This is, genuinely, a game that I can’t really get a good read on. Last year, I was 100% certainly going into the sWaMp that we were going to beat the dogs**t out of Florida. This year, there are way more variables such as:
-How does Beck look? By all accounts his rehab has gone well and he’s looked good (but that’s with limited information and no spring).
-Who emerges at WR? RB and OL are rock solid, but WR is a huge question mark. Does Daniels break through? Does JoJo become the guy? Which TR FR makes an impact?
-TE looks good, but still have questions there. Will Lofton be the next great TE U star, or is he just another Green Tree AA?
-Does Toure return to all B10 form pre-injury? Does our completely revamped secondary take a step up, how about the D as a whole with Heatherman?
-How does ND look with two new coordinators?
-How does their QB making his first ever road start respond to a very very hostile environment?
This game strikes me as one that’ll end up being a 30-21 type result for either side. Like most games, whoever wins in the trenches is going to win this game. Beck is the better and battle tested QB. We need him to be good to win. Winning this game automatically gives us a marquee win, something we lacked last year.