So I've been doing a lot of thinking. Often, key wins and losses dictate how the next weeks game will be played. In 2008, there were a few games I actually saw our team quit.... In 2009, even thought we lost some games, the team never quit... I think the Bama loss really hit our team hard though. It's like once they know the West is gone, the fire dies down until post season. I have a strong feeling that if we have a good showing vs UNC, meaning we field an offense not ranked last, that this team will be 10x's better than last season. Now, this doenst necessaraly mean more wins. I've seen a number of people state that even if we lose, we could lose in style and they would be happy. Basically, cleaner play. There is nothing wrong with geating beat if you dont shoot yourself in the foot. Something we did every loss. Anyway, it would still be even unacceptable for this years O to be double what they were last year. That would put us ranked around 50 something. While better, it is still utter crap when we consider our talent level. My goal is for this O to be top 30. I can live with that. IF that is the case, I see our danger areas @ UF - Ark - Both of these are away games. the reason Florida is a ? for me is because I think Tenn is going to play us real close. They normaly do. But if it is a close game and then we turn around and go to UF, it could be a bit much for our Tigers this year. Our best hope is that Brantly is a bust!! Ark is a ? b/c of their O. Frankly, their D blows, but somehow they manage to keep a tight game with us. Also, last game of SEC play and it always seem as if we take them lightly. Our best hope is that Ark is ranked when we play them for the extra modivation we have lacked vs them the past 3 years. There could easily be more possible red flags, however, I have a lot of faith for our team. I also think these past 2 years were just some hard down years, BUT, I think some key players got valuable XP. I personaly hope we are 9-0 when we play Bama and then procede to push their chit in.. But we could easily be 8-1 or at worst 6-3. 6-3 would mean that our O sucks yet again and UNC, WV and Tenn/Aub beating us. Cant see us losing any of the other games prior to Bama even with a bad O. Overall, I think 10-2 is a very real possibility with 9-3 making more sense when going off last year. Though, if we play to our potential, the sky's the limit..... I think much ofour success this year will rest in hands of GC, JJ and the O'line. Look forward to seeing some very different perspectives on possible outcomes of the season.. :lsup:
I pretty much agree with what you've stated. It seems the wind was let out of our sails with the Bama loss. But I look at last season like this.. We went 9-3 in the regular season and barely lost our bowl game. All this with almost the last ranked offense in college football. If this offense even begins to click a little bit, it could make a big difference in how the season goes. Frankly, I can't see the offense being much worse than last year and I don't see it being likely that they are. We've got some serious talent and you're right, if it begins to run like a finely tuned machine, the sky is indeed the limit.
This writer likes your chances this fall: Predicting the First Loss of 2010 for Each of College Football's Top 25 | Bleacher Report
LOL.... hey, you were only 'spose to look at her having LSU going 11-1. When she has the Hawks going undefeated, some might think she put a little "pop" in her Kool-aid.
I don't think having Iowa in the BCSNCG is too much of a stretch, they have just as good a chance as anyone else in the Big 10.
i actually like this article it has some bold predictions which quite frankly every other article in america is making the same general assumptions only slightly varied each time. and on iowa and boisie going undefeated... it's posible they each have like 2 real games to play this year.
LSU has the disadvantage of having to play both Bama and Florida this fall, whereas Arky and Auburn have Bama, no Florida. Iowa has tOSU and Wisconsin, both of whom are loaded this year and will be highly ranked. Penn State may be slightly down, but, as you know, they can compete with most anybody. NW played toe to toe with Auburn, Michigan will be improved, as will Michigan State... those teams are interchangable with the South Carolina's and Ole Miss' of the world.... so if Iowa does pull it off this year, I would think it would be well earned. That said, it's quite a challenge for any team in any major conference to get through unscathed. We'll certainly have more than two "real games".
