I can't remember a season with so few clear cut favorites: Only obvious pick is Ohio State in the big 10. SEC - Alabama no longer a given to win the SEC. Auburn should give them a run. Arkansas and A&M should be very improved. Ole Miss should be decent. MSU probably takes a big step back. LSU will be in the mix. Tenn darkhorse right? Big 12 - TCU is the favorite, but loses most of their best defensive players and I'm not convinced they are capable of just reloading. Baylor should be decent. Texas likely sucks. Oklahoma should be in the mix too. ACC - Florida state likely is down. The got very lucky to go undefeated last year. Clemson should give them a run, but dabo is going to dabo. Georgia Tech should be decent. Pac-12 - Oregon will be down. USC should be the favorite, but that's no guarantee given Sark's history and the lack of depth on D. UCLA returns 17 starters, but might start a true frosh qb. Who is a lock for the playoff? Ohio State is pretty much it. Heavy favorites to make it according to the "experts" would be TCU and Alabama. Compare that to last year when Oregon, FSU, and Bama were clear favorites to make it and all did.
fOSU can go ahead and buy their hotel rooms. B1G is a freaking joke. FSU has lost Winston, so who knows. Other than that, it is going to be interesting to say the least.
I wouldn't bet on it. their offensive talent is shit. harbaugh beat usc his first year, but booty had a broken thumb.
I actually forgot about Harbaugh, but I don't think they make a splash his first year. Next year, yeah.
I still think it's Bama and then everybody else in the SEC. The talent differential is still there and won't be going anywhere unless Saban retires or Butch puts together two more classes like the last two. That last sentence isn't BS either. After next year's recruiting class, UT will be the second most talented team in the SEC. And we're the most talented team in the East for 2015. So, yeah, we really should win the East next year.
we return 17 starters. only major loss is at center. 8-4 should be the minimum or Dykes should get fired. After next year we lose every major playmaker outside of goff who could easily go pro early and IMO goff is a top end qb and will make any coach look at least mediocre. So he's likely to have a big regression in 2016. this is his 3rd year and the way current athletics work you either have to extend or fire him. I certainly don't think an extension is worth of say a 6-6 season. the schedule is fairly manageable with almost every team we play either breaking in a new starter at QB or returning a lousy qb. The offense likely will be a top 10 offense. The defense needs to be non terrible to get to 8 wins. Not good, but certainly not as bad as last year. The front 7 should be much improved while the secondary likely will still be among the worst in the country.
2-10 is fine. that means he'll be fired. what I don't want is 6-6 or 7-5 followed by an extension and raise and him going 3-9 in 2016. I either want it completely obvious he's going to do something or obvious he's not.
I certainly didn't stop drinking when we went 1-11. my level of give a shit is at an all time low. i'll watch the games, but these days a loss doesn't even depress me.