Week 0 & Week 1 Thread

[Dawg83]

Guys, we’ve almost made it. Less than a week until real college football. Less than two weeks until all of our favorite teams are playing. Off-season is nearly over so let’s shift the discussion here.

 

The big Week 0 game is Florida State (-11.5) vs Georgia Tech in Ireland. I like Georgia Tech to cover here and possibly win. They’ve got a potent offense returning a lot of guys while FSU is breaking in new faces, including DJ U at QB.

 

The big games of Week 1:

 

Georgia (-14) vs Clemson - I like UGA to cover

 

Penn State (-10) at West Virginia - WVU covers but Penn State wins

 

Miami (-2.5) at Florida - whoever loses this is on the heat seat early…. I lean slightly toward UF winning at home

 

Notre Dame at Texas A&M (-2.5) - Aggies win at home

USC vs LSU (-6) - LSU wins and covers

 

Most interesting game in-state is USM at Kentucky (-25.5) - that seems high for a Kentucky game, I’ll take USM to cover but Kentucky wins something like 31-14.

 

State and Ole Miss both get FCS openers. OM’s game is probably the less interesting one since you kinda know what you’re getting with them. State could really use a big offensive showing to build excitement in the fan base. I’d like to see 60+ points on the board. I don’t know if we will or not, but to me that should be the goal.

 

Final record predictions for all three teams:

 

Ole Miss - 10-2 (borderline playoff team)

State - 6-6 (they win all four nonconference and get two SEC wins at home to go bowling)

USM: 6-6 (Will Hall gets back to a bowl game and keeps his job at least one more year)

Edited August 18, 2024 by Dawg83

[pancho]

I pretty much agree with you on everything. Ole Miss will probably lose 2 but I'm just not sure both MSU and USM can find 6 wins.  

[Dawg83]

8 hours ago, pancho said:

I pretty much agree with you on everything. Ole Miss will probably lose 2 but I'm just not sure both MSU and USM can find 6 wins.  

You’ll know quick on State depending on how those first four games go.

 

The concern with USM is they need to win several 50/50 games, but a ton of those are at home. I am curious to see Rodemaker (the Florida State transfer) at QB.

[pancho]

State obviously must win the first 3 and then look competent vs Florida whether they win or lose. Upsetting the gators would be epic and there is a possibility that the gators could be 1-2 by that game.  At USM, I doubt the OL can protect well enough for Rodemaker to stay upright a full season.

[maroontide06]

1 hour ago, pancho said:

State obviously must win the first 3 and then look competent vs Florida whether they win or lose. Upsetting the gators would be epic and there is a possibility that the gators could be 1-2 by that game.  At USM, I doubt the OL can protect well enough for Rodemaker to stay upright a full season.

I think if you can get to the 6 win regular season mark under Lebby by beating all of the non-conference teams and getting 2 wins from Florida and Arkansas, you can't feel bad about the coaching staff or direction of the program.  I'm certainly not saying it will happen, but if he pulls off a surprise win somewhere along the way that would definitely put State ahead of schedule and let folks know that Lebby is the real deal.  I think you would see the enthusiasm of the Mississippi State fanbase expand 10 fold if he pulls off an unexpected win.  There's just a lot of unknowns with this Mississippi State football team and hopefully we will have some of those unknowns answered by the time we get to the Florida game.

[Dawg83]

1 hour ago, maroontide06 said:

I think if you can get to the 6 win regular season mark under Lebby by beating all of the non-conference teams and getting 2 wins from Florida and Arkansas, you can't feel bad about the coaching staff or direction of the program.  I'm certainly not saying it will happen, but if he pulls off a surprise win somewhere along the way that would definitely put State ahead of schedule and let folks know that Lebby is the real deal.  I think you would see the enthusiasm of the Mississippi State fanbase expand 10 fold if he pulls off an unexpected win.  There's just a lot of unknowns with this Mississippi State football team and hopefully we will have some of those unknowns answered by the time we get to the Florida game.

Beating anybody other than those six will likely require somebody in the schedule underachieving this year.

[Bulldogs4]

All that we have right now is hype. Predictions galore and the expectations of a number of teams is exceedingly high. Why? Well of course the proverbial apple is not as far out of reach this year. But as you guys have suggested, the results on the field will tell the tale. Assuming wins can humble a team in a three hour span on any given Saturday. 
In the conference this season, we (IMHO) are going to see more unexpected wins/losses than we have in a while. With the turnover of talent, some of these teams are not going to jell. Bama, A&M, State have new coaches. If some of these teams experience a couple of upset losses or just plain disappointing competitive losses, are they going to throw in the towel (if it is apparent they will not make the playoff)? I do think teams like Georgia & Ole Miss are in better shape as they have a strong nucleus of players that have already been on the roster. 
Overall , it should make for a fun roller coaster type season that throws us more than its share of surprises. 

[pancho]

UGA, Tex, bama, ole miss should be the best 4. then mizzou, UT, oklahoma and A&M should be the next 4 . can LSU crack the top 8? how good will florida, south carolina and auburn actually be? Uk, state, arkansas and vandy should be in the final group of 4

[maroontide06]

State will probably be an underdog against Florida, but that's a game State should feel good about winning.  Whether they do it or not is a whole different story.

[pancho]

assuming state is 3-0 at that point, a win to go 4-0 would be monstrous for Lebby and crew. I'm still expecting Kiffin to only lose to UGA in the regular season

[Dawg83]

8 hours ago, maroontide06 said:

State will probably be an underdog against Florida, but that's a game State should feel good about winning.  Whether they do it or not is a whole different story.

I said 6-6 but I actually have State losing that Florida game. Just a sneaky suspicion. Maybe I’m just convinced they can’t win in the dumb polka dot jerseys they announced for that game.

 

I said 6-6 but I feel like it’s never the most obvious or direct path… I think State loses to UF but pulls a surprise and upsets either A&M or Mizzou in Starkville. I lean toward Mizzou, as I’m not sold on them being the playoff contender that their preseason number 11 ranking suggests.

[s1nglewing]

Everyone on this side of the Mississippi River seems to be counting Arizona State as a win for MSU.  It's going to be, in all likelihood, a close game... and it's in Tempe. 

[maroontide06]

8 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

I said 6-6 but I actually have State losing that Florida game. Just a sneaky suspicion. Maybe I’m just convinced they can’t win in the dumb polka dot jerseys they announced for that game.

 

I said 6-6 but I feel like it’s never the most obvious or direct path… I think State loses to UF but pulls a surprise and upsets either A&M or Mizzou in Starkville. I lean toward Mizzou, as I’m not sold on them being the playoff contender that their preseason number 11 ranking suggests.

I forgot about the dumb polka dot jerseys and clef tate helmets.  Don't get me started on uniforms LOL.

[Dawg83]

9 hours ago, s1nglewing said:

Everyone on this side of the Mississippi River seems to be counting Arizona State as a win for MSU.  It's going to be, in all likelihood, a close game... and it's in Tempe. 

I don’t think it’s a given but I do think State should win. ASU was a mess last year and still very much in rebuild mode from all indications. To me this feels very similar to State’s trip to Arizona in 2022 or K-State in 2018. Those were better State teams than this one likely will be, but I think it’s another not very good P5 opponent.

 

I do think the game is crucial to State’s season, though. Really need to get 3 or 4 wins early and build some momentum and excitement.

[MSUBulldog]

On 8/19/2024 at 9:36 AM, maroontide06 said:

I think if you can get to the 6 win regular season mark under Lebby by beating all of the non-conference teams and getting 2 wins from Florida and Arkansas, you can't feel bad about the coaching staff or direction of the program.  I'm certainly not saying it will happen, but if he pulls off a surprise win somewhere along the way that would definitely put State ahead of schedule and let folks know that Lebby is the real deal.  I think you would see the enthusiasm of the Mississippi State fanbase expand 10 fold if he pulls off an unexpected win.  There's just a lot of unknowns with this Mississippi State football team and hopefully we will have some of those unknowns answered by the time we get to the Florida game.

Had Lebby taken over directly following the passing of coach Leach then I don't think Miss St. misses a beat. Last season our QB1 Rogers went from 610 and 680 plus passing attempts under Leach as a freshman and sophomore before being limited to roughly 260ish passing attempts under Arnett which led to Rogers transferring to Washington after shattering SEC records. One smart move that Lebby made in the portal was to sign a senior QB and senior center in both Shapin and Ethan Minor. Having seniors calling signals on offense from the center and QB position is going to give Lebby a bit of an undiscussed edge in implementing a new offense year 1 vs most coaches who haven't necessarily traditionally held that advantage when taking over a program year one. This advantage is one that's developed due to the advent of the portal era of collegiate football. 

Edited August 22, 2024 by MSUBulldog

[MSTSatchmo]

21 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

.

 

I do think the game is crucial to State’s season, though. Really need to get 3 or 4 wins early and build some momentum and excitement.

It’s huge.  If they don’t get that one, you’re looking at a 3/4 win season.  

[MSUBulldog]

I absolutely agree that Miss St. can't and won't take ASU lightly in the 2nd game of the season but a lot of people who are chalking that game up to a loss for Miss St. pre-season should realize that Sundevils coach Kenny Dillingham is only in his 2nd season and is coming off a 3-9 campaign a year ago so I surmise there's hope yet for Miss St. 

[pancho]

Lebby does have hope but I honestly feel that he is leagues ahead of jomo and arnett as far as understanding what it takes to perform on this level.

[Dawg83]

1 hour ago, pancho said:

Lebby does have hope but I honestly feel that he is leagues ahead of jomo and arnett as far as understanding what it takes to perform on this level.

Arnett had no vision for an offense. Too much of a DC’s mentality at this stage of his career.

 

Moorhead’s style did not translate to the SEC….. but he’s also 4-20 as Akron’s head coach so I’m not sure what that says about him but it ain’t good (I realize Akron is one of the worst programs in FBS, but still).

Edited August 23, 2024 by Dawg83

[Dawg83]

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Edited August 24, 2024 by Dawg83

[Doresrules]

Should be a fun season 

[Bulldogs4]

Well Georgia Tech may not be a push over for Ole Miss. 

Did not take long for the season to turn upside down. 
This is going to be the norm for this year. 

[s1nglewing]

FSU certainly laid an egg.

[NoWammies]

1 hour ago, Bulldogs4 said:

Well Georgia Tech may not be a push over for Ole Miss. 

Did not take long for the season to turn upside down. 
This is going to be the norm for this year. 

Ole Miss doesn’t play Georgia Tech. They play Wake Forest this year.

[Bulldogs4]

Oops

my bad, my brain cells failed to touch when I typed that..:)