Expectations for 2017-18 season

[31GuardTrap]

If
If
If they bury Holy Cross to a tune of 40+ to zilch or 3ish, then this team may actually surprise this year. Struggle to score again and give up more than 6 points to HC and it may be a "practice year".
Heading to Tampa with a ton of confidence offensively would do wonders. Minimal confidence and it may get ugly.

 

[uconnphil2016]

If
If
If they bury Holy Cross to a tune of 40+ to zilch or 3ish, then this team may actually surprise this year. Struggle to score again and give up more than 6 points to HC and it may be a "practice year".
Heading to Tampa with a ton of confidence offensively would do wonders. Minimal confidence and it may get ugly.

Isn't USF at home this year?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Hard to put a number on this. Like others I just want to see a competently coached team with players who haven't quit. It would take Nick Saban some time to turn this thing around.

 

[RyanCT7]

Until I see otherwise, I'm really excited about the direction the program is heading regardless.

Add to that, I would love to see a freshman QB like Marvin Washington come in and beat out all competitors and rightfully earn the starting spot. That could mean we finally have a QB ready to propel us forward.

 

[Kemba429]

holy hell..... the timeouts, i didn't even think about that aspect of the game yet. its gonna be refreshing seeing them used in a competent manner this season.

What you didn't like Bob's use of timeouts in the Navy game? lol.

 

[RSTuthill]

4-8. But I agree, the team is teetering on an edge. Could as easily be 6-6 in the RS as 3-9. (Doubt it could go as low as 2-10.) No clue, really. And the sports writers don't either, quite frankly.

 

[IMind]

I'm cautiously optimistic. 7 wins.
Holy Cross, SMU, Virginia, UCF, ECU... wins and then two of BCU, USF, Missouri, Temple, and Memphis.

There's been a lot of coaching changes and some of these schools were just as bad as us last year. We're due for a break.

 

[crazyUCfan23]

If by some miracle John Franklin III shows up in August, 9-3 based on the fact he would be one of if not the best athlete in the AAC

 

[ZooCougar]

5-7 to 7-5.


But I won't be heartbroken or suprised with 4-8.

 

[Kemba429]

If by some miracle John Franklin III shows up in August, 9-3 based on the fact he would be one of if not the best athlete in the AAC

Is he transferring?

 

[ktuck911]

Is he transferring?

Doesn't look that way right now... Saw him in the Auburn Spring Game last week...

 

[bmayuc]

View attachment 21825

I just want to call out this chart to show how epic our offense was last year in awfulness.

This is my way of saying, it can only go up from here. I got us at 5-7. 3 wins like last year, and 2 other games where Edsall's simple strategy of playing competent, mistake-free football wins us games.

I have those wins coming against:

vs Holy Cross - W
vs South Florida - L
@ Virginia - L
@ SMU - L
vs Memphis - W
@ Temple - L
vs Tulsa - W
vs Missouri - L
vs East Carolina - W
@ UCF - W
vs Boston College - L
@ Cincinnati - L

 

[HomeKing93]

I wouldn't be shocked with 3-4 wins but 6 wins is not crazy talk. The upgrade in coaching alone gives me hope we can go bowling.

 

[RyanCT7]

A win against BC regardless of our record would make the season for me. That is our bowl game--beating down the Massholes.

 

[Blaneylover]

I would love to get to 5 wins. That would be a great Vitamin B12 shot for program. With that being said, I would be able to live with 3-9 again as long as we were competitive in the 9 losses. I am aware of the SBNation article that puts us with a 33% or less chance to win any of our games after Holy Cross. We shall see.

 

[crazyUCfan23]

Is he transferring?

Well perhaps when he realizes he's going to be the 3rd string QB as a 5th year transfer he'll change his mind #wishfulthinking

 

[huskymedic]

Doesn't look that way right now... Saw him in the Auburn Spring Game last week...

Yip... don't see it happening unless something strange happens (and the position change isn't one of them). John Franklin III stands out at receiver, catches touchdown in Auburn's 1st spring scrimmage

 

[UConnNick]

I wouldn't be shocked with 3-4 wins but 6 wins is not crazy talk. The upgrade in coaching alone gives me hope we can go bowling.

When you consider last season, three more wins would certainly have been doable with adults in charge of the coaching. Navy and UCF were obviously winnable games. We didn't lose all that much via graduation, and with newcomers getting coached properly, three more wins shouldn't be completely out of the question. We will have to steal a few to get there.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

As others have said, I just want to see progress. I'd like to eek out at least 4 wins and feel like I'm moving forward, but given how far we've fallen, I just want to think we're moving in the right direction, that the team is getting better, not worse. If we get more than 4 wins, I'm ecstatic. If we get less than 3, well... that's what the booze is for.

 

[UCFBfan]

3 wins is my guess but I think we could be surprised. I wanna see progress like others but my number one thing I'd love to see after this upcoming season ends is hope at the QB position. I just want to see someone back there who will show that we have hope at that position moving forward. We have a lot of folks coming in to play there. I just wanna end the season feeling like we have our future QB on the roster or at least one that will make this offense be effective. (I know it's possible our future QB may redshirt for all I know).

I'd also like to see hope on the O Line too!

 

[Husky25]

I want to see bowl eligibility, but I really don't have the first clue which games they will win or lose. Not necessarily because I can't get a feel for the this team, but, other than Holy Cross, I don't have a feel for any of their opponents. They play Memphis and SMU for the first time in 4 years, and Tulsa for the first time ever.

S.W.A.G.

vs Holy Cross - W
vs South Florida - L
@ Virginia - L
@ SMU - W
vs Memphis - L
@ Temple - L
vs Tulsa -L
vs Missouri - W
vs East Carolina - W
@ UCF - W
vs Boston College - W
@ Cincinnati - L

 

[UConn66]

I'm at 6-6 or a bit better. Coach Edsall brings solid, proven discipline, something sorely lacking last year. Defense will be better, and much less predictable. Offense will improve dramatically as the season progresses and the players feel success for a change. Biggest worry is injuries to starters. Second teams will improve as the season progresses. I'm very hopeful.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'll say 5-6 wins. I honestly think last year's team had the talent for that before Bob screwed them against Navy and they threw in the towel.

So looking at the bright side. Much better coaching on both sides of the ball. Vastly superior QB options. An OL that may finally be learning how to block. Two solid RBs. Some talent at WR, and in the secondary. A new attacking defense. All in all we've got a roster that is maybe slightly improved over the one that won 6 games two years ago with Bob at the helm. One thing Bob did was play the young guys, and they have some more experience now.

 

[Jimdish255]

You have to take into account we've been beaten into expecting the worst. Still I think 6-6 is a reasonable expectation because of the change in coaching staff and the depth at QB. Pindell coming in doesn't give us nearly the dropoff we had last year with a green QB learning the ropes. He just looks like a more confident in control guy and wouldn't be surprised to find out he can throw and run on par or better than what we've seen. Hoping we can avoid throwing any of the other prospects into the fire. They have a bright future and we can go 2 or 3 deep while they get settled in.

 

[wolfman61]

The big question is, can RE and company take what sound like middling players and turn them into good players? Can they take a few good players and turn them into great players? And are the coaches good and smart enough to be able to get the right combo of players and style of play onto the field?