The Homers Thread. How Will Your Team Do in 2010?

[BigdaddyQH]

This thread is for all of you homers out there. Tell us how you think your team will do in 2010. Please give reasons for your optomism or pessimism. All if you homers who love to boast get a shot here. Just be prepared to get shot down. I will start with my alma mater, USC.

USC plays 13 games this season, 7 of them on the road, something that most schools do not have enough balls to do. That means you Florida, Ohio State, Michigan, and others. The non-con schedule is rather soft. We get a vacation in Hawaii just before Labor Day when we play Hawaii. We alum love that. It is always a great trip. The other away non-con game is at Minnesota,which may be interesting for a half. The home non-con games include Virginia, which will not be aproblem, and Notre Dame, who will probably lose to USC for a record 9th straight time. The Irish game can be iffy, but it is at the end of the year, and either USC will have shown what it is really made of, or it will not matter. 4-0 is certainly an excellent possibility, seeing as USC has not lost a non-con regular season game since 2002. That is 29 straight non-con wins in a row. Even Florida, with their patsy non-con schedule that includes numerous FCS teams cannot match that, nor can any other FBS team.

The problem comes within the Pac 10. Oregon certainly would have been the favorite, but Oregon did their very best to self destruct during the off season and probably succeeded. USC gets two major pain in the asses on the road this season. They go to Oregon State, a place where they have not won in their past two trips, and to Stanford, a team that has been a thorn in USC's side recently, but a place where USC has won in their last 4 trips to the Farm. The Trojans also get Arizona on the road, a team that upset USC last season in L.A.

USC still does not know their fate yet, as far as the NCAA is concerned. Most players expect the worst, but hope for the best. Either way, USC knows that it is out of their hands now. Still, even if the worst case scenario (a bowl game ban this season) should appear, this team has the talent to win at least 9 games, and probably 10. They have a shot at the Pac 10 title, but that race is wide open.

[jwbama23]

Bigdaddy, did you happen to catch the Bama spring game? If so what were your thoughts? I am very critical of Bama so im not sure what I saw was what is reality. To me it seemed Bama was stong on D (like usual). Marcell Dareus was everywhere and the young DBs looked great. The D was the big question mark but I think they answered. Then there was the offense. McElroy was just ok. The O line was awful and game the QB very little time to pass. Now I know it was a spring game and the D knows the O inside and out so that is an advantage but I didnt see much of that Explosiveness that I have been hearing about all spring. Give me your thoughts if you saw it. Now to 2010 Bama prediction

Our schedule needs relief. The SEC really dropped the ball with this one. I think Bama could repeat and the D will be very good like last year. The schedule though is gonna be the killer if we dont repeat. Playing all of those teams coming off bye weeks will eventually catch up to this young D. I do think offensively we should be better than last year and score a lot more points. We will continue to play like we did last year with a dominant ground game and taking shots when we get them. Ark on the road scares the crap out of me. I think Bama has the talent to go undefeated but im not sure with the schedule and the big bulls eye on our backs if we will do it. My prediction is we return to SEC Championship game and win (I think the East will be down this year). I do believe we play for the BCS title again but probably with at least 1 loss. The combo of Richardson and Ingram in the back field will be just too lethal for any Defense to completely stop. Julio Jones needs to be the stud reciever he has shown glimpses of. Bama wins 2010 but not as easy or pretty as last year.

ROLL TIDE!!!

[Jasonal_98]

I couldn't have said it better, JW. 13-1, with the loss coming at Ark or South Carolina. I think that'll get them to the BCS Title game, probably against Boise.

[jwbama23]

I couldn't have said it better, JW. 13-1, with the loss coming at Ark or South Carolina. I think that'll get them to the BCS Title game, probably against Boise.

Did you watch the A Day game? What were your thoughts? I hate to say it but I was a little disappointed. Maybe spoiled? Maybe just very pessimistic? I didnt see the Offense that everyone has been bragging about. I do believe they will be much better than what we saw but I just was hoping to see a little more fire power. Also have to consider that the game plan is gonna be vanilla because it is public. Saban is a smart dude and he wont show his cards early

[BigdaddyQH]

Guys, I rarely pay attention to Spring Games because each coach goes into their spring game with a definate plan. They want to see certainly players perform under certain circumstances. Unlike a regular seaon game, these spring games are orchestrated by the coaches. If the D.C. wants to see something, he will go to the O.C. and ask him to run a certain play so the D.C. can see how his player, or players respond. The same holds true for the O.C.

There are just two things that concern me in the Spring. First, did anyone get hurt? To me, that is critical. A spring injury, even if it heals by time the season starts, indicates a potential weakness in a player, and a potential problem with that player worried, consciencly or subconsciencly about the injury. Next, who were the suprise players? Was there some freshman or sophmore tha now may take over a starting role after his spring performance? Was there a starter that may have played his way out of a job? Those are the only two things I look for.

As far as Alabama getting screwed schedule wise, I agree. Why this happened is beyond me, though I have been told that something similar happened to LSU a few years back. One would think, with schedules being planned so far in advance, that this sort of thing could be avoided. But still, Alabama's schedule this year is easy compared to what they get next year, when they play Penn State, Florida, and Auburn on the road. Despite the scheduling quirk, we predicted Alabama to lose one game this season. Arkansas is the most likely place this will happen. However, if Alabama gets headstrong, they can lose 2 to 3 games. We think that Alabama loses one game and goes to the BCS Championwship game against Boise State, and loses that game. Boise State does not lose in Arizona. They are 2-0 in Fiesta Bowls. The Fiesta Bowl is where it all started for Boise. So a Championship won in the same stadium would be poetic justice. At least, that is how we see it now. That can change tomorrow.

[jwbama23]

Bigdaddy I agree on spring games and I typically dont watch them at all. I was just excited to see this new "explosive offense" and was hoping to see some of it. After all, the spring game and local beat writers are all we get this time of year.

[BigdaddyQH]

That is true. I know that Alabama is going to have a great offense this season. They certainly have the best RB tandem in the country. If the defense can mature, they have a great chance of repeating. If not, who knows. I think the game at Arkansas is the key game of the season for them.

[daneblazer]

I think Georgia gives Florida a run in the SEC East and possibly takes that side of the conference. The defense HAS to get better playing the 3-4. UGA seems to have found their nose tackle in 6'7 320lb Kwame Geathers who is the son of former NFL player Robert Geathers and the nephew of Jumpy Geathers. The offense will only be green at the Qb position, that despite how the spring game looked, I expect Aaron Murray to win the job. The offensive line will be all juniors and seniors. If the Dawgs stink again this year, Mark Richt's seat is going to get hot.

[BigdaddyQH]

Dane, I agree. UGA returns a ton of talent on offense, including the entire startine line, which is very important. If they can find a QB, they are going to be very good on offense. If they found a good Nose Tackle, that will really help as the defensive line seems to be the unit that got hit the hardest. I also agree that Richt has to produce this year. Their schedule is certainly doable. They have two tough away games, at South Carolina and at Auburn, but they do not play Alabama or LSU, get Florida on what could be a down year for them, and host Arkansas, Tennessee, and Ga. Tech. They ended last season on a high note, defeating Ga. Tech and Texas A&M in their bowl game. 10 wins is certainly possible for this team. Another 8 win season probably spells the end for Richt. Besides, my wife loves UGA (the mascot) so I really hope that this team does well.

[HoulihansTX]

Florida St. fan, and I know we will be hot garbage... If the defense doesnt pick it up.

The offense is in great shape with Ponder coming back for his senior season. The offensive line is solid, and the recieving core is finally healthy coming into the season. The defense is talented as always, but they will be learning a new complicated scheme. It will take time to learn, and the early opponents (OU & BYU) could have a field day if they are not in sync on D. The ACC is as weak as it has ever been. VT should run away with the conference title, but UNC will be the 2nd place team. UNC could screw this up with its putrid offense lead by a horrible QB. FSU has a chance to do damage in-conference with its weak schedule. But the way FSU has been in the past decade, a .500 season would not surprise me.

(9-3) glass half full perspective w/ losses to Oklahoma/UNC/Florida

(6-5) glass half empty w/losses to BYU/Oklahoma/Miami FL/ UNC/Florida

[mmike032]

I think Georgia gives Florida a run in the SEC East and possibly takes that side of the conference. The defense HAS to get better playing the 3-4. UGA seems to have found their nose tackle in 6'7 320lb Kwame Geathers who is the son of former NFL player Robert Geathers and the nephew of Jumpy Geathers. The offense will only be green at the Qb position, that despite how the spring game looked, I expect Aaron Murray to win the job. The offensive line will be all juniors and seniors. If the Dawgs stink again this year, Mark Richt's seat is going to get hot.

from watching the G-day game it looks like Mettenberg is gonna be the starter IMO after serving his suspension.
Kid was sharp on all passes and made very few if any mistakes.
He seemed to get the most PT in the Gday game also compared to Murray.

but its safe to say Logan Grey will not be starting

UGAs season depends on how the QB handles the pressure IMO.
I expect the D to be much improved but having a RS freshman under center could keep them out of the SEC title game.

I'm not expecting greatness out of this team this yr. Just looking forward to the season.

[BigdaddyQH]

Florida St. fan, and I know we will be hot garbage... If the defense doesnt pick it up.

The offense is in great shape with Ponder coming back for his senior season. The offensive line is solid, and the recieving core is finally healthy coming into the season. The defense is talented as always, but they will be learning a new complicated scheme. It will take time to learn, and the early opponents (OU & BYU) could have a field day if they are not in sync on D. The ACC is as weak as it has ever been. VT should run away with the conference title, but UNC will be the 2nd place team. UNC could screw this up with its putrid offense lead by a horrible QB. FSU has a chance to do damage in-conference with its weak schedule. But the way FSU has been in the past decade, a .500 season would not surprise me.

(9-3) glass half full perspective w/ losses to Oklahoma/UNC/Florida

(6-5) glass half empty w/losses to BYU/Oklahoma/Miami FL/ UNC/Florida

Houlihan, what do you think of Jimbo as a head coach? A lot has been said about Bowden staying too long, along with his buddies Mickey Andrews and all of his other cronies that were there way too long. Jimbo has dumped all of those people now. Will thqt make a big difference? I mean, we have a team that scored 54 points at BYU, but was held to 19 at nome by FCS Jacksonville State. We have a team that had 8 seniors starting on defense last season, b ut played terribly on that side of the ball. Will Jimbo change all of this, or will we see the same inconsistancies that plauged this team last season.

I see sure losses at OU and at Miami. BYU just lost their #1 RB, so I do not see a problem there. Clemson, UNC, and Florida certainly can be losses. BC and at N.C. State can be tricky. It is really hard to figure this team out.

[daneblazer]

I follow FSU as my 2nd team since I went to school there and lived in Tallahassee. They keep funneling 4 and 5 star recruits into the program, so it's not like the talent isn't there. They just made too many boneheaded mistakes last season. They looked like they didn't belong on the same field as Florida last season. You can't deny what Bowden and Andrews did there, but the decline from after 2002 to present is so apparent. It'd be easy to look and see how much the game has changed in 8 years and say that the game has passed them by.

The one thing they haven't done themselves any favors with is the scheduling. Even though the ACC is nothing overpowering (has it ever been outside of when FSU was good) they schedule brutal OOC games.

[daneblazer]

USC plays 13 games this season, 7 of them on the road, something that most schools do not have enough balls to do. That means you Florida, Ohio State, Michigan, and others.

Say what you want about the PAC-10, but USC has never been afraid to schedule OOC games against BCS teams home & home. I will give them credit for that. Auburn, Arkansas, & Ohio State are a few that come to mind. They have Texas A&M, Syracuse, & Boston College up in a few years as well.