So, what is a successful season?

[JeremyCuse]

We’re beating NC State

We’re winning out

And then you and I are flying to LA for the National Championship

Man those edibles I gave you must have really been potent, dame.

 

[JRHEETER]

Man those edibles I gave you must have really been potent, dame.

The delusion of a newborn

 

[TheCusian]

Just making a bowl is thinking too small. This is a very good team. The level of the qb’s performance is unbelievable. Best rb in the conference. A core six group of receivers that are all playing career best, one elevating to all conference level. A veteran ol that is capable of more than they have appeared to do to this point, but has graded highly on pff and football outsiders run blocking. Still need to do better in pass pro.

defense, best pair of corners in the conference, excellent lb’s, very good additions to the secondary. The dl scraps and makes disruptive plays. Great tackling team. You don’t get to be 12 on total defense and 9th in scoring defense just because you whipped an fcs school. Those numbers are not flukes.

specials, AS has been great, the KO guy is kicking them deep, and punter is an asset.

these guys have played better than I expected, I’m talking about how they have played not the record, and I was expecting no worse than 4-1 at this point record wise.

the level of coaching in all three phases is the best collectively as it has been in a long time.

yep the schedule is hard but nine wins means going .500 the rest of the way. They can do that.

You know I’m not one to think negatively. I just want to secure a bowl before setting my orange colored expectations too high.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Maybe amongst the fanbase, I doubt inside the locker room.

But yeah -- let's get win #6 against NC State, and end all doubt. People were saying some of those same things about the 2018 team, and then they met and outshot that minimum threshold. Hoping the same holds true in 2022.

Oh I don't doubt that the locker room probably isn't thinking that but with the upcoming schedule it's not hard to see how 5-0 can turn into 5-3 pretty easily. SU's track record under Babers in the last quarter of the season save for 2018 has been honestly abysmal. I think this team is better then Pitt and BC and should be able to play with FSU but it's best to lock up that sixth win next Saturday.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I think all those are mostly fair except for Notre Dame. I see that game as a 50/50 coin flip at home.

Hard to get much of a feel for ND. If they can beat BYU tomorrow they will be 5-2 against SU as the next two games are Stanford and UNLV. I am interested to see how they look tomorrow against BYU.

 

[TheCusian]

To be clear, I like the spot we’re in. We’ll be competitive with every team on our schedule - that’s freaking great compared to the last couple of years.

The chance of winning any game any given week is good, the chance of winning every game is low.

But it will be fun

 

[TheCusian]

Hard to get much of a feel for ND. If they can beat BYU tomorrow they will be 5-2 against SU as the next two games are Stanford and UNLV. I am interested to see how they look tomorrow against BYU.

Stanford can beat them.

 

[JRHEETER]

Hard to get much of a feel for ND. If they can beat BYU tomorrow they will be 5-2 against SU as the next two games are Stanford and UNLV. I am interested to see how they look tomorrow against BYU.

Yeah but they also lost to Marshall soooo not sure anything is a lock win this year for ND

 

[JeremyCuse]

Stanford can beat them.

Stanford is really bad, I would be shocked if ND lost that game.

 

[storange]

I think all those are mostly fair except for Notre Dame. I see that game as a 50/50 coin flip at home.

ND is wrong, Pitt is not last years Pitt , that’s wrong. NCST I put at 55 %. IMO

 

[PhatOrange]

Maybe but what will our DL look like by then. In the 4th quarter of the UVA game after the injury to our best DT UVA finally started to attack on the ground and started to gash us. Run D is going to be a major major issue moving forward.

Which is why we need the offense to start humming. Lets just outscore people.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Stanford is really bad, I would be shocked if ND lost that game.

Cal is pretty bad and they almost took out ND.

ND has looked pathetic on O in all but one game. I don't think they fixed things they just played a team that was awful on D.

 

[SUDadx2]

To those who have changed their expectations based on our 5-0 start, are you also adjusting those expectations based on the injuries the team has sustained?

Thompson; his loss will be felt during the upcoming stretch of very physical games.

Elmore; can’t deny his loss affecting our run game production.

Lockett; losing a starter at a position that is already challenged is a big hit. NC St, Clemson, ND and Pitt all have quality offensive lines.

And the numerous non-season ending injuries that we have sustained; Carter, McDonald, C. Simmons and on and on.


I thought we would win five games, but I didn’t not expect to be 5-0. I hoped we would win 6 and get to a bowl. Based on our start and what I’ve seen of some teams at the end of our schedule I now hope for 6 or 7 wins. One win at a time.

What is a successful season? To this point, I think our season has been a success.

- Top 25 rating
- Balanced offense
- Quality defensive play.
- Vastly improved special teams play.

Expectations, hopes and dreams. I expect we win 6 and get to a bowl game. I hope we win more and avoid a pre-XMas bowl game. And, I dream of this team playing in the Holiday Bowl.

IMO, the program is headed in the right direction. The challenge is to keep it moving in that direction.

 

[storange]

Which is why we need the offense to start humming. Lets just outscore people.

We had the turnovers and the offense was stalling in the second half of UVA. I think that UVA drive where they ran it down are throats was fatigue. At least it was a factor .

 

[PhatOrange]

We had the turnovers and the offense was stalling in the second half of UVA. I think that UVA drive where they ran it down are throats was fatigue. At least it was a factor .

If we can score points (+33) teams won’t be able to run as much….and we shouldn’t face another QB as good as that Purdue kid. We’re going to see some good defenses though.

(I don’t like how much FSU is being discounted. They’ve looked pretty good to me.)

 

[richmondcuse03]

Get to 6 wins

Get to 9 wins

Cross our fingers that Bronco Mendenhall’s name isn’t associated with any P5 openings

Even then, I assume Anae goes and Beck takes over. I dont think he / his wife were moving for a one year gig. He's well situated here. They seem to be really enjoying the community too. There's something to be said for stability in coaching when most rarely get it. The Beck's seem to appreciate it and are good people. We want them to stay.

 

[JeremyCuse]

If we can score points (+33) teams won’t be able to run as much….and we shouldn’t face another QB as good as that Purdue kid. We’re going to see some good defenses though.

(I don’t like how much FSU is being discounted. They’ve looked pretty to me.)

No one should be discounting FSU in the slightest. SU's track record against even the Bad FSU's team is really bad, we have 1 win against them since we joined the conference. I'll pencil that in as a W when its on the scoreboard.

 

[MSOrange]

I said I wanted a bowl game and I'd be happy and I won't move the goalposts now. Maybe slightly disappointing if we all we do is the bare minimum to achieve that, but the back end of the schedule was always going to be the hardest. But I am much more optimistic than I expected to be at this point.

 

[Louie and Bouie]

CFP or bust.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

For me, right from the start my definition of a successful year this season has been 7-5 or better. Given the past few seasons and Dino's overall tenure, a bowl alone would not have been sufficient. Not for me, at least. These days, you can get a bowl with a .500 record and in fact, if you are a P5 team you WILL get a bowl with a .500 record. I wanted more than that in order to be successful. I wanted a winning record.

That has not changed. I might be disappointed going 2-5 the rest of the way but I won't move the goal posts either. Now, to be sure, if we win two more in squeaker-fashion and get blown out in the other five, then it would get us to 7-5 but it wouldn't be satisfying. Even so, you can't discount the first five wins so it would still be successful for me.

All that aside, I think we will do better than 7-5 but how much better is anybody's guess. We have some obvious leaks in the dam that have to be plugged, and further injuries could be...bad. I'm enjoying the season and won't worry about that stuff, though. It took me three days after the Purdue game for my ears to stop ringing from the Dome and that is actually a good thing. Not from a medical standpoint of course, but from a fan standpoint.

I am just enjoying the ride. At some point, Bronco might get a new gig and make some phone calls to the 315, or somebody might throw some $$$ at White, or who knows what else. Just living for today and happy with this edition of the Orange. At the end of the day, isn't being happy the definition of a successful season? Let's keep it going.

 

[djorange1989]

No one should be discounting FSU in the slightest. SU's track record against even the Bad FSU's team is really bad, we have 1 win against them since we joined the conference. I'll pencil that in as a W when its on the scoreboard.

yes, and they can really run the ball, very balanced offensively. I don't worry about the 1 win thing, our track record against everyone in the Atlantic minus BC and Wake has been crap since we joined the league, since most of our teams have been crap. this team is not crap, not at all.

 

[FloridaFan]

9-3

 

[PhatOrange]

No one should be discounting FSU in the slightest. SU's track record against even the Bad FSU's team is really bad, we have 1 win against them since we joined the conference. I'll pencil that in as a W when its on the scoreboard.

Me to

 

[Giants1973]

Me to

9-3. Plus a bowl win 10-3

 

[IthacaMatt]

Any more major injuries aside; 9-3 is worst case to me. I really believe in this team.

I think 2-1 with the remaining home slate should be expected. Get the job done vs BC and split Pitt/Wake. I think Clemson is beatable but I see that one ending up like the 2018 heart breaker and they just always find a way to win at home it seems.

I don't think we're beating Clemson.

But NC State and Florida State are both looking pretty beatable right now. Not saying we're going to beat both, but at home, either one is possible.

Wake is getting better. Two or three weeks ago, I would have liked our chances better. I think we can score on them, though.

ND, I feel like we can beat them. New coach. They already look beatable, and very human. No mystique at work here. The fans will be mental.

BC we should win. Pitt is not playing that great, but it's on the road. Tough game.

With 4 remaining road games, we have to win BC and 1 more.

Of our 3 remaining home games, all 3 are hard but winnable. I'm not sure that we can "count" on more than 1 win, though.

BC, NC State or Florida State, Pitt or Wake = 8 wins.

ND is gravy, could get us to 9 wins.