35 1/2 Points

[Pony^]

Hoping the oddsmakers are wrong . . .

TCU is listed as a 19½-point favorite for the Horned Frogs’ Sept. 3 opener at Minnesota, which is set for national television on ESPN.

Baylor is a 35½-point favorite at SMU on Sept. 4 in another ESPN national television game.

UT’s early prognosis isn’t quite as fortunate, according to the 5dimes oddsmakers. The Longhorns are a 12½-point underdog for their Sept. 5 game at Notre Dame, which will be nationally televised by NBC.

The big line is interesting because the Fighting Irish have beaten only three Power Five opponents by that large a margin during the five-season coaching tenure of Brian Kelly.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/big12/2015 ... n-openers/

http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2015 ... n-openers/

[Pony Boss]

That's about right. If we lose to them by 14 pts or less it is a win in my book.

[LA_Mustang]

I think it is impossible to know at this point. Hopefully we have a few freshmen who can make an immediate impact.

[Planter's Punch]

Ready for the up tempo practices to have the defense conditioned enough so they don't look like they are ready to quit by the third quarter, like they have seemed in so many openers.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

I don't know. 35 1/2 sounds a bit high, but based on last season it's hard to argue too much.

I hope we hang with them this season. We'll find out soon enough!

[ojaipony]

You never know - a turnover here, a penalty there . . . MAYBE a few actual Pony fans IN Ford for the game to give our guys some love . . . I'll be shocked if it's any closer than 40 points, though, but just ignore me on that one . . .

[vielsiehorsepower]

You never know - a turnover here, a penalty there . . . MAYBE a few actual Pony fans IN Ford for the game to give our guys some love . . . I'll be shocked if it's any closer than 40 points, but just ignore me on that one . . .

,...if a June Jones coached/recruited team lost by 45 I have a hard time imagining a chad morris coached team doing worse.

[GreenbeltPony]

You never know - a turnover here, a penalty there . . . MAYBE a few actual Pony fans IN Ford for the game to give our guys some love . . . I'll be shocked if it's any closer than 40 points, but just ignore me on that one . . .

,...if a June Jones coached/recruited team lost by 45 I have a hard time imagining a chad morris coached team doing worse.

True.

[BIGHORSE]

We will be a much better coached team, but we will still be playing the same

guys as last year.

[fifty]

I think chad Morris will have our team more ready game1 than jj. In the jj era, our players' first contact of the summer was shawn oakman.

[PonyKai]

Think setting the baseline at JJ's level of readiness for game one is just tossing the bar on the floor and hoping someone doesn't slip on it.

[Pony Boss]

We will be a much better coached team, but we will still be playing the same

guys as last year.

We will see on September if they are still playing like the same guys. A lot of those guys were here in 2013 when we were a potential bowl team. And don't underestimate Matt Davis playing in an offense that fits him well.

[friarwolf]

Sounds about right to me. New offense, shaky QB who will be running for his life, an overmatched secondary, and a revved up Baylor squad with something to prove..........

[mustangxc]

35.5 may even be low. Baylor loves to run up the score against inferior competition. They will not call off the dogs in the 4th quarter. I could see us lose 70-21

[03Mustang]

JJ: You don't play teams like Baylor and Texas A&M if you want to make a BCS run
CM: We aren't afraid to play anyone

We won't win this game, but I'm going to enjoy watching it purely for the fact that it's going to get better, and fast.