AZGrizFan said:
Idaho is the obvious choice here. Playing a very weak NV team….depends on whether Idaho filled their holes adequately or not.
Have to agree on the Idaho possibility. The Nevada camp is all pumped up because they return six defensive starters and have added some key drop-downs from Power-5 programs. Plus, they blame the offense for a lot of last year’s s****y defensive performance: Too many three-and-outs, with a mediocre to poor kicking game. And it obviously didn’t help that the Nevada QBs threw more interceptions than they did passes. Still, crappy is crappy, and they are not touting any game-changer players on defense.
Worse yet, there do not seem to be any bright spots on offensive side. So the D will most likely find itself hanging on for dear life again.
My second choice is Sac State at Stanford, which is weird since the new Stanford head coach – Troy Taylor – just moved there from Sac State :-o :!: And, while he left the cupboard well-stocked for the Hornets, he has inherited a mess in Palo Alto. Taylor is another “offensive guru,” but he has virtually nothing to work with … starting at the QB position, where no one has attempted more than 25 collegiate passes. That’s not good when you have no O-linemen worth mentioning to protect them and no experienced receivers. So points could be at a premium. And keeping points for the opponent off the board could be a major problem. Worst of all there, they have neither depth nor experience in the defensive secondary … some observers figure that those skilled, pass-happy QBs among their opponents will light them up.
Meanwhile, the new coach in Sacramento is the former Defensive Coordinator, and he has several of the same assistants. FWIW, their defense was a major strength for the Hornies (until they ran into Inc Word in the playoffs). Overall, they return fifteen starters.