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IT IS TIME. Media days are happening or have happened (they were boring this year as far as I can tell), and my officiating clinic is right around the corner which means that we should all do predictions before the season. Last season I was so grossly wrong about my Hokies that it almost destroyed any faith I had in the coaching staff. Pruitt and the Vols on the other hand just about hit expectations from me although they did it in a super painful to watch way. Everything last fall sucked outside of I guess Labor Day night and the Friday before Thanksgiving. Hopefully this fall is a little more satisfying and less umm cringe inducing. That title game tho what a smackdown #GOACC Oh yeah we can't forget that CFB will be celebrating 150 years on the gridiron. Look out for those sweet patches on your team's jersey this year. The officials get to rock them too! Once again I will provide my feelings on the winning probability for each game (W%/L%) and then a best, expected, and worst case scenario for the team. Virginia Tech Hokies  Last year was the worst team record in over 25 years. 6-7, lost the bowl we could have won, and barely made it to post season eligibility thanks to Marshall forgetting how to be a decent team in the 15th week. Still got UVA, and we got to smoke FSU in Tally which was nice. Everything in between was mostly a nightmare. Lost to ODU should never happen, giving up 13.9 yards per play to Pitt should never happen, not stopping GT once in our game vs them is atrocious. It was the worst defense I've ever seen wear the Maroon and Orange. The offense had bright spots, but was too streaky and inconsistent throughout a game to keep a lot of our blow outs competitive. I said last year if this kinda season happened it better be a springboard. Problem is most of the decent defensive players are gone this season and it's a huge youthful mystery. The offense should be good though with lots of WR options finally and perhaps one of the RBs can finally break through. 8/31 @ Boston College (50/50) - Given how last year was, this is a toss up. Boston is never an intimidating venue, and they lost their best defensive players on the line from a year ago. I dunno it was a close game last year, if the defense is improved I'd like to trust the offense to score enough to win this. 9/7 ODU (90/10) - We shouldn't have lost this game last year, I think the team took them lightly. I don't think we will this year. They didn't finish well, and their best players are gone (although they got a couple guys who weren't happy in the Burg to join em). Losing to ODU should never happen again, I think at home, with the memory of last year they reset and stomp em. 9/14 Furman (100/0) - FCS game 1/2. Tune up boys, get the good vibes going and enjoy a lovely nooner. 9/27 Duke (60/40) - We've won 3 in a row vs Cutcliffe's Blue Devils, and without all their star power I'm not sure they'll get us at home. It's always tighter than I want with Duke though so if they can figure out some offensive weapons it could be a tough game. They're always well coached. 10/5 @ Miami (35/65) - Honestly I have no clue what to expect out of Diaz's Canes. They smoked us the last 2 years after we put a hurt on them in Fuente's first year. They don't seem to have a QB situation you trust, but there is no shortage of talent. Especially on the defensive side. They should be favored, I only hope the guys want to put a hurt on Trevon Hill for how he finished his career here before heading to Coral Gables... 10/12 Rhode Island (100/0) - FCS game 2/2. The team might need a lighter load after the prior two weeks, get that October W that means nothing and hopefully fix whatever issues we've seen so far. 10/19 UNC (60/40) - They were bad, but not actually atrocious last year. They should have beaten us and it took a bunch of lucky heroics to avoid it. Mack is back, but umm based on how Texas winded down under him I won't jump on that bandwagon yet. The new recruits won't be there till next year, until then I think we should have the edge. 11/2 @ Notre Dame (25/75) - ND played in the CFBP last year. They also blew us out in the 2nd half of the game in the Burg last year. They're more talented and currently better coached. We got them in one of their worst seasons last time we went to South Bend, I don't expect a repeat. Keep it close and I'll be pleased, but I guess you never know. 11/9 Wake Forest (60/40) - Wake is quietly turning back into a decent program you don't really want to play. I still think we have more offensive talent, their D was about as bad as ours last year so I'll give us the edge. 2 qbs means you don't really have , but it could be a really good ACC contest in November if both teams play up to what they could be. 11/16 @ GT (55/45) - If CPJ were still here this would be a book it L. Since they have a new coach who has none of the players he needs, I think they're gonna be hot trash this next fall. It would suck to get them late when they've figured a few things out, but hopefully we have too. New coach, new system, roster full of deficiencies, I'll take us (but only barely because that roster knows how to beat us). 11/23 Pitt (50/50) - They smoked us last year, but good news everyone! Their entire backfield is gone, and even with their Division Winning season they were only 1 win better than us. Basically I have no clue, but I sure don't like their coach so I hope we get this W and stay in contention for the division. I think both programs are sufficiently mediocre right now to say it's not clear who should be favored here. 11/29 @ UVA (99/1) - Okay they couldn't get their first win in 15 years against the worst VT team in 26 years. I don't give af about them being preseason favorites for the division. Their best talent has left minus their QB (who is quite good) and I just don't see them beating us this year. We can't be worse and I'm not sure they'll actually be better. gently caress the Wahoos, until they prove it this game is ours. LOCK IT 12/7 ACC Title Game (5/95) - Even if we make it here, everyone in the league is just a sacrificial lamb for Clemson. Best Outcome: 10-2/7-1 ACC - If the defense remembers how to be a VT D under Bud, and the offense finally figures out how to click the entire game I really can see us only dropping the ND game and pick your ACC contest (most likely Miami, UVA, BC). This would be probably good enough to win the division, continues the UVA streak, and hopefully helps Fuente on the recruiting trail, because it's really ugly right now. Winning helps everything! Expected Outcome: 8-4/5-3 ACC - I want to say this team can hit 9 wins without much trouble, that's my real expectation, and that's as equally likely as 8, but I'm going to hedge my bets on this one. The offense and defense are better, but not enough to hang with the few better teams on the schedule and I bet we drop a stupid one too since that hasn't changed under Fuente. Beat who we should mostly, and lose to the more talented groups. This is a treading water situation especially with the weakness of the schedule. I think this record heats his seat up a lot with the smoke around the program, and the lack of recruiting traction. It's not enough, but it won't get him fired yet. Worst Outcome: 6-6/4-4 ACC - Last year wasn't an anomaly, but an indictment of the talent brought into the program, and the coaches we've kept/hired. I can easily see the defense not growing enough and the offense continuing it's weird trend the past 2 years where it can be good, but often isn't. This happens and frankly 2020 Fuente is coaching for his job, because it's likely this includes a loss to UVA. If we lose the bowl streak and the UVA streak in the same year at UVA...loving fire his rear end, eat the buyout, and for the love of god hire a guy that can recruit and hire well. Tennessee Volunteers  Pruitt took over a dumpster fire coming off the worst season in Vols history, and almost got them to a bowl game. They missed chances in the final weeks to earn a .500 record, but it was encouraging at points. Mostly the Vols have a long way to go. Recruiting has stayed strong, and there are lots of new players that could improve the team by upgrading talent. I still think the roster is way behind a lot of the rest of the SEC, but if they can pull themselves to a bowl eligible record this season it would be huge for the team and program I think. Pruitt made some changes in the offseason which shows me he wants to win and will do what it takes to get there even if it means doing less himself. 8/31 Georgia State (65/35) - Okay so they beat Florida (if I'm remembering correctly) a few years ago. They shouldn't be able to hang, but this Vols team has a lot to prove. Nothing is a given, but I like what Pruitt has recruited to defense, and the new OC hire will be a lot more comfortable in the league. Let's start with a comfy W. 9/7 BYU (50/50) - They're better than you'd think, and I feel like it's easy to forget about them being decent as an independent these days. Bounce back season last year, and they've got a QB. With the program as it is right now, just kind of a toss up. Hopefully the summer humidity is harder on them than they'd expect and we can pull out a W late. 9/14 UT Chattanooga (95/5) - In state FCS school, should be a W and a tune up after the first 2 weeks. 9/21 @ Florida (15/85) - Florida owns us. 1 win in the last like 15 something years. Mullen has a more mature roster, so until they show they can win this one more than once in a blue moon, I'll take the Gators to win like always even if they shouldn't. 10/5 Georgia (15/85) - We have fared better vs Georgia especially in Neyland than Florida, but this team is going to be a CFBP contender again and I expect the Vols aren't close to them yet in talent or experience. Dawgs gonna roll here again. 10/12 Miss State (50/50) - Moorehead is a solid coach, but they were very one dimensional, and we've recruited better. So I look at this as a coin toss, both coaches will probably be hungry for a W in this game as it feels closer than a lot of the SEC contests they'll play in. 10/19 @ Alabama (5/95) - Hahahahahahhaa no. I mean maybe on a thin chance they forget to show up, but Saban loves smearing the Vols. Not yet. 10/26 South Carolina (50/50) - Muschamp has had this team's number, but it feels like this should be a close game that could go either way. We aren't outstanding but neither are they. 11/2 UAB (50/50) - They were in fact a very good team in their first year back from oblivion. I would like to think talent wise the Vols should still have the edge, but it's hard to trust. UAB will be very good and will likely give the Vols a run for their money, this not an easy pay day game imo. 11/9 @ Kentucky (75/25) - They were good last year, way better than us and umm still got beat. So I'll take the mojo in this series. VOLS BABY 11/23 @ Missouri (50/50) - Mizzou is a weird mystery. They are either dropping 50 on folks, or they're garbage. So toss up, they get a new QB. 11/30 Vanderbilt (50/50) - Vandy has won 3 in a row now. So a toss up I guess? Hard to say. Best Outcome 9-3/5-3 SEC - This would be a real crowd pleaser. It would mean an early win over BYU and a sweep of the OOC. It also entails only losing to the 3 most difficult teams on the schedule (Bama, Georgia, Florida) and winning all the other toss up games in the SEC. Not enough for the division, but a proof of concept Pruitt has the team headed in the right direction. Expected Outcome 7-5/4-4 SEC - I would like to think that with a seasoned QB, better O line play and some development/replacement with better talent on defense they could manage a winning record. Lose an OOC game, and split their SEC schedule to a bowl game and extra practices. This should be possible and I want to think they can at least get to here in year 2. There was a lot of promise shown at points last season (Auburn, Worst Outcome 5-7/3-5 SEC - Lose to BYU, lose to UAB, and struggle to find wins against anything other than perhaps the bottom of the barrel in the SEC. This probably looks a lot like last season, but I would hope with fewer blow outs. Keep things close and you can argue this is a step in the right direction in "the hardest conference in the country", but would still be very disappointing for Pruitt and company. Eventually he needs to turn the recruiting into something on the field, but even a 2nd bad year in a row isn't cause for panic with how Butch left the program 2 years ago. Pruitt won't feel heat until at least after his 3rd season imo. What do y'all have for your teams? Optimism springs eternal in this thread for a snap hasn't happened yet. It could be anyone (it'll prb be Clemson/Alabama again).
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Jul 26, 2019 16:12
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 With 10 wins total in the past four seasons, it's been slim pickings for the Bobcats. With new head coach Jake Spavital (West Virginia's OC from 17-18) at the helm, can things improve? Don't expect it to happen this year. at Texas A&M - 5% chance of victory vs. Wyoming - 30% at SMU - 35% vs. Georgia State - 70% vs. Nicholls State - 98% vs. ULM - 40% at Arkansas State - 15% at Louisiana - 10% vs. South Alabama - 50% vs. Troy - 30% at Appalachian State - 5% at Coastal Carolina - 45% Best case is 6-6, most likely case is 4-8, worst case is 1-11.
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Jul 26, 2019 20:07
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Texas A&M Aggies 2018-19 Record: 9-4 (5-3 SEC), finished 16th in AP Poll, 11th in S&P+ Defense: Aggies have to replace quite a bit from a front seven that was the team's primary strength last year (they were top five in rushing defense). Fortunately, there seems to be new talent in the wings, plus a lot of fresh talent in the secondary. Offense: Kellen Mond is back. He showed massive improvement last year as a true Sophomore in his first year under Fisher. If he takes another incremental step this year, he could be scary. If not, the offense should still be okay. After regressing almost every year under Sumlin, the line seems to be fine and returns a lot of experience. A lot of position talent returns, although we did lose RB Trayveon Williams and TE Jace Sternberger (Mond's favorite target) to the draft. We landed a highly-recruited new TE named Baylor Cupp. You have pretty much heard the line on the Aggies already- top 15 or even top 10 level talent, but a nightmare of a schedule that almost ensures that their record may not reflect that. Let's look at that schedule with a tiered approach: The Gimmes: Texas State (8/29), Lamar (9/14), UTSA (11/2) These are all football teams Projected Record: 3-0 The Likely Wins: Arkansas (in Arlington) (9/28), at Ole Miss (10/19), South Carolina (9/16) Should be favored in all three of these, but any are good enough to beat us if we have a bad day and they have a good one. I might be disrespecting South Carolina by not calling this one a toss-up, but I like us at home. Projected Record: 3-0 The Toss-Ups: Auburn (9/21), Mississippi State (10/26), at LSU (11/30) I could see us going anywhere from 0-3 to 2-1 against this bunch. Winning all three is asking a lot. Projected Record: 1-2 I Don't Think So, Tim: at Clemson (9/7), Alabama (10/12), at Georgia (11/23) gently caress it, I'm saying we win one of these and have something to hang our hat on going into 2020. I don't bet it's Clemson though. Projected Record: 1-2 Expected Record: 8-4 Basically a replay of last year, but maybe with a higher quality signature win than a freakshow victory over LSU (not that it wasn't tremendously gratifying). This would probably translate to a ranking in the 15-25 range. Some of the dumber fans and dumber media will gripe about an 8-4 record in comparison to Jimbo's salary, but I think most understand going in that a 10 win season is a tall order for this schedule, and that things get easier next season. Worst Case: 5-7 Jimbo's 2018 recruits fail to develop, injuries happen, the ball just doesn't bounce the Aggies' way. The fans are concerned, and rightfully so. Best Case: 10-2 Jimbo's 2018 recruits come out looking great way ahead of schedule, no injuries happen, the ball bounces the Aggies' way. The fans are massively excited for next year, and rightfully so. General Dog fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Jul 26, 2019 |
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Jul 26, 2019 20:18
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Arizona at Hawaii - L - This team came out woefully unprepared last year, not sure anything will be different. vs NAU - W - UA fans will get excited at Tate passing all over NAU's offense. vs Texas Tech - L - Lots of opportunities for Tate to run that Arizona squanders in favor of attempting to grow his passing game. vs UCLA - W - All the California players on UA treat this like their bowl game and get a home win against a UCLA team that is sometimes shaky in Tucson even when they're good. at Colorado - L - Lots of opportunities for Tate to run that Arizona squanders in favor of attempting to grow his passing game. vs Washington - L - Lots of opportunities for Tate to run that Arizona squanders in favor of attempting to grow his passing game. at USC - L - Arizona generally loses this game even when they're good. vs Oregon State - L - Lots of opportunities for Tate to run that Arizona squanders in favor of attempting to grow his passing game. at Oregon -L - Lots of opportunities for Tate to run that Arizona squanders in favor of attempting to grow his passing game. vs Utah W - Utah generally loses this game even when they're good. at Arizona State - W - Lots of opportunities for Tate to run that Arizona actually uses to get a win over a bowl-bound ASU team. 4-8
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Jul 27, 2019 08:26
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UNLV Rebels This team sucks. This team will always suck. It's BOWL OR BUST for Tony Sanchez, how will the team fare?! vs Southern Utah - W vs Arkansas State - L @ Northwestern - L (This is the game where Armani Rogers gets injured) @ Wyoming - L vs Boise State - L @ Vanderbilt - L @ Fresno State - L vs San Diego State - L @ Colorado State - L vs Hawaii - L vs San Jose State - W @ Reno - L 2 - 10 - UNLV sucks. UNLV will always suck.
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Jul 27, 2019 11:20
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Excited for GT to run the table under new head coach Geoff. I'm juiced.
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Jul 27, 2019 17:56
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Texas A&M Aggies I forget what I predicted last year, and I’m too lazy to look back. Pretty sure I predicted 7-5? Last year went about as well as one could expect. We beat good LSU, SC, and Kentucky teams. We hung with the eventual National Champions closer than anyone else on their schedule and took a few marquee wins. On the other hand, we had two boneheaded losses against Auburn and MSU—I will forever have PTSD from watching Nick Fitzgerald’s slow rear end lumbering through our secondary...good riddance. We return a lot of talent, but we also lose RB Trayveon Williams, TE Jace Sternberger, C Erik McCoy, and most of a stellar DL. 8/29 vs. Texas State W 9/7 @Clemson L 9/14 vs. Lamar W 9/21 vs. Auburn W (tossup) 9/28 vs. Arkansas W 10/12 vs. Alabama L 10/19 @Ole Miss W 10/28 vs. MSU W 11/2 vs. UTSA W 11/16 vs. Carolina L (tossup) 11/23 @Georgia L 11/30 @LSU L Best Case Scenario: 9-3 Secondary play improves drastically, offense picks up where it left off. We beat who we need to beat and then pick up one upset from Clemson, Bama, Georgia, or LSU. Ideally LSU. Realistic scenario: 7-5 Offense has trouble with consistency and establishing the run. Secondary improves little. We lose to Clemson, Bama, Georgia, and LSU. Additionally, we drop Carolina, Auburn, or one of the Mississippi schools. Worst case scenario: 5-7 Secondary remains our Achilles heel, offense takes a step back. All of the above except we drop Carolina, Auburn, AND one of the Mississippi schools. James Madison Dukes After taking NDSU down to the wire in the 2017 championships, the Dukes were expected to make another championship run under Mike Houston. Despite a promising start against NC State, Quarterback inconsistency (our starting QB had 5 interceptions in the playoff loss against Colgate), injuries, and offensive line regression made for a more difficult season than the previous two. Oh, and there was an untimely leak about our HC leaving for UNCC right before the first game of the playoffs against Colgate. Didn’t end up being true; he left for East Carolina instead. 8/31 vs. WVU W 9/7 vs. St. Francis W 9/14 vs. Morgan State W 9/21 @Chattanooga W 9/28 @Elon W (tossup) 10/5 @Stony Brook L 10/12 vs. Villanova W 10/19 @William & Mary W 10/26 vs. Towson W (tossup) 11/9 vs. New Hampshire W 11/16 vs. Richmond W (tossup) 11/23 @Rhode Island L (tossup) Best Case: 12-0, Successful playoff run Upset WVU, win out against a tough CAA schedule, get revenge on Colgate and NDSU in the playoffs. Realistic: 9-3, semifinal exit We play WVU close and drop two CAA games. Dukes go down against NDSU or some other MVFC team. Please don’t let it be Colgate. Worst case: 7-5
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Jul 29, 2019 04:00
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Oklahoma Sooners Offense: With probably the deepest receiving core in the country, a veteran quarterback in Jalen Hurts, and one of the best runningback tandems in Kennedy Brooks and Trey Sermon the offense should continue to excel. The offensive line lost 4/5 of its starters, however, Creed Humphrey is probably the best center in cfb supported by a cast of talented if inexperienced players. Still I expect the line to take a hit from last years Joe Moore awarded line. Defense: Last year this defense was dead last in passing yards per game(130th) with a very mediocre rush defense(70th). It quite literally cannot go anywhere but up. With new defensive coaches in Alex Grinch, Roy Manning, and Barry Odom I expect it to become more aggressive. The talent is there to succeed with Kenneth Murray Jr. and Neville Gallimore leading it. I think any Oklahoma fan would be happy for the defense to keep opposing offenses to less than 40 points a game. vs Houston - W vs South Dakota - W at UCLA - W vs Texas Tech - W at Kansas - W vs Texas - tossup vs West Virginia - W at Kansas State - W vs Iowa State - tossup at Baylor - W vs TCU - W at Oklahoma State - W The best case scenario is 15-0 with a national championship. While I don't think this is going to happen it will have a championship caliber offense and the potential of a vastly improved defense. At worst I see this team going 10-3. Barring catastrophic injuries I can see a loss to Texas, Iowa State, and either a bowl game or the big 12 championship game. The Most likely scenario is 12-2 with a loss in the playoffs and either Texas or Iowa State. This has been par for course the past couple years. Stanley Tucheetos fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Jul 29, 2019 |
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Jul 29, 2019 04:06
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Rutgers Scarlet Knights Offense: Fuckin'...I dunno man. We have a couple good running backs in Raheem Blackshear and Isaiah Pacheco. And uh...a couple alleged four-star recruits in one WR who has yet to do anything and our true sophomore QB who was great for giving the other team another chance. Because he's a nice guy. Real talk I shook that kid's hand in a diner in Somerset, NJ the night after the Indiana game last year. Two thoughts: he is a loving giant, and he seems like a decent human being. He needs better coaching. I mean, poo poo. Our O has been so abysmal for so long that if they finally figure out a scheme and can convince the wideouts to get open for once, we may actually have something. On paper? Decent WRs, a QB with a cannon, two actually good RBs. Our TEs are a complete mystery. Our O line is pretty terrible. But if somehow we can just catch some passes, then maybe they can make something happen. Defense: We have some potential for CBs. Maybe at safety. It's like the O. Whole bunch of maybe with nothing proving any real value. Although, they did stand up and punch a little when they were already exhausted at the end of last season, when our head coach took over the D playcalling, but showed some class in not completely marginalizing our hopeless DC. We even came close to what would have been some staggering upsets against Northwestern and Michigan State with a tired D, a useless O, and a pretty heavily demoralized team and fanbase. We even managed to have a final score against Michigan that just looks like a bad game, and not a massacre. With a huge TD run. That was fun, I remember those. Special teams (?): Our punter gets a lot of game experience, so that's pretty swell. I'm just gonna say that at this point I really hope they figure out how to play football, but I absolutely do not want to expect poo poo from this team, anymore. I figure we can probably beat UMass. So 1-11 is the basement and our HC gets fired. Maybe we also find a way to beat Liberty, and then we double last year's Ws to the tune of 2-10, and the HC better still get fired. Dream scenario follows because who wants to see me sketch out my poor team getting stomped every week: vs. UMass (W) @ Iowa (L) vs. BC (...W? It is a dream scenario so let's start the magical adventure here) @ Michigan (Hahaha oh man L) vs. Maryland (W) @ Indiana (W and still I can barely contain the laughter) vs. Minnesota (God...L?) vs. Liberty (W) @ Illinois (W, no basement for us this year, fuckers) vs tOSU (Sigh. Let's just hope we can make it a trend of not getting shut out. L) vs MSU (L) @ PSU (L) So that, anticipating absolute disaster against Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State, would still be what I figure is the absolute, unattainable ceiling. And somehow get this team bowl eligible. But we all know it'll be 1-11 and I'll probably end the season the same way I always do: feeling good for the guys when they manage to get a first down.
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Jul 29, 2019 17:42
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Oregon Ducks Last Season: Mario Cristobal took over head coaching duties after Willie "The Snake" Taggart left for more humid pastures. The Ducks went 9-4, finishing with a super exciting 7-6 victory over Michigan State in the prestigious Redbox Bowl. There were some highs and lows but overall not a season you could be too mad about. This Season: Jim Leavitt is out as DC and Andy Avalos - previously DC at Boise st. - is in. Seems like a good hire but we'll see how the defense adapts to a new system. Justin Herbert will get some Heisman and NFL Draft hype but his WR group will consist of a lot of guys who suffered from drops last year and some promising freshmen. Dillon Mitchell - by far the most productive and reliable receiver last season - chose to enter the draft. This, along with Marcus Arroyo's often criticized play-calling, will be the big question mark as to how far the offense can take this team. Schedule: Not an easy one by any means, with a high profile SEC matchup in week 1 and Stanford, Washington, and USC all on the road. The strength of schedule does set them up to be able to drop one early and still be in the playoff discussion if they win the rest, but that's getting a little ahead myself. vs. Auburn in Jerry World - Week 1 will answer a lot of questions about the Ducks and whether their preseason ranking is deserved. A lot will come down to the battle of the Ducks experienced o-line versus one of the top d-lines in the country. Toss-up vs. Nevada - W vs. Montana - W @Stanford - Stanford is always tough but Oregon has a lot going for them here as the Cardinal will be coming off games against Northwestern, USC, and UCF (in Orlando). This should have been a W last year and now that they've lost some of their bigger receiving targets to the NFL, Ducks should get this one. W vs. Cal - Cal is improving but Oregon takes this one at home. - W vs. Colorado - I think the Buffs do much better this year but lose this one. - W @Washington - Huskies will finally be rolling with a new QB, for better or worse. Either way, they'll have things figured out by the time this game rolls around. I think it's another toss-up like last year, with home field making the difference. - L vs. WSU - Wazzu has had Oregon's number the past few years thanks to facing backup QBs and having a once in a lifetime Gameday atmosphere last year, but they Coug this one. - W @USC - I feel like USC is going to have a good year unfortunately. I see this being a shootout like the old days with Oregon sneaking out with the win. - W vs. Arizona - Zona should be better if Tate stays healthy, but not good enough. W @ASU - Replacing Manny Wilkins and N'Keal Harry won't be easy. W vs. Oregon st. - Yeah. W Best case - 11-1 regular season, beat Utah in the title game, and head to the playoffs. More likely case - 9-3 with losses against Auburn, UW, and maybe USC.
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Jul 29, 2019 17:53
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Here's the predictions thread from last year if anyone was curious https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3863888
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Jul 29, 2019 18:23
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Ill prob do Georgia when i get off work but spoiler alert theyre gonna win the east and lose to Bama in the SECCG again
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Jul 29, 2019 18:52
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Houston Cougars Last season: A good-not-great Houston starts off strong and shows off Ed Oliver on a regular basis, but then the wheels come off the season when Oliver when Navy cuts off his knees. Oliver slow walks his recovery for understandable reasons, he and head coach Major Applewhite end up in a public feud, and UH loses four of the last five with the final insult a 70-14 bowl humiliation to Army. UH's president makes good on her boast that 8-5 gets you fired, and Applewhite is shown the door. Dana Holgorson is brought in from West Virginia and makes a bunch of promises to win tons of games immediately. We'll see. Offense: Dana will be more than happy to throw the ball and UH is always good for throwing a ball. Deriq King is back for his senior year, his knee is back, and he's had an offseason to practice passing. He's got no shortage of receivers and has at least a line that has started games together. So, something to hang on to. Running backs are something best not to think about. Defense: The front will obviously take a step back but the new DC Joe Cauthen (from Arkansas State) is a guy who likes to blitz a ton and will be able to wring more production out than the former DC Mark D'Onofrio did. The secondary has a much better prognosis due to having more experience, and thus should be the bright spot here. Still, expect UH to get burned bad when the ball gets behind the defense. Schedule: 9/1 at Oklahoma - Yeah, right. L 9/7 vs FCS Prairie View A&M - With a six day break at least it's PV. W 9/13 "vs" Washington State - UH is going to have home field and the horses on offense, but the defense might have to get a few breaks on this one to make it happen. For now... L 9/19 at Tulane - Four games in 18 days, that's gonna be a lot of tired legs dragging in to New Orleans. L 9/28 at North Texas - UNT thinks they have a shot at running the table and UH is the closest thing to a brand name on their schedule. Expect them to come out looking to dunk on folks and UH to still be tired. L 10/12 vs Cincinnati - The second half of the season starts more favorably. A home game against a good-not-great opponent on 14 days rest. Plenty of opportunity and UH should be able to take it. W 10/19 at UConn - UH returns to the scene of the one loss in 2015 and forever takes scoreboard on UConn. W 10/24 vs SMU - These quick turnaround games are going to kill folks. Probably depends on how much UH had to exert against UConn. W 11/2 at UCF - Yeah, right. L 11/16 vs Memphis - Probably playing to spoil Memphis from three-peating as West champs here. However their strengths are UH's weaknesses at least on paper. The only saving grace is UH has a bye to get ready. L 11/23 at Tulsa - The entire University of Tulsa is a mess, their football team is no exception. W 11/30 vs Navy - Because playing a triple option team after Thanksgiving always works out well. L Best case - Defense is better than expected and they can take tossups against WSU and UNT and maybe Navy too, and overall year one of the Dana era ends at 8-4 with higher expectations in 2020. Worst case - The losses above plus SMU, and they're 4-8 and Dana's seat gets hot after year one. My prediction - I have 5-7 listed here because I'm bearish on the defensive front doing much to start the year, not to mention @OU and @UCF are guaranteed losses and Memphis right after UCF might as well be a third. That means UH goes 5-4 otherwise, so really it's not crazy to think one game goes a little better than expected just due to having better athletes than most AAC teams, and at 6-6 at least UH gets extra bowl practice reps. New Year's Six predictions - Cotton - UCF vs Wisconsin Orange - Virginia Tech vs Georgia Rose - Washington State vs Michigan Sugar - Texas vs LSU Fiesta - Clemson over Oklahoma Peach - Alabama over Ohio State MNC - Clemson over Alabama dirty shrimp money fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Aug 8, 2019 |
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Aug 5, 2019 18:50
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Northwestern Wildcats Offense - Northwestern generally has a pretty consistently mediocre to poor offense. Upending that somewhat this year is that our 4 year starting QB Clayton Thorson has graduated and our most impressively rated QB ever, Hunter Johnson a transfer from Clemson, is taking over (assuming Fitz is being his usual cagey self and is not actually an idiot who may start TJ Green instead). This gives room for hope that Johnson can improve on the solid if unspectacular performance from Thorson. At running back Isaiah Boswser had a decent freshman season and besides him our running backs were a bit lacklaster after Jeremy Larkin's forced medical retirement. The rest of our offense, in my view, will continue to be ok but not great. Defense - Northwestern's defense has actually been pretty good recently. On the line we lose Jordan Thompson who helped bolster our run defense especially, but otherwise return a lot of threats in the form of the Miller brothers as well as Joe Gaziano. Our linebacker core is also decent being led by Paddy Fisher who has played two excellent seasons and will hopefully keep that up. Our secondary always seems to be a bit of a liability both because of the talent, but also because of our scheme of just giving huge cushions all the time (which may be tied together). All in all though the defense has a chance to be in the top third of the Big Ten this year although will more likely be around 5th or 6th (or drop off massively). Schedule @Stanford - Northwestern beat Stanford last time they played in the infamous "body clock" game that still makes me angry that it was the reason supplied for the win. I think this game will be a toss up since we will be breaking in a new quarterback and Stanford is a team that is pretty consistent and well coached. W UNLV - This game will be murder to watch. Not that I think many non Northwestern fans would care to watch much Northwestern football, but if you do this is definitely not the game. Given how Fitz likes to play these games we might not throw the ball and therefore might lose. It will be close no matter what. I actually think there is a higher chance we lose this game than Stanford. Still, one would hope talent wise Northwestern could still pull this out so a toss up leaning torward Northwestern. W Michigan State - I know Michigan States defense is going to shut down Northwestern's offense. The question is if our defense can return the favor. My guess is, at the very least, not as well. I would probably chalk this one up as a loss although I could see it being a low score game that Northwestern pulls out. L @Wisconsin - Wisconsin is always a tough out in the West division racr, however, for some reason they do not feel as scary this year as they normally do. Their defense seems less terrifying than in the past and unless their new quarterback is significantly not a "Wisconsin Quarterback" by this time of the season I feel like our defense matches up well with them. Leaning a Northwestern win here. W @Nebraska - This game is always close. I feel like Nebraska is kind of overrated coming into this year, but Adrian Martinez is really good and the exact kind of dual threat QB that gives our defense fits. As a result, I see this being a close game as it has been almost every time these teams have played but I do think that unless Martinez plays out of his mind or Nebraska's defense improves signifcantly Northwestern will once again prove to be the true NU. W Ohio State - Unless Ohio State decides this is the random game they are going to take off against a Big Ten West team to be kept out of the playoff they are going to smoke Northwestern again. L Iowa - Iowa is a bit of a scary team this year for Northwestern. I feel like either after a disappointing loss or miracle win Northwestern may not be fully prepped for Iowa (even with Fitz's hatred for them. I see them not being able to move the ball too much and losing a close game. L @Indiana - I will admit to not being super up on Indiana as of late and will assume this will probably be a win for Northwestern. W Purdue - The Purdue season opener last year was a really good game in which Rondale Moore torched Northwestern for so many yards. I could see this game also being a close one and think Northwestern may just be able to eek out a victory. W UMASS - Please dear god let this be an easy win. W Minnesota - Minnesota seems like a feisty team. I think this game can go either way, but think that 'Cats should be able to pull it out. W @Illinois - Illinois has been a dumpster fire for a while now and it is amazing. While this is a rivalry game and poo poo has gotten weird in the past I have to hope Northwestern will be able to put this game away easily enough. I WANT THE HAT! W Best Case 11- 1 (8-1 Big Ten) 'Cats win the West again and get whacked by whoever comes out of the East. I don't see this happening. Worst Case - 2 - 8 (1-8 Big Ten) - I can't see us losing to both UMASS and UNLV although who knows. Actual Prediction - My predictions above come out to 9-3 (6-3 Big Ten), but that doesn't accurately reflect how I feel. Northwestern always does the opposite (or at least trends the other way) from what I expect. I think this team should be really good so we will probably actually go 6-6 or 5-7. No matter what we will drop at least one dumb game we shouldn't (looking at you UNLV). If we can repeat as West champions I would be ecstatic, but more realistically if we can have a winning record this year I'll be satisfied.
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Aug 5, 2019 22:29
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dirty shrimp money posted:Orange - Virginia Tech vs Georgia I see this flattery, and it will work.
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Aug 5, 2019 22:30
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HOTLANTA MAN posted:Ill prob do Georgia when i get off work but spoiler alert theyre gonna win the east and lose to Bama in the SECCG again As foretold in the prophecy. I'm a bit more pessimistic in that I won't rule out something going horribly wrong in the November stretch.
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Aug 7, 2019 12:41
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HannibalBarca posted:As foretold in the prophecy. I'm a bit more pessimistic in that I won't rule out something going horribly wrong in the November stretch. The only question about their inevitable SECCG loss is can they manage to lead the entire game and still lose? It's POSSIBLE!
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Aug 7, 2019 13:01
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Season Prediction - 2019 Georgia Bulldogs Game One - August 31 @ Vanderbilt Obviously something has to go very wrong for Georgia to lose this game. But it will be interesting to see just how it goes. In 2017, the Georgia - Vandy game was an unmitigated obliteration, while in 2018, Georgia played sloppy for an uncomfortably long time. How will this year's squad look coming out of the gate? Prediction - Safe Win Games Two and Three - September 7 vs. Murray State and September 14 vs. Arkansas State Nothing really interesting to say about these. Prediction - Safe Wins Game Four - September 21 vs. Notre Dame This will essentially define the season - win this one and the sky's the limit. Lose, and things get pretty dicey pretty quick. I like Georgia's chances for the home game, and I tend to underrate Notre Dame sort of as a matter of course. Nothing is guaranteed, though, and they're still a good team. Prediction - Leaning Win Game Five - October 5 @ Tennessee I don't think Tennessee is all there yet, and we should be rested and ready off of a by week. But Neyland turf is never to be discounted. Prediction - Likely Win Game Six - October 12 vs. South Carolina Muschamp appears to have taken a step backward last year as compared to his 2017 squad. This would be a classic trap game for a Richt team, but I think the home field advantage should buoy a comfortable, if not necessarily crushing, win. Prediction - Likely Win Game Seven - October 19 vs. Kentucky Didn't they lose basically all of their starters? Prediction - Likely Win Game Eight - November 1 vs Florida (JAX) Simple pattern recognition says that we have one win left in the tank against Florida before the three year cycle resets and we get our clocks cleaned from 2020 through 2022. But a battered childhood of watching Georgia football has taught me to always worry about this game. Toss up Game Nine - November 8 vs. Mizzou Mizzou's always a bit of a wild card, and they almost always play us pretty close. I like our chances overall though. Prediction - Likely Win Game Ten - November 16 @ Auburn Scary, scary game. Toss up Game Eleven - November 23 vs. Texas A&M I will admit to knowing very little about how the Jimbo Fisher experience is going over there. Gotta like not having to play this in College Station though. Gonna call this a close win. Prediction - Leaning Win Game Twelve - November 30 @ Georgia Tech Have fun with the rebuilding years, guys. Prediction - Safe Win There's no game on our schedule that we shouldn't win on paper. Except, of course, if everything goes according to plan... SEC Championship - December 7 vs. Alabama (probably) Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity? Prediction - Likely Loss HannibalBarca fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Aug 10, 2019 |
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Aug 8, 2019 02:54
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HannibalBarca posted:Game Twelve - November 30 @ Georgia Tech How'd things go last time we switched coaches and were gonna have a rebuilding year?
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Aug 8, 2019 14:33
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UGA is going to boat race Norte dame.
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Aug 8, 2019 14:50
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The Big Jesus posted:How'd things go last time we switched coaches and were gonna have a rebuilding year? That 2008 UGA team had already been mentally and physically destroyed.
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Aug 8, 2019 15:14
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The Big Jesus posted:How'd things go last time we switched coaches and were gonna have a rebuilding year? Amazing how Georgia Tech can get brutally owned in every way every year and their fans still talk that poo poo
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Aug 8, 2019 19:32
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i think psu should be good this year but i'm not sure how good. the defense appears to be loving loaded this season and i don't really much in the way of concerns there. it would not surprise me at all to yetur gross-matoss winning national awards at the end of the year, he's become an unstoppable wrecking ball at DE. DE as a whole is really stacked and DT has good talent but not a to9n of depth so injuries there would hurt a lot. LB corps should be pretty drat good this year with probably 2 senior starters and micah parsons who is also set to explode big time. have a few 5 star freshman coming in too that will see time. the secondary as a whole is really experienced and really drat good. biggest question this year is on offense. bringing in sean clifford to start and he's only seen time in clean up duty so far in his career. but he was good enough to win the job and force tommy stevens to transfer out and good god almi9ghty does he throw an incredible deep ball. he's not the runner that mcsorley or stevens were though so the offense might have to change a bit around him. the oline is the other big question mark, as it is every year. they've improved but never reach that 'better than good' level. lost 3 starters but have highly rated redshirt freshman and sophomores moving in to starting roles. might be bumpy early on but could be good by the end of the year? skill positions are stacked. 4 deep at RB and they will probably run and go play action a lot this year. WRs should be much better than last year because all the idiots with butter fingers either graduated or transferred. Pat Freiermuth was in all american contention as a true freshman at TE and with nick bowers they're going to run a lot of nasty fucker 2 TE sets that i'm excited for. the special teams coach left in the offseason, which is good because last year was the worst special teams performance i've seen from any team i've ever followed. they brought in memphis' special teams coach and apparently he's been at the top in every special teams category for a long time so that bodes well. punter is incredibly sick, returners are sick, but can they defend or complete a single fake? can the sophmore kicker get his poo poo straight this year? who knows but i'm gunshy after how this lovely unit was directly responsible for the bowl game loss and played a big part in other losses/too close for comfort games. out of conference schedule is soft as hell: idaho, buffalo, and pitt. buffalo lost most of what took them to the mac championship last year and pitt won't be very good and will be even worse because their best player just tore his acl. ohio state and sparty on the road, michigan at home. the years where two of those games are on the road are rough. also have a trip out to iowa, which always sucks rear end to play at. i think best case scenario this year the offense gels quickly and the defense is as good as i'd hoped and they go 10-2. i doubt they beat OSU this year unless day/fields are really below what i expect. then a loss to probably either sparty or iowa on the road. michigan at home is a whiteout and michigan is being disgustingly overrated once again going in to the year so that's going down as a W. i think 9-3 is most likely, 8-4 also possible. worse than 8-4 would be completely unacceptable barring insane amounts of injuries. should be a good season and a chance for even better than that
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Aug 9, 2019 18:47
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The Ohio State University Last Year 13-1. If the defense was as present in games as Urban Meyer's brain cyst, that team makes the playoffs. Urban did some insanely bad cover-ups for what we thought was the worst assistant on the team but actually just the worst person and the most mediocre coach. We probably should have fired him, but we all know how loving gross this sport can be, so now you can take a class on leadership with Assistant AD Urban Meyer if you're so inclined. The greatest passing game in OSU history was squandered by the worst defense I've ever seen at Ohio State and an aggressively vanilla running game, since Urban really really hates option-less running plays and wouldn't stop pushing for option looks with what turned out to be the slowest QB at the NFL combine. The defense played a Mike Stoops-esque man-free/cover-1 set most of the year and got wrecked by the LBs always being within a yard of the line and trying to shoot gaps instead of run fit. This led to a very long year for the corners who had basically no help ever due to the inability to hit a run fit. What's New - Ryan Day officially takes over after somehow beating Gary Patterson on a year of planning in Texas and otherwise just keeping the ship afloat. He already appears to be a far less lovely person and immediately started a mental health fund at OSU and encouraged his players to speak out on their struggles with it as well. I look forward to him winning a title in year 2 and then falling apart in year 7-8 after some local car dealership is caught slipping the players free loaners or something in continuing the cycle of OSU head coaches. - Everyone not named Larry Johnson got canned on defense. We poached Mattison and Washington off of Michigan which is honestly hilarious and hopefully results in our LB play being at the very least average, no matter what our idiot fans think. We hired wonderkind Jeff Halfley to take over the secondary and coverage, which I can only hope is a Chris Ash-type hire for us. If the defense gets even to Big 10 average, that's a massive improvement over last year. The look will apparently be 4-3/4-2-5 depending on the opponent and appears to be an emphasis on gap-shooting D-line with LBs to clean things up, rather than the weird gap-shooting LBs with D-line cleaning things up that we ran last year. There's an expectation of far more exotic zone coverage this year as well to try to force more turnovers. - Mike Yurcich from Okie State got brought in to take over day-to-day QB coaching and the offense. It's pretty widely expected that it'll be a 2 years and gone situation with him moving on to a HC position at that time. This is likely with the intent that WR Coach Brian Hartline and current QC Coach Corey Dennis (Urban's SiL) will probably step into that role when he leaves. There is an expectation that the passing game will likely lean more on vertical passing given the general size now present in the WR corps and Yurcich's background. Hartline took a historically underachieving group that Zach Smith continued to ruin with his lovely coaching and worse personality and made the 6-deep rotation actually work for once. Position Groups QB - Justin Fields has been named the starter and transferred to Ohio State after maybe the most inexplicable usage of a QB I've ever seen with how Kirby tried to use him last year. He's a Pryor/Braxton caliber athlete with a better arm behind him, so we'll see how much of that Day is willing to unlock. The depth here is....eh. Gunnar Hoak transferred in from UK and looked passable but average in camp. Chris Chugunov continues what's basically an extended GA gig as the scout team guy. There are like 3 walk-ons that all got some snaps in the 2nd and 3rd teams. Injuries here would probably take 2-3 wins off the record based on the lack of depth. RB - JK Dobbins statistically wasn't great last year, but a lot of that really isn't his fault considering he kept getting put in option looks by Urban where Haskins never ever ever ever kept and really shouldn't have been asked to do so. On actual down-line pure running plays, he looked decent. He's apparently in better shape this year and will probably need to be, as he's going to be the first true number one back since Zeke. Demario McCall, after years of teasing, appears likely to be the backup RB, but his health is always a question since his hamstrings and ankles are made of cardboard. He's the best pass-catcher of the backs. Master Teague flashes every time he gets in and probably would've been a top-5 back in his ridiculous class if he wasn't hurt in HS. The rest of the depth is Steele Chambers and Marcus Crowley who are both bruising freshmen that will see some snaps in garbage time. WR - Losing Campbell and McLaurin sucks, since Campbell has been a gamebreaker for years now, and McLaurin was the actual safety blanket in the offense the last few years as well as the best gunner in CFB. KJ Hill returns and probably is the best guy in the room, but he's going to be in the slot exclusively and isn't the nightmare burner either of those two guys were. Ben Victor and Austin Mack (saviors of PSU last year and Michigan the year prior respectively) are probably the outside starters, but neither has ever been consistent enough to make me think they're going to run things despite being like 6'4" freaks. Chris Olave came on fast at the end of last year and is probably the next guy in line if Victor or Mack haven't put it all together yet--he's also probably the most versatile of the receivers. True freshman Garrett Wilson has absolutely dominated in camp and is probably getting a lot of snaps as well--probably the best hands guy on the team already. Backup slots are going to be some mix of CJ Saunders (literally just a Renfrow clone) or Jaelen Gill (gamebreaker in the mold of Campbell/Samuel who's new to receiver). Remaining WRs could fill in, but usually the top 6-7 are getting 98% of the catches in this offense. My expectation is that one of Victor or Mack loses a spot to Olave by mid-season with Wilson coming in strong the back 3-4 games of the year. TE - The deepest the unit has been in a while--and also the most frustrating. Luke Farrell is the most complete guy who can block and do possession stuff but really shouldn't be running much. Rashod Berry is a freak athlete with astonishingly bad hands. Jeremy Ruckert is the best pass-catching TE we've probably seen at OSU and will get buried because his blocking is mediocre. Jake Hausmann has made it into a game like once ever. Expect heavy rotation here based on gameplan/situations. OL - Replaces 4 starters from a talented but horrifically managed line last year. Studrawa gets a lot of heat for being a lovely recruiter, but the pass-blocking has been immaculate the last few years, and the run blocking only went downhill when Urban insisted on constantly using option schemes with an immobile QB last year. Thayer Munford could be a first-round LT if he's health. The expectation is that Wyatt Davis who started at the end of last year and Josh Myers are going to be starting at RG and C respectively. All-Big 10 grad transfer Jonah Jackson is probably the LG, which puts one of Brandon Bowen (coming back from a massive femur break) or Nick Petit-Frere (best OT in the 2018 class) in line to start at RT. There's an expectation that the line rotates more this year as a way of bringing the depth back up given the lack of bodies. DT - 3-lines deep at both nose and rush tackle, which is the most I can remember at OSU. Davon Hamilton and Jashon Cornell are probably starting at both nominally, but Tommy Togiai/Taron Vincent and BB Landers/Haskell Garrett are all ludicriously talented combos. Johnson indicated that he's planning on playing all 3 lines through games as a way of keeping wear and tear down and keeping the biggest guys fresh. DE - Chase Young should probably be the #1 pick this year if it's not a QB. He put up 10.5 sacks last year while being doubled from game 3-4 on after Bosa went down, and that was with 2 high ankle sprains he played through. He's apparently 15 pounds heavier this year, so have fun Big 10. Jonathan Cooper and Tyreke Smith are probably the next two guys up, with Cooper having experience and Smith being more explosive. Zach Harrison is a 5* freshman and chased down Dobbins 50 yards downfield in practice from the opposite play side in practice and will likely see some burn. We'll likely see a lot of Tyler Friday and Javonte Jean-Baptiste in blowouts to keep the top 3 guys healthy and get some reps, since Friday is likely slimmer than prior years and Jean-Baptiste gained like 50 pounds from last year. LB - The most maligned group on the team, which is sad since I don't know of any group of LBs who could handle the way Schiano was scheming them last year. Malik Harrison owns and is the freakiest athlete here. Tuf Borland will probably be the MLB again and won't be coming off of an immediate Achilles Tear again. Pete Werner is great when he remembers how to shed blocks. Baron Browning, Teradja Mitchell and Dallas Gant will all push for time here. My gut says that Borland is going to be a 2-down guy with Browning spelling him, and the other guys rotate heavily. S - Jordan Fuller will keep playing deep safety. The other spot will be one of Josh Proctor or Isaiah Pryor depending on if either of them learned how to take an angle yet or not. New this year is the Bullet position which is a nice way of saying box safety. Brendon White is moving up there, as is Jahsen Wint for when we play spread teams and want a bigger nickel package on early downs. Expect significantly more production in coverage from safeties not spending all their time in run support this year. CB - Damon Arnette got torched a lot last year when he had to play field in the event Sheffield was off. He's probably playing boundary this year which is in everyone's best interest, since he's not the fastest guy. Jeff Okudah could be the next 1st round OSU corner on talent and appears to have locked down the other starting spot comfortably, as the best FC on the team. Expect Shaun Wade to play heavy minutes as a more pure nickel, though he apparently could rotate at either safety position if Halfley wants to really try to push some turnovers. Sevyn Banks will probably factor in to the dime package, and the rest of the guys are likely in waiting barring injury. Schedule Far more manageable than last year, save the last few weeks. FAU - I don't see Day blowing a home game to Kiffin given the huge variance in size/talent here. This probably is closer than expected for a quarter followed by a pull-away. W Cincinnati - I hate this game for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is Fickell's familiarity with Day and the staff. Factor in that they're mid-tier Big 10 talented at starters, and this is probably uncomfortably close unless the defense is far better than I'm expecting right now in year 1 of the rebuild. Lean W at Indiana - LOL no. Indiana has zero skill players that are keeping them in this game. W Miami (OH) - They shouldn't be horrid on offense, but I'm expecting the starters to ride pine the second half to keep everyone fresh for Nebrasa. W at Nebraska - I really don't understand the initial hype on them. Yes, Frost got UCF going after a year, but UCF plays in a conference where they can just score everyone to death and play turnover game on defense. They scored fine last year, but their defense is about 2 classes away from being competent enough for that to work in the Big 10. They're going to be the new Wilson-era Indiana for a year or two where they scare the hell out of people but can't quite close IMO W Michigan State - Speaking of not understanding things, how is Brian Lewerke still in school. Shouldn't he have a mortgage by now? Also Sparty probably has the best defense in the conference this year, and I totally believe this is a trap game after Nebraska scares the hell out of us. Toss-Up at Northwestern - Their 5-star transfer QB hasn't been able to beat out whoever the gently caress was already on the roster, and they appear to only have one solid RB. This isn't a good NW team. W Wisconsin - They're either breaking in a freshman QB or having their guys play on the road. I don't expect this game to be easy, but I feel pretty good about the defense being able to keep up on this game by this point in the season. They'll have played 3 extremely run-happy teams in a row and hopefully have learned something by now W Maryland - Assuming the run defense isn't giving up 80-yard plays every other down, this probably isn't an issue since their QB situation isn't resolved. W Rutgers - Prop bet, who has more TDs by this point in the season, Rutgers, or Ohio State's backup RB? W Penn State - The actual toughest game of the year. The experience on defense they have is real, but I'm not convinced their offense is going to work without a guy like McSorely to move things around and scramble given that the receivers have underperformed since Moorhead left. This one really just comes down to how good Clifford is versus how much the new OSU scheme on defense works out given that the other sides of the ball are probably a wash. Toss-up Michigan - They have a grand total of 1 DB I'm scared of, and there's no depth at pass rusher/tackle. Maybe Don Brown figures out how to handle crossing routes this year? Even if their offense improves, the talent gap on their defense to OSU's offense is going to be a problem W Best case - 14-0 National Champions because that's always the ceiling with this much talent. Worst case - 9-4 Fields injury/struggles and a defense that improves but not by much probably moves PSU, Michigan State, Michigan, and Wisconsin into the L column with a bowl win against some overmatched mid-tier SEC team. Likely case- 12-2 with a playoff berth but a loss to one of Clemson/Bama in the semis. They'll drop a game somewhere in those top 4 Big 10 games, but I don't think Harbaugh or Franklin are consistent enough to capitalize on that, and I especially don't think Sparty's offense is suddenly good enough for this to work out. Random bold prediction - Purdue gets a Big 10 west title/co-title this year. Wisconsin drew 3 of the top 4 out of the East, and Minnesota has to deal with a final 4 of Penn State, Iowa, Northwestern, and Wisconsin which is going to knock them the hell out on top of having to play Purdue a week after Georgia Southern. Purdue on the other hand drew Maryland, Indiana, and Penn State from the East and gets a noon kickoff at Iowa which means they may drop their game to Wisconsin and still have a shot at the division.
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Aug 21, 2019 17:28
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Man - there sure was a lot of complaining at the beginning of that post for a 13-1 team, holy poo poo.
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Aug 22, 2019 22:06
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2018 UGA: Awesome, then bored, then bad, then awesome, then vs. Bama, then bored. 2019 UGA: Bored, then awesome, then bored, then bad, then vs. Bama, then who knows.
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Aug 22, 2019 22:24
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I dunno, they play tech during a rebuilding year if you're into Snuff
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Aug 22, 2019 22:30
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HA NO ALABAMA HALF MY TITLE PREDICTION WAS WRONG.
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Dec 2, 2019 02:47
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