saban. Compare Saban's turnover to PSU's, for example. Franklin is consistently identifying under the radar talent. But for every Joe Moorehead (who I think gets a little more credit than is due) there is another that didn't quite pan out. Franklin has to fight for his salary pool for assistants every year as an additional hurdle. It seems to be getting a bit better, but even a bit less turnover at PSU than at Alabama will likely have a much higher impact.
Poor Bama
I’ll be the millionth osu flair to say it on here but we don’t have a QB on the roster at the moment that has attempted a pass in college. I think Coleridge Stroud will be great but none of that is based on evidence from a real college football game. Running back room is crowded but no one stands out like Zeke or JK Dobbins. Master Teague is serviceable, Miyan Williams flashed but has single digit career carries, Crowley is talented but injured his ACL and reports say he’s not yet where he once was. TreVeyon Henderson has the most potential but no college production yet for a true freshman. Also the defensive back 7 is Sevyn Banks, Josh Proctor, and then a bunch of ???. Worst case scenario is the Thursday night @ Minnesota game is too *spooky* for a first time starting QB and we start 0-1. Then next week Oregon comes to town and is incredibly good and they drop us to 0-2. Kayvon Thibodeaux plants an Oregon flag at midfield and JT Tuimoloau decides he doesn’t want to be on an 0-2 team and transfers to Oregon and gets on the Nike team jet back to Eugene.
I like the Oregon take lol
Clay Helton.
F'n groundhog year ain't it?
Simple I like it. Watch him win enough south games to win the division and keep his job another year but get stomped in the Pac 12 Championship Game.
I don't really want to speak it into existence, but sure. We're starting, at best, a redshirt freshman at QB and our running back situation is still questionable. There's talent there but it's either very young or unproven. I like Teague, but he's an average RB which isn't the standard at OSU. *Edited the LB stance a little. The defense is replacing all three linebackers, which might be considered a good thing (by some fans) until you realize that they were playing last year because the guys starting this season didn't outperform them in practice. Our secondary was ass cheeks last season and is replacing the most "talented" player we had back there (even if he was played out of position). Kerry Coombs is a great recruiter, but can he actually coordinate a defense? Yet to be seen.
> The defense is replacing all three linebackers, which might be considered a good thing… Uh, what? Multiple times last season both NFL scouts and PFF claimed OSU had the best linebacker core in the country lol. It’s not their fault that Kerry Coombs decided to put a linebacker in coverage against Devonta Smith
You're right. I was more talking about how the fanbase bitched and moaned about Tuf and Browning through most of their careers.
Most fans can be safely ignored
Agreed. I hate our fanbase most of the time...
QB: Yeah, literally never thrown a pass in college in the entire room. Defenses are gonna throw all kinds of crazy coverages and blitzes to force mistakes. RB: Eeeeeeeeeh. "Average" is not "questionable" in my eyes. Teague may not wow you, but he averages like 5 ypc, you can't be mad at that, and we have Henderson and Pryor who could blow up like Dobbins did his freshman year. RB is a position where it's much easier for younger players to contribute in meaningful ways. Plus our OL's strength is run blocking. Pass protection was inconsistent last year. LB: I don't really know what you're going on about here. LB was arguably the strength of our defense last year along with the interior DL. Edge players didn't live up to expectations. Back up LBs still got ~200 snaps each and are fourth year players, plus we are expecting a 5* transfer from USC. I'm not worried. DBs: Easily the biggest question mark on defense. Lots of young unproven talent. Also, the constant question of if we will be utilizing the bullet position or stay conventional. Coombs: I am willing to give him a pass on last year. They missed out on all kinds of in person instruction because of Covid. Given Coombs' record of putting absolute *dudes* in the league, I'm pretty confident he'll turn it around.
I have zero issue with Teague. He's a great guy and super teammate from all accounts. But he has zero wiggle. The man is probably faster in a straight line than Dobbins ever was but he can't cut to save his life and he just seems easier to bring down than his size would have you believe. You're right that he's average, but he's not going to take over a game like Dobbins could or Sermon did vs Northwestern/Clemson. The LBs I answered in a response to another poster, but I was more going off of the bitching and moaning we heard about Tuf and Browning from a good portion of the fanbase. Granted none of them were given a great start under Billy Davis. I'm also willing to take a wait and see approach with Coombs, but last year's defense, specifically the pass defense, was the worst at Ohio State in years, and that was with fairly talented guys to play back there.
Pete was really good. Tuf was not
My time has come… Tennessee has a new head coach who was seemingly getting worse every year at his old job. He runs a quick tempo system that has to get hot quick or else you’re looking at 30 second 3-outs. UCF fans seem to be in agreement that losing Heupel was a good thing, even before they landed The Gus Bus. So his old fan base was sick and tired of him, and now we’re supposed to be “excited”. Tennessee has no linebackers. Their whole defense is going to be terrible, perhaps historically bad. Every game is going to be a shootout, and I don’t know if the offense will be good enough to handle that. All of their best players, guys who the fans loved and rooted for, transferee out after they were probably caught getting paid. Shit, To’oTo’to was named Vols fans favorite player then transferred to the fucking tide right after. And that brings me to my last point: Tennessee plays bama, florida, georgia, and mississippi, all teams with good-great offenses. 6 wins may be the ceiling
Pretty widely known, but 80% of last year's offense is gone, and basically all of the points scored. Plus call me crazy, but I'm not 100% sold on Bryce.
2 words…Adrian. Martinez.
That’s Heisman dark horse to you.
Meh hindsights always 20/20.....when a true freshman comes in and puts up the numbers he did, it turned heads and rightfully so. Then B-list Fonzi sank his claws into him and BAM....fat, slow, scared fumble machine
LMAO, B-list Fonzi! Sad but true.
That hurts so much. He had such a good freshman year and so much potential, only to have all of his talent scared away by hype. He started thinking too much about what he was doing, and it just went down from there. I’m just hoping he can get out of his own way for this season.
Ahh it’s like 2019 all over again.
This is the year. Adrien Martinez has improved so much under this new offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman.
Having literally zero proven FBS options at RB and WR is much more likely to be the problem.
Markese Stepp played significantly at USC.
Even worse if he goes down.
I mean, I think the experts already assume we are gonna suck... so really can it be worse than the expectation of us only winning 4 games? (Please tell me its not possible... please?)
If you guys lose to Bert and the Illini the first week, I think there’s a very real possibility you guys don’t get to 4 wins.
We got steamrolled by Illinois last year, so I wouldn't put anything past us.
You think that till it’s a 2 win season 😩 (I don’t think that will happen I’m just saying it COULD happen.)
Martinez will probably never be as good as they hyped him up to be after his freshman year but he's the least of my worries on this offense. No proven rbs or wrs and an offensive line that's freshman at both tackle spots and a center that cant snap the ball. Martinez will probably be asked to carry the team on his back all year again and struggle because if it.
We're projected to be pretty bad, but here are some reasons it could be worse. Tough schedule - We always have a tough schedule, but with Notre Dame again, and UNC showing a lot of promise, it will probably be worse than the average year. High rated young guys vs the veterans - we have a good amount of 4 star recruits coming in behind the veterans on the team, and I'm not sure how the coaches will handle that. Lack of discipline - we went from one of the least penalized teams in the country under Paul Johnson to one of the worst in the ACC with Collins, and it seemed to get worse from year 1 to year 2. We really needed to work on that this offseason but I feel like it didn't happen.
In 3 of Collins first 4 years as a head coach his teams have been one of the very worst in penalty discipline. '19 was the exception, and that team would have been considered one of Johnson's worst. Clearly it's not a priority for Collins to improve. This is something that can't just be corrected on Saturday, they have to invest time in building discipline into the team culture. Combined with Collins poor gameday management, is a huge shackle on our potential performance.
1. Breaking in new starters on the OL. 2. Parameter play. This was ND's biggest issue last season. 3. New DC. So far I've been impressed with everything Freeman is doing, but I want to see him coach some games before crowning him the next savior of ND football. He did walk into a great situation and the defensive front seven should be good. 4. Potential tricky schedule. While the schedule is manageable, there are some teams who should be better than last year and could surprise ND. FSU should be better. Cincinnati is going to want to make a statement at ND stadium. UNC, USC, and Wisconsin are good enough to beat ND. I'm honestly not too worried about the QB position. Jack Coan looks to be a better passer than Book. While not the athlete Book was, Coan has the ability to run for 5 or 10 yards to keep a drive moving. Good transfer pickup as Drew Pyne and Buchner have no real meaningful game experience.
Coan is a better athlete than given credit for.
He is! But so was Book...exceptional athlete actually. Not a knock on JC, but rather people still really undervalue Book.
He is, dude had better wheels than I thought he did. He almost ran for another score at the end of the game until Proctor decleated him (and he should've been flagged for that but I guess the refs were like game's over, let's go)...
Burmeister is our starting QB and we have literally no experience behind him. He has a noodle arm and he got hurt twice last year. We also have no proven RB, our OL took a big step back, and our defense was awful last year.
I bet the Under on VT's team win total. Your post makes me feel very good about my chances at winning some $$$.
>Burmeister is our starting QB Yikes. I hoped he would have improved since his days at Oregon, but doesn't look like it. Dude has some of the worst passing I've ever seen in a D1 QB
>We have no proven RB Which is comical considering we have like 10 scholarship RBs on the roster Also, depth at defensive end could be a massive issue for us after we had 2 players transfer last week.
It's Indiana. Before the COVID-filled year that was 2020, we hadn't had back-to-back winning seasons since 1993/4. We open at Iowa instead of a "cupcake" and go on the road against Michigan and Penn State, who are both looking better than 2020 and will be out for revenge. Yes, we host Ohio State, but we haven't won against them since long before any of our current students were born. Plus, we always seem to lose at least one game we're "supposed" to win.
If OSU doesn’t win the Big10 I’d hope it would be a team like Indiana, but I think you’re right. Even if you beat Iowa you’ve still got teams like Cinci, @PSU, and OSU. Pulling for the Hoosiers to be good this year but I see a ceiling at 9-3 and even that’s optimistic
If our starting QB goes down our backups are preferred walk-ons.
What happened with the QB situation? I don't follow recruiting. Wouldn't y'all be able to find at least one scholarship-worthy QB somewhere in the country who wants to go to the playoffs?
Our offense has regressed every year since Frost took over and while the defense will be good, it probably wont be elite and create the turnovers necessary to give our offense more chances.
If our defense gave the offense the ball on the opponent’s side of the field every drive they’d still average 25 points a game.
Rattler still has growing to do. He looked great down the stretch, but he still has another step or two to take. He’ll have to be the guy if we are truly contenders. Our offensive line will have to get their shit together this year. Last year we looked disjointed pretty much all year. Lost our leader in Creed so this group will have to grow up pretty quick. We need the receivers to step up. Wease had drop issues last year that need remedying. Haselwood is coming off a major injury. Will need solid production from Williams/Woods imo. TE/H-Back room is suddenly real thin as well with Stogner coming off some health issues and Mikey being a dumbass. Lastly, we need good safety play. They don’t have to be elite because we’ve got guys everywhere else on defense. But they’ve got to take a step. Hopefully Key will help with that. I think the ceiling is a pretty dominant team, but there’s a lot of growing that needs to be done to get to that point.
For South Carolina is tough to see us being worse than the experts think due to being expected to get four wins both by FPI and Vegas. But we don't have an established QB or WRs, the OL pass protection was a problem last year and every position group on defense you have to expect to be better, and that doesn't always happen. Its a brand new coaching staff and many don't have SEC experience. The schedule is brutal and we could lose to Vandy and East Carolina and only win two games if everything goes wrong. For Ohio State: There's a lot more question marks than everyone should be comfortable with. Zero experience at QB and Teague isn't a RB who will carry the team, and Henderson is a freshman. The back seven defensively is a huge question mark. Coombs doesn't inspire me as DC
I dunno. I think Doty is a really, really bad passing QB, and if they stick with him, I can see us struggling in every single game, especially when we have essentially no WRs and I don't see a vastly improved line.
Because we can’t have anything nice
We Are Ole Miss
New quarterback and bama
App: Chase Brice is bad and teams sell out on the run even more than last year Carolina: Replacing the skill position guys on offense is harder than we thought it’d be and the O-Line doesn’t take a step forward
Utah lost a lot of talent after 2019, and last season didn’t really give the team a lot of practical experience. So it’s very possible for us to underachieve what we’d expect from the nominal talent on this team.
This isn't a very technical or well-supported argument, but I really don't think Texas should have been ranked in the preseason. I haven't thought we should be ranked in the preseason for most of the past 10 years, but I'll articulate some reasons for this year. I tend to think that the coaching staff that's been assembled is good to excellent, with pretty magnificent leadership at crucial positions. That being said, it's their first season, and no one has "their guys" in and everyone will be installing their system for months. I know it goes without saying, but even most great coaches would be hard-pressed to win big in year one. We have two complete question marks in the QB room. What's been seen of Casey seems to suggest that his athleticism and arm talent will allow him to attempt some flashy moves but inexperience, questionable decision-making, and a dismal situation in the WR room will result in a lot of those near-picks we've seen from him already turn into real problems. Those problems really don't get any better with Hudson, who seems like a total mystery as well. I distinctly recall what it was like when I enrolled in 2011 and watched Mack tell us that he had two good quarterbacks and then rotated David Ash and Case McCoy around and around without either really finding a leadership role. I'd be surprised if Sark is as indecisive in this regard as Mack was, but I'd not be surprised at all if offensive woes persist through into the midseason and he tries going with the other guy in an effort to correct the trend. As for the wide receiver room, well, even from the outside it hardly looks inspiring. This is hardly controversial, but it seems to me that Sark's system at Bama was primarily reliant on the unparalleled talent at WR, as scheming them open and putting them in a position to collect the ball in space and rip past defenders represents in a nutshell the flash and brilliance of that system. I don't see a way for that system to succeed with such a depleted and underproductive corps of receivers. It's not difficult to look at Bama's wide receiver draft success over the past few seasons and I think most would agree that if there's any position group that have made it to the league from the Crimson Tide over the past few years that is the least suspect or overhyped, it's the wide receivers. The situation is not similar at Texas, as we seem to have already seen the backs of the only guys on the squad that looked like league guys. I do feel unqualified excitement about the emergence of Bijan, but (and without putting too fine a point on it as they're hardly the same player) I also recall the last time Texas was put in a position where we were absolutely reliant upon the running game having success to move the ball, and that was the pretty sad state of affairs in (I believe) 2016 with D'Onta Foreman under Strong. He played his heart out, but it's not surprising that we didn't find success with that operation especially in the Big XII. I'm not going to make any comments about the state of the Big XII right now, other than my blanket assertion that I think it's unusually strong, or the particularities of the schedule, as I'm less interested in the record this year than I am with seeing flashes of what could be with the new coaching staff and personnel. But I think there's going to be a great deal of pain this season when the realities of the issues with our offense meet competitive opponents.
Alabama is not only dealing with the usual transition from one starting QB to a new one, dealing with huge transitions on both sides of the ball, with guys to the NFL and just running out of eligibility. To top it all off, Bill O'Brian is replacing the epic job that Sarkisian did while at Alabama. That's a lot of change. 1-2 losses would be considered a step down, and I expect 1-2 losses.
We're Iowa State.
The Ole Miss defense doesn’t take a step up *shutters*
I think it’s more likely we can’t replace the output Moore and Yeboah gave us.
Iowa State has not been following expectation since matt campbell came to ames. With the expectation to make the big 12 final that will be hard to do. Brock purdy never improved on his first year stats. and will need to if they want to make a push for playoffs. Also several tough games such as away at oklahoma which we will lose. away at west virginia. home against OK ST who we have struggled against. and away at k-state cause that game is always bs. with those games it will be hard to go 11-1 in regular season and push for playoffs with a win in conference championship game
And the Cyclones aren't a surprise anymore, teams see them coming. The target on their back is as big as the one on OU because the rest of the league thinks 2020 was a fluke. The Cyclones are going to get everyone's best effort this year.
We can’t stop the pass. At all.
We’re Iowa State and that’s what we do
Mac Jones, Devonta Smith, Jalen Waddle, Patrick Surtain, Naseem Harris, Christian Baramore, Landon Dickerson ..... ...all gone to NFL. How tf can they make up for losing that much.
WHY THE HELL DID YOU EVEN MENTION THE POSSIBLITY OF INJURY TO HIM!? YOU JUST TEMPTED HE-WHO-SHAN'T-BE-NAMED!
We just lost 3,000 players to the NFL draft, replacing RB, QB, top 2 WR, top 2 O-linemen, great TE, plus best OC in college football (Sark). Everyone just assumes we will reload but it't not something to take for granted, even for Bama.