(07-19-2015 08:41 AM)Cscollis Wrote: I believe La Tech this year could get ranked in the top 25 by the end of the year. If Driskell is better than Sokol which I believe he will be much better, the offense should average around 40 a game and be able to drive the ball down field instead of a big play or bust.
The D can also be better but I am worried our new D coordinater may be too aggressive. Still our D will create havoc which is great but give up more big plays.
Tech is either going to be a legitimate access bowl contender or a disappointment. We win the west and lose to MU again having to play at MU because of there easier schedule.
WKU will have some really good games and blowout teams with weak pass D. They will probably be better than Marshall but MU has a much easier schedule.
Week 1 will tell us a lot about MU and week 2 will determine if Tech or WKUS have the chops to be really good.
The West will come down to Tech or Rice. UTEP is and UAB (fire ray watts) could have been contenders with USM, NT and UTSA at the bottom.
At the end of the year, the program that has the best D will be champs.
Your post got me to wondering about the strength of schedules for LA Tech, Marshall and Western Kentucky, so I used the Massey ratings (hey, this is the Massey thread) to do some comparisons. You are clearly correct about the in-conference relative strength of schedules. For in-conference games the average ranking of their opponents looks like this.
Western Kentucky 88
LA Tech 96
Marshall 103
However, that can be a little misleading when looking at LA Tech and Marshall. First, they share five common opponents; WKU, FIU, MTSU, UNT and USM. The only difference in those five opponents is that Marshall has to play MTSU on the road, while LA Tech gets the Blue Raiders at home. (Clear advantage LA Tech).
Two of the remaining three games are practically a wash with (1) Marshall playing No. 112 FAU away, while LA Tech plays No. 110 UTSA, away, and (2) Marshall playing No. 98 ODU at home while LA Tech plays No. 95 UTEP away. (Slight advantage Marshall).
That leaves Marshall playing at No. 125 Charlotte and LA Tech playing at No. 74 Rice as the only really clear-cut, no-question-about-it advantage for Marshall. But the kicker here is -- if LA Tech is going to win the West, the Rice game is a must-win anyway.
So does strength of schedule truly play a factor? Ehh -- I think not.
As to Western Kentucky's in-conference schedule -- wow -- it is a tough one. They play Marshall, LA Tech, Rice, MTSU, ODU, FAU, FIU and UNT, with the only good news being that they get LA Tech, MTSU, Marshall and FAU at home.
All in all, it makes for an interesting season coming up, with there frankly being no guarantees that either LA Tech or Marshall will be in the championship game.