What are your expectations for the Bulls this season?

[Bull2k]

I'm expecting better process, the results might not show it this year. But if USF applies more discipline, better coaching and more varied playcalling then we should start to catch up in the Big East soon enough.

[The Great 8]

...maybe I am asking TOO MUCH.

Get your boy a 6th year...lol

[snarling Bull]

I have no optimism for this year. We will have so many new players on defense. That will hurt badly. Unless Hayes has an Andre Hall breakthrough quickly, our offense won't be much better. I hope for better situational play calling, but bj daniels strength was his running last year. I don't expect him to all of a sudden turn into what Brian Brohm was. All other areas of the offense is completely unproven.

Right now the only wins you can safely feel confident about are stoneybrook, Fau and WKU. Nothing else s guaranteed. Maybe we get lucky and win 2 more, but I see 5 wins as a stretch this year. Too many unknowns and too many new players.

+1

[windbane]

I have no optimism for this year. We will have so many new players on defense. That will hurt badly. Unless Hayes has an Andre Hall breakthrough quickly, our offense won't be much better. I hope for better situational play calling, but BJ's strength was his running last year. I don't expect him to all of a sudden turn into what Brian Brohm was. All other areas of the offense is completely unproven.

Right now the only wins you can safely feel confident about are stoneybrook, Fau and WKU. Nothing else s guaranteed. Maybe we get lucky and win 2 more, but I see 5 wins as a stretch this year. Too many unknowns and too many new players.

Wow, where to begin...

Give me a position other than FS (Nate Allen) and LE (JPP) that we will decline at this season on defense.  I think both CBs, SS, all 3 LBs, RE, DT, and NT will all be better than last season.  Selvie had a disappointing year, Kion had a decent season but Barrington is more talented, Murphy had a bad year, J Williams should be better than C-Rob, and 5 starters return from last year.

On offense, we return every single OL except Hermann, who missed 5 games last year.  The coaching should be better at that position.  That's the foundation of any offense.  We lost Ford, but Plancher is underrated, Taylor (who hopefully returns) was our best RB in 2008, Murray is coming on, and you mentioned Hayes that could be good.  We don't need an Andre Hall to get better because we have a QB now and we didn't have Andre Hall last season.

BJ Daniels should be better this season, and we have a lot of talent at WR despite not having Love for half the season it would seem.  We lost Mitchell, Hester, and maybe Love, but Griffin, Lamar/Hopkins/Hornes, and Bogan can make up for those guys considering we will need fewer WRs now.  We will be using FBs and TEs.

With all that said, you think it's a stretch to say we'll beat 2 out of Syracuse, Rutgers, UL, WVU, UConn, Cincy, and Pitt?  We should beat at least 3 of those.  We beat WVU last year, lost to UConn on a last second FG, beat Syracuse, and beat UL.  We have a new coach, but so does Syracuse, UL, and Cincy.  Our last road game out of the state of FL is @UL on November 13th.  Before that, Oct. 22nd, so we shouldn't have to worry about cold.

[The Great 8]

windbane, you're underrating Kion Wilson. Barrington isn't going to waltz in and immediately be better than Wilson. The LB corps overall should be better though, mostly as a function of losing C-Rob finally. The DE's may be even better because as you noted, Selvie was pretty mediocre last year, I think Bedford/Marshall can muster more sacks than he did last year.

We're losing some key guys though, namely our middle linebacker (Wilson) and our centerfielder safety (Allen) as well as our top 2 receivers (Mitchell/Love) it won't be easy to supplement those guys overnight like we're required to do.

[crambone]

If we make 7-5 and a bowl (and hopefully a bowl win!), I would be extremely pleased with this season.

[DERBY]

I'm expecting a 6-6 record, maybe 7-5 if we're lucky.  I'll be totally okay with that if one of those wins is from Rutgers or Miami. 

The only way I'll be really bummed is if we don't get a bowl game at all, it would be nice to keep our record of consecutive bowl games going.

[usfgrad84]

Do we have better athletes at some positions?  Yes, but. Athletcism does not make up for experience at this level. If, Barrington can step up, if Bedford and Marshall can step up, if our receivers step up. BJ's success was as a runner not as a passer. Going back to defense you may have better athletes, but they still need to learn to be in the right place at the right time. Don't underestimate the loss of a guy like Allen in the defensive backfield. He always had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. You don't replace that kind of football smarts easily.

Too many ifs, too many unkowns and too many young, players to comfortably predict more than 4 or 5 wins this year.

[dabull80]

Do we have better athletes at some positions?  Yes, but. Athletcism does not make up for experience at this level. If, Barrington can step up, if Bedford and Marshall can step up, if our receivers step up. bj daniels success was as a runner not as a passer. Going back to defense you may have better athletes, but they still need to learn to be in the right place at the right time. Don't underestimate the loss of a guy like Allen in the defensive backfield. He always had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. You don't replace that kind of football smarts easily.

Too many ifs, too many unkowns and too many young, players to comfortably predict more than 4 or 5 wins this year.

WOW - you saying you only see one win after Stoney Brook,FAU and WK ?  Come on - the team didn't fall off a cliff.  I still think you should expect above  500.  I mean one or two wins in the other nine games ?  They would have to be awfull for that to happen.  How strong do really think the BE is ?

[usfgrad84]

What two teams do you see as sure wins?  Syracuse will be better. UL will be better. I don't see us being unproven all around. If you take BJ's running out of the mix who are your PROVEN playmakers on offense?  Nate Allen, Kion Wilson were the playmakers on defense last year. Who are your PROVEN playmakers on defense? 

Who are you counting on beating in the BE?  I think we win 1 maybe 2 more games, but I don't see who you point to as an easy win this year.