Cautious Optimism

[Nebolsky]

I will be happy with 6-6 in the first season.. Wouldn't say im being to optimistic, just think SH dragged us to the bottom and all we can do is go up..

[wert_the_gwert]

Hopefully some lowered expectations (for the short future) will help everyone chill out next season. Personally, I think if USF is bowl eligible in '13 it will be a success.

You are correct. It would be huge. Even if people think the league will be watered down next year...we couldn't beat, say, a MAC team this year.

[outrunner]

5-6 wins would certainly be a step in the right direction. I said it in another thread, there are three must win games for next season, McNeese State, Florida Atlantic, and that school to the east. Gravy would be beating Miami and would go a long way to helping Willie with recruiting.

[Brad]

Hopefully some lowered expectations (for the short future) will help everyone chill out next season. Personally, I think if USF is bowl eligible in '13 it will be a success.

You are correct. It would be huge. Even if people think the league will be watered down next year...we couldn't beat, say, a MAC team this year.

I don't think people need to lower expectations. I think the sane have reasonable expectations like good preparation, good fundamentals, competitive spirit. That's easy to instill in first season. If they just battle, I'm happy.

[Hem]

Agreed, just making a bowl game would be huge. Hell it's sad but 5-7 would be an improvement over last year...ugh

[Bulls On Parade]

Its hard to get worse so thats a plus. With the right coaching and a few key players I think CWT can get the team back to pre holtz in a year or two..after that the sky is the limit.

Really excited about USF football again after two bad years.

[MikeG]

And remember, kids. We're playing in CUSA-II for the foreseeable future, so there should be some fair fights.

I think the success curve has a more gentle slope than some realize, especially given that all it takes is two -

yeah, as in BOTH, a couple - conference wins next season to DOUBLE last season's haul. It's gonna be interesting

to see how The Board reacts over time.

That being said, I too am cautiously optimistic that this was a good move for USF football.

to be fair though-- this season wasn't exactly insanely difficult with the exception of FSU and Louisville (maybe Rutgers)-- all games we were in pretty tight most of the way.

I honestly wonder if we could have won a lot of those close games this year with a different coaching staff. I'm not saying our team was awesome either-- just that those were some very winnable games that we choked away down the stretch (unless we didn't show up at all like Miami).

What sucks is that we are losing a ton of experienced players heading into next season-- we are truly behind the eight ball next season. Winning 4 games might be considered a minor miracle given the current state of the team based on what little we know about the guys stepping up next season (especially without a seasoned QB like BJ who salvaged our offense far more often than not).

[Who'sYourData?]

Most of those experienced players contributed to a dismal season. Those seniors laid and egg, and that isn't all on the coaches. I'm ready to see the next generation.

[MikeG]

Most of those experienced players contributed to a dismal season. Those seniors laid and egg, and that isn't all on the coaches. I'm ready to see the next generation.

we're talking about USF football, right?

it was all on the coaching staff-- ALL OF IT-- they are the ones making millions of dollars to get a team ready.

[E.T.]

I spent most of 2012 with low expectations! Hated it!!

I expect Coach T to win every game, INCLUDING Mich St !

Will I be screaming for his head for not making a bowl? NO ! But I will be deeply disappointed.