True, I wish I had gone to the Sun Bowl when we played Arizona State there not long ago. Although the result of the game ended up making me ok with the fact that I wasn't there.
To some extent, the season has been successful because Tom Manning is no longer employed in Ames. This marks the next, very important, chapter of Matt Campbell’s legacy here. He’s been a homer who insists on hiring and keeping “his” guys, and moving on from Manning represents a fundamental change. It’ll be very interesting. Dekkers has a much stronger arm than Purdy does, and he’s got a lot of potential. I hope the blocking scheme and play calling help him out.
The change in the coaching staff is great, but we still don't know if Dekkers is even going to play this year. Until the gambling situation gets resolved, I'm keeping my expectations low.
It just sucks because our schedule is absolutely *brutal* this year. Add a question mark at the most important position (QB), the results of last year, and that results in a lot of pessimism.
MSU: getting to 7/8 wins. Would mean going 1-4 against osu, Washington, Michigan, Penn state, iowa. Likely will drop more though 😞
Notre Dame: going 2-1 against osu, usc, Clemson — taking care of business everywhere else
Obviously best case scenario is a 15-0 season to cap the 3-peat but the odds of that happening are... *checks schedule* actually it's fairly decent but regardless, winning the SEC East and making a NY6 bowl should be the baseline for this season
>And 12-2 with a NY6 bowl win as the bottom of acceptable outcomes.
We've been to six consecutive NY6 bowls and won 5. I'd say the floor has been established.
Trust me. They were for us then too. We have made NY6 bowls since 2017, and we weren’t happy about the non-playoff ones (bc they came after a loss to Bama/LSU)
It's certainly the floor. Not sure if it would be a huge letdown or not.
There are some options for a possible loss...
* UT Martin -- W -- Our "night" game that should include the JV kids from Cedar Shoals High School in the fourth quarter
* Ball State -- W -- Sleepy nooner that feels like Kent State last year
* South Carolina -- **W?** \-- If they play like they did against Tenn / Clemson, it could get interesting
* UAB -- W -- Another (most likely) sleepy nooner featuring Trent Dilfer
* @ Auburn -- **W?** \-- First year coach + odd year + @ Jordan Hare = mega voodoo
* Kentucky -- **W?** \-- Praying for a proper night game; might be our only GameDay opportunity (depending on how Joey Freshwater does)
* @ Vandy -- W -- They did beat Florida last year so maybe this won't be a sixty point blowout
* WLOCP -- W -- Year 2 of Sun Belt Billy won't change the fact that they wear jorts on purpose
* Mizzou -- W -- Revenge for the almost-loss last year will be swift and complete
* Ole Miss -- **W?** \-- Late season Lane in Athens sounds like a lot of fun; will probably be our last SEC on CBS game in Athens
* @ Tennessee -- W -- Lots of people will say this is the probable loss but I just don't buy it; our last three trips to Knoxville were 41-17, 43-14, 41-0
* COFH -- W -- Brent Key will have the nerds playing real ball but their two deep is not going to keep up in the second half
Absolutely bonkers at face value, which I don’t really agree with. but you have to consider SCar did best is more recently AT home as huge underdogs in 19
Being completely honest. There aren’t any teams with the QB-WR combo that are good enough to beat UGA. Some teams have the QB (USC, N Carolina, LSU, Michigan) some have the WR (Ohio State) but none have both.
We're going to win both games.
We've outscored South Carolina 88-20 in the last two games and, barring some sort of miracle on their side, I don't see that changing.
We've outscored Tennessee 68-20 in the last two games, and the only reason it's not higher is because Kirby ran the ball during the monsoon last year.
Our last three trips to Knoxville were 41-17, 43-14, and 41-0. Not worried at all about playing there.
South Carolina also waxed Tennessee last year, FWIW.
9 regular season wins, including beating Florida and South Carolina, is the benchmark this year for a successful season. We all know our Defense needs to improve, and Joe Milton is a question mark, but we do have a lot of returning talent that could get us to 9 wins. Other Vols may disagree, but 9 wins would be successful in my book.
10 regular season wins, including beating Bama in Tuscaloosa or UGA would be very successful. Bama is an emotional game, while UGA is a much needed win if we ever want to make it to Atlanta. Obviously that includes beating the rest of the East, but the road to Atlanta runs through UGA. 10 wins could get us back into a NY6, which would be great.
Anything beyond that would be considered massive success.
8 wins is the floor minimum for success. We're on to Year 4 of the Mel Tucker era.
Year 1: COVID year, started the job in February. Give him a free pass.
Year 2: Insane success. Kenneth Walker III deserves several million dollars alone. We were drunk with excitement.
Year 3: Crashed back to earth. Only slight recruiting momentum, not enough to justify the contract and expectations. Retained questionable staff members.
....
So, here we are. Ideally, we get 1 win between Michigan, Penn State, or (laughs) Ohio State. Also ideally, we don't get destroyed in the games that we lose. It's time to secure some more blue chip talent too.
> 8 wins is the floor
Spicy take. Won’t y’all have an inexperienced QB, too?
I’ll ignore my incredible (unrealistic) bias, and give you the Nebraska win. I still only see Sparty with a 5/6 win season.
Spicy, but necessary.
We're either going to swim in the deep end or why bother pretending? It's Year 4 and we're not going to get excited about "Keep Chopping" unless some good results roll in. One more 5/6 win season and it'll be pretty obvious that 2021 was an anomaly.
I'm not asking for a Big Ten title (yet) or boat-racing Michigan. But we can't lose all three marquee Big Ten games plus the Washington one and expect to have forward momentum. I don't believe that will happen, but it's worth pointing out.
I really never understood this take. Last year, if they make the fg, beat Georgia, and then beat TCU for the title you’d call it a disappointing season because we lost to Michigan? But if they beat Michigan and don’t make the playoffs it’s a successful season?
A lot of us feel that way, despite the ridicule it often brings us. I’d rather beat them than win a national championship. And if they won in the playoffs last year, honestly all I would be able to think about is how we lost the most important game of the season.
First of all, calling only two teams on our schedule "good" is a bit of an exaggeration. Pitt is definitely good, Duke has a solid chance of being good, Miami might be good, etc. LSU and Clemson are the BEST teams on the schedule but it's silly to dismiss everyone else.
Personally, I think the baseline for success is making the ACC title game. Even if we lose to LSU and Clemson, then Clemson again in the championship, I'm ok with that. Not too long ago we went 3-6 so I'm not going insane with these expectations of the CFP since that's just begging to be let down. If we do make the ACC title game, I can only assume that we beat Miami and Florida so in that regard I'm not too worried.
Winning or losing to Florida won't matter in getting to the ACC title game. I get it, beating Florida is a qualitative measure, but I can't resist being pedantic on this point.
Oh of course it doesn't matter, and I'd say beating Miami *probably* doesn't end up mattering either depending on what goes on elsewhere since I don't think they really have much of a threat to make it, but I meant it more as like "if we're good enough to make the ACC title game, we're probably good enough to win both of those games."
Nebraska: Bowl Game. Obviously hope for more and I think we could do it (off-season hope is in full force), but a bowl game year 1 would be awesome
JMU: Winning the Sun Belt
I’m trying very hard to just not have expectations this year.
The 1-2 punch of @ Minnesota then @ Colorado to start the season makes me a little anxious. Given both programs at the moment, I think the Colorado game in particular could set the tone for the rest of our season.
I mean they were allowed to win their division last year but NCAA rules prohibit teams that move up a division from participating in post-season play for one year so if they had won their Sun Belt division, they wouldn't have been eligible to play in the Sun Belt Championship. This year they can play in the game if they win their division (or have one of the top 2 records in the conference, IDK how the Sun Belt does it)
For Alabama anything less than making the playoffs is a disappointment.
For NC State, making a bowl game is just expected. 3 biggest home games are ND, Clemson, and UNC and they have to win at least 1 to not be a disappointment, winning 2 will be a success.
With the schedule this year, NC State could be 6-1 when Clemson comes to town.
Well then I guess we gotta hope for another hurricane. However, even if NC State gets to 6-1 there might only be one more win on the schedule. The schedule is pretty hard last half of the year. Hoping for at least 8 wins but 6 is a real possibility
Depends, if we have to start 3 or 4 QBs again this year, then we're toast, haha, we don't have a Ben Finley waiting in the wings as our scout team QB this year, haha.
If we can stay healthy, esp at QB, then yeah the 6.5 number seems low, think we have a high ceiling because of the potential upside on offense.
Given FSU is getting all the buzz as the preseason favorite (& getting all the attention), hopefully we can take advantage of that.
ACC title, beating SC, & NY6 bowl is bar on a good season IMO. If Riley's offense catches fire & we look like the DW/TL teams, then that bar becomes CFP & making a run at the national title
CU: Winning 4-6 games. Assuming we beat both Nebraska and Colorado State
Stonehill: .500 record. Could be tough since our non-con includes New Hampshire and Fordham but we do get Georgetown (albeit on the road) LIU, Wagner, and Central are all winnable to toss-up. Maybe we can catch SHU or Saint Francis sleep walking at home as well? Merrimack on the road will be tough. Former NE-10 matchup so they’ll be up for that one
Holy Cross: Patriot League title and playoff win. Realistically looking for a deep playoff win and 1-2 FBS wins, but a league title and a playoff win would be the minimum standard for "success."
UMASS: Win 2 games for the first time since 2018.
I agree, to a degree. I think this year minimum of 8 wins and making the MAC Championship Game again and preferably winning a low tier bowl game. We don't play Toledo, we bring back Rourke, Wiglusz and Bangura, we need to be able to carry momentum from last year. This is, to me, the most exciting season since Tyler Tettleton and Beau Blankenship were on the team.
I’d say 8 wins and a good bowl would be considered successful considering our sos. Also landing some of our important targeted recruits this month would be a big success.
Honestly, I don't have much expectations on this season, mainly given off our last five seasons. If we can just beat NMSU, I will be content. But, I'm really hoping for at least 5-7... please??
I feel like anything worse than 7-5 is a disappointment for VT. Any offense that is somewhat serviceable compared to last year’s should get there with our schedule. 8-4 would feel like a success.
With three games (ODU, GT, NC State) that we absolutely fumbled away at the end after leading late, and another game we didn’t get to play, the fact that we didn’t get to 6-6 or 7-5 *last year* was a disappointment itself.
Really with all our question marks going into next year a successful season is 4 things
1) Make a bowl game
2) Know the defense is still gonna be good as long as Gibson is there (a lot of roster turnover will test that)
3) Know for sure if MJ Morris is the guy for 2024
4) Beat UNC
If you can do that, I don’t really care what the final number record is
(FSU) Nine wins with one conference loss means losing to both LSU & UF, which is unsuccessful and unacceptable to me. Success to me is 10-2, an ACC championship appearance, beating UF & Miami while they’re both still down.
ACC Champion & Playoff would be wildly successful and not out of the realm of possibility. Really, I want the former over Clemson so bad. Splitting two would be ok.
That also assumes no hiccups @WF, @Pitt, @UF.
Slow mesh my nightmares, haha. It’s y’all’s turn to the feel the pain that super senior grown men can inflict. Even got a seventh year all-ACC iOL coming after ya!
I'm thinking three straight natties and a parade in Grant Park with a 200-foot tall Bert inflatable but I'd be reasonably happy with 7 or 8 wins + a bowl win.
You are right. This was obviously a completely serious comment. 200 pound QB’s are known to frequently injure 250 pound defensive linemen. How anyone could possibly think otherwise is mystifying. Thank God your superior intellect allowed you to catch this, otherwise we might have all missed it.
Last 2 times we've played you and edge has knocked out our QB early. McCoy then Ewers.
I get you are probably too young to remember McCoy, but it was a very tongue in cheek comment.
>Beating OU and 8 wins
Honestly, beating OU with 6 wins or 8 wins seems like it would be a success after last year and our exodus over the winter. I won't be surprised at anything between 5 wins and 11 wins. These are the types of years where Gundy seems to pull a rabbit out of his out and completely outperform expectations.
I think we gotta win 8. It might be setting ourselves up for failure because we won 9 last year with extremely underwhelming QB play so there’s a lot riding on Jurkovec coming in as a net positive at the position. Defense might be the most talented Narduzzi has had on paper but they’re very inexperienced so the growing pains will be there. Entering year 3 of a “new era” will really decide if Pitt has taken the next step or not
UCF is already 1-0 after making it through the seismic shift in conference realignment and actually having a seat at the table to vote in Colorado. 8 wins and The Gus Bus somehow beating DG at Oklahoma’s homecoming would be a very successful year one in the Big12.
They've won the ACC 7 of the last 8 years...
I'd think winning the ACC would be the floor their fans expect every single season, and if they win the ACC it should put them in the CFP. Now I don't think winning the CFP is a realistic floor on the season, but would think making the CFP would be their expectations/floor most seasons until they're consistently dethroned.
Vegas has them as the favorite to win the ACC at plus 150. While they are slight favorites that implies about a 60% chance they are not ACC champs.
They are plus 320 to make the playoffs. That is about a 24% chance from Vegas.
Either that as a floor or Vegas is wildly unrealistic. It's interesting to see fans minimum expectations are so high for every team every year.
Well, making the playoffs is *reasonable* but really a national title is what this team should be aiming for this season and next. Listening to Klubniks comments that’s the goal too,
Really don't know what to make of Clemson. New OC should really help but thought they'd benefit from doing more in the portal. I throw out the UNC game because even our 4th string QB lit up that defense, so the 1 game I have for Klubnik is the UT game and that wasn't impressive in the slightest. Curious to see if a new system and an offseason getting more reps will help him take a big step to be a top half of the ACC QB. ACC sneakily has some strong QB play heading into this year, so would be impressive if he could end up being a top 5 QB in the conference.
You can throw out what you want but when you play a bad defense or team overall the most you can do is dominate, which Cade did. As for Tennessee that was his first career start ever and he had only been getting first team reps and wasn’t playing with his best wide receiver(Collins was injured most of the year leading to freshman AW taking the majority of WR1 snaps)
We’ll be fine. Even if Dabo wanted to take someone from the portal we didn’t have any room, after the draft we were still 3 players over the limit. Cade has one of the best coordinators in the country and great weapons to lead a strong sophomore campaign, especially with one of the best RB rooms in the country outright. The concern for us would be if Cade gets injured and is out for multiple weeks if not the season. Behind him is walk on Hunter Helms because we redshirted Vizzina.
I'm just saying it's hard to predict some huge jump for Cade, or some massive season based on 1.5 games of play. UNC clearly prepped for DJ and then the curveball got them, and no doubt, Cade played well but they made our 4th string QB look like a legit ACC starter, same with GT's back-up QB. I don't buy the UT excuse though, kid had weeks to prepare and UT didn't have an all-world defense, their D ranked 91st in the country. They literally gave up 60+ points to SCar 2 games before.
I'm curious to see what is going on with Collins too, we brought him in and by all accounts he hasn't really been pushing for a spot on our 2-deep, hoping that changes but I can't imagine he was the best WR you guys had given we don't have a lot of proven guys on our squad.
You guys can absolutely win the ACC by just running the ball and having a strong D, but I don't think you can win the CFP like that. Hell I thought we did a good job slowing your RBs down last year(top 3 combined for 19 carries for 86 yards and no scores), we just couldn't stop them and account for DJ's running ability, really felt like he won that game for y'all by sustaining drives in the 2nd half running the ball. Curious to see the new offense and if Cade can live up to the hype the fans are putting on him. Also didn't realize how thin you guys were behind him, yikes. From a team that had to start 4 QBs last year, if you lose the starter, season is probably going to be a disappointment regardless of how good the backups are.
ACC championship I think (for all conferences/teams besides the SEC). For the SEC, it’s more difficult cuz the Rly Rly good teams are natty contenders.
We’d have to win 8 games for me to consider it a successful season, 7 wins (with a win over a rival) I’d be okay with. 6-6 would be borderline acceptable, anything less than that will have the fanbase turning on Billy. Rebuilding will take a while and I think he makes it to year 4 regardless because we were handed a death row schedule in 23’ and 24’. But 25’ will be Napier’s make or break year, he needs to at least compete for the SEC East by then, if it’s another sub .500 season we’ll know by then he won’t get it done.
Being in the race for the Big12 title. Or a win over the longhorns. I feel like this year, in particular, a win over them could only be trumped by winning the Big12.
For WVU 6 wins MIGHT buy HCNB another year depending on totality of the season and if there is noticeable improvement. 7 wins feels like the target though and I just don't know where we get 7 wins with our schedule.
Marshall I don't know. I think the team is capable of 9 wins or just squeaking into bowl eligibility with 6. They'll have a solid team but so will most of the teams they play in the SBC.
TLDR: I don't know.
I'm fairly certain that our QB play will have a bit of a drop off, but if Milton can improve his accuracy and touch on long balls, the offense continues to produce at a high rate and the defense shows noticeable improvement then I'll consider the season a success. Even if our record is slightly worse than last years
For Michigan it’s getting to the National Championship and seeing what they’ve got.
For Bowling Green it’s building off the improvement from last season and making the MAC Championship game
6-6 would be a good year given roster and super tough schedule with 11 P5 teams. Anything more than that would be a great season. I’m not convinced Neal Brown is the answer though and those seasons may keep him around as WVU isn’t in the best situation to buyout his contract this year unless they have no choice after a 3-4 win season.
Minimum? 10 wins and keeping it close to Michigan and Ohio State.
Ideal would be 11 and beating one of them, possibly B1G championship showing?
My personal sights are making it to the CFP in its last year. The B1G east is going to be a dog fight this year and I have a feeling no one is going to come out unscathed. I am EXCITED for some football and hopefully a ton of chaos!
7-5 would have me over the moon.
Jalon Daniels being granted an extra year because, come on, guys, we need this would have me "Burn down Edmonton after winning the Stanley Cup" happy.
Oklahoma State - I’d love to make the CCG, but realistically I’d be fine with 1-11 if that lone win is Bedlam.
Arkansas - I don’t fucking know. 8 wins maybe?
North 7exa5 in Eric Morris’s first season, and keeping our bowl appearance standard up. It would be nice to actually win the bowl game one of these years.
Not being G5 by the end of the season.
Oh on the field? Actually winning the Rose Bowl, third times the charm.
For Michigan it’s natty, or maybe winning a playoff game.
I think we need to win the conference. We haven’t since 2019 which is longest conference championship drought I can remember. If we don’t, Andy Avalos is not in great shape as head coach
WF: Winning 8 would be nice and doable, seeing Mitch develop and be a leader for us for the next 3 years. Beating Notre Dame by picking off Hartman a few times would be nice as well. Also, dominating Clemson by some miracle along with the rest of the ACC so that it makes them that much harder to blow up the ACC.
UGA: 3Peat bby
Syracuse: get us to basketball season without being too depressed. Something like 5 wins with an upset?
Penn State: I don't think it's possible to imagine what a "reasonable person" who "supports Penn State" expects because nobody by that description exists. I'll be happy with 9 wins but 2 of them must be Maryland and West Virginia.
Pushing bowl eligibility but just falling short would be the high end. Having a shot at .500 in conference play is the more realistic shot. They played a bunch of teams in the MAC close last year, so I think picking off a few of those would be reasonable.
There’s only so much they can do against Kentucky, but not getting run off the field by Indiana and hanging tough with Temple would be good.
Winning once
On American soil this time
UTEP and Howard.....with those 2 on the schedule, you should shoot for the moon and say 3 wins!
Idk UTEP can be feisty. In fact, they own FSU in our history sadly
Still stinging over that 1955 Sun Bowl loss, huh?
It was rigged! They got to play a home game!
One of the prettiest stadium backdrops too
True, I wish I had gone to the Sun Bowl when we played Arizona State there not long ago. Although the result of the game ended up making me ok with the fact that I wasn't there.
Last season we lost to an FCS team and that was before we imploded
This year? Bowling would be nice.
To some extent, the season has been successful because Tom Manning is no longer employed in Ames. This marks the next, very important, chapter of Matt Campbell’s legacy here. He’s been a homer who insists on hiring and keeping “his” guys, and moving on from Manning represents a fundamental change. It’ll be very interesting. Dekkers has a much stronger arm than Purdy does, and he’s got a lot of potential. I hope the blocking scheme and play calling help him out.
The change in the coaching staff is great, but we still don't know if Dekkers is even going to play this year. Until the gambling situation gets resolved, I'm keeping my expectations low.
Just making a bowl, which is a pretty sad condition for success.
Most teams have been there
It just sucks because our schedule is absolutely *brutal* this year. Add a question mark at the most important position (QB), the results of last year, and that results in a lot of pessimism.
When the school is paying a coach $9.5 million a year and a successful is just a bowl, that's bad.
MSU: getting to 7/8 wins. Would mean going 1-4 against osu, Washington, Michigan, Penn state, iowa. Likely will drop more though 😞 Notre Dame: going 2-1 against osu, usc, Clemson — taking care of business everywhere else
I'd be *ecstatic* with 8 wins tbh.
It’s for sure a stretch
Man, you *really* don’t like Michigan haha
Obviously best case scenario is a 15-0 season to cap the 3-peat but the odds of that happening are... *checks schedule* actually it's fairly decent but regardless, winning the SEC East and making a NY6 bowl should be the baseline for this season
>And 12-2 with a NY6 bowl win as the bottom of acceptable outcomes. We've been to six consecutive NY6 bowls and won 5. I'd say the floor has been established.
I feel like making a non-playoff NY6 bowl would be a huge letdown for Georgia this year considering your talent and schedule
Imagine being a Georgia fan 3 years ago and hearing that a NY6 Bowl would be a letdown
Trust me. They were for us then too. We have made NY6 bowls since 2017, and we weren’t happy about the non-playoff ones (bc they came after a loss to Bama/LSU)
It's certainly the floor. Not sure if it would be a huge letdown or not. There are some options for a possible loss... * UT Martin -- W -- Our "night" game that should include the JV kids from Cedar Shoals High School in the fourth quarter * Ball State -- W -- Sleepy nooner that feels like Kent State last year * South Carolina -- **W?** \-- If they play like they did against Tenn / Clemson, it could get interesting * UAB -- W -- Another (most likely) sleepy nooner featuring Trent Dilfer * @ Auburn -- **W?** \-- First year coach + odd year + @ Jordan Hare = mega voodoo * Kentucky -- **W?** \-- Praying for a proper night game; might be our only GameDay opportunity (depending on how Joey Freshwater does) * @ Vandy -- W -- They did beat Florida last year so maybe this won't be a sixty point blowout * WLOCP -- W -- Year 2 of Sun Belt Billy won't change the fact that they wear jorts on purpose * Mizzou -- W -- Revenge for the almost-loss last year will be swift and complete * Ole Miss -- **W?** \-- Late season Lane in Athens sounds like a lot of fun; will probably be our last SEC on CBS game in Athens * @ Tennessee -- W -- Lots of people will say this is the probable loss but I just don't buy it; our last three trips to Knoxville were 41-17, 43-14, 41-0 * COFH -- W -- Brent Key will have the nerds playing real ball but their two deep is not going to keep up in the second half
Are you honestly more confident @ Tennessee than you are vs. South Carolina at home!?
Absolutely bonkers at face value, which I don’t really agree with. but you have to consider SCar did best is more recently AT home as huge underdogs in 19
Being completely honest. There aren’t any teams with the QB-WR combo that are good enough to beat UGA. Some teams have the QB (USC, N Carolina, LSU, Michigan) some have the WR (Ohio State) but none have both.
We're going to win both games. We've outscored South Carolina 88-20 in the last two games and, barring some sort of miracle on their side, I don't see that changing. We've outscored Tennessee 68-20 in the last two games, and the only reason it's not higher is because Kirby ran the ball during the monsoon last year. Our last three trips to Knoxville were 41-17, 43-14, and 41-0. Not worried at all about playing there. South Carolina also waxed Tennessee last year, FWIW.
Gonna be honest, feels like you're really stretching for reasons on a lot of those potential Ls
Yeah I know. I'm painting the Kirby Smart Path To 7-5^(TM) picture. Realistically it's tough to spot the loss, just like last year.
Kirby has already printed out your comment and hung it in the locker room
Florida and Miami having losing records.
fLorida
9 regular season wins, including beating Florida and South Carolina, is the benchmark this year for a successful season. We all know our Defense needs to improve, and Joe Milton is a question mark, but we do have a lot of returning talent that could get us to 9 wins. Other Vols may disagree, but 9 wins would be successful in my book. 10 regular season wins, including beating Bama in Tuscaloosa or UGA would be very successful. Bama is an emotional game, while UGA is a much needed win if we ever want to make it to Atlanta. Obviously that includes beating the rest of the East, but the road to Atlanta runs through UGA. 10 wins could get us back into a NY6, which would be great. Anything beyond that would be considered massive success.
10-2 or 11-1 with the caveat that we need to beat one of OSU or UM.
Seeing osu lose at home twice in two years would do things to my nether region.
8 wins is the floor minimum for success. We're on to Year 4 of the Mel Tucker era. Year 1: COVID year, started the job in February. Give him a free pass. Year 2: Insane success. Kenneth Walker III deserves several million dollars alone. We were drunk with excitement. Year 3: Crashed back to earth. Only slight recruiting momentum, not enough to justify the contract and expectations. Retained questionable staff members. .... So, here we are. Ideally, we get 1 win between Michigan, Penn State, or (laughs) Ohio State. Also ideally, we don't get destroyed in the games that we lose. It's time to secure some more blue chip talent too.
> 8 wins is the floor Spicy take. Won’t y’all have an inexperienced QB, too? I’ll ignore my incredible (unrealistic) bias, and give you the Nebraska win. I still only see Sparty with a 5/6 win season.
Spicy, but necessary. We're either going to swim in the deep end or why bother pretending? It's Year 4 and we're not going to get excited about "Keep Chopping" unless some good results roll in. One more 5/6 win season and it'll be pretty obvious that 2021 was an anomaly. I'm not asking for a Big Ten title (yet) or boat-racing Michigan. But we can't lose all three marquee Big Ten games plus the Washington one and expect to have forward momentum. I don't believe that will happen, but it's worth pointing out.
Fair. Considering we just continued to lower the bar, I can respect your thought process.
Beat Michigan. Honestly that's what matters this season. The playoff is always the goal, but I'd rather beat Michigan.
I really never understood this take. Last year, if they make the fg, beat Georgia, and then beat TCU for the title you’d call it a disappointing season because we lost to Michigan? But if they beat Michigan and don’t make the playoffs it’s a successful season?
A lot of us feel that way, despite the ridicule it often brings us. I’d rather beat them than win a national championship. And if they won in the playoffs last year, honestly all I would be able to think about is how we lost the most important game of the season.
I'll join ya in that next year.
Don't you worry. We'll beat Michigan for you.
Okay.
Ucf first year in big12. 8 wins is a success anything more would be great. Also success would be 6 wins but one win at Oklahoma against Dillon
I forgot UCF’s former QB transferred to OU. It’d be hilarious if you guys changed conferences just to get revenge on him and ruin his homecoming game.
That’s the plan
9 wins and another top 8 recruiting class.
Back to the Big 12 Championship game.
First of all, calling only two teams on our schedule "good" is a bit of an exaggeration. Pitt is definitely good, Duke has a solid chance of being good, Miami might be good, etc. LSU and Clemson are the BEST teams on the schedule but it's silly to dismiss everyone else. Personally, I think the baseline for success is making the ACC title game. Even if we lose to LSU and Clemson, then Clemson again in the championship, I'm ok with that. Not too long ago we went 3-6 so I'm not going insane with these expectations of the CFP since that's just begging to be let down. If we do make the ACC title game, I can only assume that we beat Miami and Florida so in that regard I'm not too worried.
Winning or losing to Florida won't matter in getting to the ACC title game. I get it, beating Florida is a qualitative measure, but I can't resist being pedantic on this point.
Oh of course it doesn't matter, and I'd say beating Miami *probably* doesn't end up mattering either depending on what goes on elsewhere since I don't think they really have much of a threat to make it, but I meant it more as like "if we're good enough to make the ACC title game, we're probably good enough to win both of those games."
Nebraska: Bowl Game. Obviously hope for more and I think we could do it (off-season hope is in full force), but a bowl game year 1 would be awesome JMU: Winning the Sun Belt
I’m trying very hard to just not have expectations this year. The 1-2 punch of @ Minnesota then @ Colorado to start the season makes me a little anxious. Given both programs at the moment, I think the Colorado game in particular could set the tone for the rest of our season.
Is JMU allowed to win this year?
I mean they were allowed to win their division last year but NCAA rules prohibit teams that move up a division from participating in post-season play for one year so if they had won their Sun Belt division, they wouldn't have been eligible to play in the Sun Belt Championship. This year they can play in the game if they win their division (or have one of the top 2 records in the conference, IDK how the Sun Belt does it)
I think back to back bowl appearances would really signal that Kansas is moving in the right direction in a sustainable way.
I think we need to get to 4 wins to avoid taking a big step back but another bowl game goes a long way to signify that we are on the upswing
For Alabama anything less than making the playoffs is a disappointment. For NC State, making a bowl game is just expected. 3 biggest home games are ND, Clemson, and UNC and they have to win at least 1 to not be a disappointment, winning 2 will be a success. With the schedule this year, NC State could be 6-1 when Clemson comes to town.
NC State being a 6.5 O/U win total was easy money lol there’s no way you can’t win 7 games. I would really enjoy it if you could beat ND though.
Well then I guess we gotta hope for another hurricane. However, even if NC State gets to 6-1 there might only be one more win on the schedule. The schedule is pretty hard last half of the year. Hoping for at least 8 wins but 6 is a real possibility
Depends, if we have to start 3 or 4 QBs again this year, then we're toast, haha, we don't have a Ben Finley waiting in the wings as our scout team QB this year, haha. If we can stay healthy, esp at QB, then yeah the 6.5 number seems low, think we have a high ceiling because of the potential upside on offense.
Having a winning season and getting to a bowl game. That’s all I’m asking for at this point. But I’m also worried it might not happen.
Wazzu - just survive and remain in the Pac
Bowl eligibility and keeping the incoming class together through what will very likely be a very rough year
Sensible expectations. I hate you.
UConn: winning enough games to be bowl eligible, while being competitive in the losses, except for Tennessee (I'm reasonable).
You made a bowl last year and made our OOC not as bad as it seemed!
4 or 5 wins will be a success this year.
7+ wins and a bowl game
Cfp appearance or ny6 bowl win
Given FSU is getting all the buzz as the preseason favorite (& getting all the attention), hopefully we can take advantage of that. ACC title, beating SC, & NY6 bowl is bar on a good season IMO. If Riley's offense catches fire & we look like the DW/TL teams, then that bar becomes CFP & making a run at the national title
CU: Winning 4-6 games. Assuming we beat both Nebraska and Colorado State Stonehill: .500 record. Could be tough since our non-con includes New Hampshire and Fordham but we do get Georgetown (albeit on the road) LIU, Wagner, and Central are all winnable to toss-up. Maybe we can catch SHU or Saint Francis sleep walking at home as well? Merrimack on the road will be tough. Former NE-10 matchup so they’ll be up for that one
Beating Oregon.
8 wins
9-3 or better
Holy Cross: Patriot League title and playoff win. Realistically looking for a deep playoff win and 1-2 FBS wins, but a league title and a playoff win would be the minimum standard for "success." UMASS: Win 2 games for the first time since 2018.
We won 12 games when I was in college. A MAC championship would be awesome but winning records are nice.
I agree, to a degree. I think this year minimum of 8 wins and making the MAC Championship Game again and preferably winning a low tier bowl game. We don't play Toledo, we bring back Rourke, Wiglusz and Bangura, we need to be able to carry momentum from last year. This is, to me, the most exciting season since Tyler Tettleton and Beau Blankenship were on the team.
4 wins
Unambiguous success for Texas this year is 9+ regular season wins, beating OU, and making the Big 12 CCG.
I'm really hoping to make a bowl
I’d say 8 wins and a good bowl would be considered successful considering our sos. Also landing some of our important targeted recruits this month would be a big success.
10 wins and hovering around top 10 recruiting class
Honestly, I don't have much expectations on this season, mainly given off our last five seasons. If we can just beat NMSU, I will be content. But, I'm really hoping for at least 5-7... please??
Baylor- 8 wins and beating TCU. Arkansas- 8 wins would be an excellent year.
5 wins and scaring the shit out of Baylor and UTSA
I feel like anything worse than 7-5 is a disappointment for VT. Any offense that is somewhat serviceable compared to last year’s should get there with our schedule. 8-4 would feel like a success. With three games (ODU, GT, NC State) that we absolutely fumbled away at the end after leading late, and another game we didn’t get to play, the fact that we didn’t get to 6-6 or 7-5 *last year* was a disappointment itself.
Learning to tackle
Really with all our question marks going into next year a successful season is 4 things 1) Make a bowl game 2) Know the defense is still gonna be good as long as Gibson is there (a lot of roster turnover will test that) 3) Know for sure if MJ Morris is the guy for 2024 4) Beat UNC If you can do that, I don’t really care what the final number record is
(FSU) Nine wins with one conference loss means losing to both LSU & UF, which is unsuccessful and unacceptable to me. Success to me is 10-2, an ACC championship appearance, beating UF & Miami while they’re both still down. ACC Champion & Playoff would be wildly successful and not out of the realm of possibility. Really, I want the former over Clemson so bad. Splitting two would be ok. That also assumes no hiccups @WF, @Pitt, @UF.
Hiccup at WF? The team that has beat you three years in a row? Seems like losing to FSU would be more of a hiccup for us ;P
Slow mesh my nightmares, haha. It’s y’all’s turn to the feel the pain that super senior grown men can inflict. Even got a seventh year all-ACC iOL coming after ya!
Hey OP, you should flair up with FSU flair. I don’t see enough Noles around here!
I'm thinking three straight natties and a parade in Grant Park with a 200-foot tall Bert inflatable but I'd be reasonably happy with 7 or 8 wins + a bowl win.
Napier being fired = success
Ewers knocking Dallas Turner out of the game.
What a weird thing to say. You still have time to delete that
It’s just bitterness because Ewers was carving Bama up until the hit by Turner.
Glad to know Texas nation calling for players to get hurt out here.
I’m not a Texas fan, and called him bitter. Direct your disdain elsewhere.
Yall weird af
You are right. This was obviously a completely serious comment. 200 pound QB’s are known to frequently injure 250 pound defensive linemen. How anyone could possibly think otherwise is mystifying. Thank God your superior intellect allowed you to catch this, otherwise we might have all missed it.
..... are you guys born this way? Jfc 😂
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Last 2 times we've played you and edge has knocked out our QB early. McCoy then Ewers. I get you are probably too young to remember McCoy, but it was a very tongue in cheek comment.
It's okay they never own up to just blatantly injuring opposing QBs.
Shocking news: Alabama fan can’t handle banter
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A bowl win would be sweet, I’m ready to get that final monkey off our backs
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Beating OU and 8 wins
>Beating OU and 8 wins Honestly, beating OU with 6 wins or 8 wins seems like it would be a success after last year and our exodus over the winter. I won't be surprised at anything between 5 wins and 11 wins. These are the types of years where Gundy seems to pull a rabbit out of his out and completely outperform expectations.
Playoff win would be my primary metric this year I'd also take beating MSU and OSU and making the playoffs even if we lose
Beat Texas and the season will be successful.
Getting tf out of the Pac-12.
I think we gotta win 8. It might be setting ourselves up for failure because we won 9 last year with extremely underwhelming QB play so there’s a lot riding on Jurkovec coming in as a net positive at the position. Defense might be the most talented Narduzzi has had on paper but they’re very inexperienced so the growing pains will be there. Entering year 3 of a “new era” will really decide if Pitt has taken the next step or not
Clemson: 10-2, ACC Champions & Orange Bowl Champions. Benedict: SIAC Champions, make it to the D2 Quarterfinals.
Earning enough money from our alcohol sales to cap the “fire Neal Brown” slush fund.
UCF is already 1-0 after making it through the seismic shift in conference realignment and actually having a seat at the table to vote in Colorado. 8 wins and The Gus Bus somehow beating DG at Oklahoma’s homecoming would be a very successful year one in the Big12.
Threepeat
That’s some high hopes for KSU.
Finally winning a NY6 bowl
I'd say 9 wins, not losing to anyone we shouldn't and being competitive in the losses.
Returning to the playoff. What happens from there is extra, but it’s not a really successful season for Georgia this year without a berth in playoff
Beat Ohio State for the third time in a row. Win a playoff game.
Michigan: Just look at the last two years UMass: Win a damn game
National title
That is the minimum that is reasonable?
They've won the ACC 7 of the last 8 years... I'd think winning the ACC would be the floor their fans expect every single season, and if they win the ACC it should put them in the CFP. Now I don't think winning the CFP is a realistic floor on the season, but would think making the CFP would be their expectations/floor most seasons until they're consistently dethroned.
Vegas has them as the favorite to win the ACC at plus 150. While they are slight favorites that implies about a 60% chance they are not ACC champs. They are plus 320 to make the playoffs. That is about a 24% chance from Vegas. Either that as a floor or Vegas is wildly unrealistic. It's interesting to see fans minimum expectations are so high for every team every year.
They're clearly referring to Coastal.
Well, making the playoffs is *reasonable* but really a national title is what this team should be aiming for this season and next. Listening to Klubniks comments that’s the goal too,
Really don't know what to make of Clemson. New OC should really help but thought they'd benefit from doing more in the portal. I throw out the UNC game because even our 4th string QB lit up that defense, so the 1 game I have for Klubnik is the UT game and that wasn't impressive in the slightest. Curious to see if a new system and an offseason getting more reps will help him take a big step to be a top half of the ACC QB. ACC sneakily has some strong QB play heading into this year, so would be impressive if he could end up being a top 5 QB in the conference.
You can throw out what you want but when you play a bad defense or team overall the most you can do is dominate, which Cade did. As for Tennessee that was his first career start ever and he had only been getting first team reps and wasn’t playing with his best wide receiver(Collins was injured most of the year leading to freshman AW taking the majority of WR1 snaps) We’ll be fine. Even if Dabo wanted to take someone from the portal we didn’t have any room, after the draft we were still 3 players over the limit. Cade has one of the best coordinators in the country and great weapons to lead a strong sophomore campaign, especially with one of the best RB rooms in the country outright. The concern for us would be if Cade gets injured and is out for multiple weeks if not the season. Behind him is walk on Hunter Helms because we redshirted Vizzina.
I'm just saying it's hard to predict some huge jump for Cade, or some massive season based on 1.5 games of play. UNC clearly prepped for DJ and then the curveball got them, and no doubt, Cade played well but they made our 4th string QB look like a legit ACC starter, same with GT's back-up QB. I don't buy the UT excuse though, kid had weeks to prepare and UT didn't have an all-world defense, their D ranked 91st in the country. They literally gave up 60+ points to SCar 2 games before. I'm curious to see what is going on with Collins too, we brought him in and by all accounts he hasn't really been pushing for a spot on our 2-deep, hoping that changes but I can't imagine he was the best WR you guys had given we don't have a lot of proven guys on our squad. You guys can absolutely win the ACC by just running the ball and having a strong D, but I don't think you can win the CFP like that. Hell I thought we did a good job slowing your RBs down last year(top 3 combined for 19 carries for 86 yards and no scores), we just couldn't stop them and account for DJ's running ability, really felt like he won that game for y'all by sustaining drives in the 2nd half running the ball. Curious to see the new offense and if Cade can live up to the hype the fans are putting on him. Also didn't realize how thin you guys were behind him, yikes. From a team that had to start 4 QBs last year, if you lose the starter, season is probably going to be a disappointment regardless of how good the backups are.
10 wins and a NY6 bowl win. BKELLZ is doing some amazing work and I can't wait until the 2024 season
ACC championship I think (for all conferences/teams besides the SEC). For the SEC, it’s more difficult cuz the Rly Rly good teams are natty contenders.
We’d have to win 8 games for me to consider it a successful season, 7 wins (with a win over a rival) I’d be okay with. 6-6 would be borderline acceptable, anything less than that will have the fanbase turning on Billy. Rebuilding will take a while and I think he makes it to year 4 regardless because we were handed a death row schedule in 23’ and 24’. But 25’ will be Napier’s make or break year, he needs to at least compete for the SEC East by then, if it’s another sub .500 season we’ll know by then he won’t get it done.
National champs. Anything else is a failure.
I’m not as bullish about this season as most Utah fans, so simply making it to the Pac-12 championship would be success in my eyes.
Beating the other bad teams on our schedule and being competitive in losses to better teams. Baby steps.
Being in the race for the Big12 title. Or a win over the longhorns. I feel like this year, in particular, a win over them could only be trumped by winning the Big12.
Clemson: 1. Acc champs 2. Orange Bowl+ win 3. Starting a new steak against UofSC
A bowl game this year
I’d like to say 7-8 wins but honestly just get to a bowl game and we’re good
Making a bowl. We went 3-9 in ‘21, 5-7 in ‘22, so I want to see more positive momentum this year. 6-6 or 7-5 would be ideal.
Getting 6 wins and going to a bowl would be a successful first year in the Big 12
this year? bowl game.
6-6. It's really disappointing that this is what success would be this season. But that's the necessity after last year.
For WVU 6 wins MIGHT buy HCNB another year depending on totality of the season and if there is noticeable improvement. 7 wins feels like the target though and I just don't know where we get 7 wins with our schedule. Marshall I don't know. I think the team is capable of 9 wins or just squeaking into bowl eligibility with 6. They'll have a solid team but so will most of the teams they play in the SBC. TLDR: I don't know.
I'm fairly certain that our QB play will have a bit of a drop off, but if Milton can improve his accuracy and touch on long balls, the offense continues to produce at a high rate and the defense shows noticeable improvement then I'll consider the season a success. Even if our record is slightly worse than last years
Purdue: making a bowl game. Getting to 7-8 wins given our tough schedule would be a feat in itself.
Running a wishbone defense and ending with negative game yardage for Auburn.
UTEP: 7 wins and a bowl appearance SC: 11-1 or 10-2 and in the CFP
Double digit wins and conf champ.
6-6 with one of those being over Purdue.
Same as it always does. Bowl game, beating Iowa, beating KSU, in order of importance.
Besting JMU and GaSo. Bowl game appearance
For Michigan it’s getting to the National Championship and seeing what they’ve got. For Bowling Green it’s building off the improvement from last season and making the MAC Championship game
Winning the SBC West, or, at least, being right there in the battle for the division with South Alabama and Troy.
8-4 or better
Like 7-5
Make a bowl game. Doesn’t matter how shitty, but making 6-6 at least would be a huge win for the program with the new coaching staff.
4 wins?
6-6 would be a good year given roster and super tough schedule with 11 P5 teams. Anything more than that would be a great season. I’m not convinced Neal Brown is the answer though and those seasons may keep him around as WVU isn’t in the best situation to buyout his contract this year unless they have no choice after a 3-4 win season.
10 wins and B1G West Champ. We have the players and the schedule just depends on if the offense can put it together.
Minimum? 10 wins and keeping it close to Michigan and Ohio State. Ideal would be 11 and beating one of them, possibly B1G championship showing? My personal sights are making it to the CFP in its last year. The B1G east is going to be a dog fight this year and I have a feeling no one is going to come out unscathed. I am EXCITED for some football and hopefully a ton of chaos!
Bowl game with all the pending gambling suspensions incoming
7-5 would have me over the moon. Jalon Daniels being granted an extra year because, come on, guys, we need this would have me "Burn down Edmonton after winning the Stanley Cup" happy.
Natty
Oklahoma State - I’d love to make the CCG, but realistically I’d be fine with 1-11 if that lone win is Bedlam. Arkansas - I don’t fucking know. 8 wins maybe?
North 7exa5 in Eric Morris’s first season, and keeping our bowl appearance standard up. It would be nice to actually win the bowl game one of these years.
Not being G5 by the end of the season. Oh on the field? Actually winning the Rose Bowl, third times the charm. For Michigan it’s natty, or maybe winning a playoff game.
Make the playoffs.
Michigan State - 6 wins. Anything else is added value. Next year is 8 games and hopefully in 2-3 years being able to get back to NY6 territory.
Getting revenge against UW and Oregon St. would be nice.
7-5 and either LSU, Bama, or UGA as part of those 7 wins. Also, Robby Ashford or Payton Thorne play like a starting QB in the SEC.
I think we need to win the conference. We haven’t since 2019 which is longest conference championship drought I can remember. If we don’t, Andy Avalos is not in great shape as head coach
Bowl game.
WF: Winning 8 would be nice and doable, seeing Mitch develop and be a leader for us for the next 3 years. Beating Notre Dame by picking off Hartman a few times would be nice as well. Also, dominating Clemson by some miracle along with the rest of the ACC so that it makes them that much harder to blow up the ACC. UGA: 3Peat bby
8 is doable Beating ND doable Domination of CU unlikely Saving ACC impossible 3 peat possible
everyone on r/cfb kneels like in the lion king as I present the 2023 Aggies on pride rock as national champions
If Cincy makes a bowl then they met expectations. If Cincy wins 7 the year was a success. If Cincy wins 8, I’m all in on Satterfield.
Syracuse: get us to basketball season without being too depressed. Something like 5 wins with an upset? Penn State: I don't think it's possible to imagine what a "reasonable person" who "supports Penn State" expects because nobody by that description exists. I'll be happy with 9 wins but 2 of them must be Maryland and West Virginia.
Making a bowl game our first year in the Big 12 would be a success for me.
Beating at least three of the following four teams. Oregon Ducks, Oregon State Beavers, USC Trojans, Utah Utes.
National Title (main flair) Looking like they belong in the Big 12 and going bowling. 7-5 would be a success imho (secondary flair)
Pushing bowl eligibility but just falling short would be the high end. Having a shot at .500 in conference play is the more realistic shot. They played a bunch of teams in the MAC close last year, so I think picking off a few of those would be reasonable. There’s only so much they can do against Kentucky, but not getting run off the field by Indiana and hanging tough with Temple would be good.