The last time I felt really, REALLY good about our team

preseason was 2008. Obviously, that was a bit of a downer after receiving a good lick from Bama (later NC). It seemed we had some great pieces in place to make a legit run that year, and after the first game, it seemed we were a bit deflated...

I feel the same way this year. I feel very optimistic about our shot at making the CFP. One of the biggest differences is, we've got two smaller schools to work out the kinks to begin the season and maybe find our starters (App State, Wofford). I think our biggest threat this season is GT. More than likely, we'll have to play them twice next season

. That could mean our DL risking injuries with GT's blocking. There are a few teams on our schedule that could be difficult...Louisville, maybe FSU, maybe ND. I don't think much of USuCk as long as a few of our key guys remain healthy.

I'm thinking this year is our shot. I think we have a legit chance to make the playoffs...not saying we'll win it all. But we've got a solid group of talent and I feel like a fairly favorable schedule.

thompson_creek_tiger®

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If we stay relatively healthy, no reason why...

Mar 14, 2015, 4:09 PM

we can't make a run. Everyone looked at the position players we had in '08 and that drowned out the face we had some severe deficiencies that revealed themselves once that season kicked off. Obviously, we've recruited a lot better in recent years so better talent's waiting in the wings. The players IMO have bought into the staff's philosophy as well. We've fielded teams that expect to win and not just hope to win.

Our schedule's probably our biggest Catch-22. We get two easy games (on paper) to help break in the new guys and get a good grasp on the 2-deep roster (especially w/ our losses on the defensive front 7). Plus our toughest ACC games (FSU, GT) are at home. However, the non-conf schedule isn't as tough as it has been in years past IMO (we're basically banking on ND to have a really good year outside of the DV trip and for SC to be better than a 6-6 team to provide some meat for the selection committee). Our schedule for 2015 is favorable for making a run, but we don't have the margin for error. The 2016 schedule that someone just pointed out would be the schedule the committee would salivate over if we navigated that one.

We find the right guys to replace our losses from last year, stay relatively healthy (especially in DW's case), and have a little luck on our side when need be it, don't see why we can't win the ACC and make a run for the playoff. Just win the games & everything else will fall into place.

GO TIGERS!!!

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Re: The last time I felt really, REALLY good about our team

I think everyone was feeling pretty good about us in 2008,

IIRC we had a bunch of skill guys coming back but only

Defense was a big ? for those seasons for me...***

I was pretty confident about our D going into 2013

I think our secondary is a bit more solid since then.

Same...

Hope you're right... 2015 schedule much more favorable

If we stay relatively healthy, no reason why...

Re: The last time I felt really, REALLY good about our team

Re: The last time I felt really, REALLY good about our team

I think we've all come to expect a 10 win season.

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