I think we have a chance to see a 7.5pt per game swing on offense AND defense in the 2024 season.
So to put this into an array of objective terms, early December we were looking at perhaps 1-win (ONE!) against SC State or whatever the FCS opponent is called.
Virginia Tech would have been 17.5pt favorites and probably win something like 35-10. Who knows where the 10pts would have come from. No Hayball would be an extraordinary reality check as at least the opponents offenses would have to drive the length of the field.
Georgia State. They would be 7.5pt favorites. Score would probably be something like 31-20.
SMU would have been 22pt favorites and the score would have been 48-17.
There is no SEC game that would have been in doubt at halftime. Multi-TD deficits at halftime of every SEC game. Walter Taylor at QB. Joey Lynch in the press box scanning the field with a birds eye view.
Fast forward to January and we could conceivably now be only 10.5pt dogs to VT and favored by 3.5pts against Georgia State. And yes we replace SMU with Ball St so much better chance at a W as say 14pt favorites.
We have a real deal offensive coaching staff with a CPOY QB that reunites with his HC and OC. He knows the system and excelled in the system. Perhaps he’s as good as JR or ACS? We have a rich man’s Mike Wright as the backup and some pretty highly regarded new QB recruits to run the scout teams. Our best player Hayball…we have a real punter to replace him. Could be the 2nd or 3rd best punter of the Vanderbilt 2000s. We have a S+C coach that has to be better than our last one. We have a new OL coach with loads of OC experience and has to be better than our last one.
If Clark can focus on defense and be the DC that if Brian Kelly had stayed at ND would have been hired away from ND as the DC at any top P5 school, say Michigan, USC, Texas, Alabama or Georgia….well we SHOULD see a major improvement over Howell’s defense right away right? Secondary picked up a couple of pieces. LBs starters could be pretty good especially if Collie emerges. DL has a few players. Can a “significant improvement” from the DC level coaching but with truly only 5-6 SEC caliber defenders (Patterson, Fontenette, Cowan, Taylor, James, Hight) give us a chance to hold opponents to under say 28pts per game? We were something like 450yds(!) and 36pts last season with Howell. We really need to be in the 350yds and 27pt range to have any chance.
So to put this into an array of objective terms, early December we were looking at perhaps 1-win (ONE!) against SC State or whatever the FCS opponent is called.
Virginia Tech would have been 17.5pt favorites and probably win something like 35-10. Who knows where the 10pts would have come from. No Hayball would be an extraordinary reality check as at least the opponents offenses would have to drive the length of the field.
Georgia State. They would be 7.5pt favorites. Score would probably be something like 31-20.
SMU would have been 22pt favorites and the score would have been 48-17.
There is no SEC game that would have been in doubt at halftime. Multi-TD deficits at halftime of every SEC game. Walter Taylor at QB. Joey Lynch in the press box scanning the field with a birds eye view.
Fast forward to January and we could conceivably now be only 10.5pt dogs to VT and favored by 3.5pts against Georgia State. And yes we replace SMU with Ball St so much better chance at a W as say 14pt favorites.
We have a real deal offensive coaching staff with a CPOY QB that reunites with his HC and OC. He knows the system and excelled in the system. Perhaps he’s as good as JR or ACS? We have a rich man’s Mike Wright as the backup and some pretty highly regarded new QB recruits to run the scout teams. Our best player Hayball…we have a real punter to replace him. Could be the 2nd or 3rd best punter of the Vanderbilt 2000s. We have a S+C coach that has to be better than our last one. We have a new OL coach with loads of OC experience and has to be better than our last one.
If Clark can focus on defense and be the DC that if Brian Kelly had stayed at ND would have been hired away from ND as the DC at any top P5 school, say Michigan, USC, Texas, Alabama or Georgia….well we SHOULD see a major improvement over Howell’s defense right away right? Secondary picked up a couple of pieces. LBs starters could be pretty good especially if Collie emerges. DL has a few players. Can a “significant improvement” from the DC level coaching but with truly only 5-6 SEC caliber defenders (Patterson, Fontenette, Cowan, Taylor, James, Hight) give us a chance to hold opponents to under say 28pts per game? We were something like 450yds(!) and 36pts last season with Howell. We really need to be in the 350yds and 27pt range to have any chance.
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