Opponent preview article on the Fox Sports Radio-Knoxville page with their prediction for our game.

http://sportsradioknoxville.com/2016-vo ... ian-state/

Tyler Lamb????? You would think they could at least get our QBs name correct.

They must be expecting quite an improvement in their defense under the new DC. Last year they gave up 21 points a game and just over 30 in their first 2 games (BGSU 30 and OU 31). They held 4 teams to less than 13 last year with one being our former "JUG" rival (10pts) and another from the depths of CUSA (NT - 0). For those that didn't read the write-up, he predicted:

UTK: 38
App: 13

They can think what they want to think, but the truth will be on record around 10:45 pm on September 1, 2016. Well win lose or draw I will be an Appalachian State fan until my last breath.

38-13 seems fair based on how we've performed against P5 teams since 2008.

So what does our 2008-2013 teams really have anything to do with the expectation for our current team????

You can add 2014 and 2015 to that. If one looks at our recent past there is nothing that says it should be a close game. That's not to say we don't break that trend but only blind faith at this point says going into Knoxville we stay within 2 TDs. I do think we are capable of making it a competitive game. I even think it conceivable we win the game. But, recent history can't be the guide.

AtlantaMountaineer wrote:Tyler Lamb????? You would think they could at least get our QBs name correct.

The writer must have corrected it because I just read the article and it was spelled Taylor.

That score will be correct because of several factors. One, history . Two, game plan will not enable players. Three, WR's have not shown we can get off the db's so our game will be reduced to running against a good defense....the best chance we have is if we have zero turnovers and our run game is unstoppable.

The makeup of our wide receivers have changed a little bit since last season.

bigCasu wrote:The makeup of our wide receivers have changed a little bit since last season.

For sure. The good news is that the group we have is faster. The bad news is, these same guys were on the roster last year and couldn't beat out the veterans.

EastHallApp wrote:

bigCasu wrote:The makeup of our wide receivers have changed a little bit since last season.

For sure. The good news is that the group we have is faster. The bad news is, these same guys were on the roster last year and couldn't beat out the veterans.

That or they redshirted.

Let's face it, the biggest question mark we have entering the season is at the wide receiver position. They may turn out to be the most talented group we have ever had. But, we won't know anything until they actually have to perform under game conditions.

I'd say overall, the 2016 WR's will be more athletic than the 2015 group. The questions marks for this groups is:

How well do they block?
Who is able to run correct/crisp routes?
Can they get off the jam?

My projected starters: Meadors, Letman and Barbour

For me, the biggest single question mark is at center. We have quality replacements at wideout, kicker, defensive end (fingers crossed) and safety. But if we don't have a quality center, we'll look more like we did in the second half last season against Arkansas State than we did against Georgia Southern.

AppDawg wrote:

EastHallApp wrote:

bigCasu wrote:The makeup of our wide receivers have changed a little bit since last season.

For sure. The good news is that the group we have is faster. The bad news is, these same guys were on the roster last year and couldn't beat out the veterans.

That or they redshirted.

If they'd been better than the starters, presumably they wouldn't have redshirted. Especially with McElfresh, McGuire and Capel all injured/suspended early in the season.

I do think Mock Adams is going to be really good for us before he's done. Anxious to see how big a role he plays this year. Hoping for some good production from Letman too.

WR is probably the biggest question in terms of how the depth chart will take shape, but personally I have more concern about OL and DE. Think there's more potential drop off from last year at those spots if the younger guys aren't ready.

EastHallApp wrote:

AppDawg wrote:

EastHallApp wrote:

bigCasu wrote:The makeup of our wide receivers have changed a little bit since last season.

For sure. The good news is that the group we have is faster. The bad news is, these same guys were on the roster last year and couldn't beat out the veterans.

That or they redshirted.

If they'd been better than the starters, presumably they wouldn't have redshirted. Especially with McElfresh, McGuire and Capel all injured/suspended early in the season.

I do think Mock Adams is going to be really good for us before he's done. Anxious to see how big a role he plays this year. Hoping for some good production from Letman too.

In general this is correct with one big exception. We had non redshirt guys on the roster that were said to be better receivers than some of our guys that played but they either didn't or wouldn't put in the effort to block. Coach Watts puts a HUGE emphasis on WR's blocking downfield and if you didn't do it you didn't play, period. Didn't matter if you were bigger, stronger, faster, or ran great routes and could catch. With our offense being geared more towards the run we had to have guys who would block everywhere on the field. From the word coming out of spring ball most guys got the message. We'll see if it carries over to fall camp and the season.

That's some good insight Moose. We did have a troupe that would block last year!

AppGrad78 wrote:For me, the biggest single question mark is at center. We have quality replacements at wideout, kicker, defensive end (fingers crossed) and safety. But if we don't have a quality center, we'll look more like we did in the second half last season against Arkansas State than we did against Georgia Southern.

I agree. C and OL depth will be the keys to the season.