ADVERTISEMENT

It's a process: RU one of the most inexperienced teams in nation

Interesting that FSU and Bama are in the bottom five of that list... somehow I don't think it's going to hurt them that much, and that they'll finish ahead of UMass and App State at the top of the list.
 
This is why people here are thinking that this team could win anywhere between four and nine games. It's about how fast the new guys can figure it out and get settled in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RUChoppin
I think this years team is going to come down to our QB and O-line play. The defense is what it is, I like our front 4 but our secondary is a tremendous question mark particularly when we play in the same division as QB's like Connor Cook, The Ohio State Trio and Christian Hackenberg. I was not impressed by Laviano in the spring game contrary to some on here. He didn't have much zip on the ball and his TD pass to the corner of the endzone would have been picked against an experienced secondary.

Our running game will again all be dependent on the O-line, sure we have guys who can carry the rock, but if they don't have holes to run through, it could be tough.

We're going to need a huge year from our D-line. Turay is a monster and Hamilton is a solid 3 tech, we'll need them to put pressure on the QB to force early throws because I don't trust our inexperienced secondary against most of the Big 10.
 
This is why people here are thinking that this team could win anywhere between four and nine games. It's about how fast the new guys can figure it out and get settled in.
People here actually think the team could win 9 games?
 
I think this years team is going to come down to our QB and O-line play. The defense is what it is, I like our front 4 but our secondary is a tremendous question mark

Agree. This season is going to come down in large part to how well the OLine (including FB) and QB function. Following that unit, I'd say how well the NT/MLB function on the defense.
 
  • Like
Reactions: new jersey1
Our QB situation is deeply troubling. Fridge carried Nova last year. He's not here now.

As said above our Online is a concern as well.

A repeat of last year's 8-5 will take some serious coaching.
 
Returning lettermen is a particularly useless one considering earning a letter requirements vary greatly.

Hence the statement stats bein stats.

Right next to returning lettermen is lettermen lost where RU is near the bottom. Is one good and one bad? It just means RU either played more kids during the season or has a more "relaxed" definition of a letterman.
 
Not worried about the QB -- we're going to run most of the time. If Laviano's in the game, I anticipate incorporating a streamlined, quick passing attack with 1 or 2 reads and the green light to simply take off if nothing's there. If Rettig's in the game, I think the passing game doesn't change much from what we saw with Nova: half-field reads out of bunch formation with most of the throws going outside the hashes. This is a different situation from Dodd (God bless him) who wasn't a runner and had difficulty completing deeper throws with proper velocity.

Much more worried about the defense. The pass rush just wasn't there against better competition leaving the CBs out to dry. Also, the poor run fits from the safety position is well documented, so I won't rehash. Suffice it to say if we're going to be stunting our DL all the time, the run fit from the second and third level has got to make the tackle or it'll be more of the same.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redking
Our QB situation is deeply troubling. Fridge carried Nova last year. He's not here now.

As said above our Online is a concern as well.

A repeat of last year's 8-5 will take some serious coaching.

Agreed, if we can hit 8 wins again this year my hat is off to Kyle flood.

We will know a ton about our team after 9/12 vs. Washington State. Not exactly a powerhouse but a dynamic offense and a P5 team. If we can hang I feel ok about potentially going .500 this year. If not games like Kansas, at Indiana, at Penn State, and at Michigan will not be as much of toss ups.

Realistically I see our schedule looking like this:

Norfolk State- W
Washington St- W
at PSU- L
Kansas- W
Mich St- L
at Indiana- L
Ohio State- L
at Wisconson- L
at Michigan- L
Nebraska- L
at Army- W
Maryland- W

so 5-7. Any of the Wash St, Kansas, Indiana and Maryland games could go either way though.

I hate to sound pessimistic, but with only 10 returning starters, new QB, new O-line (3 at least), new TE, new FB, new WR's, and all the questions on our defense, we are very much in a rebuilding year.
 
People here actually think the team could win 9 games?
If everything goes right, it's a possibility. It's a matter if being inexperienced is a part of being talented and inexperienced. We're still not exactly sure what we have in Laviano or Rettig. Who knows? It may suddenly click for one of them and we're off and running. I will say that nine wins is a rather unlikely scenario, however.
 
Norfolk State- W
Washington St- W
at PSU- W
Kansas- W
Mich St- L
at Indiana- W
Ohio State- L
at Wisconson- L
at Michigan- W
Nebraska- L
at Army- W
Maryland- W

More optimistically, 8-4
 
Norfolk State- W
Washington St- W
at PSU- W
Kansas- W
Mich St- L
at Indiana- W
Ohio State- L
at Wisconson- L
at Michigan- W
Nebraska- L
at Army- W
Maryland- W

More optimistically, 8-4

I hope your right but I just don't see us beating Penn State and Michigan on the road. Not with Harbaugh coming into Michigan and Penn State being a night game with an experienced QB. Again, I'd love it but I just don't think it's realistic
 
I see us going 7-5 with our upset being Nebraska at home. I know that it will be a difficult task to beat the likes of Ohio State and Michigan State, but I think Wisconsin will be the team that always give us fits (our new WVU).

Norfolk State- W
Washington St- W
at PSU- L
Kansas- W
Mich St- L
at Indiana- W
Ohio State- L
at Wisconsin- L
at Michigan- L
Nebraska- W
at Army- W
Maryland- W
 
I hope your right but I just don't see us beating Penn State and Michigan on the road. Not with Harbaugh coming into Michigan and Penn State being a night game with an experienced QB. Again, I'd love it but I just don't think it's realistic
I'm saying 9-4 is a best case scenario. Most likely is probably six or seven wins. But remember, Wisconsin and Nebraska may not be unbeatable this year. They both have new head coaches and lost superstar running backs (though Wisconsin still has Clement). Plus the Badgers may have bigger issues at quarterback than we do.
 
We NEED to get at least 8 wins this season. IMO this season determines the fate of Coach Flood. If he can't get over the hump this year what are we to expect for 2016 without Carroo, Hamilton, Lumpkin, Mera, and possibly even Turay? If we take care of Norfolk, Wash St., Kansas, Indiana, Army, and 3 out of Maryland, Nebraska, Michigan, and Penn State ill overlook the recruiting woes. Otherwise we will be showing the same old same old but losing our star players. I realize 8 wins is a heavy load for that schedule, but the reality of the matter is that Flood can't get the stud recruits without showing some serious promise on the field.
 
We NEED to get at least 8 wins this season. IMO this season determines the fate of Coach Flood. If he can't get over the hump this year what are we to expect for 2016 without Carroo, Hamilton, Lumpkin, Mera, and possibly even Turay? If we take care of Norfolk, Wash St., Kansas, Indiana, Army, and 3 out of Maryland, Nebraska, Michigan, and Penn State ill overlook the recruiting woes. Otherwise we will be showing the same old same old but losing our star players. I realize 8 wins is a heavy load for that schedule, but the reality of the matter is that Flood can't get the stud recruits without showing some serious promise on the field.



Good job of trying to set up unrealistic expectations so that you can bash our coaches all year!
 
  • Like
Reactions: lilphilw
We NEED to get at least 8 wins this season. IMO this season determines the fate of Coach Flood. If he can't get over the hump this year what are we to expect for 2016 without Carroo, Hamilton, Lumpkin, Mera, and possibly even Turay? If we take care of Norfolk, Wash St., Kansas, Indiana, Army, and 3 out of Maryland, Nebraska, Michigan, and Penn State ill overlook the recruiting woes. Otherwise we will be showing the same old same old but losing our star players.

Flood ain't going anywhere short of a scandal. This team will do no worse than 6-6 which would put his career mark at 29-22. They're not going to let him go with a winning record.
 
Good job of trying to set up unrealistic expectations so that you can bash our coaches all year!

I agree, 8 wins isn't realistic when your replacing the majority of your offense plus replacing your offensive coordinator. 8 wins would be great! but as I mentioned before theres too many questions about our QB, O-line and secondary for me to feel all that confident this year
 
I just can't see us going into Michigan and beating Harbaugh.
 
OT: don't want to highjack the thread but notice W. Michigan at #17 and they having another great recruiting class this year. They are going to be quite good this season probably go to a bowl and they'll be great next year.

Prediction - Fleck is going to start to be talked about as a program rebuilder and one of the hot up and coming young coaches and he and the other ex RU coaches there will be coaching at a solid P5 school in the not to distant future.
 
I see us going 7-5 with our upset being Nebraska at home. I know that it will be a difficult task to beat the likes of Ohio State and Michigan State, but I think Wisconsin will be the team that always give us fits (our new WVU).

Norfolk State- W
Washington St- W
at PSU- L
Kansas- W
Mich St- L
at Indiana- W
Ohio State- L
at Wisconsin- L
at Michigan- L
Nebraska- W
at Army- W
Maryland- W

I agree about beating Nebraska. I don't see why we cant beat them at home. They will be passing way more this year. Just need to stop their run.
 
Norfolk State- W
Washington St- W
at PSU- W
Kansas- W
Mich St- L
at Indiana- W
Ohio State- L
at Wisconson- L
at Michigan- W
Nebraska- L
at Army- W
Maryland- W

More optimistically, 8-4

If you are going to be optimistic, be optimistic!

Washington St- W
at PSU- W
Kansas- W
Mich St- W
at Indiana- W
Ohio State- L
at Wisconson- W
at Michigan- W
Nebraska- W
at Army- W
Maryland- W

Ohio State, to me, is the only unwinnable game on the schedule. But, they are at home, and a traveled game anything can happen.
The reason we lost to Penn State last year, was not because they outplayed us, or they were this overpowering team, with great players. No, we lost because we expected to lose. You can say the right thing, prep for the game, huddle and yell encouraging chants, but in the end it's all about the heart! The team has to believe they can win EVERY game!
This realistic, non realistic prediction is for losers. You can't play a game, or go into a season thinking that you will lose certain games. That is losing the game before playing it. I know this concept might be foreign to some, but many here will also understand.
 
The reason we lost to Penn State last year, was not because they outplayed us, or they were this overpowering team, with great players. No, we lost because we expected to lose.

No, we lost because of one freak play. Even with Nova wilting against their defense, our defense would have held TTFP to 6 points if it weren't for one play where three defenders managed to cancel each other out leading to a massive gain.
 
Agreed, if we can hit 8 wins again this year my hat is off to Kyle flood.

We will know a ton about our team after 9/12 vs. Washington State. Not exactly a powerhouse but a dynamic offense and a P5 team. If we can hang I feel ok about potentially going .500 this year. If not games like Kansas, at Indiana, at Penn State, and at Michigan will not be as much of toss ups.

Realistically I see our schedule looking like this:

Norfolk State- W
Washington St- W
at PSU- L
Kansas- W
Mich St- L
at Indiana- L
Ohio State- L
at Wisconson- L
at Michigan- L
Nebraska- L
at Army- W
Maryland- W

so 5-7. Any of the Wash St, Kansas, Indiana and Maryland games could go either way though.

I hate to sound pessimistic, but with only 10 returning starters, new QB, new O-line (3 at least), new TE, new FB, new WR's, and all the questions on our defense, we are very much in a rebuilding year.

It's clear you haven't considered what the other teams have coming back. Maryland may be the worst team in the B1G due to all the starters lost and recent departures. Kansas is a joke and you can't be serious with your reasons. For once judge the teams based on quality info and not the name on the front of the jersey.

Things to consider when judging teams:
Coaching
Returning talent
Match-up/schemes
Health of the team
Development of players
 
No, we lost because of one freak play. Even with Nova wilting against their defense, our defense would have held TTFP to 6 points if it weren't for one play where three defenders managed to cancel each other out leading to a massive gain.

Like I said, some will understand the concept of losing a game before it is even played. Some won't.

The point to that statement RUChoppin, is that a team that is clearly superior will NOT lose "because of one freak play." They would not be in that position in the first place!
 
I think this years team is going to come down to our QB and O-line play. The defense is what it is, I like our front 4 but our secondary is a tremendous question mark particularly when we play in the same division as QB's like Connor Cook, The Ohio State Trio and Christian Hackenberg. I was not impressed by Laviano in the spring game contrary to some on here. He didn't have much zip on the ball and his TD pass to the corner of the endzone would have been picked against an experienced secondary.

Our running game will again all be dependent on the O-line, sure we have guys who can carry the rock, but if they don't have holes to run through, it could be tough.

We're going to need a huge year from our D-line. Turay is a monster and Hamilton is a solid 3 tech, we'll need them to put pressure on the QB to force early throws because I don't trust our inexperienced secondary against most of the Big 10.
I agree with much of this...i too am esp concerned with Laviano...could Rettig live up to his rating's/talent? I'm hoping so and the O line gets it together esp C giving the D some rest. On D Wilkins could be a beast.
 
It's clear you haven't considered what the other teams have coming back. Maryland may be the worst team in the B1G due to all the starters lost and recent departures. Kansas is a joke and you can't be serious with your reasons. For once judge the teams based on quality info and not the name on the front of the jersey.

Things to consider when judging teams:
Coaching
Returning talent
Match-up/schemes
Health of the team
Development of players


That's why I like having you here[thumb2]. You can make far more accurate assessments than the majority of posters here, including me. IMO There appear to be lots of dopes on this board, with far less expertise than me, who like to pretend they are authorities on football. There are also a number of posters who actually do understand the game, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to pick out who they are.

You know what you are talking about and do a good job of sharing it with us.
 
We've got a pretty widely varied schedule this season.

The OOC isn't really much to look at. Norfolk State, Kansas, and Army should be double digit wins, and WSU should also be a win (lost Halliday, lost a bunch of WR production, losses on their terrible defense and a new DC, at our house, second year for our defense and DC seeing the Air Raid offense).

If this team is in any way decent/good, my feeling is we should go 4-0 out of conference again.

As far as the conference schedule, @Indiana and Maryland look to be the lowest rungs on that ladder. Maryland loses a ton, we get them at home, and last I saw they were still coached by Randy Edsall. Indiana loses Tevin Coleman (and a few others, accounting for 80% of their yards from scrimmage last year... ouch), and 5 of their back 7 (on a team that was already ranked 93rd in total defense).

Again, if we're decent/good, I'd see us going 2-0 in these games, bringing us to .500.

To me, the make-or-break games are @TTFP, @Michigan, Nebraska. We need to be good to win these three games - I don't think decent will cut it. Timing of these games doesn't help us, either. We go on the road at night into Beaver Stadium, early in the season before the new QB/OL have really had a lot of games under their belts. We go into Ann Arbor late in the season after the team has had time to adjust to Harbaugh. We play Nebraska at home after a three week gauntlet of OSU/@Wisconsin/@Michigan, where we may be banged up.

A just "decent" team goes 0-3, in my opinion. A "good" team might be able to win 1 or more of these. A "great" team might win 2 or even 3 of these.

The final three are the rougher road. MSU, OSU, @Wisconsin. It would take us playing out of our heads and a catastrophic performance by OSU for us to win that game, and even then it's not really likely. @Wisconsin will also be tough - and I just don't think we're built to stop their kind of offense. MSU isn't unbeatable, but a win would really be an upset.

Not expecting to win any of these, unless we have a very special team next year. Of the three, I think we have the best shot at MSU.

Overall, if we're a "decent-to-good" team, I'm looking at 5-7 wins next year, with 4 or 8 wins possible depending on if we over/under perform. 9 would be a truly exceptional season.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ShiningKnight
Like I said, some will understand the concept of losing a game before it is even played. Some won't.

The point to that statement RUChoppin, is that a team that is clearly superior will NOT lose "because of one freak play." They would not be in that position in the first place!

True - but I don't see us as "clearly superior" to TTFP at this point. We're fairly evenly matched, and were last year as well. OSU doesn't lose to us because of one play, because they're clearly superior right now. We don't (didnt) lose to Howard because of one play, because we were clearly superior.

I am 100% confident that we have the horses to beat TTFP (and that we had them last year). But football is a game of inches, and when two teams are closely matched, one big play can be game-changing (see: Turay's block against Michigan in 2015, ineligible man downfield against Louisville in 2012, Savage to Tim Brown against UConn in 2009, Rice breaking of his big run against Pitt in 2006, etc).

99/100 times, our guys make that tackle, and TTFP goes home a loser. Freak play, bad loss, looking to get it back at their place this year.
 
It's clear you haven't considered what the other teams have coming back. Maryland may be the worst team in the B1G due to all the starters lost and recent departures. Kansas is a joke and you can't be serious with your reasons. For once judge the teams based on quality info and not the name on the front of the jersey.

Things to consider when judging teams:
Coaching
Returning talent
Match-up/schemes
Health of the team
Development of players
This is the best post I've seen in a long time. You MUST look at what everybody else has to replace to give any semblance of an informed opinion. And, yes, even the traditionally successful programs miss on recruits, so the guy replacing someone isn't automatically "just as good". Another thing a lot of people don't look at is what we have coming back. They point out that we are losing three starters on the OL, but Lumpkin and Mueller will be going into their third year of starting. That kind of talent along with continued experience elevates everybody around them. They will both be better this year.

The article's I read from the spring were saying Denman has improved to the point where the RT might be an upgrade, and he is not totally inexperienced, he played about 1/3 of the snaps last year. When discussing who is going to play on the line this year it always comes down to Nelson at center and Mueller at guard, or Mueller at center and Cole at guard. It's just assumed that Miller is starting. That tells me the kid must be pretty damn good because he has a handful of upperclassman on the roster that it doesn't appear are even challenging him...it's all about the one spot. So, do they have to do it on the field? That kinda goes without saying...but I don't feel as bad about this OL has a lot of you do. Just my opinion...
 
  • Like
Reactions: NickyNewark51
This is the best post I've seen in a long time. You MUST look at what everybody else has to replace to give any semblance of an informed opinion. And, yes, even the traditionally successful programs miss on recruits, so the guy replacing someone isn't automatically "just as good". Another thing a lot of people don't look at is what we have coming back. They point out that we are losing three starters on the OL, but Lumpkin and Mueller will be going into their third year of starting. That kind of talent along with continued experience elevates everybody around them. They will both be better this year.

The article's I read from the spring were saying Denman has improved to the point where the RT might be an upgrade, and he is not totally inexperienced, he played about 1/3 of the snaps last year. When discussing who is going to play on the line this year it always comes down to Nelson at center and Mueller at guard, or Mueller at center and Cole at guard. It's just assumed that Miller is starting. That tells me the kid must be pretty damn good because he has a handful of upperclassman on the roster that it doesn't appear are even challenging him...it's all about the one spot. So, do they have to do it on the field? That kinda goes without saying...but I don't feel as bad about this OL has a lot of you do. Just my opinion...
Me too....C play is critical and Bujari was an anchor.
 
Here are my picks

1AA- W
Washington St- W
at PSU- W
Kansas- W
Mich St- L
at Indiana- W
Ohio State- L
at Wisconsin- L
at Michigan- L
Nebraska- W
at Army- W
Maryland- W

8-4(4-0)

Possibly 9-4 with bowl win.
 
True - but I don't see us as "clearly superior" to TTFP at this point. We're fairly evenly matched, and were last year as well. OSU doesn't lose to us because of one play, because they're clearly superior right now. We don't (didnt) lose to Howard because of one play, because we were clearly superior.

I am 100% confident that we have the horses to beat TTFP (and that we had them last year). But football is a game of inches, and when two teams are closely matched, one big play can be game-changing (see: Turay's block against Michigan in 2015, ineligible man downfield against Louisville in 2012, Savage to Tim Brown against UConn in 2009, Rice breaking of his big run against Pitt in 2006, etc).

99/100 times, our guys make that tackle, and TTFP goes home a loser. Freak play, bad loss, looking to get it back at their place this year.

Agreed, except that last year we OutPlayed them, that doesn't translate to "clearly superior" but when you have your foot on someones throat, the last thing you do is stop for a drink of water. We didn't finish! That is usually coaching, or the fact that you never really realize the flow of the game. When a player is on the field it is very hard to perceive the game or the flow(as I like to call it). This is where player/team experience comes into play, or coaches relay to the players weaknesses of the opponent. JMHO
 
Agreed, except that last year we OutPlayed them, that doesn't translate to "clearly superior" but when you have your foot on someones throat, the last thing you do is stop for a drink of water. We didn't finish! That is usually coaching, or the fact that you never really realize the flow of the game. When a player is on the field it is very hard to perceive the game or the flow(as I like to call it). This is where player/team experience comes into play, or coaches relay to the players weaknesses of the opponent. JMHO

I think the defense played lights out, except for that one WTF moment with 3 min left in the game. The offense struggled all game against a very good defense (replete with some questionable Nova decisions), and couldn't put a final drive together with 1:13 left in the game. Late game blunder that couldn't be recovered from.

Will be interesting to see Laviano or Rettig perform overall, but especially how they do on 9/19 compared to Nova last year. I *have* to assume that even with a new OLine that either QB will do better than 15/30 for 192 yards, 0 TDs and 5 INTs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KnightsofChrome
ADVERTISEMENT