I think that Houston is still the team to beat. They took everybody's best shot last year and just got worn down. USF will underperform. Tulsa is my sleeper.

UCF has a favorable schedule with two winnable P5 games @Maryland and vsGaTech. We've got 7 home games, and no road games on consecutive weekends.

If UCF has improved a bit and USF lives up to the hype, this could be the year that the War on I4 has the East division title on the line.

Here's how I see the conference shaping up:

West:

• #1 - Memphis / Navy
• #2 - Memphis / Navy
• #3 - SMU - Chad Morris has things rolling in Dallas. He's shown continuous improvement year to year. I think he's 1 year removed from a West Division title.
• #4 - Tulane - Willie Fritz is a winner. It's not a matter of if, but when. I'm excited to watch year 2 at Tulane.
• #5 - Houston - New Coach, New QB, some growing pains
• #6 - Tulsa - Losing all that offensive production, and no defense to speak of... someone has to come in last, I think Tulsa has the best chance of the 6.
  

East:

• #1 - UCF / USF - UCF might be one year away from a division title still, but I think the fight for the east comes down to Black Friday '17. UCF is undefeated vs Strong, and I imagine there will be SOME growing pains involved with his transition into West Central Florida.
• #2 - UCF / USF
• #3 - ECU - This was difficult. I put ECU here simply because they have a 2 year head coach rather than a fresh face running the show.
• #4 - Cinci - Toss up.
• #5 - UConn / Temple
• #6 - UConn / Temple - UConn has an underwhelming new head coach on a losing team. Their defense will be stout most likely, but it should be business as usual as Edsall transitions back into his old stomping grounds. Temple... lets not forget where they were before Rhule and Walker. Very interesting to see where they both fall for sure.
  

Key things to watch for UCF:

• Maturity of the O-Line: - This was UCF's Achilles heel last year. With a brand new offensive scheme, the growing pains were felt the most behind an out of shape, ineffective O-line. These big uglies were hand picked for an O'Leary style offensive and square peg / round hole'd into an Oregon offense. Tyler Hudanick was definitely the leader on the line, but he went down with a season ending injury midway, and his loss was felt immediately. This position needs to make an improvement for Frost's offense to work, and it should, with more of his recruits maturing into starting positions (Jordan Johnson at center, Aaron Dowdell, Tyler Hudanick back, and maybe some surprises out of spring).
• Does Milton take the next step, or does a True Freshman QB surprise? - Milton has the ability, if he has time. I think he can take that next step (just look at what he did against UConn last year... that shows potential right there). He needs to fix his throwing motion, develop a confidence in the pocket, and improve on his decision making. But can Noah Vedral or Darriel Mack Jr. supplant him with an impressive Summer / Fall? We'll see.
• Cordarrion Richardson - Will he qualify? No word has even surfaced yet since signing day. If he can make it, that will be an immediate shot in the arm to this offense. This kid is good for 4 yards every carry, and even more after contact. Reminds me of a Doug Martin / Mike Alstott hybrid. Immediate Rookie of the Year candidate, but we gotta get him in the doors first.
• How does the D respond to losing the entire starting Secondary, and most of the Linebackers - Shaquem Griffin still has that leadership role as the starting OLB, but how do the LBs respond to losing Brim, Burkett, Rucker, Clarke, and others? Who fills the void left by Shaquill Griffin, Mutcherson, Killings...
  
  

(03-27-2017 03:00 AM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 02:50 AM)Westhoff123 Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 02:31 AM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 02:01 AM)fishpro1098 Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 01:23 AM)Westhoff123 Wrote:  Still a down year though. I dont see this conference getting an NY6 bid this year.

What about USF? The talent to get there?

.

USF has enormous talent but their non-conf slate is pretty meh. Their ceiling next year is dependent on the rest of us pulling weight. I think Memphis has a legit shot at winning conference and Navy should be solid as well. Tulsa and UH should have plenty offense but they both have some big holes to fill as well. I expect UCF and Cincy to be better than they were this year. No clue about ECU, Tulane, or UConn. SMU could be real dark horse in the west. I don't know much about Temple's situation but replacing a great coach is never easy. Certainly expect them to win more than they lose but anything beyond that would be surprising.

Pretty much, not to mention the fact USF has never won an fbs championship. On top of that I dont see how UH does better than 8-4 this we may even be a 6-6 team this year.

My expectation next year is 7 wins. However looking at the schedule even that could be difficult because for some reason we have 5 road games in conference. Maybe we'll surprise but right now I think its best to keep expectations low.

???
Houston's AAC schedule:
Home: SMU O7, Memphis O19, ECU O28, Navy N24
Away: Temple S30, Tulsa O14, USF N4, Tulane N18

Tulane at top 5/10 Oklahoma, it's gonna be huuuuuuugeeeee

(03-27-2017 03:00 AM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 02:50 AM)Westhoff123 Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 02:31 AM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 02:01 AM)fishpro1098 Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 01:23 AM)Westhoff123 Wrote:  Still a down year though. I dont see this conference getting an NY6 bid this year.

What about USF? The talent to get there?

.

USF has enormous talent but their non-conf slate is pretty meh. Their ceiling next year is dependent on the rest of us pulling weight. I think Memphis has a legit shot at winning conference and Navy should be solid as well. Tulsa and UH should have plenty offense but they both have some big holes to fill as well. I expect UCF and Cincy to be better than they were this year. No clue about ECU, Tulane, or UConn. SMU could be real dark horse in the west. I don't know much about Temple's situation but replacing a great coach is never easy. Certainly expect them to win more than they lose but anything beyond that would be surprising.

Pretty much, not to mention the fact USF has never won an fbs championship. On top of that I dont see how UH does better than 8-4 this we may even be a 6-6 team this year.

My expectation next year is 7 wins. However looking at the schedule even that could be difficult because for some reason we have 5 road games in conference. Maybe we'll surprise but right now I think its best to keep expectations low.

UTSA isn't in our conference anymore.

Tulsa's record is all going to depend on two things, QB and DT.

Our DT position is thin right now, and has seemed to be the weakest spot on the roster. One of the guys expected to start at that spot has been banged up through the spring.

The QB's are still developing and competing. We've got to find a guy that can make the throws we need and not turn the ball over. So far no one has proved themselves head and shoulders above anyone else.

(03-27-2017 02:31 AM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 02:01 AM)fishpro1098 Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 01:23 AM)Westhoff123 Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 01:17 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 12:49 AM)Westhoff123 Wrote:  I think our conference is going to have a down year again. Too many new coaches.

That may be true for some schools, but having a new coach will pay off immediately at Cincinnati. Tuberville was really that bad. I think 7-8 wins is realistic this season.

Still a down year though. I dont see this conference getting an NY6 bid this year.

What about USF? The talent to get there?

.

USF has enormous talent but their non-conf slate is pretty meh. Their ceiling next year is dependent on the rest of us pulling weight. I think Memphis has a legit shot at winning conference and Navy should be solid as well. Tulsa and UH should have plenty offense but they both have some big holes to fill as well. I expect UCF and Cincy to be better than they were this year. No clue about ECU, Tulane, or UConn. SMU could be real dark horse in the west. I don't know much about Temple's situation but replacing a great coach is never easy. Certainly expect them to win more than they lose but anything beyond that would be surprising.

Agreed. Houston, ECU, UCF, and UConn have the only schedules that could potentially make "noise".

For USF: However unlikely, if all four teams do well and USF happens to beat all of us, then they have the potential to be pretty highly ranked. But there's the catch-22. If any of us lose to USF, then we are no longer quality wins...even for USF themselves. Perfect scenario for them would be if they go undefeated, and USF is the only loss for all 4 of us. Buuuuuuut we all play each other, so....they are stuck.

For AAC: We pretty much need one of the other 4 teams above to be good, with ALL of our teams being good against other conferences. This is why OOC scheduling and play is so important.
From a personal standpoint, if ECU were to beat VT and WVU, but go on to lose to a couple of AAC teams (ideally of the 4 listed above), it would still be a quality year (IMO) if another AAC team gets the G5 bid.

We'll likely lose both of those games, but just putting that out there.

(03-27-2017 09:22 AM)Kruciff Wrote:  Here's how I see the conference shaping up:

West:

• #1 - Memphis / Navy
• #2 - Memphis / Navy
• #3 - SMU - Chad Morris has things rolling in Dallas. He's shown continuous improvement year to year. I think he's 1 year removed from a West Division title.
• #4 - Tulane - Willie Fritz is a winner. It's not a matter of if, but when. I'm excited to watch year 2 at Tulane.
  
• #5 - Houston - New Coach, New QB, some growing pains
• #6 - Tulsa - Losing all that offensive production, and no defense to speak of... someone has to come in last, I think Tulsa has the best chance of the 6.
  

East:

• #1 - UCF / USF - UCF might be one year away from a division title still, but I think the fight for the east comes down to Black Friday '17. UCF is undefeated vs Strong, and I imagine there will be SOME growing pains involved with his transition into West Central Florida.
• #2 - UCF / USF
• #3 - ECU - This was difficult. I put ECU here simply because they have a 2 year head coach rather than a fresh face running the show.
• #4 - Cinci - Toss up.
• #5 - UConn / Temple
• #6 - UConn / Temple - UConn has an underwhelming new head coach on a losing team. Their defense will be stout most likely, but it should be business as usual as Edsall transitions back into his old stomping grounds. Temple... lets not forget where they were before Rhule and Walker. Very interesting to see where they both fall for sure.
  

Key things to watch for UCF:

• Maturity of the O-Line: - This was UCF's Achilles heel last year. With a brand new offensive scheme, the growing pains were felt the most behind an out of shape, ineffective O-line. These big uglies were hand picked for an O'Leary style offensive and square peg / round hole'd into an Oregon offense. Tyler Hudanick was definitely the leader on the line, but he went down with a season ending injury midway, and his loss was felt immediately. This position needs to make an improvement for Frost's offense to work, and it should, with more of his recruits maturing into starting positions (Jordan Johnson at center, Aaron Dowdell, Tyler Hudanick back, and maybe some surprises out of spring).
• Does Milton take the next step, or does a True Freshman QB surprise? - Milton has the ability, if he has time. I think he can take that next step (just look at what he did against UConn last year... that shows potential right there). He needs to fix his throwing motion, develop a confidence in the pocket, and improve on his decision making. But can Noah Vedral or Darriel Mack Jr. supplant him with an impressive Summer / Fall? We'll see.
• Cordarrion Richardson - Will he qualify? No word has even surfaced yet since signing day. If he can make it, that will be an immediate shot in the arm to this offense. This kid is good for 4 yards every carry, and even more after contact. Reminds me of a Doug Martin / Mike Alstott hybrid. Immediate Rookie of the Year candidate, but we gotta get him in the doors first.
• How does the D respond to losing the entire starting Secondary, and most of the Linebackers - Shaquem Griffin still has that leadership role as the starting OLB, but how do the LBs respond to losing Brim, Burkett, Rucker, Clarke, and others? Who fills the void left by Shaquill Griffin, Mutcherson, Killings...
  
  

#5 in the west???

houston has outrecruitd the AAC by a margin the last 3 years
new qb was a top 10 recruit 1qb in 2013 with 2 years starting experience in the SEC, 1 year under the Current system

new coach isnt that new, he ran the offense for the last 2 years..amd in herman wards identical to him in philosophy and tyle (why he was hired as OC and chossen as the replacement)

i get growning pains but 5th in the west is an extreme stretch to me

(03-27-2017 11:09 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 09:22 AM)Kruciff Wrote:  Here's how I see the conference shaping up:

West:

• #1 - Memphis / Navy
• #2 - Memphis / Navy
• #3 - SMU - Chad Morris has things rolling in Dallas. He's shown continuous improvement year to year. I think he's 1 year removed from a West Division title.
• #4 - Tulane - Willie Fritz is a winner. It's not a matter of if, but when. I'm excited to watch year 2 at Tulane.
  
• #5 - Houston - New Coach, New QB, some growing pains
• #6 - Tulsa - Losing all that offensive production, and no defense to speak of... someone has to come in last, I think Tulsa has the best chance of the 6.
  

East:

• #1 - UCF / USF - UCF might be one year away from a division title still, but I think the fight for the east comes down to Black Friday '17. UCF is undefeated vs Strong, and I imagine there will be SOME growing pains involved with his transition into West Central Florida.
• #2 - UCF / USF
• #3 - ECU - This was difficult. I put ECU here simply because they have a 2 year head coach rather than a fresh face running the show.
• #4 - Cinci - Toss up.
• #5 - UConn / Temple
• #6 - UConn / Temple - UConn has an underwhelming new head coach on a losing team. Their defense will be stout most likely, but it should be business as usual as Edsall transitions back into his old stomping grounds. Temple... lets not forget where they were before Rhule and Walker. Very interesting to see where they both fall for sure.
  

Key things to watch for UCF:

• Maturity of the O-Line: - This was UCF's Achilles heel last year. With a brand new offensive scheme, the growing pains were felt the most behind an out of shape, ineffective O-line. These big uglies were hand picked for an O'Leary style offensive and square peg / round hole'd into an Oregon offense. Tyler Hudanick was definitely the leader on the line, but he went down with a season ending injury midway, and his loss was felt immediately. This position needs to make an improvement for Frost's offense to work, and it should, with more of his recruits maturing into starting positions (Jordan Johnson at center, Aaron Dowdell, Tyler Hudanick back, and maybe some surprises out of spring).
• Does Milton take the next step, or does a True Freshman QB surprise? - Milton has the ability, if he has time. I think he can take that next step (just look at what he did against UConn last year... that shows potential right there). He needs to fix his throwing motion, develop a confidence in the pocket, and improve on his decision making. But can Noah Vedral or Darriel Mack Jr. supplant him with an impressive Summer / Fall? We'll see.
• Cordarrion Richardson - Will he qualify? No word has even surfaced yet since signing day. If he can make it, that will be an immediate shot in the arm to this offense. This kid is good for 4 yards every carry, and even more after contact. Reminds me of a Doug Martin / Mike Alstott hybrid. Immediate Rookie of the Year candidate, but we gotta get him in the doors first.
• How does the D respond to losing the entire starting Secondary, and most of the Linebackers - Shaquem Griffin still has that leadership role as the starting OLB, but how do the LBs respond to losing Brim, Burkett, Rucker, Clarke, and others? Who fills the void left by Shaquill Griffin, Mutcherson, Killings...
  
  

#5 in the west???

houston has outrecruitd the AAC by a margin the last 3 years
new qb was a top 10 recruit 1qb in 2013 with 2 years starting experience in the SEC, 1 year under the Current system

new coach isnt that new, he ran the offense for the last 2 years..amd in herman wards identical to him in philosophy and tyle (why he was hired as OC and chossen as the replacement)

i get growning pains but 5th in the west is an extreme stretch to me

We get it pesik your a homer but lets be real coog fans hated applewhite and his play calling he sucked. Herman was the reason the offense was good in spite of applewhite.

I just don't really see anyone in this league winning more than about 10 games next year. I think the access bid will be Boise's to lose, unfortunately. I expect to see a lot of teams in the AAC finish the regular season between 6-6 and 9-3.

(03-27-2017 11:23 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  I just don't really see anyone in this league winning more than about 10 games next year. I think the access bid will be Boise's to lose, unfortunately. I expect to see a lot of teams in the AAC finish the regular season between 6-6 and 9-3.

Yup, and after this season its going to be even harder to justify the whole P6 crud.

(03-27-2017 11:23 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  I just don't really see anyone in this league winning more than about 10 games next year. I think the access bid will be Boise's to lose, unfortunately. I expect to see a lot of teams in the AAC finish the regular season between 6-6 and 9-3.

The relative strength of our conference (the AAC is clearly the best of the G-5) is also a liability because we beat up on each other. The Committee may take it into account, however, when evaluating schools for the Access Bowl slot.

(03-27-2017 11:16 AM)Westhoff123 Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 11:09 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 09:22 AM)Kruciff Wrote:  Here's how I see the conference shaping up:

West:

• #1 - Memphis / Navy
• #2 - Memphis / Navy
• #3 - SMU - Chad Morris has things rolling in Dallas. He's shown continuous improvement year to year. I think he's 1 year removed from a West Division title.
• #4 - Tulane - Willie Fritz is a winner. It's not a matter of if, but when. I'm excited to watch year 2 at Tulane.
  
• #5 - Houston - New Coach, New QB, some growing pains
• #6 - Tulsa - Losing all that offensive production, and no defense to speak of... someone has to come in last, I think Tulsa has the best chance of the 6.
  

East:

• #1 - UCF / USF - UCF might be one year away from a division title still, but I think the fight for the east comes down to Black Friday '17. UCF is undefeated vs Strong, and I imagine there will be SOME growing pains involved with his transition into West Central Florida.
• #2 - UCF / USF
• #3 - ECU - This was difficult. I put ECU here simply because they have a 2 year head coach rather than a fresh face running the show.
• #4 - Cinci - Toss up.
• #5 - UConn / Temple
• #6 - UConn / Temple - UConn has an underwhelming new head coach on a losing team. Their defense will be stout most likely, but it should be business as usual as Edsall transitions back into his old stomping grounds. Temple... lets not forget where they were before Rhule and Walker. Very interesting to see where they both fall for sure.
  

Key things to watch for UCF:

• Maturity of the O-Line: - This was UCF's Achilles heel last year. With a brand new offensive scheme, the growing pains were felt the most behind an out of shape, ineffective O-line. These big uglies were hand picked for an O'Leary style offensive and square peg / round hole'd into an Oregon offense. Tyler Hudanick was definitely the leader on the line, but he went down with a season ending injury midway, and his loss was felt immediately. This position needs to make an improvement for Frost's offense to work, and it should, with more of his recruits maturing into starting positions (Jordan Johnson at center, Aaron Dowdell, Tyler Hudanick back, and maybe some surprises out of spring).
• Does Milton take the next step, or does a True Freshman QB surprise? - Milton has the ability, if he has time. I think he can take that next step (just look at what he did against UConn last year... that shows potential right there). He needs to fix his throwing motion, develop a confidence in the pocket, and improve on his decision making. But can Noah Vedral or Darriel Mack Jr. supplant him with an impressive Summer / Fall? We'll see.
• Cordarrion Richardson - Will he qualify? No word has even surfaced yet since signing day. If he can make it, that will be an immediate shot in the arm to this offense. This kid is good for 4 yards every carry, and even more after contact. Reminds me of a Doug Martin / Mike Alstott hybrid. Immediate Rookie of the Year candidate, but we gotta get him in the doors first.
• How does the D respond to losing the entire starting Secondary, and most of the Linebackers - Shaquem Griffin still has that leadership role as the starting OLB, but how do the LBs respond to losing Brim, Burkett, Rucker, Clarke, and others? Who fills the void left by Shaquill Griffin, Mutcherson, Killings...
  
  

#5 in the west???

houston has outrecruitd the AAC by a margin the last 3 years
new qb was a top 10 recruit 1qb in 2013 with 2 years starting experience in the SEC, 1 year under the Current system

new coach isnt that new, he ran the offense for the last 2 years..amd in herman wards identical to him in philosophy and tyle (why he was hired as OC and chossen as the replacement)

i get growning pains but 5th in the west is an extreme stretch to me

We get it pesik your a homer but lets be real coog fans hated applewhite and his play calling he sucked. Herman was the reason the offense was good in spite of applewhite.

We get it west you are super negative about your own team,re-read what I said ... I nowhere said we'd win the west or that we'd dominate .. he had us 5th in the West which would likely mean a 4 or 5 win team

It's not homer to think the G5 team with the most 4 and 5 star players in the entire FBS does better than that
Secondly Herman himself said applewhite completely ran the offense .. on numerous occasions..That the only thing he did on offense was make suggestions

I have my doubt about applewhite ...But my fear is that we will be mediocre.. not that we will be bad...No way in hell we are bottom 4 in the league.. any one with sense and knowledge of our team will say the same..You can call Phil steele, sensation, USA today all homers to when they make their predictions that will be similar to mine

(03-27-2017 11:09 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 09:22 AM)Kruciff Wrote:  Here's how I see the conference shaping up:

West:

• #1 - Memphis / Navy
• #2 - Memphis / Navy
• #3 - SMU - Chad Morris has things rolling in Dallas. He's shown continuous improvement year to year. I think he's 1 year removed from a West Division title.
• #4 - Tulane - Willie Fritz is a winner. It's not a matter of if, but when. I'm excited to watch year 2 at Tulane.
  
• #5 - Houston - New Coach, New QB, some growing pains
• #6 - Tulsa - Losing all that offensive production, and no defense to speak of... someone has to come in last, I think Tulsa has the best chance of the 6.
  

East:

• #1 - UCF / USF - UCF might be one year away from a division title still, but I think the fight for the east comes down to Black Friday '17. UCF is undefeated vs Strong, and I imagine there will be SOME growing pains involved with his transition into West Central Florida.
• #2 - UCF / USF
• #3 - ECU - This was difficult. I put ECU here simply because they have a 2 year head coach rather than a fresh face running the show.
• #4 - Cinci - Toss up.
• #5 - UConn / Temple
• #6 - UConn / Temple - UConn has an underwhelming new head coach on a losing team. Their defense will be stout most likely, but it should be business as usual as Edsall transitions back into his old stomping grounds. Temple... lets not forget where they were before Rhule and Walker. Very interesting to see where they both fall for sure.
  

Key things to watch for UCF:

• Maturity of the O-Line: - This was UCF's Achilles heel last year. With a brand new offensive scheme, the growing pains were felt the most behind an out of shape, ineffective O-line. These big uglies were hand picked for an O'Leary style offensive and square peg / round hole'd into an Oregon offense. Tyler Hudanick was definitely the leader on the line, but he went down with a season ending injury midway, and his loss was felt immediately. This position needs to make an improvement for Frost's offense to work, and it should, with more of his recruits maturing into starting positions (Jordan Johnson at center, Aaron Dowdell, Tyler Hudanick back, and maybe some surprises out of spring).
• Does Milton take the next step, or does a True Freshman QB surprise? - Milton has the ability, if he has time. I think he can take that next step (just look at what he did against UConn last year... that shows potential right there). He needs to fix his throwing motion, develop a confidence in the pocket, and improve on his decision making. But can Noah Vedral or Darriel Mack Jr. supplant him with an impressive Summer / Fall? We'll see.
• Cordarrion Richardson - Will he qualify? No word has even surfaced yet since signing day. If he can make it, that will be an immediate shot in the arm to this offense. This kid is good for 4 yards every carry, and even more after contact. Reminds me of a Doug Martin / Mike Alstott hybrid. Immediate Rookie of the Year candidate, but we gotta get him in the doors first.
• How does the D respond to losing the entire starting Secondary, and most of the Linebackers - Shaquem Griffin still has that leadership role as the starting OLB, but how do the LBs respond to losing Brim, Burkett, Rucker, Clarke, and others? Who fills the void left by Shaquill Griffin, Mutcherson, Killings...
  
  

#5 in the west???

houston has outrecruitd the AAC by a margin the last 3 years
new qb was a top 10 recruit 1qb in 2013 with 2 years starting experience in the SEC, 1 year under the Current system

new coach isnt that new, he ran the offense for the last 2 years..amd in herman wards identical to him in philosophy and tyle (why he was hired as OC and chossen as the replacement)

i get growning pains but 5th in the west is an extreme stretch to me

It's more of a sign of how highly I think of Tulane and SMU rather than how low I am on Houston. I think Tulane and Houston can interchange spots, but I don't see Houston finishing in the top 3 tbh.

(03-27-2017 11:40 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 11:23 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  I just don't really see anyone in this league winning more than about 10 games next year. I think the access bid will be Boise's to lose, unfortunately. I expect to see a lot of teams in the AAC finish the regular season between 6-6 and 9-3.

The relative strength of our conference (the AAC is clearly the best of the G-5) is also a liability because we beat up on each other. The Committee may take it into account, however, when evaluating schools for the Access Bowl slot.

Doubt it, they showed last year they weren't going to do that when it came to WMU.

(03-27-2017 12:02 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 11:16 AM)Westhoff123 Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 11:09 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(03-27-2017 09:22 AM)Kruciff Wrote:  Here's how I see the conference shaping up:

West:

• #1 - Memphis / Navy
• #2 - Memphis / Navy
• #3 - SMU - Chad Morris has things rolling in Dallas. He's shown continuous improvement year to year. I think he's 1 year removed from a West Division title.
• #4 - Tulane - Willie Fritz is a winner. It's not a matter of if, but when. I'm excited to watch year 2 at Tulane.
  
• #5 - Houston - New Coach, New QB, some growing pains
• #6 - Tulsa - Losing all that offensive production, and no defense to speak of... someone has to come in last, I think Tulsa has the best chance of the 6.
  

East:

• #1 - UCF / USF - UCF might be one year away from a division title still, but I think the fight for the east comes down to Black Friday '17. UCF is undefeated vs Strong, and I imagine there will be SOME growing pains involved with his transition into West Central Florida.
• #2 - UCF / USF
• #3 - ECU - This was difficult. I put ECU here simply because they have a 2 year head coach rather than a fresh face running the show.
• #4 - Cinci - Toss up.
• #5 - UConn / Temple
• #6 - UConn / Temple - UConn has an underwhelming new head coach on a losing team. Their defense will be stout most likely, but it should be business as usual as Edsall transitions back into his old stomping grounds. Temple... lets not forget where they were before Rhule and Walker. Very interesting to see where they both fall for sure.
  

Key things to watch for UCF:

• Maturity of the O-Line: - This was UCF's Achilles heel last year. With a brand new offensive scheme, the growing pains were felt the most behind an out of shape, ineffective O-line. These big uglies were hand picked for an O'Leary style offensive and square peg / round hole'd into an Oregon offense. Tyler Hudanick was definitely the leader on the line, but he went down with a season ending injury midway, and his loss was felt immediately. This position needs to make an improvement for Frost's offense to work, and it should, with more of his recruits maturing into starting positions (Jordan Johnson at center, Aaron Dowdell, Tyler Hudanick back, and maybe some surprises out of spring).
• Does Milton take the next step, or does a True Freshman QB surprise? - Milton has the ability, if he has time. I think he can take that next step (just look at what he did against UConn last year... that shows potential right there). He needs to fix his throwing motion, develop a confidence in the pocket, and improve on his decision making. But can Noah Vedral or Darriel Mack Jr. supplant him with an impressive Summer / Fall? We'll see.
• Cordarrion Richardson - Will he qualify? No word has even surfaced yet since signing day. If he can make it, that will be an immediate shot in the arm to this offense. This kid is good for 4 yards every carry, and even more after contact. Reminds me of a Doug Martin / Mike Alstott hybrid. Immediate Rookie of the Year candidate, but we gotta get him in the doors first.
• How does the D respond to losing the entire starting Secondary, and most of the Linebackers - Shaquem Griffin still has that leadership role as the starting OLB, but how do the LBs respond to losing Brim, Burkett, Rucker, Clarke, and others? Who fills the void left by Shaquill Griffin, Mutcherson, Killings...
  
  

#5 in the west???

houston has outrecruitd the AAC by a margin the last 3 years
new qb was a top 10 recruit 1qb in 2013 with 2 years starting experience in the SEC, 1 year under the Current system

new coach isnt that new, he ran the offense for the last 2 years..amd in herman wards identical to him in philosophy and tyle (why he was hired as OC and chossen as the replacement)

i get growning pains but 5th in the west is an extreme stretch to me

We get it pesik your a homer but lets be real coog fans hated applewhite and his play calling he sucked. Herman was the reason the offense was good in spite of applewhite.

We get it west you are super negative about your own team,re-read what I said ... I nowhere said we'd win the west or that we'd dominate .. he had us 5th in the West which would likely mean a 4 or 5 win team

It's not homer to think the G5 team with the most 4 and 5 star players in the entire FBS does better than that
Secondly Herman himself said applewhite completely ran the offense .. on numerous occasions..That the only thing he did on offense was make suggestions

I have my doubt about applewhite ...But my fear is that we will be mediocre.. not that we will be bad...No way in hell we are bottom 4 in the league.. any one with sense and knowledge of our team will say the same..You can call Phil steele, sensation, USA today all homers to when they make their predictions that will be similar to mine

A 6-6 finish would probably put us 5th in the west which is very likely.

I think there will be more competitive, bowl caliber teams but maybe not many Top 25

The entire West excluding Tulane should go bowling. SMU will be bowling this year. UH probably has the best talent in the AAC and if they don't win big then Applewhite is going to be on the "hot seat" very early in his tenure

Kruciff, this time I think your way off base, in fact so far off base that maybe you are thinking baseball
The Cougars will be in the top 1, half way through the season we will have 2 heisman candidates in Kyle Allen at QB and big Ed Oliver at DT.
So I'll be cleaning off my rear view mirror to see the rest of the west fading away
ECU has the best chance to make noise with their OOC, beat those two highly ranked teams and remain unbeaten and ranked when y,all play houston

(03-27-2017 01:46 PM)JHS55 Wrote:  Kruciff, this time I think your way off base, in fact so far off base that maybe you are thinking baseball
The Cougars will be in the top 1, half way through the season we will have 2 heisman candidates in Kyle Allen at QB and big Ed Oliver at DT.
So I'll be cleaning off my rear view mirror to see the rest of the west fading away
ECU has the best chance to make noise with their OOC, beat those two highly ranked teams and remain unbeaten and ranked when y,all play houston

Well good to see some optimism i guess lol.