I believe that 2016 will determine Claey's fate in Dinkytown.
TC is currently on a 3 year contract. We all know that's not enough for recruiting purposes. During/after this season either Tracy will get extended or get canned. If he gets extended he will probably have a couple years leeway.
This may be Claey's 1st full year as HC, but this is year 6 of the Kill regime. We will never again have a schedule where we miss both Michigan schools and league overlord Ohio State. Mitch is a 5th year senior, 4th year player, and 3rd year starter. He appears to finally be healthy (knocks on wood).
Also, last year we LITERALLY led the country in injuries. This year should regress towards the mean which means we should be better and deeper this season.
We will never have a better chance to win the division. If Tracy is going to succeed here, I think he needs to go a minimum of 9-3. Honestly, I won't feel good with 8 wins against this schedule.
Oregon State is in year 2 of a tough rebuild. They will be better than last year but we're in year 6 and they are in year 2 of a rebuild. We should be more talented and deeper than them. The other 2 OOC games are near locks/must wins.
The BTN guys repeatedly called Maryland the 'least talented team in the Big 10' last year, and they have a new coach. Rutgers is a mess and also has a new coach--plus it's our Homecoming so the crowd should be good. The Darrell Hazell experiment at Purdue has been an unmitigated disaster, as they have somehow gotten worse each year. Illinois has some talent but they are in year 1 of a rebuild and Lovie is a D first guy, he isn't known for explosive offensive play.
Bottom line: Those are 7 games we have absolutely no business losing. I will be surprised and disappointed if we drop any of those games.
Penn State is breaking in a new OC, new DC, new QB, new OLine coach, and they lost 3 DLs to the NFL draft. Oh, and their OLine has been total garbage for years. Sure, they have really nice skill players, but IMO we are ahead of where they are in program development and in the trenches. Also, we get them in the first month of the year so they will probably still be working out the kinks of their new offense & new coaches. The only reason this could be a loss is cause they recruit good talent and it's in Happy Valley. Nonetheless, we oughta beat them.
Iowa is a toss-up as we get them at home. Our shorthanded squad was arguably one called holding penalty away from beating Iowa at Kinnick. This year we get them at home and I think it's a 50/50 game. By now we could be 4-0 and be building some momentum. Plus we've already had our bye week to help work out the kinks of our new coaches.
At Nebraska is always tough, but last year's game was an aberration. We've played them toe to toe each year and have won 2 of the past 4, including one in Lincoln. This is another toss-up.
Home against Northwestern: I know they pummeled us last year, but our offense has grown a lot since that early season fiasco, plus we hopefully won't have a triage unit this year. We almost always play tight games with them, and I'm putting this as a toss-up leaning win. They have a great D and a good RB, but I'm not at all convinced that their QB is any good. He certainly isn't as good or experienced as Mitch.
at Wisconsin: Look, I know they beat us up last year but we were down to our 5th, 6th, and 7th DTs. The 2 years before that we played them tight 'til the end. One of these years things have to swing our way. I've got this as a toss-up leaning loss.
So, in my view, we have 7 games we should absolutely win, 2 games that are true toss-ups, 2 toss-ups leaning win and 1 toss-up leaning loss.
Even if we lose one of the 7 'should wins', we oughta be able to go 3-2 in the other 5.
I think we need to win 9, but if we can stay relatively healthy, I truly believe we can win 10 games and have a real shot to win in Indy.
TC is currently on a 3 year contract. We all know that's not enough for recruiting purposes. During/after this season either Tracy will get extended or get canned. If he gets extended he will probably have a couple years leeway.
This may be Claey's 1st full year as HC, but this is year 6 of the Kill regime. We will never again have a schedule where we miss both Michigan schools and league overlord Ohio State. Mitch is a 5th year senior, 4th year player, and 3rd year starter. He appears to finally be healthy (knocks on wood).
Also, last year we LITERALLY led the country in injuries. This year should regress towards the mean which means we should be better and deeper this season.
We will never have a better chance to win the division. If Tracy is going to succeed here, I think he needs to go a minimum of 9-3. Honestly, I won't feel good with 8 wins against this schedule.
Oregon State is in year 2 of a tough rebuild. They will be better than last year but we're in year 6 and they are in year 2 of a rebuild. We should be more talented and deeper than them. The other 2 OOC games are near locks/must wins.
The BTN guys repeatedly called Maryland the 'least talented team in the Big 10' last year, and they have a new coach. Rutgers is a mess and also has a new coach--plus it's our Homecoming so the crowd should be good. The Darrell Hazell experiment at Purdue has been an unmitigated disaster, as they have somehow gotten worse each year. Illinois has some talent but they are in year 1 of a rebuild and Lovie is a D first guy, he isn't known for explosive offensive play.
Bottom line: Those are 7 games we have absolutely no business losing. I will be surprised and disappointed if we drop any of those games.
Penn State is breaking in a new OC, new DC, new QB, new OLine coach, and they lost 3 DLs to the NFL draft. Oh, and their OLine has been total garbage for years. Sure, they have really nice skill players, but IMO we are ahead of where they are in program development and in the trenches. Also, we get them in the first month of the year so they will probably still be working out the kinks of their new offense & new coaches. The only reason this could be a loss is cause they recruit good talent and it's in Happy Valley. Nonetheless, we oughta beat them.
Iowa is a toss-up as we get them at home. Our shorthanded squad was arguably one called holding penalty away from beating Iowa at Kinnick. This year we get them at home and I think it's a 50/50 game. By now we could be 4-0 and be building some momentum. Plus we've already had our bye week to help work out the kinks of our new coaches.
At Nebraska is always tough, but last year's game was an aberration. We've played them toe to toe each year and have won 2 of the past 4, including one in Lincoln. This is another toss-up.
Home against Northwestern: I know they pummeled us last year, but our offense has grown a lot since that early season fiasco, plus we hopefully won't have a triage unit this year. We almost always play tight games with them, and I'm putting this as a toss-up leaning win. They have a great D and a good RB, but I'm not at all convinced that their QB is any good. He certainly isn't as good or experienced as Mitch.
at Wisconsin: Look, I know they beat us up last year but we were down to our 5th, 6th, and 7th DTs. The 2 years before that we played them tight 'til the end. One of these years things have to swing our way. I've got this as a toss-up leaning loss.
So, in my view, we have 7 games we should absolutely win, 2 games that are true toss-ups, 2 toss-ups leaning win and 1 toss-up leaning loss.
Even if we lose one of the 7 'should wins', we oughta be able to go 3-2 in the other 5.
I think we need to win 9, but if we can stay relatively healthy, I truly believe we can win 10 games and have a real shot to win in Indy.
