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Stlhockeyguy02 wrote:I say we surprise people and do better then expected. I say this b/c it's time we're surprised in a positive way, damn it.

I agree. I think we're going to be better than people think. I like GG's chances in the second year of the offense with a full offseason to work with his WRs. Hopefully his athleticism will be utilized like it was at the end of last year. In that same vein, it will be nice seeing June move the offense into the 21st Century in 2013.

In order to go .500, we would need:

TT - W
Mont St - W
@A&M - L
@TCU - L
Rutgers - L
@Memphis - W
Temple - W
@ Cincy - L
UCONN - W
@USF - L
@ Houston - L
UCF - W

I think that is reasonable to expect. The spring will show us a lot about the front 7 defensively and the line on offense. I think the o-line is going to be better than last year and the front 7 just as good with a much, much improved secondary defensively.

An above average BCS team wins against TT, Rutgers, UCF, USF, and Houston. I don't think we are there yet, but as I have mentioned before, I thought 2012 was going to be a rebuilding year. I think we are a much better team in 2013 and we should have a minimum expectation of a .500 season in a tougher conference.

No that's hopeful
Reasonable is probably 4 wins
We are not going to be picked in the preseason to beat Texas Tech, UCONN and UCF at home. That is not likely-and I'm a big proponent of home field advantage

Stallion wrote:No that's hopeful
Reasonable is probably 4 wins
We are not going to be picked in the preseason to beat Texas Terch, UCONN and UCF at home. That is not likely

I agree with stallion. I think we maybe win 1 of those, absolute best possible case 2, and very likely outcome is 0

JasonB wrote:In order to go .500, we would need:
TT - W
Mont St - W
@A&M - L
@TCU - L
Rutgers - L
@Memphis - W
Temple - W
@ Cincy - L
UCONN - W
@USF - L
@ Houston - L
UCF - W

As mentioned above, the TTU and UCF games will be tough. But an opportunity may lie in the USF & UH games. Two road games in NFL stadiums against teams that had poor seasons in 2012. Sure they have plenty of time to fix the ship before Nov., but a turnaround isn't guaranteed.

SMU2007 wrote:

Stallion wrote:No that's hopeful
Reasonable is probably 4 wins
We are not going to be picked in the preseason to beat Texas Terch, UCONN and UCF at home. That is not likely

I agree with stallion. I think we maybe win 1 of those, absolute best possible case 2, and very likely outcome is 0

Based on this year's final Sagarin, we lose to Tech, beat UConn, and UCF is a tossup.

CA Mustang wrote:

JasonB wrote:In order to go .500, we would need:
TT - W
Mont St - W
@A&M - L
@TCU - L
Rutgers - L
@Memphis - W
Temple - W
@ Cincy - L
UCONN - W
@USF - L
@ Houston - L
UCF - W

As mentioned above, the TTU and UCF games will be tough. But an opportunity may lie in the USF & UH games. Two road games in NFL stadiums against teams that had poor seasons in 2012. Sure they have plenty of time to fix the ship before Nov., but a turnaround isn't guaranteed.

That would be surprising considering our road ineptitude, we've had plenty of trouble beating Tulane in their NFL stadium and no one attended those games.

My gut is UH bounces back from their disappointing season.

its a long road trip to Dallas from Storrs and Piscataway. And I don't think Uconn and Rutgers will be particularly 'up' for our game. Rutgers may even encounter some october Dallas heat. I sure hope June isn't penciling in any losses at home to Uconn or Rutgers, and yes i realize Rutgers is pretty talented.

I hope not but this upcoming season has disaster written all over it but maybe the coaches, players and a few guys we may not know about circle the wagons and come together for a special season and prove everyone wrong.

ghost wrote:I hope not but this upcoming season has disaster written all over it but maybe the coaches, players and a few guys we may not know about circle the wagons and come together for a special season and prove everyone wrong.

bipolar much?? LOL

sbsmith wrote:

CA Mustang wrote:As mentioned above, the TTU and UCF games will be tough. But an opportunity may lie in the USF & UH games. Two road games in NFL stadiums against teams that had poor seasons in 2012. Sure they have plenty of time to fix the ship before Nov., but a turnaround isn't guaranteed.

That would be surprising considering our road ineptitude, we've had plenty of trouble beating Tulane in their NFL stadium and no one attended those games.

Since joining CUSA, SMU is 2-2 at Tulane (W in '06 & '10, L in '08 & '12). Considering the '08 team was a one win team (beat an FCS school), 2-2 isn't far from expected results. The talent differential isn't so great that SMU should have won all four games by 20+ points.

ponyboy wrote:My gut is UH bounces back from their disappointing season.

I guess it depends on how you define bouncing back. 6-6? 8-4? or 11-1? I see a shaky coaching staff that fell flat on its face year one. Multiple questions at QB and other skill positions. Decent OL & DL, but nothing outstanding. Health would help, but every team has to deal with injuries. Sure they will be better than last year (their coaches pray that happens) but I don't see them vaulting to near the top of the conference.

Rutgers is an interesting game that we should pencil in as Toss-up. They had trouble scoring last year I believe, but have a good defense. Once again we will be at the mercy of our QB play. If...if he lives up to expectations then I think Rutgers, USF and Houston are all winnable. Let's talk after the Spring.

Hoop Fan wrote:its a long road trip to Dallas from Storrs and Piscataway. And I don't think Uconn and Rutgers will be particularly 'up' for our game. Rutgers may even encounter some october Dallas heat. I sure hope June isn't penciling in any losses at home to Uconn or Rutgers, and yes i realize Rutgers is pretty talented.

And despite the crappy fan support, the Mustangs play pretty darn tough at home.

JasonB wrote:In order to go .500, we would need:

TT - W
Mont St - W
@A&M - L
@TCU - L
Rutgers - L
@Memphis - W
Temple - W
@ Cincy - L
UCONN - W
@USF - L
@ Houston - L
UCF - W

I think that is reasonable to expect. The spring will show us a lot about the front 7 defensively and the line on offense. I think the o-line is going to be better than last year and the front 7 just as good with a much, much improved secondary defensively.

An above average BCS team wins against TT, Rutgers, UCF, USF, and Houston. I don't think we are there yet, but as I have mentioned before, I thought 2012 was going to be a rebuilding year. I think we are a much better team in 2013 and we should have a minimum expectation of a .500 season in a tougher conference.

So we're penciling in that game at Memphis as a win?...not sure...that's a team on the rise. The game will also follow our debut in the A-12. In typical SMU fashion I can see us beating Rutgers and then losing at Memphis.