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What Are Your Expectations For 2024?

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Mario has improved the talent, body-types and culture. We will be better, but how much better than the competition remains to be seen.

We should have the better QB & DL most--if not all--weekends.
We have elite players, experience & improved depth on both sides of the ball.
We have returning coordinators on both sides of the ball.
We will practice hard and play a physical brand of football.

The floor is significantly higher and the sky is the limit, IMO.
 
Manfred_Cane said:
So the defense cost us 1 game out of 13? 🤔

Barron plays DE so putting him in the group of DT while comparing that group to last years DT is a stretch. Barrow & Clark are better than Taylor & Hunte... Barrow had more sacks last year than Taylor & Hunte combined.

Now Barron gets snaps at DT during 3rd & Long. So you're looking at Bain, Barron, Mesidor, Alston on a pass rush situation. Which is much better than last year.

LB unit will be better.

DBs are a question for sure. However, a sicko DL can really help a DB room that has some players that are a little green outside of DPJ & Hill.

Last years defensive was ranked 24th in total defense. 37th in 3rd down %, need to be better. 11th against the run.

I think our defense **could** improve with another year in the system, along with a front 7 that's probably the best in the ACC. Only time will tell.
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Not buying the argument that one position group can cover up the flaws of another position group.

That’s just making excuses for poor DB recruiting.

Again, go rewatch Louisville. Our d-line was getting penetration all day but they couldn’t tackle/finish. Their lumbering statue QB Jack Plumber would just step to the side and our guys would just fly right by him. Their RB broke more tackles than I can count.

Then our DBs….they were conpletely outmatched by Louisville’s faster and bigger WRs. If Louisville had a better QB they would have blown us out.

Cherry on top was the one play in the 4th qtr where Davis and Couch run in to each other, which results in blown coverage and a 65 yd touchdown.

Linebacker….Wes cost us at least 2 TDs in that game with his constant mental errors.

Finally playcalling and coaching. Every time Louisville did any misdirection or motion we were lost and smeone was running free on their side.

And offensive playcalling….how about 1st and goal from the 3 yd line with 2 min to play, your OL is supposed to be the strength of the team, but you run three pass plays in a row from a spread formation, throwing to sub-6 ft receivers like Brashard? 4 and out, game over, thanks Dawson you moron.

If we just run it up the middle 4 plays in a row we win the game.
 
RightSaidFred said:
Taylor was the best athlete of the four.
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Good athlete but had no motor so he flashed, unlike Bain who just has a natural motor and goes 80 to 100 % on every play. This year's DL has so much depth and they will know to go full out every play due to the expected rotation. Bodes well for the 4th Q.
 
I’ll say 9 wins. Talent level has risen of course but I still don’t have a lot of faith in Mario getting this team prepared every week or as a gameday coach. I think any QB will always be limited under Mario. Guidry will have the front 7 playing at a high level but the secondary will struggle mightily. That’s an area of huge need after a terrible high school recruiting season and I don’t think enough was done in the transfer portal.
 
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Novacane32000 said:
DB is worse than last year, not better. The safety from Washington is good, but not as good as Kam. We lost more than we gained. Dyoni Hill is the only CB we added and to be honest doesnt move the needle. Williams was a terrible safety ,he only flashed near the LOS. We will be better here. Powell, the Washington Safety actually has better coverage grades than Kam, a wash.

DT got worse. Barron and Clark vs Taylor and Hunt, I’m taking Taylor and Hunt. Taylor was not drafted, he wasn't that good. Bain is much stronger this year and if he moves inside on pass downs, we are better. Barrow from Mich St is an upgrade over Hunt

WR is also getting overrated. Brown may or may not improve the room. We’ll see. Tend to agree on Brown but he does have verified 4.4 speed so I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now. X is a proven reliable receiver , George is a senior as is X. Both will be better

We did upgrade at QB and RB….hopefully that should be enough to win us more games, but 10 is a stretch IMO. I’d say 8 or 9 wins with this roster just being honest. QB is the most important position on the field. We do not know how good Cam will be-his health and play will for the most part determine our season
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Not getting drafted doesn’t mean the player wasn’t actually good last year, LT was good last year.

And you guys just look at our team thinking the outcome will just be best case scenario for everything lol it literally never works that way
 
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407cane said:
10 win regular season and an ACC championship I think has to be the expectation with this favorable schedule and the fact that we’re more talented than anyone on our schedule
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Playing this out, we would be a 3 or 4 seed depending on what the Big 12 champ does.
That would mean we would get the BIG or SEC #2 in the second round at a bowl site.
Meechigan, PSU, Texas, Bama or UGA, ?
 
BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
You’re expecting an ACC ship and a CFP home game? Gee, why not demand a natty? I get WANTING those outcomes, but expecting? Given the last 20 years?

My expectations? 10 wins. I don’t care if that means 9-3 and a bowl win. 10 wins likely puts us back into national relevance. 10 regular season wins likely puts us on the ACC championship game.

Oh and beat the Gators. Let’s start with that.
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need to strt winning 9,10 a year period, everyone wnats to jump up and down and say Miami is back,to me we are not "back"till we enter each preseason discussion of a contender......
 
8-4. I kind of don’t see it with this team. Outside of Cam, Bain, and Mauigoa I just don’t see a lot of top end talent. Think the fanbase has talked itself into a lot of hypothetical guys solving problems. Mario gonna lose 2 inexplicable ones.
 
E1k said:
Not getting drafted doesn’t mean the player wasn’t actually good last year, LT was good last year.

And you guys just look at our team thinking the outcome will just be best case scenario for everything lol it literally never works that way
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Define good ?

LT started and was our best option and perhaps that qualifies as good on our team but on a national level ,there were 23 DT taken in the draft ahead of him. The JETS are giving him a shot so the argument is still valid that he was "Good". I see no argument for any more praise than that.

-BTW, I am not in the group that expects the best-case scenario to play out. That dream has been shattered every year for the last 20 years. I know better. I will start the year with the usual hope for a good year and maybe this is the year the meltdown doesn't happen.
 
DT Assessment:

LT going pro and JHH transferring were legit losses. Regarding Taylor, we saw how we defended along the LOS when LT was out -- i.e., poorly. He may not have been great but he was very good. It's not clear Barrow + Cook are even as good as LT + JHH, and if they are it will be marginally so.

I think the depth at DE will help DT tremendously, and may be a differentiator. At the end of last season, we had lost 3 of our 4 starters, we had no depth so moved to a 3-3. This season, we can move DEs inside as needed. Mesidor already has experience at WVU playing over Center. Bain at 280 and another year of S&C will be able to play inside, as well. With essentially no drop-off at DE with Baron and Alston, plus all our young guns. That gives our bigger guys time to rotate and rest.

We may also take a step forward in youth and depth at DT. 2024 Cook, Moten, Horton (if healthy), Campbell and the true freshmen "should" be better than 2023 Gore, 2nd-year Moten, true-freshman Horton, Lichtenstein, and project Campbell. Especially at the end of the season as Scott and Jones adapt to P4 play.

Overall, we've upgraded, they shouldn't lose us games in the regular season. But while we are good enough to be disruptive or at least hold our own at DT against UF and the ACC, we're not good enough to face a really good playoff offense.
 
HurricaneKush said:
8-4. I kind of don’t see it with this team. Outside of Cam, Bain, and Mauigoa I just don’t see a lot of top end talent. Think the fanbase has talked itself into a lot of hypothetical guys solving problems. Mario gonna lose 2 inexplicable ones.
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So you need a team full of top end talent to win 10 in the acc? Who are all the top end guys Louisville had last year? Wf when they had hartman?
 
grover said:
DT Assessment:

LT going pro and JHH transferring were legit losses. Regarding Taylor, we saw how we defended along the LOS when LT was out -- i.e., poorly. He may not have been great but he was very good. It's not clear Barrow + Cook are even as good as LT + JHH, and if they are it will be marginally so.

I think the depth at DE will help DT tremendously, and may be a differentiator. At the end of last season, we had lost 3 of our 4 starters, we had no depth so moved to a 3-3. This season, we can move DEs inside as needed. Mesidor already has experience at WVU playing over Center. Bain at 280 and another year of S&C will be able to play inside, as well. With essentially no drop-off at DE with Baron and Alston, plus all our young guns. That gives our bigger guys time to rotate and rest.

We may also take a step forward in youth and depth at DT. 2024 Cook, Moten, Horton (if healthy), Campbell and the true freshmen "should" be better than 2023 Gore, 2nd-year Moten, true-freshman Horton, Lichtenstein, and project Campbell. Especially at the end of the season as Scott and Jones adapt to P4 play.

Overall, we've upgraded, they shouldn't lose us games in the regular season. But while we are good enough to be disruptive or at least hold our own at DT against UF and the ACC, we're not good enough to face a really good playoff offense.
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Barrow is definitely better vs the run than LT and JHH. And we don’t know how good guys will be. Team could make the playoffs because it’s 12 teams now but it’s about taking steps. We all know this isn’t a legitimate contender but the goal is right now to become a consistent winner again
 
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We have a better overall roster than last year, and the offense should be significantly improved with Ward, Martinez, and Brown in the fold.

The defense has a lot of athleticism and depth on the DL, which Guidry will make good use of.

The LBs are nothing special, above average against the run and bad against the pass.

The DBs concern me. We absolutely cannot have any health issues here. There is no depth at all. An injury at safety, and we are ****ed at that position.

The schedule isn't as easy as our fans claim. It lacks a national contender opponent, but there are many 7-8 win teams on that schedule. To run the table, we'd have to play our A game every week. That won't happen. We will lose at least one game where we play well but get beat, and one where we **** the bed.

The string of @USF-VT on a friday-@Cal is difficult. I'm not confident we win all three.

We get a bye, and then go @Ville and home to the Fake Indian. Again, pretty tough to win both.

After we added Ward, I thought 8-4 was a realistic possibility. We've added enough pieces that we should be better than that. I don't see 10, because the DB room is too weak, and the LBs will be torched against a team with a good OL and mid-range passer.

I don't expect to go 10-2 because exceeding expectations is not something this program does.

I'll say 9-3 overall. Maybe it gets us an ACC title game, maybe not.

I certainly hope so, because Ward won't play a bowl game that isn't a playoff.

Success would be:

Beat UF
Beat FSU
Win the ACC
Win 10 before the playoff
Get in the playoff

Do I think all that happens? No. Do I think some of it happens? Yes.
 
People keep saying 10 wins…and I get that

But I’ll be honest a 10-3 record with this roster and schedule would be disappointing
 
Anything less than 10 wins and at minimum a competitive ACC championship game appearance is a fail.

I feel that, and coaches probably would agree, we’ve gone all in as best we could to hit that as our floor. Barring unforeseen hiccups it would be a coaching failure to miss that mark.
 
252cane said:
So you need a team full of top end talent to win 10 in the acc? Who are all the top end guys Louisville had last year? Wf when they had hartman?
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Other teams don’t. We’ve shown that we do. There’s a reason this team hits the Vegas under every year
 
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