Western Michigan is a tossup
That statement right there is a telling indictment on the state of this program. They were 4-8 last year and 5-7 the year before and we play them at home.
If we lose that game the coaching search better start as soon as that game ends.
Overall this schedule is not a very tough draw. It's bolstered by having VT and tOSU on it for sure but....
Aug. 31 Stony Brook (100% to W)
- Should be an easy game. They are absolutely horrible.
Sept. 7 at Virginia Tech (30% to W)
- While they've improved a good bit since we last played them, they're not unbeatable.
Sept. 21 at Ohio State (5% to W)
- Should be one of the tougher games we've had in a while, though they will be replacing many of their star players from last season.
Sept. 28 Western Michigan (75% to W)
- We should roll in this game. They were 4-8 last season and 5-7 the season before.
Oct. 5 App State (50% to W)
- This will be a tough game. Appy is a solid program and it's a rivalry game. Getting them at home helps though
Oct. 12 at Georgia Southern (70% to W)
- This game has been tough, but if we're good we should beat them.
Oct. 17 Georgia State (80% to W)
- At best a middle of the road program and we should take care of business at home. Losing this game should be inexcusable.
Nov. 2 ULM (95% to W)
- They are routinely at the bottom of the SBC pile. Losing this game would be an embarrassment.
Nov. 9 at Southern Miss (50% to W)
- A shell of what they once were and proof of what making a bad hire can do to a program. Still this is a rivalry game and it's usually a difficult fight. Will be tough. Especially being at their place.
Nov. 16 Coastal Carolina (50% to W)
- New coach and new QB. We get them at home and their backup's backup shredded us so who knows. Their situation says win, but who knows what our situation is.
Nov. 23 at Old Dominion (75% to W)
- Bad team that has never lived up to all their "potential" we heard about.
Nov. 30 at James Madison (45% to W)
- So far we're split with JMU with each team winning on the road. However even though they're breaking in a new coaching staff and QB, their program is currently in better shape than ours.
Last year I said our floor was 4-8 and our ceiling was 8-5 and we finished the regular season 6-6. My reasoning was the question marks. QB was unsettled, WR was lacking, the OL was a volatile, returned only 1 LB that made a tackle (Neal), new DC, and kicking was inconsistent.
Well unfortunately we are worse off going into 2024 than we were going into 2023. I only see four games that could be considered locks and those are Stony Brook, WMU, Ga State, and ULM. All were below average to bad teams in 2023 and we get them at home. So I'll stick with out floor being 4-8. I would put the ceiling at 7-5. Could we be better? Sure, but the question marks are worse for us going into this season.
HC - Continues to show the same lapses in judgement now that he showed in year one.
OC - Once again Huff decides to hire an unproven OC with no experience.
DC - Started out really rough last season, but reigned it in a bit in conference play. Still leaves a lot to be desired with his formations. WAY too many big plays allowed.
QB - While I doubted Fancher going into 2024 he at least had experience with the team and the coaches. Now we presumably start off with a brand new QB. Unless Cole fends them off and he's still extremely raw. The WF kid seems to have a nice arm, but his stats were not good and the other kid just appears to be another Fancher type.
RB - Payne is the only returning known commodity. We have some RBs with potential, but none have been tested on a week to week and down to down basis. Sure Ali came out of nowhere as did Essray so it could happen, but we don't have that established stud back there to hang our hats on.
WR - Still don't have a true #1 and not a single WR has established themselves as a consistent target. We brought some guys in that could prove out and maybe some younger guys blossom, but there isn't a proven WR in that room.
TE - Some nice players, but Huff and his OC's have neglected the TE spot which has been one of the hallmark positions in Herd football. This is especially egregious given how TEs can be a struggling QB's best friend.
OL - Again we added some pieces, but the OL has continued to underperform since leaving South Bend.
DL - Were pretty good last season, but we lose Porter who was the engine that not only ran that DL, but that defense.
LB - We lose Neal, but return guys like Dix.
DB - We lose Abraham, but I assume we get JJ back. There have been some rumors that say he may hang it up. We return some solid players so not all is lost here. Still need better play from the CBs.
Kicking - flat out sucked last season. Kicking is supposed to be an insurance policy and our kicking game is far from that. Every attempt has us on the edge of our seats with our hands on our head clinching our hats in hopes that the ball has the distance let alone the accuracy.
