2014 Season Preview thread

[WhiteMamba]

PAC time???

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Mountain

1. Boise State Broncos 10-2(7-1) -Tie broke by win over Utah State
2. Utah State Aggies 12-1(7-1)
3. Colorado State Rams 8-4(5-3)
4. Wyoming Cowboys 5-7(3-5)
5. Air Force Falcons 4-8(1-7)
6. New Mexico Lobos 3-9(1-7)


West

1. Fresno State Bulldogs 8-4(7-1) - Tie broke by win over San Diego State
2. San Diego State Aztecs 9-3(7-1)
3. Nevada Wolfpack 6-6(5-3)
4. UNLV Runnin Rebels 5-8(3-5)
5. San Jose State Spartans 2-10(1-7)
6. Hawai'i Warriors 1-12(0-8)


MWC Championship: Boise State over Fresno State

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

PAC time???

I love the excitement sir, yes the Pac is the next conference in fact...

Lets start it today!

Arizona Wildcats

Preview: So far the Rich Rod era is off to a good start, Arizona has won 8 games, and bowl games both seasons, there's two issues though that prevent things from looking too different this year, the QB, and the schedule. Arizona currently has a battle at the QB position, and if Rich Rod can find someone who plays extremely well and surprises everyone Arizona can compete for the Pac-12 South, but if he can't find anyone Arizona will not be bowl eligible. That ties into the other concern, the schedule, the Pac-12 plays 9 conference games, and this year there's a lot of very good teams in this conference. I usually save this for the prediction portion, but of the 9 conference games only the games against Cal and Colorado at home are games I see Arizona winning no matter what, and Arizona doesn't have cupcakes on the non-conference schedule, UNLV, UTSA or Nevada could upset them if overlooked. Arizona also loses their star running back from last season in KaDeem Carey, but while no one will be as good as him, there isn't much concern over that. Arizona will face a lot of challenges, but so will everyone in the Pac-12.

Predictions: Arizona's non-conference games at at home against UNLV, at UTSA, and at home against Nevada, Rich Rod hasn't lost a non-conference game at Arizona yet, so I believe Arizona will not overlook any of the 3, and start the year 3-0, making it 4-0 with a home win over Cal. Things escalate quickly for Arizona as they go on the road for a Thursday night game at Oregon, Thursday night games are odd and Arizona did blow out Oregon last year, but I can't see Oregon letting Arizona beat them again this year, and Oregon will probably do to them what Arizona did to Oregon last year. Arizona returns home for a game against USC, I think USC will still be mostly healthy at this point and Arizona ends up losing this one. Arizona's rough stretch continues as they lose at Washington State and at UCLA. Arizona finally has a game against Colorado to rebound with a win, and then gets a big win at home over Washington, before winning on the road against what will probably be a beat up Utah team, Arizona does lose at home in the season finale to Arizona State though.

Predicted Record: 7-5(4-5)

 

[nolehusker]

I feel your pain a little bit, last few years while it wasn't championship or but, for us it was undefeated season or bust, made the losses so much tougher.

The preseason number 1 ranking unfortunately has basically been the curse that says you won't win the national championship. FSU's loss will have to occur in the playoff because there's just no one of their schedule that can beat them. Oklahoma State is the least experienced team in College football, Clemson got blown out at home with Boyd and Watkins last year so there's no way they can beat FSU on the road without them, FSU usually loses at NC State, but FSU finally has a national title contender team and NC State is a little worse than usual. And on top of it all is Winston's love of crablegs that will motivate him throughout the year.

LOL those Winston Crablegs jokes just don't get old

I felt your pain when Boise lost the last few years. I was one of the few people routing for you. I always liked having that one team that didn't "belong" in the mix and Boise has a good track record the past few years.

As for going wire-to-wire, it would be awesome if we did it AGAIN!!!!

Yeah, the crab jokes won't get old for a while.

 

[WhiteMamba]

That is a very cool Zona logo

 

[Boise4Life]

I felt your pain when Boise lost the last few years. I was one of the few people routing for you. I always liked having that one team that didn't "belong" in the mix and Boise has a good track record the past few years.

As for going wire-to-wire, it would be awesome if we did it AGAIN!!!!

Yeah, the crab jokes won't get old for a while.

At the expense of sounding like an ass kisser, I've always liked and respected FSU. Like Bobby Bowden, a quality dude who genuinely cares. Like the way they came up. Like the consistency after they did rise up with the constant top 5 finishes for all those seasons in a row. Like watching them play with all that talent. Like the fact that they agreed to come to Boise in a straight up, one for one deal when they certainly didn't need to. And win, lose, or draw, like the fact that sometime down the road I'll have the pleasure of watching a team like Florida State flying around the Blue turf. The thought of that is just amazing to me. Props to you and your team, Nole fan. That 2014 BCS NCG was incredibly exciting and your team showed a ton of resolve and heart in that game. And of course, you will be absolutely loaded yet again this season. Best of luck to as Les Miles would say your "damn strong football team."

 

[Tin Man]

Mac Championship game

Might want to edit that entry in the otherwise excellent analysis of Utah State (Of whom this Vols fan is very wary).

 

[Boise4Life]

I'd be worried too. Utah State is a solid team. The Vols are certainly stockpiling a lot of talent right now. Those stud recruits are going to have to grow up in a hurry for them.

 

[WhiteMamba]

Vols, 2 years away... Then they are an SEC contender IMO.

 

[Tin Man]

Vols, 2 years away... Then they are an SEC contender IMO.

Priorities for Vols fans

1. Beat Bama
2. Win the SEC East
3. Win the SEC CG
4. Win the NCG

Now, if you're wondering about Florida's current 9-game streak versus the Vols, that should end when we win the SEC East. After all, it's Florida. They're not likely to match the Vols previous 14-game streak against them.

Beating Bama, that's gotta happen ASAP. Hopefully, when they do fall to the Vols, it will cost them every chance at post-season glory.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Might want to edit that entry in the otherwise excellent analysis of Utah State (Of whom this Vols fan is very wary).

fixed

I'd be worried too. Utah State is a solid team. The Vols are certainly stockpiling a lot of talent right now. Those stud recruits are going to have to grow up in a hurry for them.

indeed sir, Utah State is very dangerous this year, I really do hope Tennessee has a great year soon, I want them to be good again.

I felt your pain when Boise lost the last few years. I was one of the few people routing for you. I always liked having that one team that didn't "belong" in the mix and Boise has a good track record the past few years.

As for going wire-to-wire, it would be awesome if we did it AGAIN!!!!

Yeah, the crab jokes won't get old for a while.

At the expense of sounding like an ass kisser, I've always liked and respected FSU. Like Bobby Bowden, a quality dude who genuinely cares. Like the way they came up. Like the consistency after they did rise up with the constant top 5 finishes for all those seasons in a row. Like watching them play with all that talent. Like the fact that they agreed to come to Boise in a straight up, one for one deal when they certainly didn't need to. And win, lose, or draw, like the fact that sometime down the road I'll have the pleasure of watching a team like Florida State flying around the Blue turf. The thought of that is just amazing to me. Props to you and your team, Nole fan. That 2014 BCS NCG was incredibly exciting and your team showed a ton of resolve and heart in that game. And of course, you will be absolutely loaded yet again this season. Best of luck to as Les Miles would say your "damn strong football team."

after these two posts right here, I can't wait until I'm in my dadburn 50s and this series happens, it will be a fun one, so far the best home and home we've had, Oregon being 2nd best.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

That is a very cool Zona logo

It actually caught me surprise a little bit when I saw it, it really popped out to me as an amazing Arizona logo, from the early 1990s I think.

 

[FSUmanager]

after these two posts right here, I can't wait until I'm in my dadburn 50s and this series happens, it will be a fun one, so far the best home and home we've had, Oregon being 2nd best.

Just like on the football field Oregon comes close, but NO CIGAR!

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Arizona State Sun Devils

Preview: Last season was a good but inconsistent year for Arizona State, there were times when they looked like a very dominant team and others were they just didn't look too good, and a lot of times this happened in the same game. Other times there were some amazing games and some awful ones, Arizona State had explosions where they beat USC 62-41, beat Washington 53-24 and smashed Arizona 58-21, yet had other not so good ones, Arizona State was blown out by Stanford twice(they got some late points in the first one to make the score closer), and were dominated in their bowl game by Texas Tech who hadn't looked good against basically any other team that had a pulse last season. For this season, if you thought those scores I listed above were fun, well expect even crazier scores this year, Arizona State returns QB Taylor Kelly and WR Jaelen Strong, and while they lost RB Marion Grice, they have enough players at RB to not drop off too far there, so this offense will be explosive, on the other end though, the defense took a lot of losses from last year. Arizona State only returns 4 starters from the defensive end of the ball, there's going to be a dropoff there. It's going to be a lot of fun to see Arizona State's offense try to outscore the opposing teams. Arizona State is definitely in contention for the Pac-12 South, but only if they can find decent enough options at the defensive end.

Predictions: The first 3 games, at home against Weber State and on the road against New Mexico(hmm) and Colorado should be an easy start for Arizona State, that easy start does not last though as Arizona State then has a home game against UCLA on a Thursday night, Brett Hundley and co will be the first true test for this defense, and I'm not sure if they'll be ready for it, so Arizona State loses this one, it doesn't go well the following week either as Arizona State travels to USC, who will still be healthy at this point and I think take down Arizona State, Arizona State then plays Stanford, Arizona State has an extra week to prepare for this one and Stanford has an extra day, I do feel like Stanford seems to know how to control Arizona State's offense so Arizona State loses this one, along with a road game to Washington to end a very tough 4 game losing streak that basically ends their Pac-12 South hopes though, things do get better though, Arizona State gets a home win over a likely beat up Utah, and then a big home win over Notre Dame, Arizona State continues the winning streak winning a shootout at Oregon State on the road, winning another shootout at home over Washington State and then beating rival Arizona on the road to have a good finish to the season.

Predicted Record: 8-4(5-4)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

California Golden Bears

Preview: It's hard to believe how far California's football program has fallen lately, but with the rise of Stanford, UCLA along with USC still recruiting well plus San Diego State and Fresno State successfully picking out the remains, it appears California's talent level has fallen well behind. So far the base of California's team is Sophomore QB Jared Goff and his speedy receivers, when it comes to talent that's all Cal really has right now, last seasons one win campaign was ugly, the only win was a 37-30 win over Portland State, Cal wasn't close to anyone in the Pac-12, even Colorado handed them a 41-24 blowout. Sonny Dykes is a good coach though, I think he might be able to get things to work here soon, this year they'll be better, but with the schedule they have, the record won't show much of it, but Cal likely could win some games in other conferences though, if they were in those conferences, they aren't though so wins will be scarce.

Predictions: Cal opens the season at Northwestern, they won't win it, but perhaps they could build some confidence and hang in the game a while thanks to Northwestern's love to keep games that shouldn't be close interesting. Cal then plays Sacramento State, where they have to avoid an embarrassing loss to not go on the track for a winless year, I think Cal handles this one though. Cal then plays at Arizona and loses that one, before playing Colorado at home, I do believe Colorado is a little ahead of Cal in improvement so despite the game being at Cal, Cal ends up losing. Cal loses at Washington State before losing home games against Washington and UCLA, and a game at Levi's stadium against Oregon. Cal continues to be outmatched losing road games to Oregon State and USC, along with a home loss to Stanford. Cal finally gets a win they need, upsetting BYU and their love to lose to at least one crappy power-5 school a year, giving Cal their 2nd win.


Predicted Record: 2-10(0-9)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Colorado Buffaloes

Preview: Mike MacIntyre continues his journey in trying to rebuild this program. Last season was a pretty nice 4 win campaign for Colorado, but two wins were against FCS opponents, but Colorado did get a win over rival Colorado State, and didn't have a bad ending to the year, blowing out Cal for a Pac-12 win and then showing a nice pulse in the last two games. WR Paul Richardson left for the NFL draft, with the current state of Colorado's program that isn't a surprise, but unfortunately he was by far the best talent on the roster and will be tough to replace, I still do believe that Colorado will be a better team this year, the win/loss record definitely won't show it though, Colorado doesn't play 2 FCS opponents non-conference this year(one of last year's was a result of flooding cancelling a game against Fresno State), but do expect them to be more competitive in their losses, and maybe spring an upset, but it's clear that this project will take a while.

Predictions: Colorado opens the season with their rival Colorado State at Mile High stadium for their traditional rivalry game, Colorado State has made more progress improving since last year so Colorado loses this one, Colorado does win a road game against UMass in Gillette stadium the next game though, before losing at home to Arizona State. Colorado gets a home win over Hawai'i and then wins a Pac-12 game by beating Cal on the road. Colorado then hosts Oregon State, and it's really difficult to see Colorado matching up with them, or USC on the road. The losing streak keeps going with home losses to UCLA and Washington, and road games against Arizona and Oregon. The home game against Utah in the finale is a decent chance for another Pac-12 win but Utah's team would have to be very beat up for Colorado to get a win.


Predicted Record: 3-9(1-8)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Oregon Ducks

Preview: Oregon's program is at it's best right now, from where Oregon's program used to be this is amazing that now they are contenders for the national championship every single year. The up-tempo offense has been what helped this rise for Oregon, and while they lost Chip Kelly before last year they expected things to remain the same under Mark Helfrich and for the most part they did, for a lot of the year Oregon was running their tempo very well and putting up impressive results, but then Stanford who seemingly figured out Oregon's offense beat them, and then an uncharacteristic loss happened as Oregon was pummeled 42-16 by Arizona, this is where questions were asked, was it because Mariota wasn't healthy? Or was Helfrich not able to keep the team focused with their title hopes gone. One key thing that I like about this year's Oregon team though, at least right now they don't have that player that's going to go and say something they shouldn't, along with the fact that it seems like these are a group of kids who will be focused, even if Oregon does take a loss, a lot of the stars on this team turned down the draft to win a championship, so clearly for Oregon that is a goal, with what I said above I don't think focus will be the issue, they will need Marcus Mariota to remain healthy all year though, they face a very difficult schedule and have the target on their backs.

Predictions: Oregon should easily win the opener over South Dakota, but the following game they host Michigan State in a very nice home and home series. A defense like Michigan State's that plays tough, physical and has very good coaching which will mean a good gameplan by Narduzzi is a typical weakeness of Oregon, but Michigan State's replacing a lot of starters on that defense, and in week 2 Mariota and co will find enough ways to score for a win in this one, it won't be easy though. Oregon beats Wyoming at home and then goes on the road against Washington State, it could be a fun one with lots of points scored, but expect Oregon to score the most points between the two, Oregon is just simply more talented. Then on a Thursday night the Ducks take on Arizona at home and get revenge for the beating Oregon took from them last year, but then a tough test as Oregon goes on the road against UCLA, I feel like this is where Brent Hundley and UCLA finally make their way towards the top of the Pac-12, Oregon has troubles stopping UCLA on defense, and UCLA's manages to frustrate Mariota enough to pull off the upset. Oregon does rebound though, a more focused team this time around finally gets a win over Chris Petersen as Oregon wins at home over Washington, Oregon then plays Cal at Levi's stadium and blows them out. Then Oregon has the big matchup that everyone will be talking about the home game against Stanford who has perfectly defended Oregon's high flying offense in two surprising victories in a row, the big key though is the man who schemed that perfect defense for Stanford, Derek Mason is now gone, so are a lot of Stanford's defensive players so Oregon finally breaks the losing streak against them. Oregon then plays at Utah, which is a game that could be dangerous if Oregon's not careful, depending on how healthy Utah is, I think Oregon will do fine though and roll in that one, following it then with a blowout over Colorado and winning an offensive game at Oregon State to keep the winning streak in that one alive.

Predicted Record: 11-1(7-1)

 

[TigerBait1971]

Are you almost done with these scrubs?

SEC
SEC
SEC
SEC
!!!

 

[Desean12345]

California Golden Bears

Preview: It's hard to believe how far California's football program has fallen lately, but with the rise of Stanford, UCLA along with USC still recruiting well plus San Diego State and Fresno State successfully picking out the remains, it appears California's talent level has fallen well behind. So far the base of California's team is Sophomore QB Jared Goff and his speedy receivers, when it comes to talent that's all Cal really has right now, last seasons one win campaign was ugly, the only win was a 37-30 win over Portland State, Cal wasn't close to anyone in the Pac-12, even Colorado handed them a 41-24 blowout. Sonny Dykes is a good coach though, I think he might be able to get things to work here soon, this year they'll be better, but with the schedule they have, the record won't show much of it, but Cal likely could win some games in other conferences though, if they were in those conferences, they aren't though so wins will be scarce.

Predictions: Cal opens the season at Northwestern, they won't win it, but perhaps they could build some confidence and hang in the game a while thanks to Northwestern's love to keep games that shouldn't be close interesting. Cal then plays Sacramento State, where they have to avoid an embarrassing loss to not go on the track for a winless year, I think Cal handles this one though. Cal then plays at Arizona and loses that one, before playing Colorado at home, I do believe Colorado is a little ahead of Cal in improvement so despite the game being at Cal, Cal ends up losing. Cal loses at Washington State before losing home games against Washington and UCLA, and a game at Levi's stadium against Oregon. Cal continues to be outmatched losing road games to Oregon State and USC, along with a home loss to Stanford. Cal finally gets a win they need, upsetting BYU and their love to lose to at least one crappy power-5 school a year, giving Cal their 2nd win.


Predicted Record: 2-10(0-9)

Depressingly accurate.

 

[Tin Man]

Howard matriculated at Oregon, but never received a degree. He was expelled after repeated offenses - two of note, 1. smoking cigars in classrooms & campus buildings, and 2. solicitation & ******ation of coeds accompanied by all manner of lewd & lascivious behavior. His final words to the disciplinary committee - "Puddles is a pussy! You can't handle a real duck!" - continue to appear in graffiti all around the globe, with a recent sighting on surfside rocks at Cape Point, South Africa. The most outlandish rumor of Howard's fate, transport across the galaxy by a space/time apparently got a nod from Marvel in their latest closing credits stinger scene. To this day in Eugene, Howard remains controversial as both reviled anathema and cult inspiration.