Preseason #54

[bigdaddyg]

That is a pretty cool number considering there are what, 128 teams on the list. To be in the top half going into year 2 is awesome. As long as we are knocking around scenarios and hopes for next season might as well jump in. We probably need Clemson to finish high in the rankings with a 12-1 finish (1 loss and a win in the ACC Championship). Once that happens we will get to hear all of the talk of Clemson's really bad loss!

[SpeedkingATL]

Clemson historically has one "bad loss" a year. Maybe App can provide it in 2015. Having seen App beat ranked South Carolina and Michigan teams in the past, I put nothing past the boys in Black and Gold.

[Gonzo]

This Clemson squad is the best one they've fielded in years. They will be the toughest opponent we've played since LSU in 2008. Leaving Death Valley without injury will be my primary hope and not getting completely embarrassed will be secondary. We could lose by 4 TD's to the Tigers and still maintain realistic hopes of winning out the remainder of the season.

[hapapp]

Here is one take on the 2015 SBC race:

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1511402.html#.VN ... Cw.twitter

[EastHallApp]

Here is one take on the 2015 SBC race:

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1511402.html#.VN ... Cw.twitter

The good thing for the league is that you could easily make a case for any of the top four to win the league. Plus Texas St. appears to be on the rise (not sure I agree with them falling behind ULM).

The days of the Sun Belt being ULL, A-State and the Seven Dwarves are over.

[hapapp]

Here is one take on the 2015 SBC race:

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1511402.html#.VN ... Cw.twitter

The good thing for the league is that you could easily make a case for any of the top four to win the league. Plus Texas St. appears to be on the rise (not sure I agree with them falling behind ULM).

The days of the Sun Belt being ULL, A-State and the Seven Dwarves are over.

I think that is correct. Next year is likely to be a dog fight.

[Gnomeneer]

Just beat the Stink, noooo - thrash them.

[AppFan11]

Lots to say but for now, there is little chance Arky St will beat us in Boone... they are too much of a finesse team. Assuming Lamb is healthy we will beat them by a minimum of 2 tds. And yes, we will win the conf. outright.

[SpeedkingATL]

Nice write-up but it didn't include anything about Jucos or early entries/transfers coming in to plug holes. I know App, GaSo, SoAla and GaSt did a good bit of that that will impact the 2 deep, especially GaSt.

Just happy to see news about App and Belt football no matter what it is!!

[hapapp]

Lots to say but for now, there is little chance Arky St will beat us in Boone... they are too much of a finesse team. Assuming Lamb is healthy we will beat them by a minimum of 2 tds. And yes, we will win the conf. outright.

I'm sure they didn't think there was anyway that they would lose to us at home. AState, ULL, and Ga Southern will all be toss up games and one can't assume that someone else won't show great improvement from last season. We certainly will be a contender and some will surely pick us to win but there is way too much parity in this league to be so certain of victory against the top half of the league much less assume a conference championship.

[AppFan11]

Hey HappApp, hope all is going well. But don't be so conservative. All these prognostications are all based on being healthy particularly the key people. Again, I think this years version of the SunBelt will not balanced. It will be App, GaSo and Arky and everybody else. And really it comes down to us and GaSo like we always knew it would. The fact that GaSo does not play either ULL or Arky means they do play a somewhat easier schedule. And you can't rule out TxSt either. The ball will be in our court... playing all the key games at home. It sets up very well for the good guys.

[EastHallApp]

I think the tendency for a lot of us will be to have the mindset of just assuming we'll repeat the six wins we got last year, and we just need to try to get the other two. When of course the reality is that beating ULL, A-State et al. last year guarantees us nothing this year. I wouldn't necessarily say they overlooked us, but I'm confident they'll be placing extra emphasis on beating us this year. Nevermind that there's always a chance of stumbling against someone like Troy or ULM.

I don't really care if fans are overconfident. I just hope the players take the approach that the six-game win streak is history and we're 0-0 like everybody else now. And most importantly, have that chip on their shoulder that we're still the new guy who has to prove ourselves. Hopefully most of the preseason mags and polls will follow suit from that Scout article and pick someone else to win the league.

[TheAppalachianState]

Georgia Southern was ranked at #63?!..... Too high.

[asutrnr81]

I fear we may be setting expectations/hopes a little high. If we go to any bowl it would vastly exceed expectations for year two. Winning six games will not get us a bowl game based upon the locations of the SBC bowls, we are going to have to win a minimum of 8 games for a spot.

I agree, we have the cart waaayyy before the horse here. There is a load of potential with the 2015 App State squad but to think 11-1 is a likely finish is really optimistic. While the schedule is likely more favorable for us, I don't think teams will sell us short as they may have in 2014.

As I watched the first practice of the season on Saturday I stood there thinking back about the hope spring ball brings, improve on last year, turning point seasons, expectations, youth, injury, so many things....as i was thinking I thought about what it would be like to finish 5-7 or 6-6 with the "same" kids we had last year. Remembering that every school will be different. You have to like our chances after the finish we had and I know from years of working with kids that they surprise you sometimes. Some good, some bad.

We will not surprise any one, and my expectations are high! That said....this opportunity scares me because I do know kids well and have been around teams and athletics nearly all my life. I want to see how this team faces adversity and how they respond. While early season 2014 was awful, many of the "players" were just experiencing their first real action as coaches at a higher level and players at a higher level.

When the speed of the game slowed down both groups got better. But we have no catastrophic incidences in the last 6-7 weeks of the season.....

That being said.

I do not expect us to go 5-7 but injury and depth go hand in hand and I have seen stranger happenings.

I would not be surprised ( a little disappointed) to see us finish 6-6.

I kinda expect a 7-5 season

I would be ecstatic with anything north of 7-5

[AppFan11]

Got to do some work but when you analyze returning starters, qb's returning, where the games are played... absent of major injuries... and completely imploding... we will win 9 games or better. I haven't felt this good about where we are as a team since AFTER the 2006 season.

[Gonzo]

Got to do some work but when you analyze returning starters, qb's returning, where the games are played... absent of major injuries... and completely imploding... we will win 9 games or better. I haven't felt this good about where we are as a team since AFTER the 2006 season.

I share your optimism in some respects, but then I think about Liberty and SoMiss. Sure, we just needed a kicker, but it should never come down to a kick against such lowly opponents.

The sky is the limit this year, but I still have to be cautious about it. 3, 4, maybe 5 losses are entirely possible.

[AppGrad78]

Guys, the Sun Belt was remarkably bad last season. The conference has had some good years of late and it no doubt will again, but we shouldn't beat our chests over finishing third in a league that in 2014 posted a 12-34 record against non-conference opponents. To put that in perspective, if you threw out the Sun Belt's 1-17 record against power conference teams and the Sun Belt's 7-2 record against FCS teams, you're left with a 4-15 record against seemingly comparable competition. 4-15! Let that sink in a minute.

My point is, the chances of the Sun Belt stinking it up like that again this year are miniscule. No conference can be that bad two years in a row, right? In order for App to see the kind of success some on this board are predicting, we're going to have to play significantly better than we did in 2014.

[EastHallApp]

I think 8 or 9 wins is a good goal that's both realistic and also would be a great achievement in year 2.

A better season is possible, sure. But it would probably require a lot of breaks to go our way. Lots of teams can say that.

I could see 7-5 happening, especially if we stumble against ODU and/or Wyoming. It wouldn't be disastrous, but to me, you can't deny that it would be at least a little disappointing. Any time you have 20 starters returning, with 14 of them having been freshmen or sophomores, you should expect to improve your record over the previous year.

Anything worse than 7-5 would be a significant letdown no matter how you spin it.

[hapapp]

I think 8 or 9 wins is a good goal that's both realistic and also would be a great achievement in year 2.

A better season is possible, sure. But it would probably require a lot of breaks to go our way. Lots of teams can say that.

I could see 7-5 happening, especially if we stumble against ODU and/or Wyoming. It wouldn't be disastrous, but to me, you can't deny that it would be at least a little disappointing. Any time you have 20 starters returning, with 14 of them having been freshmen or sophomores, you should expect to improve your record over the previous year.

Anything worse than 7-5 would be a significant letdown no matter how you spin it.

I concur. Somewhere between 7 and 11 wins seems realistic to me. The games aren't played on paper and all it takes is a play here or there to change the outcome of a game. The difference between 7-5 and 9-3 could be two plays. I think we all are optimistic but no two seasons are alike and nothing can be taken for granted.

[bcoach]

To put things in perspective we placed 3rd in a conference where two FCS transitional teams placed in the top three. I would certainly hope we could win 8-9 games.