SB Nation team preview App State

[AppState89]

We will be fine. This will be a learning year again for the players and coaches. I bet most of the 20+ recruits we got this year will red shirt. We need them, but we don't, just like last year's class. I think 2015 or 2016 is when we will make our mark.

I want to will ALL the games, but will be happy with a 6 win season. Most of the teams we play would have finished 1st in the SoCon last year. All I know is that my butt will be in the stands pulling for my Apps no matter what kind of season we have year in and year out.

Now.... ---------------------------- >>>>>>>

APP

[BUTCH1991]

STATE

[Yosef84]

I will be the first to acknowledge that I tend to lean toward the optimistic side. I do understand the realities of the move to FBS, and I don't expect to run the table in 2014. That being said, I believe this App team is capable of winning against any team in the Sun Belt. That is not the same as saying we will be favored. Arkansas State will be favored at their place, but I would recommend that they do NOT write this one in the win column just yet!

a 6 or 7 win season if very realistic. We might not get there, and I won't come apart if that is the case. We do have a lot of questions to be answered, but there are indicators that give reason for encouragement. I think our depth is better than some fear. I do know that we have had only one OFFICIAL FBS recruiting class, but I would remind folks to look back at that 2013 class one more time. That class was recruited with FBS as a goal also even though the announcement had not yet been made. We haven't seen those guys on the field yet, but I think our talent level and depth are going to be significantly better than 2013 (OL, QB, RB).

I'm not big on predictions, but I will say that I expect 2014 to be a VERY fun year to watch! It's GREAT TO BE A MOUNTAINEER!

[moehler]

I think our starters are going to surprise the SBC and show that they are as good as any other SBC team, depth I where I think we will have problems, I think we will have a shot of winning alot of games late in the 4th, but are probably going to lose alot of those games in the last 5 minutes. Im hoping for 6 wins, would be happy with 5.

[Kgfish]

I will be the first to acknowledge that I tend to lean toward the optimistic side. I do understand the realities of the move to FBS, and I don't expect to run the table in 2014. That being said, I believe this App team is capable of winning against any team in the Sun Belt. That is not the same as saying we will be favored. Arkansas State will be favored at their place, but I would recommend that they do NOT write this one in the win column just yet!

a 6 or 7 win season if very realistic. We might not get there, and I won't come apart if that is the case. We do have a lot of questions to be answered, but there are indicators that give reason for encouragement. I think our depth is better than some fear. I do know that we have had only one OFFICIAL FBS recruiting class, but I would remind folks to look back at that 2013 class one more time. That class was recruited with FBS as a goal also even though the announcement had not yet been made. We haven't seen those guys on the field yet, but I think our talent level and depth are going to be significantly better than 2013 (OL, QB, RB).

I'm not big on predictions, but I will say that I expect 2014 to be a VERY fun year to watch! It's GREAT TO BE A MOUNTAINEER!

I tend to be optimistic but temper it with reality. A 6 or 7 win season right out of the box in FBS following a 4-8 season vs FCS teams is, imo, extremely optimistic. So the team improved towards the end of the year, but that was against FCS talent. We lost 2 of the top WR's in ASU history, both starting OLB's, starting ILB and starting FS. Not to mention the remaining issues on the OL which will have to be solved with redshirt freshmen. Not an easy task going up against seasoned FBS DL's. We'll be competitive and might even steal a game but this transition is going to be a lot harder than a lot think. Hope some aren't setting themselves up for a letdown.

[asutrnr81]

Hope some aren't setting themselves up for a letdown.

Earlier I predicted 7 wins....but I will NOT be defined/letdown by winner fewer. I will be at ASU games until the damn cows come home. Win Lose or Draw!

I know I see the world through rose colored glasses for many things and one of those is ASU sports. It is not the end of the world when App Baseball loses 3 AT Ark!....nor when a group of kids who are better individually than they are collectively right now lose another game in basketball....or if we only win 3-4 games next fall.

We have an opportunity to build something here at ASU that IMO should have been started 30+ years ago....and if you look at some of the data, we are making strides faster than some of our comparable competition.

Let see how it plays out but we have not been bad at everything for a long time....and I do not see us going there any time soon!

[GoApps70]

You should always have faith that your team is always going to win.
If not you are conceding defeat.

[bcoach]

Here is what gets me. I am not one that ever wanted to make this move. In spite of that I seem to be in the minority that believes we are looking at a 6 win season. Those of you that don't believe please take a closer look at that schedule. I believe we have the players and coaches that can produce 6 wins in the SB our first season. I am not putting anyone down but we are not entering the SEC. I am also not talking about the rest of the SOCON. I am talking about ASU and I believe as much with my mind as I do with my heart that we should win 6 games next year. That means we only have to beat 4 FBS teams and I think we will.

[Kgfish]

Hope some aren't setting themselves up for a letdown.

Earlier I predicted 7 wins....but I will NOT be defined/letdown by winner fewer. I will be at ASU games until the damn cows come home. Win Lose or Draw!

I know I see the world through rose colored glasses for many things and one of those is ASU sports. It is not the end of the world when App Baseball loses 3 AT Ark!....nor when a group of kids who are better individually than they are collectively right now lose another game in basketball....or if we only win 3-4 games next fall.

We have an opportunity to build something here at ASU that IMO should have been started 30+ years ago....and if you look at some of the data, we are making strides faster than some of our comparable competition.

Let see how it plays out but we have not been bad at everything for a long time....and I do not see us going there any time soon!

You are walking down two different paths. Supporting your team thru thick and thin is much different than expecting wins when there are clearly differences in personnel. My gut tells me some App fans have higher opinion of our overall talent than what it is for what about to get into. I don't know if it is based on the belief the SB is no better than high level FCS teams or we've been recruiting FBS talent all these years.

[Gonzo]

Hope some aren't setting themselves up for a letdown.

Earlier I predicted 7 wins....but I will NOT be defined/letdown by winner fewer. I will be at ASU games until the damn cows come home. Win Lose or Draw!

I know I see the world through rose colored glasses for many things and one of those is ASU sports. It is not the end of the world when App Baseball loses 3 AT Ark!....nor when a group of kids who are better individually than they are collectively right now lose another game in basketball....or if we only win 3-4 games next fall.

We have an opportunity to build something here at ASU that IMO should have been started 30+ years ago....and if you look at some of the data, we are making strides faster than some of our comparable competition.

Let see how it plays out but we have not been bad at everything for a long time....and I do not see us going there any time soon!

You are walking down two different paths. Supporting your team thru thick and thin is much different than expecting wins when there are clearly differences in personnel. My gut tells me some App fans have higher opinion of our overall talent than what it is for what about to get into. I don't know if it is based on the belief the SB is no better than high level FCS teams or we've been recruiting FBS talent all these years.

I don't believe we'll have a lower overall talent level than any team we play this season with the exception of Michigan.

And I expect 5-7 wins.

[Kgfish]

Hope some aren't setting themselves up for a letdown.

Earlier I predicted 7 wins....but I will NOT be defined/letdown by winner fewer. I will be at ASU games until the damn cows come home. Win Lose or Draw!

I know I see the world through rose colored glasses for many things and one of those is ASU sports. It is not the end of the world when App Baseball loses 3 AT Ark!....nor when a group of kids who are better individually than they are collectively right now lose another game in basketball....or if we only win 3-4 games next fall.

We have an opportunity to build something here at ASU that IMO should have been started 30+ years ago....and if you look at some of the data, we are making strides faster than some of our comparable competition.

Let see how it plays out but we have not been bad at everything for a long time....and I do not see us going there any time soon!

You are walking down two different paths. Supporting your team thru thick and thin is much different than expecting wins when there are clearly differences in personnel. My gut tells me some App fans have higher opinion of our overall talent than what it is for what about to get into. I don't know if it is based on the belief the SB is no better than high level FCS teams or we've been recruiting FBS talent all these years.

I don't believe we'll have a lower overall talent level than any team we play this season with the exception of Michigan.

And I expect 5-7 wins.

Why do you "believe" with 1 FBS recruiting class, we will have talent equal to Ark State, ULL, ULM, So Miss, Troy and Idaho who have been recruiting FBS talent for 15+ years?

[Goapps15]

Hope some aren't setting themselves up for a letdown.

Earlier I predicted 7 wins....but I will NOT be defined/letdown by winner fewer. I will be at ASU games until the damn cows come home. Win Lose or Draw!

I know I see the world through rose colored glasses for many things and one of those is ASU sports. It is not the end of the world when App Baseball loses 3 AT Ark!....nor when a group of kids who are better individually than they are collectively right now lose another game in basketball....or if we only win 3-4 games next fall.

We have an opportunity to build something here at ASU that IMO should have been started 30+ years ago....and if you look at some of the data, we are making strides faster than some of our comparable competition.

Let see how it plays out but we have not been bad at everything for a long time....and I do not see us going there any time soon!

You are walking down two different paths. Supporting your team thru thick and thin is much different than expecting wins when there are clearly differences in personnel. My gut tells me some App fans have higher opinion of our overall talent than what it is for what about to get into. I don't know if it is based on the belief the SB is no better than high level FCS teams or we've been recruiting FBS talent all these years.

I don't believe we'll have a lower overall talent level than any team we play this season with the exception of Michigan.

And I expect 5-7 wins.

Why do you "believe" with 1 FBS recruiting class, we will have talent equal to Ark State, ULL, ULM, So Miss, Troy and Idaho who have been recruiting FBS talent for 15+ years?

I agree with you on Ark State, ULL, So Miss and Troy. However, ULM and Idaho have been glorified FCS schools for much of the past 2 decades. ULM has had two solid years in a row but look at their track record of success. They just lost their Armanti Edwards in Kolton Browning.

We should expect to win 4 games: Ga State, Idaho, Campbell and Liberty.

We should have a solid chance to beat: GSU, ULM, USA, and USM

We have a chance to beat: Troy

We are heavy underdogs against: ULL, Ark State, and Michigan.

Agree or disagree?

[T-Dog]

15+ years of FBS recruiting is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the last 4-5.

The biggest challenge is playing teams with 85 scholarship players with fresh players coming in and out week after week. We will have 80+, but there's a big difference in that most of ours will be young and the depth won't be there.

We're going to be picked near the bottom of the Sun Belt because we went 4-8 last year with 70 scholarships against an FCS schedule. So be it.

I'm not going to think about a season prediction until I see the schedule.

[Kgfish]

I agree with you on Ark State, ULL, So Miss and Troy. However, ULM and Idaho have been glorified FCS schools for much of the past 2 decades. ULM has had two solid years in a row but look at their track record of success. They just lost their Armanti Edwards in Kolton Browning.

We should expect to win 4 games: Ga State, Idaho, Campbell and Liberty.

We should have a solid chance to beat: GSU, ULM, USA, and USM

We have a chance to beat: Troy

We are heavy underdogs against: ULL, Ark State, and Michigan.

Agree or disagree?

We will be heavy favorites against Campbell & Liberty. A toss up with Ga So, S Alabama and Texas State. Big underdog to Michigan, underdogs to S Miss and the remaining SB schools primarily due to their years of FBS recruiting and App's depth issues at several key positions. MOST IMPORTANTLY the fact ASU has never had to endure an entire season playing a FBS schedule. Another thing, don't be fooled into thinking getting on planes 5 times this season won't be a major adjustment.

[Cincy App]

We will be heavy favorites against Campbell & Liberty. A toss up with Ga So, S Alabama and Texas State. Big underdog to Michigan, underdogs to S Miss and the remaining SB schools primarily due to their years of FBS recruiting and App's depth issues at several key positions. MOST IMPORTANTLY the fact ASU has never had to endure an entire season playing a FBS schedule. Another thing, don't be fooled into thinking getting on planes 5 times this season won't be a major adjustment.

I agree that we should temper our expectations as we only have one definite win on the schedule. Even Liberty is a capable opponent. I disagree that we should be underdogs to Idaho and Georgia State. Idaho may be FBS but neither the Vandals or New Mexico State have been successful recruiting recently as FBS schools. I watched them both play last year and I believe that Chattanooga and Samford are better. Maybe Idaho & NMSU will improve as part of a conference again. Georgia State (like us) lost to both Chatt and Sammy last year. I do think Georgia State is improving but they are a young team as well. Anyway, I believe ASU will be favored against Georgia St and Idaho - especially in Boone.

I would add ULM to the tossup group since the game is in Boone. I actually think that South Al will be better than ULM next season. ULM has played well recently but they lose their exceptional QB.

At this stage, I would guess at 5 wins. I do agree that our travel schedule and our youth/ depth issues will be challenges. Of course, the biggest challenge may be that only one slam dunk W exists on the schedule. Even as the favorite in 4 games, it doesn't necessarily mean we will win those 4. We saw last year how a struggling team tends to lose close games.

[asu66]

I am a little disappointed to see people already making excuses. I expect us to win every game we play every year regardless of the opponent. Now, I know that isn't going to happen, but I am never going in to the start of the season trying to figure out ways to explain losses.

The fact is, another season like last year will be very damaging to our football program. People can sit on their pedastals and pass judgement on the uneducated masses all they want, but it isn't going to change the facts.

I don't think it's "making excuses" to recognize that several of our opponents this year are likely to simply be better than we are.

You can certainly take whatever approach you like, but I don't think you need to be "disappointed" in fans who choose to ground their expectations in reality.

Methinks they're choosing to ground their expectations in their opinions, at best. I also think some (only a bitter few I hope) are actually grounding their hopes in wanting our team to "crash and burn" so they can crow about how they saw it coming months and months ago.

The reality, as you call it, is simply that we have a very young team and a very new head coach. It's not knowable this far in advance how our team/staff are going to respond to what's thrown at them.

[eggers76]

"The reality, as you call it, is simply that we have a very young team and a very new head coach. It's not knowable this far in advance how our team/staff are going to respond to what's thrown at them."

This past season ought to have given us this lesson. I believe in the staff, they appear to work well together and work hard. Most of their experience is FCS level, it will take some time to get the program up to the next level in my opinion. I look forward to the ride, even though it could get bumpy.

[EastHallApp]

We will be heavy favorites against Campbell & Liberty. A toss up with Ga So, S Alabama and Texas State. Big underdog to Michigan, underdogs to S Miss and the remaining SB schools primarily due to their years of FBS recruiting and App's depth issues at several key positions. MOST IMPORTANTLY the fact ASU has never had to endure an entire season playing a FBS schedule. Another thing, don't be fooled into thinking getting on planes 5 times this season won't be a major adjustment.

Why would we be a toss-up with S. Alabama who went 6-6 last year, but underdogs to Georgia State (0-12) and Idaho (1-11)?

I'm with you on FBS being tougher overall, but I do think we will be home favorites in those two games.

[Saint3333]

A lot will depend on when in the schedule we face these teams. The later we play them the better based upon how young we will be (depth wise).

[bcoach]

We will be heavy favorites against Campbell & Liberty. A toss up with Ga So, S Alabama and Texas State. Big underdog to Michigan, underdogs to S Miss and the remaining SB schools primarily due to their years of FBS recruiting and App's depth issues at several key positions. MOST IMPORTANTLY the fact ASU has never had to endure an entire season playing a FBS schedule. Another thing, don't be fooled into thinking getting on planes 5 times this season won't be a major adjustment.

Why would we be a toss-up with S. Alabama who went 6-6 last year, but underdogs to Georgia State (0-12) and Idaho (1-11)?

I'm with you on FBS being tougher overall, but I do think we will be home favorites in those two games.

I may be wrong but isn't S Miss something like 1-23 over the last two years? Again I don't mean this as a slam to the Sun Belt, just my honest opinion. We are moving from the top of FCS to the lower level of FBS. I just don't see it as big a jump as some indicate. Yes it is a jump but not that huge. I still see 6 wins.