forums

ESPN's latest college football power ratings

KingB02 said:
A&M doesn’t have enough dudes on offense to wear us down. We got a two deep on defense and can keep guys fresh. A lot of guys who have played A LOT of snaps on defense. They have a below average QB and won’t be able to keep the sticks moving enough to grind out a long drives to keep TVD and our stable of backs off the field. We could possibly put on a track meet with our stable of backs and TVD slinging it.
Click to expand...
Don't under estimate TAM's QB's. They are not as bad as you think. King is sub 4.5 40 and is accurate enough to do damage with that Speed to go along with it. Johnson, has experience playing in the SEC, a decent arm and can do damage with his legs as well.
 
Advertisement
I still say we'll be in the 9-10 win range when the season ends.

Ideally we get the 10th win during bowl season instead of the 9th win.

Imo, very different level of progress between an 8 win regular season and a 9 win regular season.

Crazy as it sounds, 8 wins is only 1 more than our decade plus avg of 7 wins per season....9 wins will be viewed as a big time +2 on a average, especially with it being Season 1 for Mario & Co.

Power 5 teams that win 10 games are pretty much a lock for finishing in the AP/CFP Top 10 at seasons end. However, 9 wins could land you anywhere from mid teens to low 20s...all the difference in 1 win.
 
You guys do realize teams lose to worse programs all the time, right? You can’t just say “oh we’re better than everyone but Clemson and Texas A&M so chalk up all those games as wins”

Oregon lost to a 3 win Stanford team last year. They lost to 2-3 Oregon State and 1-4 Cal in 2020. It might be hard for some of you to believe but Mario Cristobal hasn’t beaten every team he’s had the talent advantage over.

We aren’t so dominant that we can just roll over everyone in conference now. I think a 9-3 regular season is a realistic prediction.
 
KingB02 said:
A&M doesn’t have enough dudes on offense to wear us down. We got a two deep on defense and can keep guys fresh. A lot of guys who have played A LOT of snaps on defense. They have a below average QB and won’t be able to keep the sticks moving enough to grind out a long drives to keep TVD and our stable of backs off the field. We could possibly put on a track meet with our stable of backs and TVD slinging it.
Click to expand...
A&M has a major advantage in the trenches on both sides of the ball. That's how they will wear us down.
 
CaneThang2020 said:
I still say we'll be in the 9-10 win range when the season ends.

Ideally we get the 10th win during bowl season instead of the 9th win.

Imo, very different level of progress between an 8 win regular season and a 9 win regular season.

Crazy as it sounds, 8 wins is only 1 more than our decade plus avg of 7 wins per season....9 wins will be viewed as a big time +2 on a average, especially with it being Season 1 for Mario & Co.

Power 5 teams that win 10 games are pretty much a lock for finishing in the AP/CFP Top 10 at seasons end. However, 9 wins could land you anywhere from mid teens to low 20s...all the difference in 1 win.
Click to expand...
My focus is on the schedule and the opponents. That's where I draw my expectations.

Is the Coastal Division better or worse than last year? Or rather will it be harder or easier than last year? Two of the better QBs in the Coastal are gone. Pitt lost its best WR to the portal. Duke, UVA, and VT all have new coaching staffs. UNC is breaking in a rsh freshman QB. We beat both the Coastal and Atlantic champions with our 7-5 terrible tackling defense.

Is Miami a better team than last year? We have our returning QB that we expect to be the best in the conference. We have improved the roster from the transfer portal. We have better coaches developing our players. I expect the defense to be much improved over last year.

My expectations are based on a weaker Coastal division and an improved Miami team. Given what we have coming back and the transfers we brought in, I expect a 10-2 regular season which isn't unreasonable in my opinion.
 
Our record depends on TVD. If you look at our schedule the clear advantage we have over every team we face is QB play. Will Mario allow TVD to carry the offense? Because I don't expect a big upgrade in OL play. The same guys who lacked the necessary physicality still remain on the roster at OL. I expect the OL to improve under Mirabal but I don't expect our running game to be drastically improved. This offense and this team will go as far as TVD takes them. This means Mario and Gattis have to put the game in TVD's hands at times, especially against teams with a solid front on defense.

If we get poor production from the run game then 8-4 is the floor record-wise. If we are an average running team then 10-2 is our likely record.

I expect to see more two and three TE sets. Gattis will have to get creative against good defensive fronts. I also think it will take Mirabal a few games to find the right mix of OL who can be effective run blockers. Some guys show big in practice but shrink in games.
 
Advertisement
Reasonable estimation.

Our roster is not a 5 star laden juggernaut and has some holes, no matter how much off-field changed. We will be underdogs playing on the road in at least two (a&m and Clemson) games and will lose at least one game we are favored in (because everyone does). 9 wins is a decent prediction if not slightly optimistic, and it would be a good outcome this year to go from 7-5 to 9-3 in year 1.
 
IMO, we lose to A&M and Clemson, we have to stop ****ting the bed against a mediocre team/teams to get over the hump.

I think TVD carries the offense as well.
 
If an opponent is well entrenched, or has a strong wall they're behind - you don't hit it head on. You bring some high-angle **** down on them and drop it OVER the strong entrenchment or the wall.

But you don't do it exactly as anticipated. Gotta have a bit of surprise.

You trot out two or three TE's - and start chipping away with quick hits - they'll have to make some adjustments and the DLinemen will be pressing more and more to get to the QB that's ripping their shorts.

Which opens up some passes in the backfield and even some runs.

Texas A&M aren't supermen.

You try to defend everything - you end up not defending anything.
 
UMFarArcher said:
I don't get it.

8 points. We lost what - three games by a total of 8 points last year?

Had we come up with 11 more points LAST season - we'd have been 10-2.

Under the * * * * show we had last year -

We seemingly always came out flat as a pool table - we couldn't block squat, we couldn't tackle, and our defense was almost always defending the wrong things - thanks to our stellar Defensive Coordinator.

Either we're better coached, we have better analysts and more of them, we have much better position coaches, better coordinators and game planners, a brand new ability to make halftime adjustments, and a whole, new, mentality - or we don't.

Got some difference makers we brought in on defense and offense -

And we're supposed to win only 9 games?

I call BS!
Click to expand...
Vegas over/under on us is only 8.5 so if you think 9 is the floor, you should be all over it.
 
Back
Top