How many games does your favorite team win this season?

[Hubbs]

I will have a glass of Kool Aid and say Auburn gets to 10 counting the bowl games. That Cameron Newton fellow...He is good!

I say 9-3 regular season and 6-2 in conference. Good enough for a tie in the west for 1st place. I can't say Auburn has enough to beat alabama yet, but I can't rule it out either. I mean Saban defenses struggle with spread attacks. Still though alabama wins the west due to beating Auburn and plays Florida in (nationally speaking) a watered down SEC title game. NO NC from the SEC this season. JMO


Oh Arkansas will be solid on offense but their defense may be worse than it was last season. I say they lose 3 conference games with LSU losing 4 and Miles gets the boot out the door. JMO

[MasterBevo]

REALLY hard to say with Texas this year.... as we have a bunch of new players in key positions... especially, on the offensive line. Most of these replacements were highly recruited players... hopefully, they play up to potential.

We do have the benefit, once again... of a fairly easy schedule. I expect us to go 10-2 in the regular season. Mostly likely losing AT Nebraska... and, one other.... Hopefully, NOT in Dallas. :)

The early game AT Lubbock will be a key... I'm hopeful that Tech will still be learning the Tubbeville system that early in the season.... If we lose up there (and, it's been a tough place for us to play)... and, then lose against OU... the season could deteriorate.

With a little luck, we could win a CCG and bowl game... and still win 12 games.

But, this is NOT as deep a team as last year's was.... if we start having injuries, it could get ugly quick.

[Jim]

Unlike some other Big 12 south teams ... Oklahoma plays solid OOC games. last year the Sooners dropped two of them 13-14 and 20-21 against two teams that went bowling. Texas nudged OU 16-13 on OU misques. Nebraska beat OU with a one yard drive after a pick in OU territory. OU's only blowout loss was in Lubbock, 13-41.

This year Oklahoma hosts Florida State (ACC contender) and Air Force (MWC contender) and travels to Cincinnati (Big East contender). The FSU and Cincy games concern me most as Jimbo Fisher will have the Seminoles ready to play. I fully expect to see them in the ACC title game this coming year. Cincinnati has been consistently good. Air Force will own the clock vs. OU. If the Sooners can stop the inside game enough it will be a grounding for the Falcons.

Oklahoma is fully capable of winning its four OOC games and then in Waco vs. Baylor and head into Dallas at 5-0 and possibly a top ten ranking. The Sooners will be an underdog vs. Texas. While OU will be able to go punch for punch with Texas, I feel critical mistakes by either team, will decide the game. No blowout but a single drive for a TD or winning FG. A tossup for me at this time.

Snyder si doing well at Kansas State and Turner Gill will instill a new attitude in Lawrence. Also OU doesn't have to deal with Pelini's Cornhuskers in the regular season. I can see OU going 10-2 or 11-1 in the regular season. Will that be enough to win the south? Depends on how well Texas does with OU in Dallas and then at Kansas State and Nebraska.

Tommy T will have the Red Raiders up and running well before the OU game in Norman. Sooners critical game that night. Revenge from 2007 and 2009? Who knows.

Cotton Bowl for sure if not in Fiesta Bowl vs. TCU, BYU, Utah or the Big East champion.

Orange Bowl, usual post season sport for the Big East will be taken by either Ohio State, Wisconsin or a repeat trip by Iowa vs. ACC.

[Lincoln Tower]

tOSU has a home game versus Miami, and roadies versus Wisky and Iowa. Probably drop 1 of those 3. So 11-1 entering the Rose Bowl/at-large BCS bowl.

[Hubbs]

Tuberville will have his guys ready for the big dogs! He will lay an egg against teams his team should beat (in conference). he views occ games as preseason games. He will have them playing defense and running the football though. You can count on that.

[MasterBevo]

Unlike some other Big 12 south teams ... Oklahoma plays solid OOC games.

Hey.. we scheduled OSU... and Utah for home & away. Our plans just got screwed up when Utah backed out.

We play UCLA and Wyoming this year.... not TOO shabby. Still though, our strategy clearly remains..... schedule ONE decent OOC team, and the rest cupcakes...

While it'd be fun to see more high profile games..... it's hard to argue with the success of our current strategy.. given the current stupid systems..

[Blue Hen]

The Delaware football program is in a slow decline by my view. UD hasn't made any facility improvements in 30 years , and our recruiting has tailed off a bit. Although we've played for 2 of the last 7 national championships, Blue Hen fans are getting restless with KC Keeler . It's so hard following a legend like Tubby Raymond. Also, our conference, the Colonial has become the overall strongest in the D1 champ division....IMO and the media's, in general.

Oh......5-6 games, to answer your question.

The Hokies - 7 to 9

[MasterBevo]

The Delaware football program is in a slow decline by my view. UD hasn't made any facility improvements in 30 years , and our recruiting has tailed off a bit. Although we've played for 3 of the last 7 national championships, Blue Hen fans are getting restless with KC Keeler . It's so hard following a legend like Tubby Raymond. Also, our conference, the Colonial has become the overall strongest in the D1 champ division....IMO and the media's, in general.

Oh......5-6 games, to answer your question.

The Hokies - 7 to 9

LOL Hen... the amazing (and sad) thing is... as obscure as your comments may be to some, they are MORE LEGIT than my own... Your National Championships are "real".... I can only hope for a chance at that... some day. :(

[Coach 3]

they'll move the ball adequately: but the personnel they have on defense is putrid...a 3rd straight season of pure mediocrity just might send rodriguez back to w. va....a 3rd tier bowl is about as good as they can expect....

[Blue Hen]

The Blue Hens have won two 'real' NCAA national championships and four of the voted 'pretend' kind . The lower division NCs were mythical prior to 1973.

[ZOOMBAG]

We return 16 starters off a 9-4 record last year. Most of the offense is back. Should have a good shot at winning against one of the top 3 (TCU, Utah, BYU) to go 6-2 in conference. Hope to finally stop the 5 game losing streak to Navy, but a road trip to Oklahoma could be tough. Decent shot to at least repeat last years mark or get to 10-3.

[MasterBevo]

Hey.. we scheduled OSU... and Utah for home & away. Our plans just got screwed up when Utah backed out.



We also have upcoming games against BYU and California.... in future years.. could be good matchups!

[HellYeahHokie]

The Hokies - 7 to 9

Sigh... How many years in a row have you made this gloomy prediction for the Hokies? Multiply that number by 1, and that would be the number of times you've been wrong.

[Hubbs]

Auburn returns 4 starters on it's OL. It's entire starting LB corp. 2 starters on it's DL. They actually return 4 starters in the DB backfield (depends on A. Savage and Z. Etheridge comming off injuries). Savage has been hurt for two years but he was very effective when he started in 2007. They say he is just as good as he was. They are moving Darren Bates to lb to add depth. he was a freshmen all sec safety last season (2 star). Depth is the problem because behind all those returning starters is nothing really. I think the depth on DL will be better than last season and there will be more bodies at LB/safety. They say we signed a top 5 class. Time will tell.

On offense look out for Cam Newton. He is 6'7 255 lbs runs a 4.5ish 40 and has a good arm with a pretty good release. He needs to work on his touch, but he surprised me with his decision making. He seems to always make the correct reads and throw to the correct reciever. Malzahn thinks enough to name him the starter instead of waiting like he did last year. He will be protected by 4 returning starters on the OL. WR play has made a freaking 180 with Trooper Taylor at Auburn. What use to be the teams biggest weakness is now (in my opinion) it's biggest strength. He can coach as well as recruit. Funny to say but RB worries me most. Fannin is a physical specimen but he fumbles a lot. Proably need Dyer to be special for my prediction to come true. McCalleb is small but if he gets a crease he is gone.

Biggest improvement for Auburn this season will be on special teams. Top 5 class means talent. Put that young talent on kick off coverage. Auburn was VERY poor at that last season. VERY poor. Anyway i am jumping off my soap box. WDE!

[Blue Hen]

about 5

Nothing wrong with being cautious. How many times have the Hokies been over hyped and ranked in pre-seasons and let you down, HYH? Multiply that number by one for your total.

[GatorGrad]

Over/under for Gator wins should be 6.5...I would be thrilled with 7-1, but am expecting 6-2 with a loss in Tuscaloosa and to either LSU, Georgia, or South Carolina. Whatever ends up being good enough to get us to Atlanta for a shot at another ring will be good enough for me. As always, the goal is to get to Atlanta and have a chance to win the SEC Championship.

[Blue Hen]

I'd go with 8.8 games for UF's O/U. ( only because of losing TT)

You lost all those NFL draftees but the guys that will fill those slots look, talk, run, read and write just like guys they are replacing. UF is still talent elite.

[GatorGrad]

I'd go with 8.8 games for UF's O/U. ( only because of losing TT)

You lost all those NFL draftees but the guys that will fill those slots look, talk, run, read and write just like guys they are replacing. UF is still talent elite.

My over/under was for the 8-game SEC regular season schedule...

[Blue Hen]

ahhh..got it.

[Jim]

Hey.. we scheduled OSU... and Utah for home & away. Our plans just got screwed up when Utah backed out.

We play UCLA and Wyoming this year.... not TOO shabby. Still though, our strategy clearly remains..... schedule ONE decent OOC team, and the rest cupcakes...

While it'd be fun to see more high profile games..... it's hard to argue with the success of our current strategy.. given the current stupid systems..

The cow continues to moan whenever I post a legitimate, accurate post about the Longhorns.

Oklahoma's OOC in the 2000's included: Air Force, North Carolina, UCLA, Alabama, Fresno State, Miami, TCU, Oregon, Washington (when they didn't suck), Houston, Cincinnati, Tulsa (consistently good CUSA team), USF, BYU. Of course OU scheduled a few cupcakes as well.

Other than Ohio State, who did your guys actually lock "horns" with? What Rice on a regular basis. Why not a TCU or Arkansas annually?

[HellYeahHokie]

about 5

Nothing wrong with being cautious. How many times have the Hokies been over hyped and ranked in pre-seasons and let you down, HYH? Multiply that number by one for your total.

Actually, very few times. The Hokies preseason rankings have been very reasonable for the past 8 years (ESPN only goes back to 2002). The rankings shown below take the average of the AP and Coach's

Year.....Preseason.........Final
2009..........7.................10
2008.........16................14.5
2007..........9..................9
2006.......16.5................18.5
2005.........7.5.................7
2004..........NR................10
2003.........9.5.................NR
2002.........16.................16

The only time the Hokies didn't live up to their preseason hype was in 2003 when they had a complete November meltdown. Obviously the carryover from that year meant they had no preseason hype at all in 2004, when they won the ACC in their first year and finished Top 10.

But overall, the pollsters seem to have a good read on the Hokies. In fact, if they offered bets on teams finishing near their preseason rankings (and I can only presume Vegas does this), then betting the Hokies +-3 would be a very good bet.

And while every year they don't win at least an ACC championship is a disappointment to me, 2003 was the only year they really let me down.

Your opinion of the Hokies continues to be 'perception-driven'.

[Blue Hen]

Well, good stuff, HYH. I'm just worried about you, personally, being disappointed if the Hokies don't compete for MNCs. Cautious optimism suits me and isn't as crushing when the team disappoints. Sooo, how high are your personal expectations this season ?

[HellYeahHokie]

Well, good stuff, HYH. I'm just worried about you, personally, being disappointed if the Hokies don't compete for MNCs. Cautious optimism suits me and isn't as crushing when the team disappoints. Sooo, how high are your personal expectations this season ?

I didn't say I was disappointed if the Hokies don't compete for MNC. I said I'm disappointed if they don't win at least an ACC championship. That doesn't mean I expect them to win it every year, but I expect them to be among the favorites to win it each year, and it's disappointing when they don't.

But that doesn't mean the season is a disappointment either. Last year's game against GT was the biggest disappointment of the year, but the Hokies still had a 10-win season. Only Texas has a longer 10-win streak currently. Sure, I'd like the Hokies to be MNC contenders, but they just don't recruit like Texas, Florida, etc.

Every year I am cautiously optimistic (I believe you are cautiously pessimistic, by the way). Still, I have no reason to believe the Hokies won't win another 10 games this year, but I'll still say I expect 9. They have experience now at all the offensive skill positions. With Evans coming back, I think they will have the best backfield in football. They have some key losses on defense, but they still have Bud Foster as coach, so I tend not to get worked up about the defense. Since they didn't win their division last year, I think they will be hungry this year, which always helps.

I suppose one of these years you will be right. The Hokies can't continue to win 10 games every year, and they will have a "down year" with 7-8 wins. But those occasions are the exception, not the rule.

[Stumpy Stew]

A lot depends on the QB, but I think the Mountaineers will win at least 9 this year and again fight for the SoCon title. My only concern is I do not know what the other conference schools have and how strong (or weak) they're going to be. The Apps should be in the playoffs again.

As for the Tar Heels, I'm thinking they'll win 7 games, and if lucky maybe 8. A lot depends on the offense this year, again with the QB and the line.

GO APPS!!! Beat Gators.

[copycat]

I am hopeful that with a better defense that GT gets to ten wins this year. The offense took some hits in the draft, but with Nesbitt still there at QB and numerous running backs to carry the ball that we will be alright. Games @VT, @UGA, and Miami shall be tough, but winnable.

GT/VT winner goes to the ACC Championship game, just like every year the Coastal Division has been around.

[aufan59]

Eight. Favorable road schedule, but 11 games in a row is always tough and will cause a loss or two.

[NCT]

14!

Ok, seriously? I'll go with 10, including the bowl game.

0-2 against UF and AU, and 2-1 against Sakerlina, Arkansas, and GT.

I honestly think we should beat Auburn, but neither team has won five in a row since well before I was born. On the other hand, the game's @ Auburn, so the rivalry's home field disadvantage may play a part.

[MasterBevo]

Why not a TCU or Arkansas annually?

We've played both multiple times since 2000. They haven't always been that good... In fact, Arkansas futility in 2008 is the reason the stupid Sooners got handed the right to go get whupped by Florida.

Congrats... you guys schedule harder OOC. What has it gotten you?

I'm just saying.. UCLA is decent team... as is Wyoming. That's enough for OOC as far as I'm concerned. Last year's (and 2008) schedule was far TOO weak.. mostly because Utah was supposed to be there, but wasn't.

[aufan59]

14!

Ok, seriously? I'll go with 10, including the bowl game.

0-2 against UF and AU, and 2-1 against Sakerlina, Arkansas, and GT.

I honestly think we should beat Auburn, but neither team has won five in a row since well before I was born. On the other hand, the game's @ Auburn, so the rivalry's home field disadvantage may play a part.

Georgia is usually Auburn's 11th game in a row (has been for awhile now).

Each year I see the effect of wear and tear in the second half of that game. Or maybe I'm just making excuses. ;)

[Hero1957]

I will say about 10 and 2.
Bama has loads of experience coming back on offense,
almost none on defense. The coaching staff is in good shape. I think it will be a fine year. The schedule really stinks.

[Jim]

Texas loses three games this coming season. "Whuup". Maybe four.

[MasterBevo]

Texas loses three games this coming season. "Whuup". Maybe four.

If we lose four, it'll be the first time in a LOOOONG time.... like, last CENTURY!

How long since OU lost 4? Or 5 even??? :eek:

[Blue Hen]

Nov 13th will be a tough game for the Hokies at Chapel Hill.

I'm pessimistically optimistic and cautious about this game

[ZOOMBAG]

If we lose four, it'll be the first time in a LOOOONG time.... like, last CENTURY!

How long since OU lost 4? Or 5 even??? :eek:

Texas went 8-5 in 1996....

[Hubbs]

I will say about 10 and 2.
Bama has loads of experience coming back on offense,
almost none on defense. The coaching staff is in good shape. I think it will be a fine year. The schedule really stinks.

bama goes undefeated with that schedule then they could be the best team ever. When a team has a extra week off before they play it helps with legs being fresh etc. The main thing is how prepared the opponent can get with that extra week. Worst schedule I have seen a team get in a while.

[MasterBevo]

Texas went 8-5 in 1996....

Yea... and then BEAT Nebraska in the CCG! Thus, in it's first year, sealing the fate of the brand new Big 12 Conference! :D


We lost 4 in 1999.... that was the LAST time.

[ZOOMBAG]

Yea... and then BEAT Nebraska in the CCG! Thus, in it's first year, sealing the fate of the brand new Big 12 Conference! :D


We lost 4 in 1999.... that was the LAST time.

It WILL happen again....

[MasterBevo]

It WILL happen again....

yea..... after Mack retires.. :)

[Hero1957]

bama goes undefeated with that schedule then they could be the best team ever. When a team has a extra week off before they play it helps with legs being fresh etc. The main thing is how prepared the opponent can get with that extra week. Worst schedule I have seen a team get in a while.

Alabama going undefeated this year would have to be followed by Saban appearing in a black suit of armor and saying in a James Earl Jones voice, "Luke, I'm your father". :p ;)