Certainly Grutza is no Mauk but I believe the Bearcats will have enough talent surrounding Grutza that they will win more games than they lose. Grutza was 39/55 last year with 4 TD's and 0 INT's with a 160.0+ passer rating under Kelly's "O" before being sidelined. He also logged plenty of playing time as a Frosh/Soph(which I'm assuming is where your perception of his talent or lack thereof lies)...this kid is now a mature 4th year Jr. and will be just fine in Kelly's Offense. This team has alot of talent and is very well coached. Mauk has lost his eligibility; so we'll see who is under center for the Cats come week 1 vs. EKU.
Good luck this year Trent.
Penn State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Colorado
I love Penn State's new QB (I intend they use Clark) and they will begin to use Stephon Green a lot more and he is one of the most explosive in the nation. Both line's are awesome and the defense is flying. I look at them as very similar to Auburn and yet are ranked much lower.
Ole Miss has been sitting on talent ready to explode courtesy of Coach Orgeron, now they finally have a QB to make it all work. Good WR corps and a great DL, they'll win a couple more than expected.
Nerbaska's offense is going to be one of the best in the nation with Ganz and it will be able to overcome a lot of the defense. I don't think the defense will be that bad and certainly a new attitude will be brought with Pelini, I like the changes so far that are being made.
Colorado - I think Cody Hawkins was much maligned for being just a RS FR. This team has a lot of playmakers that now have a good season of experience under their belt. Arrival of Darrell Scott will be a big impact, this kid is Adrian Peterson good imo. This offense will fly
I love Penn State's new QB (I intend they use Clark) and they will begin to use Stephon Green a lot more and he is one of the most explosive in the nation. Both line's are awesome and the defense is flying. I look at them as very similar to Auburn and yet are ranked much lower.
Ole Miss has been sitting on talent ready to explode courtesy of Coach Orgeron, now they finally have a QB to make it all work. Good WR corps and a great DL, they'll win a couple more than expected.
Nerbaska's offense is going to be one of the best in the nation with Ganz and it will be able to overcome a lot of the defense. I don't think the defense will be that bad and certainly a new attitude will be brought with Pelini, I like the changes so far that are being made.
Colorado - I think Cody Hawkins was much maligned for being just a RS FR. This team has a lot of playmakers that now have a good season of experience under their belt. Arrival of Darrell Scott will be a big impact, this kid is Adrian Peterson good imo. This offense will fly
I've heard some great things about Darrell Scott. I'm looking forward to seeing him run...If he can make a big impact right away, it may help cover up some of their defensive shortcomings...Nebraska is pretty much in the same boat as CU..I recently saw where the media had Ganz rated the number 8 QB in the Big 12...I think this may be a little low..He really impressed me last season when he finally took over the reins. He reminds me a little of Chase Daniel. A tough but not particualrly big QB who is a real competitor. When I got on their website, I noticed the one thing the Husker fans really seemed to impressed with the most so far is this great young coaching staff..It looks like Nebraska is back on the map again..At least their going the right direction.
You really can't say a team is in disarray with a new coaching staff until you actually see the team on the field. I haven't heard any words to this affect coming out of the Husker camp. Personally, I only have modest expectations for Nebraska this season..Inherited teams are always a bit tricky to predict..Especially when you have a coach wanting to go in a totally new direction as the former coach. I think what Pelini can bring to the table this season is stability to this team. I expect a much different brand of football this year as we've seen in the past..Especially on the defensive side of the ball..Pelini's defenses are known for gambling and flying to the ball..It worked very well in his couple years at LSU. And on offense I expect Nebraska to play to their strengths and run the ball much more than what they did under Callahan, who was constantly forcing this offense to do something it didn't want to do...And this ball control type of Pelini offense should benefit their defense more than what they had to endure under Callahan. I would be surprised if this is any kind of a surprise team..A 7-5 or 8-4 season would be a reasonable expectation. So it's hard to call this team a sleeper. Especially when they've been in a Rip Van Winkle state for the last 4 years under Callahan. They'll eventually wake up, but it's my guess it won't be until the next couple of years.
Conference Dark Horses --True dark horses
SEC - South carolina. Defense is stout. IF Spurrier offensive genius progresses lesser talent , they could suprise. favorable schedule
BigTen -- Iowa. Have everything they need to suprise outside of qb. Defense is good , OL is talented, and they have most favorable schedule in the bigten.
big east -- cincinnati. Again a nice combination of defense , offensive talent and good coaching. If mauk returns they could really suprise. Will need production from DE position however.
PacTen --Oregon. After settleing down from disappointment of Dixon loss and loss of national title hopes , they went out and spanked south florida in the bowl last year. offense takes a step back but the defense takes a big step forward. USC always loses a game they have no business losing, Carroll and company are Terrible under achievers.
ACC -- Wake forest. Not sure they should count as a dark horse since they may be the best team in the conference. Catch clemson at home on a thursday night.
Big12 -Colorado. Schedule might be too tough but Hawkins is doing a great job of bringing in talent and now his systems are getting into place and understood by team. With so many major contenders (mizz, ou , texas, tech , kansas ) , you have to go pretty far down the list to find a true dark horse. A close second to SEC this year as a conference.
WAC- hawaii. No brennan. No jones. No respect. Team still has talent and a system that other WAC defenses have struggled against in the past. Small changes shouldn't effect that too much and warriors will be a better running team this year. Certainly not the class of the league this year with Fresno and Boise but should not be overlooked.
mwc-TCU. Not getting respect after going 4-4 in conference last year in a season with no continuity due to off the field issues and injuries. Dalton is a year more mature , Aaron Brown returns , OL is loaded for war, and despite key defensive line losses, they probably still have one of the top 2 DL in the conference. Catch BYU at home.
Conference USA. UTEP. Tulsa is overrated and takes a major loss at QB. East carolina is the best team in conference. Miners have a high quality QB , the second best receiver in the conference , an improving offensive line , quality coach , and a new defensive system that might ease some of their recent woes. Conference is weak all around.
SEC - South carolina. Defense is stout. IF Spurrier offensive genius progresses lesser talent , they could suprise. favorable schedule
BigTen -- Iowa. Have everything they need to suprise outside of qb. Defense is good , OL is talented, and they have most favorable schedule in the bigten.
big east -- cincinnati. Again a nice combination of defense , offensive talent and good coaching. If mauk returns they could really suprise. Will need production from DE position however.
PacTen --Oregon. After settleing down from disappointment of Dixon loss and loss of national title hopes , they went out and spanked south florida in the bowl last year. offense takes a step back but the defense takes a big step forward. USC always loses a game they have no business losing, Carroll and company are Terrible under achievers.
ACC -- Wake forest. Not sure they should count as a dark horse since they may be the best team in the conference. Catch clemson at home on a thursday night.
Big12 -Colorado. Schedule might be too tough but Hawkins is doing a great job of bringing in talent and now his systems are getting into place and understood by team. With so many major contenders (mizz, ou , texas, tech , kansas ) , you have to go pretty far down the list to find a true dark horse. A close second to SEC this year as a conference.
WAC- hawaii. No brennan. No jones. No respect. Team still has talent and a system that other WAC defenses have struggled against in the past. Small changes shouldn't effect that too much and warriors will be a better running team this year. Certainly not the class of the league this year with Fresno and Boise but should not be overlooked.
mwc-TCU. Not getting respect after going 4-4 in conference last year in a season with no continuity due to off the field issues and injuries. Dalton is a year more mature , Aaron Brown returns , OL is loaded for war, and despite key defensive line losses, they probably still have one of the top 2 DL in the conference. Catch BYU at home.
Conference USA. UTEP. Tulsa is overrated and takes a major loss at QB. East carolina is the best team in conference. Miners have a high quality QB , the second best receiver in the conference , an improving offensive line , quality coach , and a new defensive system that might ease some of their recent woes. Conference is weak all around.
Clowncar....Welcome to the RX...I agree about Colorado. The tough thing this year is they could end up with the same 6-6 record as last season, but with a much better team..That's how much the Big 12 will probably be improved this year. But if the Buffs make it that far, i wouldn't want to meet them in a bowl game after the schedule they've faced this season.
I see it the same way. They might even need to get lucky to get the 6th win and garner bowl eligibility. The man is building that program back to national significance though and with the downfall of the other school in colorado ( CSU ) coupled with his recruiting ties to the northwest , this program will be one to reckon with in the upcoming years.
What?
Do you follow the Big 12 or NU at all? Keep Callahan?
Billy single handily changed everything about NU's program that had made it a winner and now they have a coach who believes in the school's history and embraces it (much like Stoops did at OU when he arrived there).
Also don't see how you can say the school is in disarray, they are keeping the same offense and the same OC who imo will call a much better game than Bill did. He allready eliminated a big chunk of the playbook that the players had to run in practice each week but then never ran them during the season. What a concept practice and concentrate on a block of plays that you will actually use in a game. Also they have a QB who is a hell of a lot better than Billy friend's son who was given the qb job last year (Keller). The defense will be respectible enough to make them competetive in all but probably a couple of games this year. I see them at 8-4 this year or maybe 7-5 but in either way certainly not a terribale team.
Do you follow the Big 12 or NU at all? Keep Callahan?
Billy single handily changed everything about NU's program that had made it a winner and now they have a coach who believes in the school's history and embraces it (much like Stoops did at OU when he arrived there).
Also don't see how you can say the school is in disarray, they are keeping the same offense and the same OC who imo will call a much better game than Bill did. He allready eliminated a big chunk of the playbook that the players had to run in practice each week but then never ran them during the season. What a concept practice and concentrate on a block of plays that you will actually use in a game. Also they have a QB who is a hell of a lot better than Billy friend's son who was given the qb job last year (Keller). The defense will be respectible enough to make them competetive in all but probably a couple of games this year. I see them at 8-4 this year or maybe 7-5 but in either way certainly not a terribale team.
