You make valid points, as do the others. Please recall that SU beat Miami several weeks ago, this team knows they can play with top level teams. Your point that playing 5 such top level teams cannot be glossed over, that is a gauntlet and likely one of the toughest in the country in 2025. However, you stated above that you only saw 3-5 wins, this seems low for a team that can and has won, punching above their weight. Yes, McCord took SU to 10-3. However, Dino had a .500 team the year before. Your prognostication of 3-5 wins seems a bit low. Assuming SU loses the 5 top level games, that still leaves 7 wins on the table, at worst, SU would go 5-2 in those 7 games and more likely 6-7 wins.
Nobody has SU running the tables (O.K., I have SU running the table to the NC, but I always do until August when I remove my Orange colored glasses) and we know HCFB has improved SU's talent and makes much better in-game adjustments. At the least this is a .500 team, realistically, SU will take 1-3 (could be 1-4 to 3-2, who knows) of the top teams, especially if the O and D lines improve.
Yes, QB remains a question, we lost a lot with McCord going pro. Yet, we are not going to zero. We have 2-3 good options and they will provide some level of performance. Most schools would be happy with QB competition. Also, we have good RB and WR corps. The OC has a talent for coaching the players he has to their best success. Is this perfect, no; is it doable, yes.
The Defense needs work, but we have a good young crew and HCFB knows D.
Thus, six wins is realistic and 9 wins is not out of the question. The most important think is to get a bowl, the extra practices and more exposure. Anyway, if you see regression to 3-5 wins, I believe that is your honest assessment, but don't beat down everyone who is more optimistic, it's way too early for serious predictions. Even my opinion of 6-9 wins is too early to be taken seriously, too many things can happen between now and September. Just my take.
