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Since the MAC is a QB league, with our uncertainty at that position, it makes predicting this season rather difficult.

I tend to agree with Major Hoople.

Hiller, I love your enthusiasm but can't agree with your assessment. Any team thinking that they can go into the Coliseum and face USC without a balanced offense and win has not been paying attention. Doesn't work very often especially against highly ranked teams on their home field.

While I believe that we can have some success running the ball, a lot depends on our QB/WRs and how effective they are as a deterrent. We won't know until they kick it off.

The college game a portion of the roster leaves every year. You usually see a new QB every 2-3 years. That's the norm. Zack with a 4 year career very rare. Plus we lose all 3 WR at the same time. It's hard to see where that doesn't have a huge effect. Your entire downfield attack is new.

Our running game is balanced in the respect we can spread the field horizontally, sideline to side line. The short pass game is really just a part of our running game.

But anyone who knows anything about the Darnell/Cubit years knows there is going to be some kind of vertical quick strike thing happening in a team coached by Lester. Our personnel are untried but have all the measureables for vertical success.

USC? I say we show up and surprise some people, but at the end of the day we lose by 28 or so. No shame in that, USC will do that to lots of teams.

Good post, DE.

With Moreland on the staff with Lester and John's record of resourcefulness in play design and calling, I expect we'll see the TE thrown to more often. Sometimes a surprise. Plus figuring out how to use Eskridge, and Bellamy and get them out into space where they can operate.

I'm excited for this year. The beauty of college football is that part of your roster turns over each year and each season is something onto itself. We just came off a once in a lifetime season where everything lined up for us perfectly. The team delivered in a big way with the pressure on. While I don't expect THAT again, I think the program has turned the corner and winning is expected and is now the norm.

An 8 - 4 season could happen and while it was considered a 'good' season less than a decade ago, now it would be considered 'meh.' With good/adequate WMU QB/WR play, I see the biggest threats to be;

@Toledo 11/24 (Fri)
@NIU 11/15
@EMU 10/21
CMU 11/1 (Wed) ESPN2

Three of our four toughest MAC games will be on the road, two on weekdays. Good thing we have a battle hardened bunch because that's a challenge.

I wouldn't term an 8 - 4 season mediocre or a disappointment when it is under a new staff with new schemes and facing the schedule we do.

With good QB play, this team could win 9 games. Without it....?

College football news is clueless. You're better off taking advice from Uncle Bob the alcoholic than them.

Besides our own question marks, the schedule has some too that make predicting our season's record difficult.

MSU's football program seems to be in chaos right now. How will they play Week Two?

How good is Idaho - good enough to win in Waldo?

Was last year an anomaly for NIU, or will the slide continue?

Similarly, was last year a one-year uptick for EMU, or are they on the ascendency?

I think it's all going to come down to our QB play this season. A lot of fans don't recognize how good a QB Zach Terrell was. Not just his physical abilities, but mostly his judgement.

Knowing when NOT to throw a pass is just as important as throwing completions, maybe even more so. Turnovers absolutely destroy a team. Zach controlled them to an amazing degree by playing smart, but taking the sack instead of throwing a probable interception. By tucking the ball and running for short yardage or a hard hit instead of taking the risk and throwing it.

QB's with physical talent are many, but QB's with the smarts to play the winning percentages are rare indeed. Hopefully Wassink and Flacco watched Terrell very carefully last season and took notice of his high football IQ. If we start giving up turnovers next season we'll be middle of the pack before mid season.

(04-22-2017 07:55 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  Besides our own question marks, the schedule has some too that make predicting our season's record difficult.

MSU's football program seems to be in chaos right now. How will they play Week Two?

How good is Idaho - good enough to win in Waldo?

Was last year an anomaly for NIU, or will the slide continue?

Similarly, was last year a one-year uptick for EMU, or are they on the ascendency?

MSU does not have much of a week 1 tuneup vs Bowling green. Nor should they be looking past WMU, they have a bye week following then the ND game. That team can fall apart or become more cohesive following adversity. Dantonios future depends on their response. A loss at home to Western could send them into a disastrous tailspin. W

Idaho is moving down from FCS to FBS in 2018 after being booted from a conference that decided to downsize to 10 teams. I haven't looked but that has to have a devastating effect of recruitment. We cannot lose to Idaho at home. If the team performs badly that's a bad sign for our new regime. W

Hoping NIU is on a downturn but can't count on it. I expect a tough win but our defense and running game should be expected to carry us to at least 2 close wins. I'd think NIU game is one of those. W

I expect a 9 win season. The talent is there, can the coaching help us overcome huge losses on offense. I hope our new K can be 90% of Butch. That may be the key.

(04-21-2017 11:10 AM)WMUlaxer97 Wrote:  

(04-20-2017 02:35 PM)WMUlaxer97 Wrote:  [quote='toddjnsn' pid='14280660' dateline='1492710626']

MSU DL now being charged with criminal sexual conduct. Not first time he's run afoul of the law. http://www.freep.com/story/sports/colleg...100740714/

Not only was he prosecuted then kicked off the team, he is now a fugitive.

http://meridiantwppolice.blogspot.com/20...l?spref=fb

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story...100740444/

(04-22-2017 11:54 AM)WMUlaxer97 Wrote:  Idaho is moving down from FCS to FBS in 2018 after being booted from a conference that decided to downsize to 10 teams. I haven't looked but that has to have a devastating effect of recruitment. We cannot lose to Idaho at home. If the team performs badly that's a bad sign for our new regime. W

24/7 ranks Idaho's 2017 class as 134th in the country. That's the lowest in the FBS and below several FCS teams.

Their recruiting took a huge hit.

Quote:Idaho is moving down from FCS to FBS in 2018

Its the other way around. they are moving down from FBS to FCS.

(04-22-2017 03:20 PM)Potro Wrote:  

Quote:Idaho is moving down from FCS to FBS in 2018

Its the other way around. they are moving down from FBS to FCS.

I can never remember. It's like when B1G went to Leaders and Legends divisions. I couldn't remember which division Michigan was in, I know it started with an L. And it ended with an S, and there's an E and a D in it, F it. So stupid.

(04-22-2017 10:01 AM)BroncoPhilly Wrote:  I think it's all going to come down to our QB play this season. A lot of fans don't recognize how good a QB Zach Terrell was. Not just his physical abilities, but mostly his judgement.

Knowing when NOT to throw a pass is just as important as throwing completions, maybe even more so. Turnovers absolutely destroy a team. Zach controlled them to an amazing degree by playing smart, but taking the sack instead of throwing a probable interception. By tucking the ball and running for short yardage or a hard hit instead of taking the risk and throwing it.

QB's with physical talent are many, but QB's with the smarts to play the winning percentages are rare indeed. Hopefully Wassink and Flacco watched Terrell very carefully last season and took notice of his high football IQ. If we start giving up turnovers next season we'll be middle of the pack before mid season.

That judgement thing, both Flacco and Wassink are talented runners. Especially Flacco will have a tendency to tuck the ball and run at the slightest hint of downfield uncertainty. Ironically if defenses have to account for quarterback draws and scrambles, the downfield can open up a bit. So I don't think we'll see much of a gunslinger thing with QB's just letting stuff fly. Flip side is you want them to have confidence to make throws. That balance is the trick.

IMO judging next season a success (or a failure) simply by looking at the final total number of wins is overrated. It's not inconceivable we could start next season 0-3 and go on to win the MAC. It's also very possible we could beat MSU and drop only one nonconference game, but get picked off multiple times in MAC play (which, IMO, is a much more significant measure).

Yes, we are inexperienced at QB and WR, but IMO there is enough talent at those positions to expect no worse than middle-of-the-pack MAC-caliber performances at that positions. Considering the talent and returning experience at other positions, there's no reason why we shouldn't expect to contend for a MAC championship again.

We end the season at Toledo on Thanksgiving weekend. My bare-minimum expectation for 2017: we go into that Toledo game in a position where a win returns us to the MACC (assuming we aren't already heading to the MACC at that point). If we have more than one loss in MAC play heading into the Toledo game, this scenario probably isn't a reality.

I have a hard time seeing how this isn't a reasonable and fair expectation for 2017. As others here have pointed out, our MAC schedule leading up to the Toledo game (and, in particular, our MAC East crossovers) aren't exactly Murderer's Row.

I think WMU can't help but drop off some after losing Terrell and a first round WR, but I have little doubt they will be one of the top teams in the MAC again, unless they have a QB situation like we've had the last year or so. Certainly will contend for another title. If NIU finds a QB, they will be back in the running again also. WR is unproven, but if we have Huff running the ball, we'll be improved at least 2 ypc right there. Our DB situation is very deep, just have to get more pressure on the QB so they don't have to cover people for 10 minutes at a time.

What does WMU's QB situation look like this year?

(04-27-2017 08:19 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  What does WMU's QB situation look like this year?

Unsettled right now. Flacco and Wassink have been battling it out and observers say one day one guy looks great and the next, the other guy stands out.

Let's just say that we will have some growing pains this season at QB. Doesn't hurt to have a former QB as HC, though. Defense and our run game may have to carry us early.

Hard to know much until we SEE them play in a game situation.

(04-27-2017 08:27 PM)MileHighBronco Wrote:  

(04-27-2017 08:19 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  What does WMU's QB situation look like this year?

Unsettled right now. Flacco and Wassink have been battling it out and observers say one day one guy looks great and the next, the other guy stands out.

Let's just say that we will have some growing pains this season at QB. Doesn't hurt to have a former QB as HC, though. Defense and our run game may have to carry us early.

Hard to know much until we SEE them play in a game situation.

We will have to rely on defense and run game too. Ryan Graham and Santacatarina started the year as the top 2. Graham isn't a good enough runner or passer, though he knows the offense well. Santa seems to be a pretty good runner, and he won the 2 games he played in last year, we just don't know if he can pass (more reps with the starters would help though). Marcus Childers is a redshirt freshman that has good size and can run, and has the arm for passing, and apparently has improved a lot in spring ball. He has the most potential. Rodney Hall is a true freshman that can definitely run, he's fast, but probably won't be ready and will end up as a redshirt.

I'm hoping either Santa or Childers gets the call. Graham isn't the answer.

On a side note, Jordan Huff, if he gets a lot of carries, will be one of the best RBs in the MAC, possibly THE best. Not sure about his blocking and work ethic, the only thing (I hope) that kept him from starting last year.

Quote:Predicting 9 wins with an unproven QB is hard to do. If Terrell was back, I'd say 8 wins at the minimum. Probably 9. But you have no idea if Flacco will floppo. Idaho, EMU, CMU, NIU and Toledo can all be potential losses with a shaky QB. In the MAC, the have and have-nots are usually decided by QB play. Even with a bad QB, the Broncos win 6 games. With a good one 8. A really good one 10. But what do you have?

We seem to be a decent position for unproven QB, notably with a star QB as our HC. You can expect to win some tough games later in the season, but also drop some too. With a new coaching staff -- with ties to WMU, I think a lot rests on their shoulders on how well we come out of the gates.

MSU is not going to be a 3-9 team this year. No way. It's @MSU, early in the season, and we aren't BGSU or anything to overlook. They're going to treat it like they're playing a B1G team, with a fellow in-state school who went to the Cotton Bowl the previous year. MSU last year, when pumped & aligned, played Ohio State & Michigan quite close. But no, I don't expect MSU to be polished. It will be a good test for us to make a Game out of it.

Idaho has some potential, but I don't think they're on their way UP this year, which is good for us. This will be the real test after going 0-2. They'll be a formidable opponent. If we lose this game, no, you cannot expect us to go 8-4, unless the MAC has a bad year + we only lose by mistakes while showing a lot of potential.

@Toledo, @NIU, CMU -- yikes. I hope it does come down to @Toledo determining who wins the MAC West -- more than likely us to tie Toledo and win the tie-breaker if beating them at home, but, Toledo's a good team and they are going to be HATING on us.

I predict we go 7-5, maybe 8-4. 9-3 is Possible, but that depends on how well tuned our team is, but I would not hold my breath at all. Huge difference between 8-4 and 9-3. And I stake my virginity on this, tho: No way we go 10-2.

6-6: 10%
7-5: 40%
8-4: 40%
9-3: 10%