Final Record Predictions

[Eagle Talon]

7-4. The D has to make me a believer.

 

[DefendtheRed]

I’m very confident in the team, this year. I don’t remember having as much talent that this current team has, compared to the past. No offense to any of our fabulous past teams; but on both sides of ball— lots of playmakers and good depth. Also, lost of experience, too. That helps.

I would say 11-0, or 10-1, with a loss to that team on the Palouse. I think we will go undefeated in conference, but definelty have some close games!

For those that voted with 2+ losses, what teams do you think give us those losses?

Wash St and Weber St are uphill battles. NAU on the road is the third most likely loss. I give us a 60% chance at home against the Vandals. The MSU and SUU games will be challenges although it will be tough for both to keep up with us in points. It’s strange to not play Montana this year and I’m not sure whether the absense of Sac and ISU is good or bad.

Mark me down for 7-4. Hoping for better.

 

[60s Savage]

Eagles, hang onto that ball until the whistle, and your dedication, pride and spirit will take us all to Fargo. Go Eags!

I hope you meant Frisco, because I sure as hell don’t want to go to Fargo.

Thanks Ranger. I SURE DID MEAN FRISCO. 10:05 PM might be gittin too late for me to be typing. I am charged up for this season and the Eagles. Really appreciate all the information and valid opinions on this site. See ya in Frisco!

 

[Seattle Eagle]

Did someone say Fargo? Gross.

 

[Rivercat]

It’s refreshing to come on to a forum here and see some very reasonable posts and predictions. The fans of the dark pink guys to the east of you aren’t always so reasonable. EWU will be good and be a title contender, I don’t think there’s any arguing that. I’m curious to see how it all plays out here.

For the record, I voted 8-3. I think they lose to Wazzou and lose two more out of the NAU, Idaho, MSU, SUU and Weber games. Those will all be tough games.

EWU will definitely be favored against the Cats but the Cats defense should be very good and it’s in Bozeman. That helps, but I think EWU ultimately comes away from there with the win.

Best of luck this year in 10 of your 11 games!

 

[Atomic Eagle]

It’s refreshing to come on to a forum here and see some very reasonable posts and predictions. The fans of the dark pink guys to the east of you aren’t always so reasonable. EWU will be good and be a title contender, I don’t think there’s any arguing that. I’m curious to see how it all plays out here.

For the record, I voted 8-3. I think they lose to Wazzou and lose two more out of the NAU, Idaho, MSU, SUU and Weber games. Those will all be tough games.

EWU will definitely be favored against the Cats but the Cats defense should be very good and it’s in Bozeman. That helps, but I think EWU ultimately comes away from there with the win.

Best of luck this year in 10 of your 11 games!

Thanks for the post, Rivercat. I can’t disagree with any of that. It’ll be another challenging season for sure. I think this will be a pretty talented bunch that could go far if they play to their potential. I think the 28 Seniors on the team will provide the leadership to at least get into the playoffs. There’s a real sense of urgency after last season’s playoff snub after being a semi-finalist in 2016. Good luck to the Cats, I think you guys will be much improved.

 

[Seattle Eagle]

1) One of the best QB’s in FCS - check
2) An experiened and deep OL - check
3) Amazing talent and depth at RB and WR - check
4) Solid depth, experience, and talent at LB - check
5) Deep and experienced secondary - check

To me the only real question marks are on the defensive line and at K/P. Big question mark as we need improvements in pass rush and run stopping but I think that unit will at least be serviceable with the return of Tiuli and the emergence of a few younger players.

This should be a 8 or 9 win team that has a shot to make some noise in the playoffs.

At K, I am pretty sure Roldan Alcobendes was granted a sixth year of eligibility. He has the school’s consecutive PAT record... I think it was in the mid-60s or something like that. If that’s the case, we should be just fine there. Jordan Descalo must have been hard to replace though...

As per the Spokesman, Alcobendas will be the starting Kicker AND Punter. He’ll have a couple guys behind him in both positions. I think Special teams will be pretty good. Kick coverage was excellent last year, although I could see some dropoff in punt coverage since it’ll be tough to replace Descalo’s hang time.

 

[Seattle Eagle]

It’s refreshing to come on to a forum here and see some very reasonable posts and predictions. The fans of the dark pink guys to the east of you aren’t always so reasonable. EWU will be good and be a title contender, I don’t think there’s any arguing that. I’m curious to see how it all plays out here.

For the record, I voted 8-3. I think they lose to Wazzou and lose two more out of the NAU, Idaho, MSU, SUU and Weber games. Those will all be tough games.

EWU will definitely be favored against the Cats but the Cats defense should be very good and it’s in Bozeman. That helps, but I think EWU ultimately comes away from there with the win.

Best of luck this year in 10 of your 11 games!

Class post. Good luck to the Cats in all games but one.

And we try to keep mentions of the pinkies to the East to a minimum.

 

[Eags12]

8-3

 

[Hambone]

I chose 8-3 and see our toughest games being played today, at WSU, and against Weber. If we win one or two of those we'll be in really good shape.

 

[EWURanger]

I chose 8-3 and see our toughest games being played today, at WSU, and against Weber. If we win one or two of those we'll be in really good shape.

That’s basically how I see it as well, but switch Weber St. with UC Davis. I’m watching Weber right now and they look like a shell of the team they were last year. If they plan on starting this QB the remainder of the year, they are in trouble. Montana St. did not look good today either, albeit against a very good SDSU team. Idaho won big, but had a shaky start against a DII.

I have a hard time seeing us beat WSU next week, but we could possibly run the table against the rest of the field if we remain relatively healthy. This isn’t one of our tougher conference schedules. That’s not to say there won’t be any close wins or losses, but we should be favored in most if not all of our conference games. I think Davis is our toughest conference test.

Vs . C Washington - 58-13 W
at Northern Arizona - 31-26 W
at Washington St (L)
Vs. Cal Poly (W)
at Montana St (W)
Vs. Southern Utah (W)
at Weber St (W)
Vs. Idaho (W)
at N Colorado (W)
Vs. UC Davis (Push)
at Portland St (W)

 

[clawman1]

It is interesting to read additions to this thread going back into August. I wonder how you come up with your predictions? Is it based on all of the Eagle practices you attended? Or is it all of the practices of other teams? What do you think about all of the kids that red shirted last year and will they contribute. I am SURE you know how the players developed in the weight room from last year...right??
OK experts, enlighten me, how did you become experts?

 

[EWURanger]

I’ve got 9-2. Too many returning pieces not to have very high expectations this season.

 

[luckyintheorder]

@NAU, @WSU, @Weber somewhat concerning. Was very optimistic start of last season and then we gave up 56,40, 21,41, 31, 38 and later vs SUU 46. I need convincing our D will be better...much better. We have offense now need D to step up and solid special teams to get to the promise land. Oh yeah, keeping injuries to a minimum goes unsaid. Seems like we sometimes lose a game we should win and win a game we may not be favored. Thus 8-3 I can see. OKOKOK...9-2

*That Weber State game in Odgen could decide who gets what. They also avoid Idaho and Montana.

Agreed on the defense. I guess I just feel like, on paper, we should be much better.

It hasn’t been mentioned yet, but the biggest and most obvious statistic that needs to improve is turnover margin. Theoretically, more balance between the run and pass on offense helps fix that to an extent, but we’re still going to sling it all the field because that’s who we are. We simply need to create more defensive turnovers than last year...which ultimately goes back to the discussion about the defensive line being the single biggest area we need improvement in.

The O is going to be really good. Better than last year by quite a bit, IMO. And that should be scary for opposing defenses.

Hill has done a great job coaching up Weber. Without UM or Idaho on their schedule, I consider them the favorite. Tough first game against Utah, then a slip and slide to BSC Championship. It all changes if we win the heads up. Not looking forward to being 4-3 at the bye with a loss to Weber Wk 7 to see what kind of heart the team has and facing an Idaho team that may have their shit together by week 9 matchup.

I'll take stops from the defense. Posted that last year they were nearly 80th in third down stops last year (didn't look at 4th down) at about .387, contrast the top teams were ~.250. We move that needle to .3 or better and the offense takes care of the rest. Nearly 900 plays against our D last season. Wazzu's former D Coord was all about getting the ball back on EVERY play, they will likely miss him this season. Giving up an occasional big play while being disruptive didn't bother him or Wazzu because of their offense. TO or getting off the field on 3rd down will be the same thing to the opponent as our offense punishes them time and time again. Fish is a barrel

This guy seemed to be out front of it. D eliminated over 50 plays from previous season, ranked in the 40's overall (should move up as games played today) and is 43rd in 3rd down stops this season (again, should more up as games played today) vs. 80th last season. Consistency all season has led to huge improvement. This is a Natty level D to go along with the leading O in the land.