Listening to Make it Rain

[Coach 57]

So they have the "Oxford Eagle" reporter on and he says that Hugh "has" to win 9 next year or the fanbase will start to turn. So then I look at their schedule for next year.

Boise
@ Vandy
ULL
Memphis
Bama
@ TAMU
Tenn
@ LSU
Auburn
Presbyterian
@ Arky
MSU

After looking I see MAYBE 7......MAYBE!
I see them for sure beating Boise, ULL, Memphis, Presbyterian & Arky.

But then the rest are kind if toss ups. Then some for sure losses Bama, @ LSU, Auburn. What do you guys see?

[PassInterference]

Boise was not impressive this year. http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/teams/bbe/ They might be losing their coach to Washington. Ole Miss game could be the new coach's first game. That would be an Ole Miss thing to happen. Ole Miss lucks up with delayed scheduling of this one (it was supposed to be played a year or two ago) and gets a W.

Is James Franklin still rumored for somewhere else? Vandy escaped the USC scare.

[C222]

So they have the "Oxford Eagle" reporter on and he says that Hugh "has" to win 9 next year or the fanbase will start to turn. So then I look at their schedule for next year.

Boise
@ Vandy
ULL
Memphis
Bama
@ TAMU
Tenn
@ LSU
Auburn
Presbyterian
@ Arky
MSU

After looking I see MAYBE 7......MAYBE!
I see them for sure beating Boise, ULL, Memphis, Presbyterian & Arky.

But then the rest are kind if toss ups. Then some for sure losses Bama, @ LSU, Auburn. What do you guys see?

I see 7 for sure. They could beat Auburn and us at home giving them 9. A&M won't be as good so that's a winnable game too.

[DownwardDawg]

I see 7 for sure. They could beat Auburn and us at home giving them 9. A&M won't be as good so that's a winnable game too.

I think we will roll their asses bigtime next year with a heavy dose of Dak, Robinson, and Shumpert. No more finesse from us and they can't stop a power running team.

[CJDAWG85]

Boise - Win Peterson going to Washington
@ Vand - Loss They have to go back to Vandy?
ULL - Win
Memphis - Win
Bama - ?? Who does Bama have at QB coming in?
@ TAMU - ?? How does A&M look minus JFF?
Tenn - Loss Sammich game
@ LSU - Loss LSU gets big payback
Auburn - Loss
Presbyterian - Win Are you ****ing serious? Who made this schedule?
@ Arky - Loss I think Arky gets them next year
MSU - Toss up


I have 4 wins... 5 losses... 3 questionable

[FISHDAWG]

9 wins as the criteria is very difficult in this division for a school in Miss.... in a new coaches third year at that ... seems they would at least let that jack-pot of a recruiting class mature a little before the fan base would turn on him ... however, you just never know with that bunch .....I agree, to me it looks somewhere around 7 wins and certainly no more than 8

[Goat Holder]

I was about to post about how much they have coming back, but then I went and actually checked out the numbers......they lose THREE starting offensive linemen from the Egg Bowl: Duke, Swindall, and Burton (Burton will be a huge loss) and backups in McCray and Junen. No matter how you slice it, that's hard to overcome. That's FIVE bodies! Factor in Brunetti, Logan, Neat and Moncrief (who's gone from the people I talk to, he has a kid to think about) and that's some pretty good contributors. I know they've had injuries and not all these guys are full time starters, but still.

Then over there on defense, they lose Sawyer, Shackleford (but get back Johnson), Collins (who has played a bunch) and Marry (big loss). And they also lose Campbell and Ritter, their punter and kicker, and we know how big those losses can be. Whigham and Martin are also listed on the Egg Bowl participation list.

Something to think about.

[FISHDAWG]

wow ... did not realize the attrition would be that severe

[cubswillwinitonedaydawg]

Boise - W
@ Vandy - L
ULL - W
Memphis - W
Bama - L
@ TAMU - L
Tenn - W
@ LSU - L
Auburn - L
Presbyterian - W
@ Arky - L
MSU - ??

I see them at 6-5 going into the Egg Bowl. Several of the wins/losses will be toss-ups (Vandy, TN, Arkansas, A&M could all go either way)
I like our chances with a healthy Dak, but who knows what will happen in a year, plus it's at their place, plus it's a rivalry game.
Who knows, they may even care about the game as much as we do next year.**

[Covercorner2]

Shackleford is gonna be back for his 9th year...

[Goat Holder]

They would sure love for us to believe that it's not, and maybe it isn't, but losing that money OL in your two deep is tough. I know they have the Morris guy coming back, I believe he was a starter before injury.

The big thing for them in Moncrief. He adds another dimension. You can double them up if it's just he or Treadwell, but both of them are tough to cover. Ja-Mes Logan will be a huge loss as well, that guy made lots of catches for them. Sanders seems to be able to get open as well.

[Political Hack]

I could see 9 wins tops... and a floor of 2 wins. If things go wrong for them early in the season, they'll be royally screwed and have potential losses against ULaLa, Boise, and Vandy. That would send the entire rebel nation into 100% meltdown mode.

[ScottH]

They will start fast and finish weak. My guess is 6-6 or 5-7 with our game the swing game.

They will beat somebody they shouldn't and lose to somebody they shouldn't

Upig will beat them and soften them up for us. Hell Upig all but beat us and LSU in their last two.

Also, Arky and Tenn might be the most improved teams in the league next year. Um gets them both.

[C222]

I was about to post about how much they have coming back, but then I went and actually checked out the numbers......they lose THREE starting offensive linemen from the Egg Bowl: Duke, Swindall, and Burton (Burton will be a huge loss) and backups in McCray and Junen. No matter how you slice it, that's hard to overcome. That's FIVE bodies! Factor in Brunetti, Logan, Neat and Moncrief (who's gone from the people I talk to, he has a kid to think about) and that's some pretty good contributors. I know they've had injuries and not all these guys are full time starters, but still.

Then over there on defense, they lose Sawyer, Shackleford (but get back Johnson), Collins (who has played a bunch) and Marry (big loss). And they also lose Campbell and Ritter, their punter and kicker, and we know how big those losses can be. Whigham and Martin are also listed on the Egg Bowl participation list.

Something to think about.

Ouf out the few games I saw of theirs, I thought Marry was their best player on D.

[AlSwearengen]

I don't see their OL being too big of a problem assuming Golsen is healthy and Tunsil stays healthy (although, i'm not too sure how tough or willing to play through pain tunsil is. He is biding time until the nfl). They will have Morris back and that will help them a lot. Granted, they may have zero depth, but those three are a pretty good foundation.

[messageboardsuperhero]

If "9 wins or bust" really is the general consensus among their fanbase, there will be a lot of disappointed people in Oxford come November.

Nine wins for UM just isn't happening next year.

[Coach 57]

Marry, is a HUGE loss! He (to me) played more consistent than any player on their defense. He was always assured to get good stats.

Goat, good job on showing the attrition they'll have. I knew the OL was going to take a hit, but boy I didn't know they'd lose THAT many OL.

Auburn is going to get better or at worst plateau next year in a Jan or mid level bowl team.

Texas A&M will drop to a lower tier team. But they won't fall to the cellar. Sumlin is too good of a coach to fall too far.


Bama, is just Bama. They aren't going to fall below #2 spot in the West.

LSU will be looking for blood after blowing it in Oxford.

Arky actually had the Bears beat but the coaching staff blew it with trick play calls. But with more maturity I could see them giving the bears more at home.

Honestly if we have a healthy Dak & more experience and NO coach turnover (Collins). We will burst their bubble in Oxford.

[mic]

Marry, is a HUGE loss! He (to me) played more consistent than any player on their defense. He was always assured to get good stats.

Goat, good job on showing the attrition they'll have. I knew the OL was going to take a hit, but boy I didn't know they'd lose THAT many OL.

Auburn is going to get better or at worst plateau next year in a Jan or mid level bowl team.

Texas A&M will drop to a lower tier team. But they won't fall to the cellar. Sumlin is too good of a coach to fall too far.


Bama, is just Bama. They aren't going to fall below #2 spot in the West.

LSU will be looking for blood after blowing it in Oxford.

Arky actually had the Bears beat but the coaching staff blew it with trick play calls. But with more maturity I could see them giving the bears more at home.

Honestly if we have a healthy Dak & more experience and NO coach turnover (Collins). We will burst their bubble in Oxford.

I agree with this.
Plus as you know Coach team chemistry is huge in sports and Im not sure OM has that with this team..

[ckDOG]

2 things. First, if they are expecting 9 wins they really have delusional expectations there or they are all-in on the hype machine hoping folks actually believe the crap they say about their program.

Second, if they do have a solid season next year, it's on the back on their defense. Their offense has no pop to it and folks are figuring it out. Unless they make some big changes, the smoke and mirrors of the Hugh Freeze basketball on grass approach is going to be very apparent next season.

[engie]

An OL is only as strong as it's weakest piece. Having 3 good OL does not a decent OL make. See State, Mississippi - 2011. OM could be very good next year. But they could also be equal to this year if they don't figure it out on the OL. Their defense should be very good.

Auburn is going to be tremendous next year as much as it pains me to say. Do other people not see this? They bring back all but like 4 on their whole team 2-deep -- and those 3 true freshmen DL that began to take over late this year will be the foundation for Ellis to have a nastttyyy unit on that side of the ball next year. Everyone knows Malzahn can and will score points. And their backup QB is pushing Marshall for PT now. I really, really hope Texas hires Malzahn's ass. We have to beat Auburn pretty often to keep moving forward.

[Coach34]

They should be a solid team next year. Lots of good players back on D.
Offensively, they have to replace Logan and Moncrief at WR- as well as 5 of their 2-deep on the OL. That will be a chore.

Then, they have alot of toss-up games on the road:

@A&M
@UPig
@Vandy
Boise on neutral field

Not gonna beat Bama or LSU in BR. Then they have to find a way to beat one of the SEC's best defenses when State comes in for the Egg Bowl.

I see them as a 7 win team again- maybe 8 if things really go right for them