There's no way to know how this season plays out. Only in 2 seasons has pre-season polls even gotten 75% correct by the time the season ended. Pre-season polls are 90% about the last season results, not what will happen this season. It's why the CFP doesn't release their first poll until October. We play 8 ranked teams but all of them could be unranked by the end of the season, not probable but possible. The issue is the transfer portal. There's no way to know which players benefit their new team. Look at Mertz. No one this time last year thought he would do anything and yet he was one of the best QBs last year. That said, we have an 800lb gorilla on our backs that we can't seem to shake. We can't rebuild offensive lines. The one thing McElwain did well was produce stellar offensive lines. Since the Mullen 1st season, we haven't come close to producing a quality offensive line. Secondly, no defense since McElwain. Maybe some carryover to Mullen's 1st season, but really McElwain didn't do well in recruiting the defensive side and it was ultimately his downfall. It only got worse after he was sacked. This season comes down to both sides of trenches. If Mertz is being forced to run for his life on every snap, expect the same offensive production or maybe worse. Defensively, statistically, we can't get any worse. We were the bottom in almost every defensive stat kept. If not the bottom, we were touching the bottom with extended toes. But we could also remain the same and that would easily spell a 2-10 to 4-8 season. The other issue is very very few road wins and not a single one against multiple ranked teams since a guy named Muschamp. 2012 was the last time we beat at least 2 ranked teams on the road and that year we beat 3 in total. Since 2012, we have just 2 total road wins against teams that finished the season ranked.
I'd like to know if our offense will be able to score each time they get the ball. That's the standard I always start off with.....
The NCAA is becoming more and more like the NFL where you can't continue to look at last season or the last 3 seasons. This year's team is better than the last 3 teams because they have finally gotten players that want to be here and got rid of players that did not want to be here. We got coaches (HARRIS) that are teaching fundamentals like TACKLING. We got rid of coaches that were collecting a check and didn't want to recruit or be here (RAYMOND). With the addition of Ron Roberts to help Sandlot, our defense will be night and day better.
How many teams in the top 10 have backup QBs to take over for 3-4 games if the starter got hurt? I think UGA, Ole Miss, Tennessee and FSU would really be hurt if their starter went down. I think Florida could survive with Millen and DJ.
Uga has 5*s and kids we wanted. Ole miss has 2 QBs we really wanted. I think those 2 might be fine. The last 2 could be in trouble, but fsus backup might be better than dju
Here's my thing on the OL, why are we having issues recruiting top OL when obviously we have a need. One might think we would have an advantage since we have 2 coaches on the OL which should mean better coaching. Is it possible that our 2 OL coaches suck at recruiting kind of like Hevesy? If our OL remains sucky then BN's experiment of having 2 OL coaches has failed. One would think that that alone should bring about solid line play. But even if our OL is basically the same as last years bunch, we still scored enough points that had we had an average D we would have had a better record. Right now, our OL recruiting for next year isn't good so two things need to happen. One we need a winning record that includes beating teams rated higher than. us. Secondly, we need to hit the portal hard and pay up.
Our crop of recruited OL are looking like upgrades over what we are getting out of the portal. Hitting the portal is desperation when it comes to OL, because they are not out there to get. Herman, Mazzcua, and Goodwin didn't work out. The only ones that have worked out are the ones he brought with him, and Cybo was an absolute stud. Waites is in probably a 7th or 8th man up on the OL. You and nobody else really knows how our OL recruiting is going for next year, because we are likely only taking a couple of OL, and they are likely committed to other schools currently. Although I would like a bit better recruiting at OT: Fletcher Westphal was a top 12 OT. Rod Kearney was a top 3 IOL. (projected 6th man if not a starter) Jason Zandamela was the top IOL. Caden Jones was a top 25 OT. Kiyunta Goodwin was a 5 star OT Knijeah Harris (starter) was a way underrated IOL out of IMG who played his freshman year and is the reason that Sr. Richie Leonard didn't get enough NIL to stay, unless you believe Richie's story that he wanted to win big with a team that got beaten by 60 points by Georgia. Bryce Lovett is one that the coaches feel good enough to put on the field as a seventh or eighth man. The others all have the right bodies to work out.
Isn't it a shame that we're having to make a big deal out of the fundamentals and not players superlatives. The assistant coaches have been a stumbling bock from day one for this coach, and it's all about his staff. I hope Napier finally got the right coaches to teach these young men what it takes to play as a team... and with that comes the winning part.
Frankly, I hear something similar every year we have been coming off of a poor previous season. I put little stock in it. I hope its true, and we only have little more than a week until we begin to find out.
I have not heard anything about Pyburn this year. Is he practicing, back from his injury? Would seem like a quick return considering that he tore his ACL in the second last game of the season.
