ASU seems to be dreaming big

[TrojanWar]

I was over on Tribal Grounds reading a little and came across this thread. It appears Meth is now a very serious problem in Northeast Arkansas after reading the ASU predictions for this fall. Take a read and see what you guys think. Most are predicting 7, 8, even 10 wins. There's also some mentions of our mighty Trojans towards the end.

Hey, go ahead and look. It's great comic relief!

http://www.tribalgrounds.com/board/index.php?showtopic=16966

[troystfan]

Just like us, they have high expectations. Nothing wrong with that. I for one will not take for granted that we are a sure win with those guys. We have to travel to their house again and we know what happened last year.

[TrojanWar]

Thanks to the mod that moved this FOOTBALL related thread to Everything Else. I guess one of our conference rival's FOOTBALL schedule and fan interest is not closely enough related to FOOTBALL?

At any rate, I do wish ASU success except for the Saturday when Troy comes to town. I just don't see any of their fans being realistic. Could ASU win 7 games? Absolutely. Not likely, but stranger things have happened. Do I see them winning more than 7 games? No way, no how. Do I see them winning the conference? Again, possible, but not likely. I think 6 wins for ASU would be a very successful season. This year or any other.

Now, to relate this to Troy. Are we going to win 10 games this fall? Probably not, but it's possible. 7 or 8 wins? I'm certainly expecting at least 7. Anything less would be a bad year for Troy University.

My point in this is, while expectations are high at both ASU and Troy, current success is more probable for Troy. Does that mean I guarantee Troy will beat ASU this fall? Nope. We should, but as we found out last fall, anything can happen.

[arkstfan]

ASU went into 2004 with 8 starters on defense that had never played in I-A football game. They are all back and that includes the top int man and top tackler among I-A freshmen last year.

Now a look at the schedule.

Sept. 3 — +MISSOURI, Kansas City, Mo.
Threw this game away early last year with a pick returned for a TD and a freshman receiver fumbling on their three. Get them away from campus. Probably still a loss but should be a better situation.

Sept. 10 — TENNESSEE-MARTIN, JONESBORO (Paint the
Stadium Red and Hall of Honor Induction)
Routed them last time we played, no reason to expect anything different.

Sept. 17 — Oklahoma State, Stillwater, Okla.
Should be a loss but they lost their entire coaching staff so you never know.

Sept. 24 — *FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL, JONESBORO
First meeting but its at home and they have never beaten a I-A.

Oct. 1 — *Louisiana-Monroe, Monroe, La.
ASU has won three in a row vs. ULM including last two in Monroe.

Oct. 8 — *North Texas, Denton, Texas
ASU hasn't played well in Denton since 1999 but we get them a week after Troy, if Troy wins, their title hopes are already on the ropes.

Oct. 15 — *LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE, JONESBORO
Cajuns won on blocked FG returned for a TD last year. Last six meetings determined by 6 points or less.

Oct. 22 —*FLORIDA ATLANTIC, JONESBORO (Homecoming)
FAU was hit hard by graduation after last season. Two of their three losses came from teams ASU defeated last year.

Nov. 5 — *Middle Tennessee, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
ASU has never played well in Murf.

Nov. 12 — *TROY, JONESBORO (Senior Night)
ASU won the meeting last season.

Nov. 19 — Army, West Point, N.Y.
Had five losses last year to teams with losing records.

I think seven wins is not out of the realm of possibility for a team that was just a few plays from 6-5 last year with a green defense. I'm not picking 7 wins but its not like its insane to do so.

[TrojanWar]

Like I said, 6-5 would be a very good year in my opinion. OSU did not lose everyone. The new head coach was an assistant on staff last year. They are not revamping the schemes much at all. Mizzou will be better this year. I still think Troy has a chance to win that game on the road. We are the kings of playing big BCS schools well on the road. What ASU does not need is to get blown out the first two games of the season. History has shown the Indians do not recover well after a very rough start. I think that will be the key to the season.