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I see a couple people talking about a 5 game losing streak.

But aside from the OOC games, that isn’t the exact order of games. The MAC hasn’t released its schedules yet, unless I missed something.

Besides NIU will be probably be stuck in late November like usual.

As far as returners, we're pretty experienced and proven. Here's the questions I think need to be resolved:

How will Eleby do?
How good are Tyler's backups at RB?
How good will Luke Sanders be at TE? How healthy will Borske be?
Who's our starting center? Moving Asbury or Caliendo?
How good are our highly touted freshman linebackers as backups?
We need at least one freshman safety to play. Who is starting alongside Thomas?

In 2021 and 2022, we'll see how good our young offensive and defensive lineman are.

(01-03-2020 11:54 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  It's way too early but like with most football teams we will probably go as our (new) QB goes.

Normally expect significant drop off from three-year starter to one who only played in five games two years ago.

Also bringing back only 12 starters normally not good. But we have four OL starters returning (good building blocks for that side of the ball). Easier to replace "skill" players than OL. And were getting Moment and Eskridge back on defense.

Hopefully we don't lose any key players between now and Spring Ball or Fall Camp.

IF moment can keep his grades up

(01-03-2020 11:54 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  And were getting Moment and Eskridge back on defense.

And likely French as well!

(01-02-2020 07:29 PM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  

(01-02-2020 06:47 PM)Bronco88Oxford Wrote:  [quote='WMU2013' pid='16582919' dateline='1577988352']
Colgate- Win
@Cincinnati-Loss
@ Notre Dame-Loss
Syracuse- Win
Toledo- Loss
@CMU-Win
NIU- Win
@Akron- Win
@Ball State- Win
@Kent State- Loss
Eastern Michigan-Win
Buffalo- Win

Totally guessing here, but we are due to play @Akron, @ Kent State, Buffalo

Thoughts? My prediction is 8-5.. Love the potential of this team next year!!!

GO BRONCO!


Syracuse......W?
5-8 (hope I'm wrong)

The only path to that record would be getting to the MACC with a 5-7 record and then losing that game. Now that would be a crazy season.

good catch, should have been 5-7.

(01-03-2020 12:27 PM)RunningGame Wrote:  As far as returners, we're pretty experienced and proven. Here's the questions I think need to be resolved:

How will Eleby do?
How good are Tyler's backups at RB?
How good will Luke Sanders be at TE? How healthy will Borske be?
Who's our starting center? Moving Asbury or Caliendo?
How good are our highly touted freshman linebackers as backups?
We need at least one freshman safety to play. Who is starting alongside Thomas?

In 2021 and 2022, we'll see how good our young offensive and defensive lineman are.

If we're 6-6 or worse next year does Lester make it to 2021? Bickering aside, I am interested if you expectations?

Right now I only see 4 wins, but that's coming off 2 disastrous losses still fresh. Ask me again later & I'll probably say 6-6, with a shot at 7-6.

You swap Georgia St with Cincinnati but get a (should be) easier MAC schedule. Anyone thinking 8 should get evaluated.

(01-03-2020 11:54 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  It's way too early but like with most football teams we will probably go as our (new) QB goes.

Normally expect significant drop off from three-year starter to one who only played in five games two years ago.

Also bringing back only 12 starters normally not good. But we have four OL starters returning (good building blocks for that side of the ball). Easier to replace "skill" players than OL. And were getting Moment and Eskridge back on defense.

Hopefully we don't lose any key players between now and Spring Ball or Fall Camp.

And French!!

(01-03-2020 05:09 PM)PezKingGL1 Wrote:  

(01-03-2020 12:27 PM)RunningGame Wrote:  As far as returners, we're pretty experienced and proven. Here's the questions I think need to be resolved:

How will Eleby do?
How good are Tyler's backups at RB?
How good will Luke Sanders be at TE? How healthy will Borske be?
Who's our starting center? Moving Asbury or Caliendo?
How good are our highly touted freshman linebackers as backups?
We need at least one freshman safety to play. Who is starting alongside Thomas?

In 2021 and 2022, we'll see how good our young offensive and defensive lineman are.

If we're 6-6 or worse next year does Lester make it to 2021? Bickering aside, I am interested if you expectations?

My expectations are life will always be better than imagined and worse than hoped. I'll watch the season and then evaluate. Suppose we go 9-3 but that's because our opponents have their starting QBs in the ER? Suppose we go 6-6 but Eleby and Alstott went down?

7-5 should have made more posters in here happy, but how we got that last loss and how we lost to EMU stung a lot. If we went 7-5 but lost to Ohio in overtime instead of NIU, and a close one to Miami instead of WMU, the feel might be very different with the same win total.

(01-06-2020 09:55 AM)RunningGame Wrote:  

(01-03-2020 05:09 PM)PezKingGL1 Wrote:  

(01-03-2020 12:27 PM)RunningGame Wrote:  As far as returners, we're pretty experienced and proven. Here's the questions I think need to be resolved:

How will Eleby do?
How good are Tyler's backups at RB?
How good will Luke Sanders be at TE? How healthy will Borske be?
Who's our starting center? Moving Asbury or Caliendo?
How good are our highly touted freshman linebackers as backups?
We need at least one freshman safety to play. Who is starting alongside Thomas?

In 2021 and 2022, we'll see how good our young offensive and defensive lineman are.

If we're 6-6 or worse next year does Lester make it to 2021? Bickering aside, I am interested if you expectations?

My expectations are life will always be better than imagined and worse than hoped. I'll watch the season and then evaluate. Suppose we go 9-3 but that's because our opponents have their starting QBs in the ER? Suppose we go 6-6 but Eleby and Alstott went down?

7-5 should have made more posters in here happy, but how we got that last loss and how we lost to EMU stung a lot. If we went 7-5 but lost to Ohio in overtime instead of NIU, and a close one to Miami instead of WMU, the feel might be very different with the same win total.

Exactly, it's the HOW.

(01-06-2020 09:55 AM)RunningGame Wrote:  7-5 should have made more posters in here happy, but how we got that last loss and how we lost to EMU stung a lot. If we went 7-5 but lost to Ohio in overtime instead of NIU, and a close one to Miami instead of WMU, the feel might be very different with the same win total.

https://www.mlive.com/broncos/2019/12/wm...ollow.html

"7-5 is not the expectation here." Tim Lester

(01-06-2020 10:34 PM)The Colonel Wrote:  

(01-06-2020 09:55 AM)RunningGame Wrote:  7-5 should have made more posters in here happy, but how we got that last loss and how we lost to EMU stung a lot. If we went 7-5 but lost to Ohio in overtime instead of NIU, and a close one to Miami instead of WMU, the feel might be very different with the same win total.

https://www.mlive.com/broncos/2019/12/wm...ollow.html

"7-5 is not the expectation here." Tim Lester

I'm saying in my hypothetical scenario of trading EMU/NIU losses for Ohio/Miami, posters should be happier than what really happened, even though the team would not seem as talented—wins and losses are all relative.

But for those who predicted 3-9, or even 6-6, 7-5 should by definition make them happier given the team is better than they thought. I thought this was our year, and it wasn't thanks to the NIU game.

Impossible to predict until we see how good Eleby is. The players are pretty hyped up we'll see. The running game is going to look much different. Should be a break through year for WR's. Pretty deep at that position. Defense has to tighten up. Lock down corners and aggressive LBs who can plug gaps. Can't be giving up 400+ yards per game in MAC games. 2020 could be one of the toughest schedules in school history.

I'm sure Lester wants to do better than 7-5 and as he said that's not the expectation here.

He and staff will be working to improve upon last three years with understanding that if they don't there will be a change.

With the three games against P5 teams being likely L's the margin for error to be better than a 7 win team is very small.

(01-08-2020 09:40 AM)DrDavis Wrote:  With the three games against P5 teams being likely L's the margin for error to be better than a 7 win team is very small.

Only two P5s (Cincy is G5 but has been ranked in recent years), but your overall point is very true. We're used to entering MAC season at 2-2, but odds favor a 1-3 start this time around.

(01-08-2020 09:40 AM)DrDavis Wrote:  With the three games against P5 teams being likely L's the margin for error to be better than a 7 win team is very small.

We should be in a position next season to take at least one of the games from either Cincy or Syracuse at home.

Seeing some of those "way too early" Top 25 rankings thrown around out there having Notre Dame and Cincy in the Top 25. And obviously Cuse hasn't been an easy task.

So it's likely we enter MAC play with 3 losses. But even so, I'd like see Lester's teams at least be more competitive on those bigger stages, less deer in headlights where we are down 21-0 before the national anthem is over. The last time we made a P5 opponent nervous into the fourth quarter was USC, and that was probably the result of a lot of Cotton Bowl Year carryover swagger.

Lester has dug himself into a hole. This was his year to save his job and he missed the mark with another mediocre season, had everything in front of him but messed it up against NIU. Now he has a tough slated schedule for next year and I don't see us finishing above 6-7 wins unless Eleby turns out to be some kind of superstar. So if he finishes below 8 wins he should be canned. I don't think that's unreasonable at all. The university has given him every opportunity and he has missed, no more excuses, 8 wins or he's done. If he's kept after next year there are some SERIOUS issues at the upper level.

(01-19-2020 04:17 PM)Fthechips Wrote:  Lester has dug himself into a hole. This was his year to save his job and he missed the mark with another mediocre season, had everything in front of him but messed it up against NIU. Now he has a tough slated schedule for next year and I don't see us finishing above 6-7 wins unless Eleby turns out to be some kind of superstar. So if he finishes below 8 wins he should be canned. I don't think that's unreasonable at all. The university has given him every opportunity and he has missed, no more excuses, 8 wins or he's done. If he's kept after next year there are some SERIOUS issues at the upper level.

Lester hasn't had a losing season, not a chance he gets fired next year unless its 1-11.