Three weeks in -- realistic expectations for this season

I think we are looking at a 10-2 type year. I don't see Auburn beating us. And I think we beat one or two of the other 3 big teams (Bama, UF, Arky).

8-4, 9-3 tops

I don't understand why anyone thinks Auburn is a good team . They weren't very good last year, lost several key starters, don't have especially good coaching, their passing game is only marginally better than ours, their ground game (outside their QB) is worse, their defense is much worse, and they've struggled mightily against the 2 mediocre-at-best teams they've played so far. I think Auburn is closer to the Vandy/State level than the UF/Bama level.

Nothing is impossible if our defense continues to play as well as we have seen. If we take one game at a time and focus we could see some remarkable things. Florida is not the same in the "PostTeblow" era. They are very beatable and I beleive we beat them. Alabama hinges mainly on our defense but we will have to play within our game and score on opportunities. You will not beat Tricky Nicky kicking field goals on your red zone trips. Beleive it or not, Arkansas scares the daylights out of me...Not because they are so good, but because for some reason they are tiger cryptonite...Their QB is dangerous and can score quickly...All that said, we better get our head wrapped around West Virginia and make sure we wrap up tackles because I suspect we see a lot of screens and short horizontal passing that could end up biting us. One game at a time. IF we go 5-0....It could get interesting...We could get our confidence and swagger on offense...Just drink beer and enjoy...Let it all play out on Saturdays...

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Looking at the ESPN Power Rankings, I noticed that they have four SEC teams ranked ahead of us. Of those four, we have to play three of them on the ROAD (UF, Aub, Arky). The other one just happens to be the #1 team in the country.

Brutal.

At this point I'm thinking 9-3 would be a good season, and 10-2 would be fantastic, given this schedule and our marginal offense.

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Too simplified to just look at rankings. Of those 4 teams ahead of us, none of them have played anyone worth a damn.

Clemson or Penn State are probably the toughest opponents any of our SEC foes have faced and that's not saying much.

UNC > Clemson. Probably even with their backup crew.

And Auburn struggled to put away a team we beat handily (albeit there is a home/road discrepancy).

It's really going to depend on how each team progresses. Bama has looked great, but hasn't really been challenged (and their defense between the 20s has been only so so).

Florida's offense looks messier than ours.

Auburn is a roller coaster. 10 minutes of dominance followed by 10 minutes of ineptitude. And we have more talent than them.

Arky still lacks a great D and as much as Mallett is hyped, he's very inconsistent.

All that to say, I can see those games going either way. I think a lot will come down to momentum. If we steal a win out in Gainesville that could be a huge swing in momentum that could propel us to a great season.

If we lose out there, it could be a death knell that sends us into a 4 loss season.