What to expect 2004, not good

[fan]

I posted this about 6 months ago and was going to bump it but could not find the topic and bet it got deleted. Anyway, the bottom line is that in the last 10 years of div. 1-a football there have been less than 15 teams that have gone winless or only had one win in a season. So we're in pretty sorry company there. Of those 15 or so the average number of wins the following year is 2. There has been one team (Tulsa I think) that had 1 win and had a winning record the following year. There is also one team that had a second losing season (Duke I think). So the bottom line is that we're about as likely to lose all of our games as have a winning record.
The word is that our younger players are significantly better than anyone we've had around in the last 3 years. Bad news is that they are young.

[Sam I Am]

Tulsa changed coaches about the time they went from a one win season to a winning season. A coach who can make that much difference is sure to move up to a BCS school soon. In SMU's case, we have the same coach, so we can't expect a dramatic improvement this year at all. Maybe Bennett will be one of the coaches who over the long team builds a winning program. It has happened in places like Kansas State, or even UNT. But these were not private schools. Once in a while, someone comes to schools like Northwestern or Tulane and makes a big impact; but that usually happens early - and we have not seen any signs of that in Bennett. At best, Bennett might aspire to being a R.C. Slocum - good on defense, not much on offense. I look for 2 wins this year, maybe.

[fan]

thought I might bump this as a reality check

[MrMustang1965]

Fan: man...you have WAY too much free time on your hands! Get a girlfriend!

[Sam I Am]

The things we were saying a good while back still apply. Two wins still looks on target for 2004. When a school is down, it is very hard to work our of a hole and become a winner again.

[Hilltopper]

I don't always agree with SIA, but I do in this case. During the offseason, there were a lot of people asking only for small steps - 2 or 3 or 4 wins. There were a lot of people who thought we'd get drilled by TT, TCU, OSU, Boise and Fresno. That still might happen. But if (when!) we beat SJSU, UTEP, and maybe 1 or 2 more, there's no way to look at it as anything other than a crucial first step. It's tough to see right now, after last week's score and when seeing the injury report, but there is progress being made.

[Stallion]

Nevada is another program whose program is down. A lot of guys on the Wac forum who seem to have a lot of knowledge about the Nevada program pointed out the program was in disarray and the had a lot of turmoil during the off-season which is why they brought their long time coact Ault back. They are reported to a have a porous offensive and defensive line. In the first game against Lousiana Tech they got drilled as Ryan Moats ran for over 250 on them. In their first two games-the other against Division 1-AA Sac St-they have given up a combined 12 sacks. Circle that Nevada game (at home) as a potential victory-not a prediction but trying to find some glimmer of hope.