Is There A Win Total This Year...

short of a national or SEC title that would give any of you confidence that Dooley actually could win here? To me, it'd have to be about 10 wins.

 

It would be hard to argue with ten wins... Unless 2013 was just total crap.

We'll need a lot of good fortune both in games and avoiding injuries in order to get there.

 

Yea, I don't see that actually happening, but that would be about the threshold of where I might actually start believing he could be successful.

 

It's difficult to me to put a hard number on these things. That said, less than 9 and I don't really feel any better about things than I do now.

 

Depends to some degree on what the folks on our schedule do. If the bottom completely falls out for Georgia and/or South Carolina (like us in 2005) and we beat one or both on the way to 10-2 (like Shula in 2005), it'll be nice but not necessarily a harbinger of things to come. If the toughness of our schedule is about what we think it is, 10-2 looks a whole lot better and would inspire some confidence.

9-3 would convince me that there's a chance of him learning from his mistakes and growing into being a good coach, but unless we looked really impressive doing it, it still may be no more than a coin flip as to whether he should be expected to build on it.

 

10 is a good number for me. I don't think Dooley will be a successful football coach, but it still is within the realm of possibility. It will be hard to get too confident, though, until we see what happens the next year without Bray, Darick, and Hunter.

 

Beating a team with a number in front of their name for once would be a good start. Beating UGA, or even MSU, on the road would be step #2. Total wins to give me a glimmer of hope: 9.

 

if he wins 9 games he will be safe, however for me to feel better he has to win 10(that's including a bowl game). if he went 10-3 i'd feel a lot better

 

It's not so much win total for me as it is a clear signal that we can separate ourselves from the middle (and bottom) of the pack and compete with the top. I want to see that we are markedly better than NC State and Mizzou and MSU and Vandy. I want to see us go toe to toe with UGa and Florida and Carolina. I want a game against Bama that makes me think we are gaining on them and there isn't that much difference. I want walkovers against UK and Troy and Akron.

That sets the bar at about 9-3, I guess, but 9-3 can look a lot of different ways. It is entirely possible to go 9-3 this season and not beat anybody worth a damn with a couple of blowout losses. That won't cut it. What I want is to compete for championships and reason to believe the program is pretty close to doing just that. I don't think I'm going to get it, but I'd love to be surprised.

 

I agree, it's not completely about win total. If they still can't run the ball yet win 8-9 games because they have a few games with Bray throwing for 500 yards than I wouldn't feel good about it. For the record, I don't see them winning that many but Bray and his receivers should give them a puncher's chance at times if they can turn games into a shootout.

 

If we can't run the ball with everything we have this year, it will never happen with this offense.

 

The only win total that I'll trust Dooley is if he wins 25 games this year.

 

Exactly, and I wouldn't feel good about a higher win total if they can't run the ball. I would then assume it had more to do with Bray airing it out than our fine coach on the sideline.

 

10 wins and being in every single game for me. I would like to see the team fired up for every single game and bring the intensity! Keep the foot on the pedal and beat the brakes off everyone.

 

Or drawing plays in the huddle.

Winning a lot this year won't regain my confidence in Dooley. 2013 will tell the tale of Derek to me.

I see this year as either being where Bray and company stay healthy and motivated and win a lot or Dooley gets fired.

I have no confidence in the HC to do anything right, not even stay out of the way which is what he needs to do with the offense and the defense.

 

If we're 10-2 after the Kentucky game, I'll reevaluate my stance.

 

To feel like he earned another year - 9-10 wins and thats being competitive in the the L's. (which would be Bama, UGA, and or USCe)

At that. It would mean he beat the teams he is better or even with in talent IMO.

 

I may come across as terribly negative with my answer, but what he accomplishes this year with a qb he didn't recruit and two WRs he held onto for two weeks won't build confidence.

I think Chizik is a terrible coach that bought a qb. A NC didn't change my mind on him and it wouldn't on Dooley either

 

10 wins would only please me if followed it up with a top 5 recruiting class.

If we win 10, I'd assume we've seen the last of Bray, Rogers, and Hunter. Without those guys, we're right back in 7-5 territory.

 

Point of clarification: in his two years as head coach, Dooley has never gotten us to 7-5 territory.