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Post by FIUFanatic on May 10, 2008 13:29:00 GMT -5
CBSsportsline.com just had its pre-season rankings for College Football, and it has our first opponent, Kansas as #7, and our New Stadium First opponent, USF as #19. Just some info for all of us to ponder.... www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10813944
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Post by posterchild on May 10, 2008 13:55:17 GMT -5
I think we can expect to see a much improved GP football squad this year, but against opponents such as the ones we have this year the early record might not show it. I think with a big win against Iowa and USF we can really set ourselves up to do some damage in the SBC. And yes I truly believe we could pull off a big win at Kinnick Stadium this year. Iowa will be just as bad if not worse than they were last year, and as long as our guys come to play they can pull it off. USF is the same, we can get them as long as we come to play and don't make mistakes, something tells me this could be a special year. There is a good amount of experience and talent on this team, and these guys just need to get a new attitude after a couple of dismal years.
I really think we can win @ Iowa, @ Toledo, and against USF to start the season 3-1. Call me crazy, and I know I'll get more than a few of those, but it could very well happen. However like i said, I wouldn't be suprised to see another tough start.
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Post by SouthPaw on May 10, 2008 21:13:52 GMT -5
I'm not calling you crazy, posterchild. We all know that FIU was MUCH better than our record 2 years ago (on the brink of pulling off some stunning upsets), and also better last year (despite being so young on offense and defense). Now we have a few veterans returning on the defensive side of the ball, and our offense should only be better. The key will be the play of the lines, as always. If our offensive line can protect and give our QB a few more seconds on each play and open a few more holes for our talented RB's, things will be much different.
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cj
Cougar
Posts: 137
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Post by cj on May 12, 2008 10:15:21 GMT -5
Poster child i love the enthusiasm .. i think we could go 2-2 at the begining of the year.. a 3 and 1 start would be fantastic.. but i think if we get out of the first 4 games at 2-2 its a sucess
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Post by posterchild on May 12, 2008 16:37:44 GMT -5
to go 2-2 would be good for this team, I really see us pushing for the SBC if we can get 2 OOC wins. It would improve the attitude of this team greatly.
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fiupike
Puma
SLEEPING GIANT AWAKES in 08
Posts: 281
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Post by fiupike on May 12, 2008 17:58:58 GMT -5
I really think the KEY to any success this year is the O-line and secondary. I was at Penn State and the Arkansas game. The defensive line of our opponents just BULL RUSHED our O-LINE and left the QB or RBs exposed behind the line of scrimmage....
The secondary was too small and slow. Ash Parker moved to safety the week of the PSU game and did a nice job for the most part, and Phillips came over from the track team in the summer - I saw our guys get RUN OVER by RBs and TEs that go about 210 - 245lbs...... At the D1A level your safeties need to be 6'2" and at least 215lbs....We were missing that last year.
ENTER : Weathersthingy and McDuffie back to the team, both are big bodies with speed and our O-LINE seems to have beefed and got quicker in the feet from what I saw during the spring. if you have 2 guys that fly around and HIT, this gives our team an added dimension that has been missing since the UM game of 2006...
If the O-line can move guys, rather than be moved and if our DBs can make some plays, I expect that we can be competitive at Iowa and Toledo. We need 2 more years before I'd bet on our guys against BCS teams.....
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Post by SouthPaw on May 12, 2008 19:44:46 GMT -5
fiupike,
Nice observations. Weathersthingy is a stud, and he's a leader. It's real nice to have him back. I think Jonas Murrell, if he comes back, can provide some good size and experience on the D-line as well.
The O-line has been our weakness since 2005 when Cernius and company graduated. The cupboard was bare when Coach C took over, and it takes time to build it back. Cedrick Mack was a nice addition, but I would have liked to seen at least one other experienced lineman or stud freshman join the mix. If we can build and sustain a good offensive line year after year, we can bring in the athletes that will devastate. We may be a year away, but I have a feeling that we're going to blow some teams up this year.
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Post by MaXx on May 12, 2008 20:04:21 GMT -5
I loved that O-line in the 05 season, it was outstanding. I remember that no one could get to the QB that season. With that much time in the pocket, it was unfortunate that our QB play wasn't better.
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