Hello Everybody!
I thought it'd be fun little time capsule to look back on after the season if we had a little bit of discourse about what we expect to see on the field this season. From what I've read, expectations seem to be on the floor from national media and it sounded like coach bo was trying to keep expectations as low as possible in MJD.
I think my expectation is 2-10. Any less than 2 wins would be a failure and 3+ wins would be a very promising first season.
I'm looking for the defense to be competitive and keep us atleast keep us in a few games until late. I think that unit has been strong throughout the history of the program, and was pretty good last year in games where we didn't sit too many players to preserve redshirts. I think the bend don't break philosophy we've had on that side of the ball historically could really help chew clock and get us to the fourth quarter within a score or two in some games. Any wins against fbs opponents are going to require really strong performances from our defense.
Offensively, I think it's going to be rough. If we crack the top 120 in scoring offense, I'd be surprised. I need to see a clean center/qb exchange. It looked like a middle school at times last season with how often plays started with the ball on the ground. Hopefully we're atleast far enough into this transition we can successfully put the ball in the hands of the quarterback. Beyond that, it's hard to have any expectations. I listened to Kai on a season preview podcast, and it sounds like he has no idea what to expect scheme wise after the coaching changes. I'm not even hoping they can light up scoreboards, I just want to see some kind of identity established. Them be able to put together a first down or two most possessions to stay in the field position battle and hopefully have some young players stand out. I'd love to see Kent build on his strong start last season.
Away UTSA - L
Home Louisiana - L
Away San Jose State - T
Home UT Martin- W
Home Jacksonville State - T
Away Middle Tennessee - L
Home Liberty - L
Away Western Kentucky - L
Away UTEP - T
Home Sam Houston - T
Home FIU - T
Away Louisiana Tech - T
looking at the schedule, I have UT Martin as a must win. I marked tossups with T, I don't think they're literal coinflip games but I think those are the match ups where if we get a little luck and the team plays well, we could win. I might have been a little generous marking LTU, FIU and Jax State as tossups. Jax State is a home rivalry, so even though they're expected to be the better team, things could get weird. LTU and FIU are late enough in the season, we might get lucky and those teams have lost their coach and be in chaos.
Sorry for the wall of text lol. How's everyone else feeling going into the season? Am I a little too pessimistic? A little too optimistic? Anyone expecting/hoping to see specific players stand out or a specific style of play emerge?
