Time to hit the brakes

[Orijinal]

Just please beat Maryland. For some reason, that game scares me

 

[BomberOrange]

Personally I think the overall optimism and excitement were at much higher levels in the 90s. More specifically when we were ranked preseason #6 (with two first place votes) in 1993

1993 Preseason Football Polls | College Poll Archive

www.collegepollarchive.com

and then again in 1998. I think the average fan is now back and interested but are still not ready to buy in 100%. Here on this board we are not the average fan and the excitement level is sky high. But at work or out and about I keep hearing doubts and that last year was great but more of an aberration than a trend. But personally I am stoked and can’t wait!!

 

[Fat tire 13]

Pre-season expectations have not existed for so long, I have no benchmark on how we usually meet those expectations. I remember McNabb's Freshman year I wasn't expecting much and that was great. His senior year I was expecting a lot and felt that we underachieved.

What were the expectations for the Donnie Mac undefeated season? My memory is shot.

This year I can talk myself into 10 wins but I am thinking 8 which keeps us on an upward trend.

Agreed - back in the 1980s/1990s, you didn't have Internet chat rooms. Just local newspaper coverage and a handful of magazine preseason rankings. From what I remember, the expectations for the good 1990s teams (D-Nabb's senior year, some of the Marvin Graves teams) were higher. The Tennessee loss was especially heartbreaking because it seemed like we missed a real chance to contend for the title...

For this year, I do agree people might be "over their skis". But with this schedule, a couple lucky breaks gets us to a very formidable win total. No harm being over excited until something goes wrong. It feels good to think grandiose thoughts... and the preseason ranking feels very fair

 

[Atlcuse44]

My excitement is turning to more nervousness. There is still a little of that old SU football fan in me (based on past experience) that expects something bad to happen. An unexpected loss, Clemson takes us to the woodshed, etc... The longer Dino is here, the more that old pessimist fan dies away. Cautiously optimisitic.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Just please beat Maryland. For some reason, that game scares me

 

[Scooch]

The team should be level headed and only focus on the next opponent. Fans? Nahhhhhhh. Let’s be irrationally exuberant. The results will be what they are, let’s have some fun.

 

[All4SU]

I tried hitting the brakes. Then I gave up. Back to the accelerator!

 

[pacusewife]

This sounds like some puberty talk. “Now you’re going to have some new feelings that you probably haven’t experienced before...”

 

[RandomGuy]

This sounds like some puberty talk. “Now you’re going to have some new feelings that you probably haven’t experienced before...”

Lol. We all know what losing is like, and understand rational expectations. That being said...I'm going to focus on the positive.

Hold my beer.

 

[PAcuse]

 

[TheCusian]

I hear the OP. I do.

But here's the thing. Being a fan is the most fun when you have a real chance in every game you play. We had it last year and we have it this year. There will be stretches of awful football. There always is. But I trust this staff like a coach Mac staff.

I'm enjoying it all.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

For a long time every preseason I said going in that if we had the option to take a guaranteed six wins and a bowl appearance no questions asked, we should take that. Very rarely would that have been the wrong call.

I don't think 6-6 and a bowl is a good deal anymore.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I’ll be disappointed with every loss. If at the end of the season SU has at least 8 wins, I’ll be somewhat content. That being said, I want to see Cuse climb the polls and move from being a cute story into a team that is discussed annually and feared by its opponents.

 

[HyattsCuse]

This sounds like some puberty talk. “Now you’re going to have some new feelings that you probably haven’t experienced before...”

I literally LOL’d at this one. Thanks for the laugh!

Can’t wait for the season to start!

 

[Cuseregular]

This sounds like some puberty talk. “Now you’re going to have some new feelings that you probably haven’t experienced before...”

Ok now that you youngsters have been admonished......

Let's go get all the mothas!

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

Is there a certain way you feel about Mike Locksley?

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Is there a certain way you feel about Mike Locksley?

There is!

 

[TheCusian]

I’ll be disappointed with every loss. If at the end of the season SU has at least 8 wins, I’ll be somewhat content. That being said, I want to see Cuse climb the polls and move from being a cute story into a team that is discussed annually and feared by its opponents.

I want to see Wake, BC, and NC State start to assume that they'll lose to us. That will take some arse-kicking I think

 

[Trueblue25]

Back to back bowl wins is important. Build on success, be consistently good.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Back to back bowl wins is important. Build on success, be consistently good.

Bowl wins are nice, but I think they're easily forgotten by everybody but the fan base. Kyle Whittingham is 11-2 in bowl games, which is crazy. I don't think anybody really cares though or credits the Utah program much for that.

My thing is I think if we go wire to wire Top 25 this season, we won't look back for a long time.

 

[AAM62]

Sick thread brah

 

[Trueblue25]

Bowl wins are nice, but I think they're easily forgotten by everybody but the fan base. Kyle Whittingham is 11-2 in bowl games, which is crazy. I don't think anybody really cares though or credits the Utah program much for that.

My thing is I think if we go wire to wire Top 25 this season, we won't look back for a long time.

Agreed but its a nice recruiting tool for bowl locations like Florida, extra practices (I know this is a hot debate) and further consideration towards locking up another consecutive season ended in the top 25 and beginning next in the top 25. Pay outs as well.

 

[bnoro]

I absolutely love the confidence about this group that Dino has been speaking with this year. You can tell the difference from when he tried to manage expectations his first two seasons. Now he knows what he has and knows what he expects.

That in itself gives me a ton of confidence.

 

[kirbivore]

We're not used to these feelings and certainly haven't experienced the preseason excitement like this in a long, long time. Let's take it one game at a time and savor it.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Agreed but its a nice recruiting tool for bowl locations like Florida, extra practices (I know this is a hot debate) and further consideration towards locking up another consecutive season ended in the top 25 and beginning next in the top 25. Pay outs as well.

Yeah a lot of those benefits don't require a win though, yeah? More just being eligible to bowl.