I don't really disagree with that at all. If he wins 8 he hasn't cemented anything other than he's headed in the right direction. 7 does that to a lesser degree. Neither are numbers that make anybody happy in year 3 or 4.
If only we could have gotten rid of Butch two years sooner a lot would be different. Those first two full recruiting classes of his went completely squandered.
This is how I'd break it down. As close to sure wins as it gets: Georgia State UAB (yes, they were good last year. They also lose more production than anyone else in the country) UTC Should win: Kentucky (away, but they lose a *ton* from a team we beat last year) BYU (they weren't good last year but had a lot of close losses and one upset win, so they're no sure thing) Tossups bordering on should win: South Carolina (we were close last year, we're at home this year, and we return more production than them) Vandy (this team was running on fumes by the time we played them last year--they weren't that much better than us--plus this year is at home, and we return more than they do) Tossups bordering on should lose: Mississippi State (they lose a decent amount but have earned the benefit of the doubt at this point--they may not be an amazing team, but they should be solid. We do get them at home) Missouri (they're not that much more talented than us, but it's hard to put this in the "should win" category given that we've been smacked around two of our last three times in Columbia, plus last year at home, and their transfer QB is good) Should lose: Georgia Florida (considered putting this in the "tossup bordering on should lose," but they return a fair amount from a team that was better than us last year, they're at home, and we always play our worst against Florida) As close to sure loss as it gets: Alabama That's a pretty symmetrical grouping, with the expectation looking like 7-5, and with us about equally likely to lose one that looks like a win and to win one that looks like a loss. On the other hand, that's still four games in the "tossup" category. We improve a little bit faster than expected or those other teams take a little bigger step back than expected, and 9-3 goes on the table pretty quickly. Obviously, if we don't improve as expected, 5-7 is on the table, but that's pretty much the "start looking for a new coach" scenario. tl;dr agree with hohen, 7-5 is the expectation, 8-4 or better is a win
It sucks that we have to take into consideration home vs away against the likes of Vandy, KY, SC, and MSU.
I am a negavol. I confess. 9 is successful. Anything less involves various degrees of excuses. The end of year collapse last year was very Dooley Year 1 or 2...depending on if you accept a year 0. Either way, it was the KY loss year. I don’t think Pruitt was a remotely successful game coach last year. I have my doubts for a guy that knows so much about football. Since he doesn’t BS I will buy a few shares of Pruitt stock. But, I don’t see how our players aren’t more talented than 9 opponents.