Wins (Over/Under)

[CbusCuse]

I agree, but a kick/punt doesn't have a chance if it gets blocked. Giving the kicker/punter enough time to get it off is a huge first step. Hopefully we get improvement from existing guys or new legs to kick better.

Agree that are biggest specials issues were regarding punt protection. I will say this unit improved a little as the season went on but still certainly was not too good. This should be improved with hopefully better coaching techniques and scheme with bringing in Ricky Brumfield. The punt blocking is obviously done with mostly Offensive Lineman which we are thin at as a group for 2025. Not including the true freshman, we don't have very large numbers here. And I do wonder if OL mobility is somewhat of a concern with the sheer size of OL recruits we are brining in. In regards to punt blocking, that seems like it could contribute to the issue as often it seemed like players were coming in untouched and we couldn't get a hand on them. Hoping the problem is mostly scheme issues though.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Agree that are biggest specials issues were regarding punt protection. I will say this unit improved a little as the season went on but still certainly was not too good. This should be improved with hopefully better coaching techniques and scheme with bringing in Ricky Brumfield. The punt blocking is obviously done with mostly Offensive Lineman which we are thin at as a group for 2025. Not including the true freshman, we don't have very large numbers here.

Really? We brought in a bunch of spring portal OL. I think the numbers there look really good.

 

[CbusCuse]

Really? We brought in a bunch of spring portal OL. I think the numbers there look really good.

We have 11 OL that are older than true freshman. I think that is a little low. We had 12 OL last year and I feel like we were a little light on numbers last year too but we thankfully didn't have all that many issues with injuries. I checked roster from 2023 as a gauge and we had 13 OL that were older than true freshman. And in 2024 we had 14 OL that were not true freshman. From OE's Potential Roster thread, this is what we have below for 2025. Note, we have added 5 OL from portal this year and lost 5 to the portal. And then we also had graduates in Washington, Bradford and Ilaoa. And then the injury to Petry is like another grad lost so 4 in total. 11 seems a tad light to me, especially considering we have 105 roster spots to work with. Now they did address it in the freshman class as we have 7 of those coming in. But I don't really count them as likely contributors for 2025, but some likely will need to be this season. Especially on specials.

Offensive Line (19)
57	Da'Metrius Weatherspoon	OL	R-Sr.
	Austin Collins	OL	R-Sr.	Louisville
	TJ Ferguson	OL	R-Sr.	FSU
78	Joe Cruz	OL	R-Jr.
	Zach Rice	OL	R-Jr.	UNC
73	Joshua Miller	OL	R-So.
75	Trevion Mack	OL	R-So.
60	Naquil Betrand	OL	R-So.	Alabama / Jan Enroll
68	Vito Shevchanko	OL	R-Fr.
76	Travis Brown-Miller	OL	R-Fr.
	Kam Pringle	OL	R-Fr.	South Carolina

 

[tep624]

I’m calling 8. And I’m definitely taking that over. Won on the over last year.

 

[CbusCuse]

We have 11 OL that are older than true freshman. I think that is a little low. We had 12 OL last year and I feel like we were a little light on numbers last year too but we thankfully didn't have all that many issues with injuries. I checked roster from 2023 as a gauge and we had 13 OL that were older than true freshman. And in 2024 we had 14 OL that were not true freshman. From OE's Potential Roster thread, this is what we have below for 2025. Note, we have added 5 OL from portal this year and lost 5 to the portal. And then we also had graduates in Washington, Bradford and Ilaoa. And then the injury to Petry is like another grad lost so 4 in total. 11 seems a tad light to me, especially considering we have 105 roster spots to work with. Now they did address it in the freshman class as we have 7 of those coming in. But I don't really count them as likely contributors for 2025, but some likely will need to be this season. Especially on specials.

Offensive Line (19)
57	Da'Metrius Weatherspoon	OL	R-Sr.
	Austin Collins	OL	R-Sr.	Louisville
	TJ Ferguson	OL	R-Sr.	FSU
78	Joe Cruz	OL	R-Jr.
	Zach Rice	OL	R-Jr.	UNC
73	Joshua Miller	OL	R-So.
75	Trevion Mack	OL	R-So.
60	Naquil Betrand	OL	R-So.	Alabama / Jan Enroll
68	Vito Shevchanko	OL	R-Fr.
76	Travis Brown-Miller	OL	R-Fr.
	Kam Pringle	OL	R-Fr.	South Carolina

I was curious for another non related SU reference point. I just checked Pitts roster from 2024 and 2023. They had 12 OL in 2024 and 14 OL in 2023 that were older than true freshman.

 

[Idiocuse22&]

All I know is that I will not touch the under unless its 13.

 

[FrancoPizza]

I'm assuming last year was a hilariously terrible historical outlier, and if nothing else we can count on regression to the mean.

Which in this case is the right direction.

Just give us competent special teams coaching and the rest will sort itself out. No excuses for embarrassing hires in year 2.

 

[GoSU96]

Just give us competent special teams coaching and the rest will sort itself out. No excuses for embarrassing hires in year 2.

what games were lost because of special teams last year?

 

[Dick_in_MI]

Just give us competent special teams coaching and the rest will sort itself out. No excuses for embarrassing hires in year 2.

We ranked 14th in the ACC last year on defense. That has to be improved going into this year.

 

[FrancoPizza]

what games were lost because of special teams last year?

4 of them if Kyle wasn’t there to bail them out.

That’s like saying an alcoholic can get behind the wheel because he hasn’t killed anyone yet.

 

[FrancoPizza]

We ranked 14th in the ACC last year on defense. That has to be improved going into this year.

Yes obviously that too. I expect we’ll see more of those 3 man rushes on 3rd and long.

 

[Orangefizz]

Agree that are biggest specials issues were regarding punt protection. I will say this unit improved a little as the season went on but still certainly was not too good. This should be improved with hopefully better coaching techniques and scheme with bringing in Ricky Brumfield. The punt blocking is obviously done with mostly Offensive Lineman which we are thin at as a group for 2025. Not including the true freshman, we don't have very large numbers here. And I do wonder if OL mobility is somewhat of a concern with the sheer size of OL recruits we are brining in. In regards to punt blocking, that seems like it could contribute to the issue as often it seemed like players were coming in untouched and we couldn't get a hand on them. Hoping the problem is mostly scheme issues though.

I like the portal additions, but I think special teams could be another disaster. The punt blocking schemes were not great, I wasn’t impressed with the field goal kicker this spring and who is long snapping?

 

[Offthedome]

This season is crucial for momentum in the eyes of the semi-casual or bah humbug fans. If we don't make a bowl, or if we start out 2 and 3, I'm afraid it will be "I've seen this movie before" and they stay away. Those that are really paying attention know that something different and much more powerful than in the past is going on within the program. Win 5 and lose 7 with those 7 losses being tight battles won't mean diddly to Joe Casual, while most of us on this board will see that a fairly young team is hanging tough, getting battle-tested, and setting us up for special 2026 and 2027 seasons.

 

[McNabb2Brominski]

The path to 6 is to hold serve at home

 

[OttoinGrotto]

what games were lost because of special teams last year?

This is a bad question, and you know better. Just because more games didn't end in Ls when the specials choked doesn't matter.

The best passing season in school history covers a lot of problems. The defense wasn't good and the special teams were awful. These things can be assessed independent of record.

I maintain that last season proved how impactful good to great offense actually is. But counting on that every season is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Cuse House]

8 or 9 wins. We will outperform expectations. The thing with schedules is you don't truly know how hard they are until part way through the season. Our schedule last year ended up being better than expected. Teams like Florida State ended up being far worse. I think there is a lot of young talent on our roster that will shine.

 

[hoopsupstate]

This is the disadvantage of difficult scheduling. The wheels can fall off pretty quickly. Pitt/BC/Duke/UNC/UConn/Ga Tech are all well coached teams. And we have to beat 5 of the 6 to get to a bowl.

This is why Tennessee is so important. If we punch them in the mouth and pull out a victory, suddenly we have room for a slip up in the aforementioned six games. Plus, if we are 3-0 heading into Clemson... now we are playing with house money in a game that will get lots of attention. If we even keep it close, we might move UP in the rankings at 3-1 going toe-to-toe with Clemson. Not to mention, the higher we are ranked, the better it is for Tennessee. Hmmmm... almost talking myself into the wisdom of scheduling a good SEC opponent to start the season. If we are going to have a tough OOC opponent, might as well be SEC.

If we lose to Tennessee, however, now we need to beat UConn just to get above .500. Losing to Clemson pulls us back to 2-2. And the whole season is a fight to not lose the winnable games.

People can’t just assume a win against UCONN. They won nine games last year and we struggled in our game with them last year.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I’m not optimistic. Some talent but young. Secondary is scary bad. I don’t see a path to six wins. We don’t win six games last year without McCord.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I’m not optimistic. Some talent but young. Secondary is scary bad. I don’t see a path to six wins. We don’t win six games last year without McCord.

How do you know that the secondary is “scary bad”? As you say, they’re young, so admittedly you don’t have much to go on at this point. Could they be bad? Maybe. Could they be good? Maybe. To quote the 80s Classic “ About Last Night”, “At this point, we don’t know.”

 

[sufan59]

How do you know that the secondary is “scary bad”? As you say, they’re young, so admittedly you don’t have much to go on at this point. Could they be bad? Maybe. Could they be good? Maybe. To quote the 80s Classic “ About Last Night”, “At this point, we don’t know.”

Defense also takes a lot more time to transform than an offense. We are moving from a 3-3-5 which is a prevent defense to an aggressive defense. The standard tackling form was also changed. A lot of the guys that were kept from the Dino era were amazing for us and needed, but ultimately were recruited originally to be prevent defenders. Undersized for what we are ultimately trying to become. But great leaders and important pieces we needed during the transition. Will it work? I don’t know. But while our defense is younger, I think we will be faster on the edges and larger in the trenches which may make Robinson defense look a lot better next season. Also the standard of tackling being in place for another offseason.

 

[sufan59]

People can’t just assume a win against UCONN. They won nine games last year and we struggled in our game with them last year.

This I agree with. We will be a lot more talented than UConn, but despite us completely dominating the total yards and time of possession last season it was a 1 touchdown game. Mora is a very good coach and his teams are pretty well disciplined. Our talent alone doesn’t beat UConn, we need to be as well coached and disciplined in our matchup with them. Which we were last season. We could’ve lost that game with a turnover or two.

 

[baggerbob]

This is a bad question, and you know better. Just because more games didn't end in Ls when the specials choked doesn't matter.

The best passing season in school history covers a lot of problems. The defense wasn't good and the special teams were awful. These things can be assessed independent of record.

I maintain that last season proved how impactful good to great offense actually is. But counting on that every season is a recipe for disaster.

From 2018 -2024, not counting 2020 we had the 4th best record Clemson was way ahead of everyone NCSt was at 590+ followed by Pitt and Syracuse.
Will give records and percentages when I get home.
That means in spite of QB injuries we were fairly good. GT was at the bottom.

 

[baggerbob]

From 2018 -2024, not counting 2020 we had the 4th best record Clemson was way ahead of everyone NCSt was at 590+ followed by Pitt and Syracuse.
Will give records and percentages when I get home.
That means in spite of QB injuries we were fairly good. GT was at the bottom.

Wining pct Clemson. 821, Ncst .592, Pitt .569, Syracuse. 565, Mia. 552, Duke .552. Lou. 551, WF. 545, FSt. 539, NC. 493,BC. 480,
VT. 473, VIR. 465, GT. 426.
Those are the actual winning Pct for everyone in our league for all their games every year since 2018. So everyone below us needs to get less money.
JW needs to let everyone know the facts, that's you Miami, FSt, VT, and Lou. Covid year
not included.

 

[hoopsupstate]

How do you know that the secondary is “scary bad”? As you say, they’re young, so admittedly you don’t have much to go on at this point. Could they be bad? Maybe. Could they be good? Maybe. To quote the 80s Classic “ About Last Night”, “At this point, we don’t know.”

Did you read the thoughts of the ACC coaches on their analysis of other teams? THEY said SU’s secondary is very poor.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Did you read the thoughts of the ACC coaches on their analysis of other teams? THEY said SU’s secondary is very poor.

No, I didn’t. Like I said in the post you responded to, we don’t know yet.