What does the 2016 football season look like for yall?
- Thread starter RockyTopRowdy58
- Start date
I am hoping that the D will remain dominant but recognize that there could be some slight drop off on the line.
I am hoping the the passing game will pick up considerably which shouldn't be difficult to do since it was very poor last year. I am confident that the Running game will be as good as and perhaps a little better than last year based on returning of the entire RB stable and the expectation of some passing attack to balance things out.
I am thinking the the schedule is more difficult over all but presents some interesting opportunities such as an OSU team that saw a ton of guys leave the program last year.
I am hoping the the passing game will pick up considerably which shouldn't be difficult to do since it was very poor last year. I am confident that the Running game will be as good as and perhaps a little better than last year based on returning of the entire RB stable and the expectation of some passing attack to balance things out.
I am thinking the the schedule is more difficult over all but presents some interesting opportunities such as an OSU team that saw a ton of guys leave the program last year.
Hey Rocky! Happy Independence Day (belatedly).
We expect to have a competitive team again (insert joke here) in 2016. The defense, despite losing 3 very good starters (DEs Lowry and Gibson, CB Van Hoose, who missed the bowl), should be good. How good depends on who steps at DE. We feel good about our secondary, LBs and DT rotation/
On offense, we are counting on/hoping/praying for a significant improvement in our passing game, including better reads from QB Thorson, better separation and playmaking from our underarchieving WR corps, and more consistent play from the line. Justin Jackson is a good RB who heads a deep backfield, so our running game should thrive if our passing game becomes more credible. Special Teams look OK, though not an element that will win games.
The schedule is tougher with visits to Ohio State, Michigan St. and Iowa, but 8 wins seems a fair guess.
We expect to have a competitive team again (insert joke here) in 2016. The defense, despite losing 3 very good starters (DEs Lowry and Gibson, CB Van Hoose, who missed the bowl), should be good. How good depends on who steps at DE. We feel good about our secondary, LBs and DT rotation/
On offense, we are counting on/hoping/praying for a significant improvement in our passing game, including better reads from QB Thorson, better separation and playmaking from our underarchieving WR corps, and more consistent play from the line. Justin Jackson is a good RB who heads a deep backfield, so our running game should thrive if our passing game becomes more credible. Special Teams look OK, though not an element that will win games.
The schedule is tougher with visits to Ohio State, Michigan St. and Iowa, but 8 wins seems a fair guess.
Defense should be quite good, especially if we can get any kind of consistent edge-rush.
The DTs will be quite stout (I really like Lancaster (#67) and Thompson (#95 last year and #99 this year), but the DEs are an unknown after graduating our two starters. Hopes have always been high for Ifeadi Odenigbo #7, but he has to prove he can be a three-down player and not just a pass-rush specialist. Xavier Washington #98 has to prove the same, but more because of size concerns. The hope is that one of a group of younger DEs can step up to be part of the rotation.
LBs should be a strength, starting with Walker #18 in the middle and Hall #32 on the outside; Walker is playing at an All-American level while Hall is a very athletic kid who came on strong at the end of last year. Jones #42 and Prater #51 appear to be vying for the third starting spot. Prater was actually our opening day starter over Hall last year, but lost his spot to injury and got "Pipp'd" by Hall.
DBs should be a strength as well. Igwebuike #16 is just a good football player. Queiro #21 missed a lot of time last year with a broken wrist/arm, but should be able to step right in without much drop-off from Henry. CBs are also good with Harris #27 last year, #11 this year starting his fourth consecutive year and Watkins #3 stepping into VanHoose's spot; I personally think VanHoose was a bit overrated and Watkins could actually be an improvement, but most around here would disagree with that assessment. The backups are a bunch of young, talented athletes but with limited experience.
Offense, well... you saw it last year in the bowl game. QB Thorson #18 has a full offseason to prepare as the starter, but the big question is whether anyone will be able to consistently get open and catch the ball. Vault #4 will move from RB to WR full-time and we also moved McShepard #17 from CB to WR to try to bring some speed to that room (another DB moved over, but redshirted last season). Carr #80 is the only returning WR with much experience at all, though I have heard good things about a couple guys who redshirted last year (particularly Fessler #5). Dickerson #9 should be the more traditional, in-line TE while Taylor #19 is more of an H-back for whom we had high hopes before he missed last season with a broken ankle. There's a lot of room for someone to step up and I personally have high hopes for incoming freshman QB-turned-WR Lees #86.
The RB group is strong, led by Jackson #21 and Long #13. Anderson #12 is a smaller, faster guy and we also have high hopes for Moten #20 coming off his redshirt season. OL should be OK, but needs to be better and more consistent. I like Hance #75 at LT a lot and Park #63 should hold down either C or RG, but the rest of the guys have plenty of room for improvement in my opinion. Sounds like Mahoney #68 has the inside track at LG, but is more "try hard" in my eyes. We moved a DT to OT to build depth in this room (Oxley #99 last year and #75 this year), but he will probably need more time to settle into his new position. I happen to like Doles #71 a lot and hope he pushes Olson #76 at RT. Mertz #70 should provide some veteran depth and could also push for time at either G or T.
We have returning starters at K (Mitchell #10) and P (Niswander #96), but both have room for improvement. We will have to replace Shuler as our primary PR (guessing it will be either Vault or possibly Roberts #81 last year #6 this year), but Vault is a consistent KR threat.
While that was a lot of rambling, I think it boils down to this: our defense should be good-potentially-great and enough to keep us in most games. If our offense can show any kind of threat passing the ball, we should be able to compete in most every game... though the schedule gods didn't do us too many favors with trips to Michigan State and Ohio State on the docket. If things break right on offense, I think we could be looking at another 8-9 win season despite the slightly tougher schedule; if not, we could be back in the 5-6 win range and fighting for bowl eligibility in the last few weeks of the year.
From the outside looking in I see the following as toss-up games for you guys:
Duke
Nebraska
Iowa
Michigan St
Wisconsin
I wanted to put Minnesota or Illinois but unless both improve drastically I will count both as W's right now.
IMO Thorson figuring it out and surviving the defensive losses will be big. The success rate in those two areas will have a lot to do with how well yall do this season.
Duke
Nebraska
Iowa
Michigan St
Wisconsin
I wanted to put Minnesota or Illinois but unless both improve drastically I will count both as W's right now.
IMO Thorson figuring it out and surviving the defensive losses will be big. The success rate in those two areas will have a lot to do with how well yall do this season.
Based on recent results, NU figures to be an underdog at MSU, even though the Spartans have lost some key players. Iowa has kicked their butt two years in a row after a series that had been very competitive for several years, so there is some work to be done there. If the offense improves, we should have a very good chance in the Duke, Nebraska and Wisconsin games and would be capable of making it very interesting with some of the other teams on the schedule.
Pretty much nailed it. Share your thoughts on the DT, LB, and CB.
I think the depth at linebacker will show as the guys from last cycle continue to get reps.
Top WR's this year could be:
1. Carr
2. Nagel (missed most of 2015 with injury)
3. Lees (true frosh)
4. Vault (converted RB)
5. Fessler (RS FR)
The only "proven" B1G WR on this list is Carr. Nagel showed flashes before his injury. Lees is fantasy player at this point. But other than those minor points, I still expect improvement from this group.
1. Carr
2. Nagel (missed most of 2015 with injury)
3. Lees (true frosh)
4. Vault (converted RB)
5. Fessler (RS FR)
The only "proven" B1G WR on this list is Carr. Nagel showed flashes before his injury. Lees is fantasy player at this point. But other than those minor points, I still expect improvement from this group.
To be honest, none of that makes me feel good. Carr was a walk on which does;t mean he can't be good but if he is the best we have, that is not good. Nagel showed some promise but will still be recovering ( see him next year). Lees as mentioned is a fantasy. Vault has shown he can catch punts but that is different from running routes and catching passes ( very different IMO). Fessler might be our best shot but he isn't much more than Lees.Top WR's this year could be:
1. Carr
2. Nagel (missed most of 2015 with injury)
3. Lees (true frosh)
4. Vault (converted RB)
5. Fessler (RS FR)
The only "proven" B1G WR on this list is Carr. Nagel showed flashes before his injury. Lees is fantasy player at this point. But other than those minor points, I still expect improvement from this group.
I also like the incoming freshman Ben Skowrenek and Bowman from the Twin Cities. It is definitely the one position group where a true freshman could make a difference.
Given this year's schedule, anything over seven wins would be a good year. We usually beat at least one team we shouldn't beat and lose to at least one team we shouldn't lose to every season. We were able to get to 10 wins last year because we had one unexpected win (Stanford) and, although we didn't play well in the games we lost, all of our losses were to good teams.
On the one had, beating Stanford on the first game of the season signaled to everyone that they had to be well prepared for NU.
OTOH, we lost so badly to those "good teams". What I need to remember is we beat a couple of good programs as well.
Sure seem to be a lot of number changes this year. Any reason for this other than a couple changing from D to O?
Tennessee is hoping for 10+ wins... Honestly, just winning 10 might not be good enough to meet expectations and show Butch Jones is a real deal coach. It all depends on how it unfolds...
Date Opponent Results
Sep 1
Appalachian State
Sep 10
Virginia Tech
Sep 17
Sep 24
Florida
TBD
Oct 1
at Georgia
TBD
Oct 8
at Texas A&M
TBD
Oct 15
Alabama
TBD
Oct 29
at South Carolina
TBD
Nov 5
Tennessee Tech
TBD
Nov 12
Kentucky
TBD
Nov 19
Missouri
TBD
Nov 26
at Vanderbilt
TBD
The stretch run of Florida, @Georgia, @Texas A&M, Bama will be brutal. IIRC our first 7 opponents won 68 games in 2015.
Not our worst schedule with VT replacing what was OU and Oregon the past several seasons, but they will be tough HC Justin Fuente and DC Bud Foster.
Date Opponent Results
Sep 1
Sep 10
Sep 17
Sep 24
TBD
Oct 1
TBD
Oct 8
TBD
Oct 15
TBD
Oct 29
TBD
Nov 5
Tennessee Tech
TBD
Nov 12
TBD
Nov 19
TBD
Nov 26
TBD
The stretch run of Florida, @Georgia, @Texas A&M, Bama will be brutal. IIRC our first 7 opponents won 68 games in 2015.
Not our worst schedule with VT replacing what was OU and Oregon the past several seasons, but they will be tough HC Justin Fuente and DC Bud Foster.
Tennessee is hoping for 10+ wins... Honestly, just winning 10 might not be good enough to meet expectations and show Butch Jones is a real deal coach. It all depends on how it unfolds...
Date Opponent Results
Sep 1Appalachian State
Sep 10Virginia Tech
Sep 17
Sep 24Florida
TBD
Oct 1at Georgia
TBD
Oct 8at Texas A&M
TBD
Oct 15Alabama
TBD
Oct 29at South Carolina
TBD
Nov 5
Tennessee Tech
TBD
Nov 12Kentucky
TBD
Nov 19Missouri
TBD
Nov 26at Vanderbilt
TBD
The stretch run of Florida, @Georgia, @Texas A&M, Bama will be brutal. IIRC our first 7 opponents won 68 games in 2015.
Not our worst schedule with VT replacing what was OU and Oregon the past several seasons, but they will be tough HC Justin Fuente and DC Bud Foster.
Biggest problem with your schedule does seem to be having all the tough games in a row. We're both going to have tough Octobers. Given what I saw of your team last year and some of the guys you have returning, I would expect you'd win 9-10 games with that schedule, maybe more if you can go 3-1 in that four-game stretch. Feel free to beat up on Alabama and Florida all you want. I'm relatively neutral on most of the SEC, but REALLY am not fond of either of those teams.
If we only win 9, that is a nightmare season. We return 18 starters and have quality depth at almost all positions.
As of today, I don't see anyone outside of that 4 game stretch that should beat Tennessee. Historically, and under Butch Jones, we don't lose games we shouldn't.
I think 10-2 is a realistic, but slightly conservative, projection. Our season would then hinge on what we do in the SECCG and Bowl Game.
I would hate to have a season like North Carolina in 2015. An outstanding regular season with embarrassing performances in ACCCG and Bowl Game... Really taints what was a great season, IMO.
Edit: You are correct that both TN and NU have Octobers that are as tough as anyone in the country.
I could see an 11-1 season for you guys as Alabama is probably the only game you'd be a dog, and I wouldn't rule out a win against them. It would be hard to do better than that because 12-0 is extremely hard in a good league, and the SEC is obviously a good league. If Florida's offense isn't any better than last year's, you should handle them. Frankly, I'll admit as an NU fan I was actually hoping we'd draw them in the bowl game last year instead of your team. I felt they were very beatable, as Michigan obviously proved.
After Florida lost Grier at QB their offense fell a part... They put up 28 vs Tennessee and 38 vs Ole Miss before Grier was suspended.
Perhaps not well noted in B1G country is Tennessee's losing streak vs UF. The streak stands at 11 and it is an extremely snake bitten series for Tennessee. We have lost 3 straights games by 1 point... We always seem to pucker up when it counts vs those guys.
I honestly wont believe we can beat them until I see it.
I also think UGA might be much better than people think. There is a ton of talent there. Also a lot of talent for Texas A&M. They might have the deepest WR corp in the country and have one of the better DL's as well.
Curious about Michigan St? How long will they be able to play at a top 10 level? Any guesses there?
so this Tennessee football player goes to Spring Break in Florida in order to pick up girls. He goes up to these two Ivy League types and says "Where do y'all girls go to school at?" and they say "Yale". So he says "WHERE DO Y'ALL GIRLS GO TO SCHOOL AT!!???"
Dantonio has shown he is a really good coach. They are going with a fifth year senior at qb so it will be interesting to see how well they have developed him. Cousins and Cook both turned out to be very good without wow factor athletic skills. We play them for the next six years so I sure hope they are going to take at least a small step back.
Dantonio has shown he is a really good coach. They are going with a fifth year senior at qb so it will be interesting to see how well they have developed him. Cousins and Cook both turned out to be very good without wow factor athletic skills. We play them for the next six years so I sure hope they are going to take at least a small step back.
Up to us to push them back. We keep saying NU should be a contender every year. That has to come at someone else's expense. MSU has been on the rise partly due to UM being disorganized since 2009. UM seems to be righting its ship, that will impact in state recruiting. we have to be on the rise and push others down.
So after these girls give the Tennessee guy the cold shoulder, he has a beer and then sees a guy with a Vandy shirt and says: "Hey, where's the men's room at?" To which the Vandy guy says "at Vanderbilt, we dont end a sentence with a preposition". So the Tenn guy says " ok, sorry. Where's the men's room at' asshole?"
Yes, they did lose their QB, which is among the reasons I though they were very beatable in the bowl game. Actually, I am aware of your troubles against Florida and Alabama (not that many people have a great deal of success against Alabama). We'll see about Georgia. They always seem to have high-end talent, yet end up the year with 3-4 losses — one of the SEC's more underachieving teams in my humble opinion. Guess that's one reason Richt is now at Miami, another team that can't lose enough to suit me.
Inasmuch as it pains me to say, we don't really give much of a hard time to dOSU on the field. That's one reason I resort to doing what I can to give them a hard time off of it. That and the cheating.
OSU is good. Really good. Not too many people recruit as well as they do. They have a monopoly on Ohio and do great in PA as well.
Interestingly, I was looking at an article about where teams are successfully recruiting and Michigan's top hunting ground was NJ, although Michigan was also fertile for their recruiting.
Right, UM may steal some of MSU's thunder and make them a little less potent in years to come. That won't help us agains UM but if we are going to become a serious part of the annual conversation we have to supplant someone and take advantage of every opportunity.
collegefootballnews.com has UT winning the SEC East at 11-1, with the only loss to aTm (!). Go Vols!
http://collegefootballnews.com/2016/sec-football-schedules-predictions
I appreciate the article but thats a hack job... For someone who has never watched Tennessee play it might be okay, but I would imagine any followers of the SEC would find this article to be highly inaccurate.
"DE Derek Barnett, Jr. – He suffers from not being as good as Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett – the SEC’s other superstar young pass rusher who’s dominated over the last two years – but he’s still a next-level talent who should be among the conference’s most disruptive forces."
The way that is worded is poor journalism. Barnett doesn't struggle with much of anything, IMHO. Comparing his career stats to Garrett...
Garrett: 108 Tackles; 32 TFL; 22.5 Sacks
Barnett: 142 Tackles; 33 TFL; 20 Sacks
I am sure Garrett will be selected in the NFL draft before Barnett, but Barnett is very likely a top 10-15 pick and has a much lower bust potential. He very well could have a longer, more productive NFL career.
So after this, the Vandy guy decides to be polite and he has to pee anyway, so he shows the TENN guy the restroom. When finished, The Vandy guy starts to wash his hands but the Tenn guy starts to leave. The Vandy guy eye-rolls, and sniffs: "At Vanderbilt, we learn to wash our hands after using the restroom". The Tenn guy says: "at Tenn, we learn not to pi$$ on our hands"
And the ARK (along with the Hard Hat) will be returning for selected games this year
And the ARK (along with the Hard Hat) will be returning for selected games this year
Please stop by the ubergate when you do.
Of course! I know that the Nebraska game is a given, and I'll probably get to at least one other game.
I don't think Michigan does anything to make MSU less potent. MSU is potent because their staff is extremely good at both seeing talent and developing it. Grabbing four and five star players isn't what MSU does. Lately they have been getting those type players, but they don't need them to be successful as they have proven. MSU is always very good defensively . This should be a close game if we can run the ball on them . We can't be three and out and wear out our defense. I honestly can't say how we will be this season.I think our defense will be very good. I don't know the players well enough, but I think Hanks is as good as any defensive coach in football. I like our whole staff, but do we have the horses yet ? I am still going with us beating OSU on Oct 19,2019, as for this year I will leave that to you all who have followed this team and players for years. . Nice breakdown gocats.
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