How improved will SU be next season?

[Garrett_TD23]

Assuming the team survives the curb stomping Minnesota will do on them (Entertaining threads BTW)

Going through the games this year, it looked like a tough schedule. Probably a little better than the 6-6 record indicates and if I'm not mistaken, SU had something like 8 consecutive quarters with a defensive shutout.

Going through the Rivals database for all the ACC teams, SU was one of of the few with last year's depth chart. I recall SU had a lot of attrition, a new coach and a tougher conference schedule, I am kinda surprised SU did as good as they did. So, how optimistic do you feel about next year, which key players are returning, who is leaving?

 

[SBro44]

There are a lot of people on this board that can give you more detailed information but going into this season... in a nut shell we lost:
-3 year starter at QB, Ryan Nassib (who was a mid round pick by the giants)
-Head Coach Doug Marrone to Buffalo Bills
-Star offensive tackle Justin Pugh, who went Pro early and was a 1st round pick

In addition to that , as you know, were entering the ACC (much better conference) and as you may not know had pretty damn good non-conference schedule.

6-6 was a great showing for us.

I am pessimistic by nature, and even I think we should improve by at least 1 game-- more like 2 next year.

We lose our D- tackle Bromley, and middle linebacker Spruill to graduation. Maybe another impact player or two will go Pro early.

But overall we are looking much better for next year.

Looking forward to seeing famous Jameis in person next year!

 

[FAL]

Assuming the team survives the curb stomping Minnesota will do on them
Way to go! Great way to start a thread.


I am kinda surprised SU did as good as they did. So, how optimistic do you feel about next year
Very


which key players are returning
All of them


who is leaving?
The ones who will no longer be playing


Anything else?... You're welcome.

 

[strumpfasaurus]

7 or 8 wins. The only thing that sucks is every year we basically have to slot 2 losses because of Clemson and FSU. I think we could potentially pull an upset of Clemson in the next few years but not FSU.

 

[SUFan44]

Here's one man's opinion of our schedule breakdown.

Non-conference:
8/30 vs. Villanova, OPEN, 9/13 at Central Michigan, 9/20 vs. Maryland, 9/27 vs. Notre Dame (Met Life)

I think it's definitely an easier non-conference schedule than this past year (Penn State = Notre Dame more or less, Maryland at home much easier than Northwestern on the road, then Villanova/CMU are should-wins and are comparable to Tulane/Wagner). I'd say 3-1 is very realistic with a chance at 4-0 (ND is not a Top 5-talent team - we should, at the very least, make a game of it).

Conference
Home: Duke, Florida State, Louisville, N.C. State,
Away: Boston College, Clemson, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest

Home schedule rundown: NC State at home is a should-win, but could be tricky if healthy, was tough to tell how much talent they had given the # of injuries; Florida State at home is most likely a loss. The other two are a toss up, IMO. If Bridgewater leaves I'd consider us as a favorite over Louisville at home, but not by much. Duke was a surprise team this year, but had a favorable schedule and will regress to the norm next season, IMO. Need at least two wins, most likely three. FSU is a long shot w/ Winston.

Away schedule rundown: BC w/o Williams and Wake Forest are games we should be in. Same for Pitt. Clemson w/o Boyd, how will they be? What's their QB situation? Pitt loses McDonald, who nearly single-handedly beat us last year. I would say 3 very winnable games, Clemson is an unknown without those two dynamic guys, but most likely a loss given Death Valley is a very difficult place to play. Possibly 3-1, realistically probably 2-2, worst case 1-3.

The only games I really can't see us winning next year are FSU and Clemson. ND might be tough also, but the others are very beatable and we will have a relatively veteran group on offense and defense (minus some of the WRs, which is fine).

I could really see us winning 9 games next year with the schedule we have, if everyone stays healthy and our younger guys continue to improve. I would be very happy with 8 wins. 7 wins with that schedule might be considered a disappointment (might be).

 

[TheCusian]

I think it will be a lot like this year in conference - except we beat Pitt. I see us battling BC for the 3rd best in the division.

Out of conference is where we should do much better. ND is a winnable game, as is Maryland.

I'd think we're on track for 2-3 more wins (8-4 or 9-3).

 

[anomander]

Anything less then 8 will be disappointing. Need to have a strong 2014 in a build up for our 2015 coming out party

 

[djorange1989]

8-4. FSU and Clemson are too much to ask for right now. ND isn't impossible by any means, but I think we will drop that one. That leaves one other loss, I will go with BC.

 

[Crusty]

We will be much, much better next year. Our QB play will improve and we look to have a far better corps of receivers and interesting TEs. I actually think you will be surprised by our OC who does indeed have a plan and I think we will start to see it next year. We will be stacked at RB and the line will be good to very good depending on whether or not Hickey returns.

The D will be different with the strength being more evenly distributed. Our secondary could be considerably better. Our line plan will IMO be just fine. We keep finding LBers so I will be interested to see what happens in spring camp.

This team improved a great deal from the opening game when we took 20 minutes to get a play in. Imagine how much better it could be after 15 extra practices and spring and summer camps. Out kids will be excited and afraid of nothing next year. They will be blooded troops in the ACC.

I think 8-9 wins is not an unreasonable expectation.
Go Orange!

 

[Franz69]

I think the key to next season is right up the middle, as we lose a lot of strength there:

QB-Does Hunt take the next step or is he beaten out by one of the redshirt freshmen? Some young talent at WR could help.

C-Does Emerich do a serviceable job replacing Macky?

DT-Bromley goes and not a lot of depth. Is Wayne Williams the answer?

MLB-Does Luke and/or Hodge and/or Lynch do a serviceable job replacing Spruill?

Added to the list. LT-If Hickey leaves, are Knapp and Lasker up to the task?

If our depth shows up next year, I think 7 wins is realistic.

 

[Garrett_TD23]

I'll share with you what I know:

Duke will be as good as this year as they will be next. They will be loaded with upperclassmen and the 3 freshmen I saw in their defensive backfield during the ACCCG will be more than adequate replacements for the star CB that graduate. I think they have the best shot to win the Coastal next year, they still won't have to play FSU or Clemson in the regular season.

Clemson's new starting QB will probably be rsSR Cole Stoudt. I don't expect him to be as good as Boyd and likely star WR Sammy Watkins will enter the draft. Clemson will still be loaded at the receiver position and the system they play in will of course produce points. They will return a lot of starters on defense as well.

I think Boston College takes a step back. They will need to replace QB Chase Rettig, WR Alex Amidon and of course Andre Williams. Will also be breaking in 2 new starting LBers and 2 on the D-line. Their coach Steve Addazio was a former OL coach for the Florida Gators and is one of the best in the business, I think he fits well with BC's traditional smash mouth approach on offense and O-line development. They'll be a pain in the butt in the long run.

NC State can't be any worse than they were this year, but may only be marginally better next. They will have former Florida QB Jacoby Brissett who will be an upgrade to the 2 guys that were splitting time that they just had. They had a good D-line until injuries thinned them out a bit, this unit should be above average and the strength of their D.

Wake Forest will not have Michael Campanero or Nikita Whitlock, bout the only 2 guys they had worth a damn. They have not done a terrible job recruiting the last few years, so maybe their new HC Dave Clawson can get them turned around sooner than later, personally I think it will take a few years for them to get back to respectability.

This was supposed to be FSU's rebuilding year, I thought they would drop 2 games; to Clemson and some random blunder along the way. I never imagined a team with a new starting QB and more than half the staff replaced would recover so quickly. I'm expecting 3-4 guys to enter the NFL early, hopefully no more. Should be the 3-peat favorites to win the ACC and hopefully in contention to be a repeat national champions.

You guys know Louisville better than I. They did not look all that impressive this year even though they have 11 wins. They'll be good I am sure of even if Teddy goes off to the NFL as expected. I'm thinking they and SU will be playing for 3rd in the Atlantic division.

If you twist my arm for a 2014 preseason power ranking it would look something like this:

1 FSU
2 Clem
3 Duke
4 Miami
5 Louisville

This would be my 1st tier teams that I think will be a constant feature in the top 25. Miami could be top 15 depending how well Ryan Williams performs as their new QB. Duke Johnson is also key depending if he returns and if he comes back fully recovered.

6 VT
7 GT
8 SU
9 UNC

The 2nd tier will be a jumbled mess. Every year GT looks unstoppable on offense through the first 4 games, then they look human the rest of the way. I've learned to give VT the benefit of the doubt, they'll lose a bunch of starters on defense, but Bud Foster is probably the best DC in the business, he'll have them ready. UNC will be very good on offense next season, if they have even an average D they may even win the Coastal.

10 Pitt
11 UVA
12 NCSU
13 BC

If UVA is able to hang on to their 2 5-star recruits, they should be able to contribute right away. The problem with this team is that their current QB David Watford sucks. I don't know why they try to air it out so much when they have a solid running game. I lack confidence in the coaching staff to get the job done, at best they barely get bowl eligible. I think Paul Chryst is a good coach, but losing Aaron Donald will be a huge blow to that defense. 2 more years they ought to be a formidable 2nd tier team.

14 Wake

Probably the only team that will flat out suck.


Overall, I think the ACC will be improved from this year. The addition of Louisville and Duke taking their game to the next level provides a lot of depth to the conference. Other than Wake, I don't think anyone is going to be flat out embarrassing.

 

[anomander]

I'll share with you what I know:

Duke will be as good as this year as they will be next. They will be loaded with upperclassmen and the 3 freshmen I saw in their defensive backfield during the ACCCG will be more than adequate replacements for the star CB that graduate. I think they have the best shot to win the Coastal next year, they still won't have to play FSU or Clemson in the regular season.

Clemson's new starting QB will probably be rsSR Cole Stoudt. I don't expect him to be as good as Boyd and likely star WR Sammy Watkins will enter the draft. Clemson will still be loaded at the receiver position and the system they play in will of course produce points. They will return a lot of starters on defense as well.

I think Boston College takes a step back. They will need to replace QB Chase Rettig, WR Alex Amidon and of course Andre Williams. Will also be breaking in 2 new starting LBers and 2 on the D-line. Their coach Steve Addazio was a former OL coach for the Florida Gators and is one of the best in the business, I think he fits well with BC's traditional smash mouth approach on offense and O-line development. They'll be a pain in the butt in the long run.

NC State can't be any worse than they were this year, but may only be marginally better next. They will have former Florida QB Jacoby Brissett who will be an upgrade to the 2 guys that were splitting time that they just had. They had a good D-line until injuries thinned them out a bit, this unit should be above average and the strength of their D.

Wake Forest will not have Michael Campanero or Nikita Whitlock, bout the only 2 guys they had worth a damn. They have not done a terrible job recruiting the last few years, so maybe their new HC Dave Clawson can get them turned around sooner than later, personally I think it will take a few years for them to get back to respectability.

This was supposed to be FSU's rebuilding year, I thought they would drop 2 games; to Clemson and some random blunder along the way. I never imagined a team with a new starting QB and more than half the staff replaced would recover so quickly. I'm expecting 3-4 guys to enter the NFL early, hopefully no more. Should be the 3-peat favorites to win the ACC and hopefully in contention to be a repeat national champions.

You guys know Louisville better than I. They did not look all that impressive this year even though they have 11 wins. They'll be good I am sure of even if Teddy goes off to the NFL as expected. I'm thinking they and SU will be playing for 3rd in the Atlantic division.

If you twist my arm for a 2014 preseason power ranking it would look something like this:

1 FSU
2 Clem
3 Duke
4 Miami
5 Louisville

This would be my 1st tier teams that I think will be a constant feature in the top 25. Miami could be top 15 depending how well Ryan Williams performs as their new QB. Duke Johnson is also key depending if he returns and if he comes back fully recovered.

6 VT
7 GT
8 SU
9 UNC

The 2nd tier will be a jumbled mess. Every year GT looks unstoppable on offense through the first 4 games, then they look human the rest of the way. I've learned to give VT the benefit of the doubt, they'll lose a bunch of starters on defense, but Bud Foster is probably the best DC in the business, he'll have them ready. UNC will be very good on offense next season, if they have even an average D they may even win the Coastal.

10 Pitt
11 UVA
12 NCSU
13 BC

If UVA is able to hang on to their 2 5-star recruits, they should be able to contribute right away. The problem with this team is that their current QB David Watford sucks. I don't know why they try to air it out so much when they have a solid running game. I lack confidence in the coaching staff to get the job done, at best they barely get bowl eligible. I think Paul Chryst is a good coach, but losing Aaron Donald will be a huge blow to that defense. 2 more years they ought to be a formidable 2nd tier team.

14 Wake

Probably the only team that will flat out suck.


Overall, I think the ACC will be improved from this year. The addition of Louisville and Duke taking their game to the next level provides a lot of depth to the conference. Other than Wake, I don't think anyone is going to be flat out embarrassing.

Addazzio was an OL coach at Cuse before UF. He was pi$$ed Marrone got the job instead of him back in 08.

I think you have UL a bit over rated, especially if Bridgewater goes pro.

I think Clemson will take a step back, especially if they end up losing Chad Morris. You have to figure he will be a hot commodity.

Either way the ACC is headed in the right direction. FSU is setting up to be dominant for a while, Clemson should continue to recruit at an elite level, and Golden will have Miami as a consistent top 15. Throw in VT and Lousivlle as 2 other top 25 programs, with the emergence of a Duke, Syracuse, GT, and the ACC will be set up for the future rather nicely

 

[BlazeOrange]

I'll share with you what I know:

Clemson's new starting QB will probably be rsSR Cole Stoudt. I don't expect him to be as good as Boyd and likely star WR Sammy Watkins will enter the draft. Clemson will still be loaded at the receiver position and the system they play in will of course produce points. They will return a lot of starters on defense as well.

Wasn't he Trey Fairchild's high school QB?

 

[CanadianSU]

9 wins

 

[IHeartSUFball]

Top to bottom we prob have the most talent we've had in many years at Cuse. I'm very optimistic about getting to 8 wins int he regular season next year. Is Nova game def 8/30? And I hope we don't have a bye week 2.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Wasn't he Trey Fairchild's high school QB?

Cliff's kid?

 

[sutomcat]

Wasn't he Trey Fairchild's high school QB?

Yup, and Cliff Stout's son too.

 

[SWC75]

Predicting wins is tricky but I think we'll be better. I now feel that Terrel Hunt could become a good quarterback for us: I wasn't sure most of the season but he looked like the game was making sense to him in the last couple of games and I suspect that he'll have a big game in the Texas bowl. Our receiving corps should get a big upgrade: more of Esteem, Cornelius and Funderburke and some of the even younger recruits. We'll have as good a group of running backs as anybody. We'll see what happens with the O-line. We lose Bromley but I like the looks of our young DE's, Johnson and Thompson. We'll still have Davis and Lunch in the linebacking corps and Eskridge, Reddish and Morgan in the backfield. (What is Whigham's future?). We will either have Krautman back or Norton will develop into a good kicker. I love Dixon as the punter. I want Esteem returning kicks.

I get the impression that each recruiting class is at least a little better than the last. When we replace a veteran player with a younger guy he often seems to better than the guy he replaced. That's encouraging. Schwartzwalder's breakthrough year was his 8th, McPherson's his 7th. 2014 will be the 6th year of the Marrone/Shafer era. I think we are about on schedule for another big breakthrough in a couple of years. Then I think we will be on a level similar to Clemson, Louisville and Virginia Tech. I think by that time Miami will be "back" the Florida State is and those tow teams will be the dominate teams in the conference. But we will be as good as anyone else and if the "Big Two" both have an off year, who knows what could happen?

 

[CbusCuse]

Wasn't he Trey Fairchild's high school QB?

Nope. That was his younger brother Zach Stoudt, both of whom played for my HS alma mater. Zach was with Louisville then transfered to Ole Miss. He started some at Ole Miss but got a back injury and ultimately health issues resulted in him calling it quits.

Edit: meant older brother

 

[storange]

9-3

 

[SBro44]

I'll share with you what I know:

Duke will be as good as this year as they will be next. They will be loaded with upperclassmen and the 3 freshmen I saw in their defensive backfield during the ACCCG will be more than adequate replacements for the star CB that graduate. I think they have the best shot to win the Coastal next year, they still won't have to play FSU or Clemson in the regular season.

Clemson's new starting QB will probably be rsSR Cole Stoudt. I don't expect him to be as good as Boyd and likely star WR Sammy Watkins will enter the draft. Clemson will still be loaded at the receiver position and the system they play in will of course produce points. They will return a lot of starters on defense as well.

I think Boston College takes a step back. They will need to replace QB Chase Rettig, WR Alex Amidon and of course Andre Williams. Will also be breaking in 2 new starting LBers and 2 on the D-line. Their coach Steve Addazio was a former OL coach for the Florida Gators and is one of the best in the business, I think he fits well with BC's traditional smash mouth approach on offense and O-line development. They'll be a pain in the butt in the long run.

NC State can't be any worse than they were this year, but may only be marginally better next. They will have former Florida QB Jacoby Brissett who will be an upgrade to the 2 guys that were splitting time that they just had. They had a good D-line until injuries thinned them out a bit, this unit should be above average and the strength of their D.

Wake Forest will not have Michael Campanero or Nikita Whitlock, bout the only 2 guys they had worth a damn. They have not done a terrible job recruiting the last few years, so maybe their new HC Dave Clawson can get them turned around sooner than later, personally I think it will take a few years for them to get back to respectability.

This was supposed to be FSU's rebuilding year, I thought they would drop 2 games; to Clemson and some random blunder along the way. I never imagined a team with a new starting QB and more than half the staff replaced would recover so quickly. I'm expecting 3-4 guys to enter the NFL early, hopefully no more. Should be the 3-peat favorites to win the ACC and hopefully in contention to be a repeat national champions.

You guys know Louisville better than I. They did not look all that impressive this year even though they have 11 wins. They'll be good I am sure of even if Teddy goes off to the NFL as expected. I'm thinking they and SU will be playing for 3rd in the Atlantic division.

If you twist my arm for a 2014 preseason power ranking it would look something like this:

1 FSU
2 Clem
3 Duke
4 Miami
5 Louisville

This would be my 1st tier teams that I think will be a constant feature in the top 25. Miami could be top 15 depending how well Ryan Williams performs as their new QB. Duke Johnson is also key depending if he returns and if he comes back fully recovered.

6 VT
7 GT
8 SU
9 UNC

The 2nd tier will be a jumbled mess. Every year GT looks unstoppable on offense through the first 4 games, then they look human the rest of the way. I've learned to give VT the benefit of the doubt, they'll lose a bunch of starters on defense, but Bud Foster is probably the best DC in the business, he'll have them ready. UNC will be very good on offense next season, if they have even an average D they may even win the Coastal.

10 Pitt
11 UVA
12 NCSU
13 BC

If UVA is able to hang on to their 2 5-star recruits, they should be able to contribute right away. The problem with this team is that their current QB David Watford sucks. I don't know why they try to air it out so much when they have a solid running game. I lack confidence in the coaching staff to get the job done, at best they barely get bowl eligible. I think Paul Chryst is a good coach, but losing Aaron Donald will be a huge blow to that defense. 2 more years they ought to be a formidable 2nd tier team.

14 Wake

Probably the only team that will flat out suck.


Overall, I think the ACC will be improved from this year. The addition of Louisville and Duke taking their game to the next level provides a lot of depth to the conference. Other than Wake, I don't think anyone is going to be flat out embarrassing.

I think Louisville will stuggle big time-- their recent success is largely due to great timing. They came into the big east when it was a shadow of it's former self and made a name for themselves beating up average (at best) teams.

With Teddy gone, I think they will go .500. Other than that I think your post was very fair... but as we know in college football anything can happen

 

[SWC75]

I think Louisville will stuggle big time-- their recent success is largely due to great timing. They came into the big east when it was a shadow of it's former self and made a name for themselves beating up average (at best) teams.

With Teddy gone, I think they will go .500. Other than that I think your post was very fair... but as we know in college football anything can happen

Charley Strong is a good coach and they are in a good recruiting area: SEC country plus Ohio and Western Pennsylvania in the neighborhood. And Strong's background is in Florida. I see them on the Clemson- Virginia Tech level in the ACC but short of the Florida State-Miami level.

 

[SUFan44]

Charley Strong is a good coach and they are in a good recruiting area: SEC country plus Ohio and Western Pennsylvania in the neighborhood. And Strong's background is in Florida. I see them on the Clemson- Virginia Tech level in the ACC but short of the Florida State-Miami level.

We whooped them last season at home - and they will likely be losing their starting QB.

They played absolutely nobody this year.

Wouldn't put them near the Clemson level.

 

[SBro44]

Charley Strong is a good coach and they are in a good recruiting area: SEC country plus Ohio and Western Pennsylvania in the neighborhood. And Strong's background is in Florida. I see them on the Clemson- Virginia Tech level in the ACC but short of the Florida State-Miami level.

I know they have had a lot of success with the recruiting sites. I'm basing my opinion off what I have seen on the field. At the end of the FSU and Clemson games this year, I walked away saying to myself "Damn, that team was good."

I don't have the same feeling with Louisville.. I may be a little bias because of our recent success against them, and also I watched the UCF game this year (their only loss)

 

[All4SU]

I think the key to next season is right up the middle, as we lose a lot of strength there:

QB-Does Hunt take the next step or is he beaten out by one of the redshirt freshmen? Some young talent at WR could help.

C-Does Emerich do a serviceable job replacing Macky?

DT-Bromley goes and not a lot of depth. Is Wayne Williams the answer?

MLB-Does Luke and/or Hodge and/or Lynch do a serviceable job replacing Spruill?

Added to the list. LT-If Hickey leaves, are Knapp and Lasker up to the task?

If our depth shows up next year, I think 7 wins is realistic.

This seems right to me, except I would realistically expect 8 wins. But as you say, the middle is the key. Mackey, Bromley, Spruill. I expect the QB and WRs to be much improved. RB will be awesome. TE will be improved/solidified. DB will be good. It's going to come down to line play for SU. If we can hold serve there, SU will do well. If our DLine cannot adjust for the losses, our linebackers will be vulnerable.