Previewing 2012 a little bit...

[msudogsrule01]

<p class="MsoNormal">Man, despite what ESPN-Low says, when you really look at our
2012 sked, it isn't hard to envision a bowl year for a third season in a row:</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Sept. 1 Jackson
State - Win</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Sept. 8 Auburn
- Toss-up</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Sept. 15 at
Troy - Win</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Sept. 22 South
Alabama - Win</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Oct. 6 at
Kentucky - Win</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Oct. 13 Tennessee
- Toss-up</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Oct. 20 Middle
Tennessee - Win</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Oct. 27 at
Alabama - Loss</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Nov. 3 Texas
A&M - Toss-up</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Nov. 10 at
LSU - Loss</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Nov. 17 Arkansas
- Loss</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Nov. 24 at
TSUN - Win</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">By my count, that is six likely wins, three toss-ups (I
think we get at least one of these, since they are at home), and three likely
losses. That puts us at 9-3 best case, 7-5 likely, 6-6 (my) worst case.
Considering what we have to replace, I like what I am seeing. And if we can’t
break the school passing records considering what we have coming back on
offense, I will be pretty damn sad.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Now for my positional breakdown, I am trying to forecast as
best I can, with my limited skills:</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">QB: Russell is likely to start, and we will likely become a
more pro-style, pass oriented team, especially with a bunch of receivers back.
Prescott will get a chance in the spring and fall to win the job, but I think
he still needs some more time to really get a hold of the position. We have to
recruit a serviceable No. 3, if only for emergency and scout team.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">RB: Despite a down year Perkins, I think he will really
shine next year, especially with his catch-and-run ability. Griffin will get a
ton of snaps in the spring as Perkins doesn’t have a lot to prove, and he will
likely end up the No. 2 barring injury. Young here, but really talented.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">WR: Lots of depth and snaps returning, but this is the
make-or-break year for production out of this group. Basically, everyone is
back. Morrow will make a push for No. 2 or 3 before spring is out. I think Bump
returns to form next year.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">TE: I think Johnson will be the receiving threat here, but I
don’t know much about the other returnees. A huge question mark, especially for
blocking.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">OL: We lose three starters, but return everyone else. Lots
of depth, but lots of questions. Will the JUCO guys be able to come in and
really contribute? If so (and if we avoid the early season injuries like this
year), I look for this group to be more 2010, and less 2011.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">DL: Losing Cox is big, but I think that we will be fine
here. We trade Ferguson for Autry (probably an improvement) and return everyone
else worth mentioning. Could be a huge strength for us, especially against
Non-Conference opponents.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">LB: Return two of three starters, and we look to be better
here going into 2012 than we were in 2011. Could use a JUCO here to shore it
up, but I like the young talent, especially if the Browns commit. Depth will be
a question mark going into the Fall camp.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">DB: A lot of talent returning here. Big hitters and good
depth all-around. I look for another solid year from this group. May not be LSU or Bama good here, but
real close if healthy.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">K: I really don’t know what to expect here. Can’t be much
worse than this year, can we?</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">P: Sweedenburg will be fine here. Not all-world, but pretty
solid.</p>

 

[coachdaddy]

if you wanted to get a lot of responses-you should have previewed 2012 ole miss football. **

 

[GloryDawg]

Having the Mullen haters melt down saying he could not close.

 

[patdog]

Give me an OOC game in early November, or at least move Kentucky back to then. We're going to do exactly what you say. Start 6-1 and finish 8-4 or 7-5.

 

[GloryDawg]

Miss read what you posted.

 

[Foronce]

but most of our fanbase aren't going to meltdown if we lose to bama, ark, or lsu

rather than getting our qb killed in week 2 and 3 against aub and lsu ...this does make it realistic that we could get a jr qb rolling by the alabama game
we are in the sec west ...6 tough games are coming somewhere to me it is 6 of 1, half-dozen of the other

I do like have auburn, a&m, and ut at home ...rather than lsu, bama, and ky at home

 

[thatsbaseball]

and squeaking out 6 wins makes you wooly...good for you. Those of us who thinkhe under-achieved this year don`thate the guy but know that when MSU has that rarechance to shine in footballwe damn sure need to get it done. At $2.6 mil a yearit`s timeto move from beinga "work in progress" to beinga good football coach who can win close SEC games when the contest is on the line.Is that asking too much ?

 

[KurtRambis4]

beat 4 of the top teams in the nation1!11!!

 

[GloryDawg]

We had a very tough schedule and finished with seven wins. All you got to do is think back to what it was like five years agoand you can feel real wooly.

 

[Flatland Dawg]

I'm not far off from you, just a little more pessimistic thanks to the 2011 reality check.

9/1 Jackson
State - Win
9/8 Auburn
- Toss-up, although I think Auburn has a slight edge. They'll be a better team next year, even without the Wizard, and they've straight owned us recently. God, I hope we beat those pieces of s***.
9/15 at
Troy - Win
9/22 South
Alabama - Win
10/6 at
Kentucky - Win
10/13 Tennessee
- Toss-up, but I give the edge to us here. Just way too much chaos over there. I think they full-on melt down next year.
10/20 Middle
Tennessee - Win
10/27 at
Alabama - Loss
11/3 Texas
A&M - Toss-up, and I think it's too close to call.
11/10 at
LSU - Loss
11/17 Arkansas
- Loss because of history, but I really do think next year could be the year we get this monkey off our backs.
11/24 at
TSUN - Toss-up, because this game too often goes the opposite way it should. Still think we beat that ***, though.

That's 5 wins, four toss-ups, and three losses. Best case 9-3, worst case 5-7. If I had to make a prediction, I'd say 8-4 with a possible return trip to the MCB. I'd be perfectly fine with that.

 

[Irondawg]

We really need to get 8 next year. AU and TN are very winnable games at home so we need to close that out. We play ARK well at home most years so we'll have a chance there as well.

For us next year it's going to be about QB play and OL play. I think our defense will be about like this years which was pretty darn good most of the time. Some of that depends on the S position since it has the most question marks.

But we have to be able to throw the ball better.

 

[Hector.sixpack]

I would also perfer a big upset (defeating a top 15 team). I like the plan he has implemented and I think the coacheshave recuited well to fit needs. This will be he most mature team to date, another 6 win season would not be a success.

One thing he has done a good job of, its raising expectations.

 

[boatsnhoes]

I am changing my approach some. I am going to think of what could go wrong or how injuries could affect us.

-would like to see bump in the slot rather than outside....hopefully morrow can be the outside guy.
-want to see whatgriffin, milton, and robinson can do....i'd love to use them all sans poor mans lsu backfield.
-would love to see Johnson at TE be a problem for people down the middle and intermediate
-worry about OL
-worry about and injury to russell or if we can protect him
-would love to see Quay and PJ get physical early on and actually have a rotation on D-front like SEC big boys.
-I think A&M will struggle with depth later in the year...that is why I am happy to get them later because I think they will be a bit beat up. talent has never been a&m's problem and a new coaching philosophy to put in place. usually the first year is shakey. Houston offenseon steroids and their defense was down right awful last year.

So what else could go horribly wrong and keep us from reaching 8 wins (which would be my goal for us)?

edited to fix errors

 

[codeDawg]

We lost games this year because we screwed up at LT. Expect more of the same if Siddoway can't step in and help. Add in the complication that not only must he be able to get in the way of people, but he must be able to pass block.

Also, no matter how much more pass oriented we are this year, we will depend heavily on the run game between the tackles. Here's to hoping that Griffin has made strides in his recovery or it's going to be a long season.

There is sufficient talent at all other positions to be successful this year.

 

[digdawg]

Under the new scheduling regime, our four OOC games are a joke, and all should be easy wins.It is the easiest OOC scheduleof anySEC team - by a huge margin. Therefore, we should get to a bowl. Under the current schedule, we only have to win two SEC games to do that. Given that we get Kentucky and Ole Miss, those are games that we absolutetly should win because we have more talent. Both of those teams were ranked below us by ESPN.Remember, under the schedulingwe had under the Croom, there is no way this past team would have made it to a bowl game.We wouldn't havebeaten WVU, or Georgia Tech.
Given such a weak schedule, we should be able to at least beat one of the following: Tennessee, Auburn, Texas A&M,Arkansas, LSU, Alabama

 

[Foronce]

it is about wins

there is no strength of schedule


editted: what about uga? you think their fans are taking away their SECeast championship because they didn't have to play ark, lsu, or bama in the reg season?

 

[Coach34]

we had had 1 winning season in the previous 8 seasons...1 for 8...<div>
</div><div>We all want big things to happen- but you have to crawl before you can walk. And we simply need to get a string of bowl games going- thats the bottom line. Showing we can win consistently will make recruiting classes better.</div>

 

[Chesusdog]

I think Bump
returns to form next year.

Regarding the enigma which is Bumphis, is it just me or does he fall down a lot? It seems like he more than any of our other receivers has problems making cuts. Maybe I'm just imagining it but it really does feel like he has trouble keeping his feet once he gets the ball.