Needless to say my confidence has now been thoroughly and totally broken. Nevertheless, I'll give this year a shot:
- San Diego State: WIN - If the team is as bad as it was last year, then there'll be no such thing as a "safe" game this season. Michigan lost to App. State last year. Anything's possible. But I'd say the odds of us being that bad again this year are low. Our defense last year consistently made the same mistakes. Tenuta will correct those mistakes and I expect our defense to be our rock this season. The offense is another story. It's not humanly possible for it to get worse than last year (when it looked like my highschool's defense would have shut them down), so the only direction is up.
- Michigan: WIN - This one will probably be an ugly game. Michigan's offense will stutter, still trying to learn their new system. Tenuta's aggressive blitz package should match up extremely well here. If ND's offense sticks to the basics, it hopefully can put up a few points. I'm glad this one's at home.
- @ MSU: LOSS - To be honest, this one was a flip of the coin for me. I have no clue. MSU has their QB back as well as Javon Ringer back at running back. I suspect MSU will be much improved over last year, though they are only returning 6 starters on offense and 6 on defense. If our defense is reduced to guessing with its stunts and blitzes, we'll get burned.
- Purdue: LOSS - Another tough call. Purdue loses some key defensive talent, but reports are that they have some promising replacements. On offense, they return their top runner and they return Painter at QB. Even if our defense plays decently, I don't see our offense keeping up. Purdue is in the middle of a coaching transition, and its results will be interesting to see.
- Stanford: WIN - Hopefully this is one of those "safe" games that actually will be safe.
- @ UNC: WIN - Ditto. I've heard that UNC could be a surprise this year. I'll buy it when I see it.
- @ Washington: LOSS - I think Washington was better than their record last year, as they put up a fight in a handful of somewhat close losses. Their schedule this year is as imposing as it was last year. They have a new defensive coordinator and a new special teams coach, both of which were needed changes. So they'll be tough and they'll be playing emotionally, with all the press the game will be getting (Willingham versus ND, omg!). Because of that coverage, I really really really hope I'm wrong on this one.
- Pittsburgh: WIN - Pittsburgh returns a lot of starters (total of 15), but their schedule up to this point is kindof a joke. Besides that, I have no clue.
- @ Boston College: WIN - Matt Ryan is gone at QB. We gave them a good game last year. This year they'll be weaker and we'll be better.
- Navy @ Baltimore: WIN - So Navy is no longer an automatic call. Still I can't think they'd beat us two years in a row, especially with a new coach.
- Syracuse: WIN - See: Stanford and UNC.
- @ USC: LOSS - Well miracles are possible I suppose. But I don't count on them. Even if ND is much better than I could imagine this year, they'll still be facing a stacked USC team on the road. Signs point to a blowout.
...
So that's 8 wins and 4 losses. Level of confidence: very low.
Labels: Predictions
