Expectations

[J-Rod]

Opening day is a month away from tomorrow. Reading message boards from all over college football, its clear: there is no shortage of koolaid. With North Dakota rapidly approaching, what is your personal barometer for success this season?

Something along the lines of.....I hope for ____ wins, or I'll be disappointed. If the team doesn't ______, I'll consider 2015 a disappointment.

FWIW, Vegas has Wyoming's o/u regular season win total at exactly 5. Their expectation is somewhere in that area.

I'm going to say 3-9 or worse would be a disappointment to me. I also expect to see signs of player improvement on both offense and defense. If things look same ole same ole for lots of players, I'll be skeptical going into 2016.

Your turn...

[seattlecowboy]

Well here is Bohl's record all time .............


Year Team Overall Conference
North Dakota State Bison (North Central Conference) (2003)
2003 North Dakota State 8–3 5–2 T–2nd
North Dakota State Bison (Great West Conference) (2004–2007)
2004 North Dakota State 8–3 2–3 3rd
2005 North Dakota State 7–4 3–2 3rd
2006 North Dakota State 10–1 4–0 1st
2007 North Dakota State 10–1 3–1 2nd
North Dakota State Bison (Missouri Valley Football Conference) (2008–2013)
2008 North Dakota State 6–5 4–4 T–4th
2009 North Dakota State 3–8 2–6 7th
2010 North Dakota State 9–5 4–4 T–3rd
2011 North Dakota State 14–1 7–1 T–1st
2012 North Dakota State 14–1 7–1 1st
2013 North Dakota State 15–0 8–0 1st
North Dakota State: 104–32 49–24

I know he had good records his first couple of years but if you look what he did as he moved into a better conference each time it took him 3 or 4 years to really get it going....

So I think with it being the 2nd year of his program here and the schedule being a lot easier this year we should go 6-6 at worst and at best 8-4. My guess we is we finish 6-6 or 7-5. I won't say which games are wins or losses because every year there are surprise teams that no one expected to be as good as they are and also teams that no one expected to be as bad as they are and you don't know which teams those are before hand.

So that is what I expect and I also expect a bowl game since the schedule is so easy. I know the defensive secondary is young but overall the defense can't be any worse than last year and I actually expect them overall to be better and I know for sure the offense will be better. I'll be disappointed if we finish 4-8 or worse. That's my

[joshvanklomp]

I'm about as optimistic about the future of this program as anyone, but I'm not ready to say we're at worst a .500 team. Bohl said at Media Day that this isn't as easy a transition as at NDSU because of the drastic scheme change and a toughness was lacking when he got here. I think we'll see improvement, but it might not show up in the win column yet.

I'm going to set 5 wins as my number, but I could see 4-8 or 6-6 as well.

[Yabadabadoo]

For me, it's still not about wins and losses, per say, but more about what catches my eyes in terms of the signs of tangible progress being made throughout the football team.

Are we competing at a higher level than last year's foundational squad, are we getting faster on defense, are we seeing the signs of players who are clearly developing? These things, along with the continued cultural change, the attitude of a snarly football team on a week in and week out basis...are we getting more consistent quarterback play this season?

The little things are what I'll be keeping my eyes on this year - in what will soon thereafter culminate in much bigger things in years 3-4-5 etc.

All that said, I'm projecting the Pokes for a 6 win season, I think they'll win one game nobody gave them a shot at, and that the arrow in Year II of the Craig Bohl era will continue to point upward.

[BeaverPoke]

Bowl win=success

[mwc fan]

Based off the schedule and returning talent, I think anywhere between 6 to 8 wins is achievable. Worst case scenario would be 5 wins. There is no way we do worse then last season when we went 1-7 to end the season. Last year we probably go 6-6 with Coffman at Qb. Having Coffman at Qb will make a huge difference in my opinion. Even the JC Qb we picked up would've made a difference. Questions on the back 7 will loom until the Wazzu game. Our secondary will be tested like no other team on our schedule.

[laxwyo]

Based on our schedule we need to win at least 4. In fact, 4 would be disappointing. I think this team will he better offensively and it wasn't great defensively. I don't see why we can't win more games against a weaker schedule. Oregon and Michigan St. were losses before the season started and at least we don't have that this year. I'd be ok with four if we managed to beat Washington or Boise. But a four win team doesn't win those games but then again, I didn't expect to curb stomp Fresno last year

[J-Rod]

I think one assumption made this off-season that I'm curious to see play out is the assumption that Cam Coffman will be a huge upgrade from Kirkegaard. Colby shouldered a lot of the blame for struggles in 2014.

Another assumption made: the defense will be better, simply because it can't get any worse. That's the argument. We'll see folks, we'll see.

The schedule isn't all that much easier than 2014. Michigan State and Oregon were juggernauts, but they didn't even dish out the biggest whipping Wyoming was dealt in 2014. Those two games are swapped out for App State and Washington State. Much easier? Absolutely. More wins than last year? Pokes are likely underdogs in both games.

As for MW play...

Colorado State will be easier. Air Force loses players, but the game is in Colorado Springs. Boise State and Utah State are Boise State and Utah State. New Mexico is at home, but has proven capable of beating Wyoming. San Diego State is a better opponent than makeshift Fresno was. Hawaii swapped for UNLV is a draw, Nevada might be a tad tougher than SJSU was.

So really, the only thing "easier" about this schedule is swapping out NY6 bowl winners Oregon and Michigan State for App State and Wazzu. Again, much easier? Oh yeah. Increase in wins because of this downgrade in difficulty? Not necessarily.

That's my tempered expectation. There are several games we consider wins that might be more difficult than expected. How many here this time last year thought Hawaii and San Jose State were legit threats (Especially the latter)? I thought FAU would be a cakewalk.

My point: there are 8-9 games Wyoming "could" win. That doesn't mean 50/50 games are like flipping a coin. Wyoming could very well go 4-8 again, or worse if the injury bug takes a big bite out of the defense. I'm leaning towards 6-6, but I think the floor for 2015 is lower than we're allowing.

[laxwyo]

So "you're saying there's a chance " is better than playing Oregon and Michigan st. Wins, probably not.

[djm19]

What is the word on Coffman? Been quiet this summer. Progress?

My expectation is a bowl game. Sorry, but this schedule should harbor six wins. The defense definitely worries me, but I am hoping to see some guys step up.

[WilyWapiti]

I think the floor this season is 2 wins, if every break goes against us, the injury bug is as bad as last year, or Coffman doesn't pan out.

That being said, I think Cam Coffman is going to be the "Real Deal". He could be the best QB we've seen at Wyoming in a LONG time. He has both the physical skills and the experience to carry this team a long way. I'm excited to see him operate.

WW

[NowherePoke]

I'm about as optimistic about the future of this program as anyone, but I'm not ready to say we're at worst a .500 team. Bohl said at Media Day that this isn't as easy a transition as at NDSU because of the drastic scheme change and a toughness was lacking when he got here. I think we'll see improvement, but it might not show up in the win column yet.

I'm going to set 5 wins as my number, but I could see 4-8 or 6-6 as well.

Same here. 4-8 to 6-6. I would be disappointed with anything less than 4 wins due to the schedule (home games against UND, EMU, UNM, and UNLV), but I think the year will be a legitimate success if we win 6 games and obtain bowl eligibility.

I am also looking for more competitiveness. What really soured me on both Glenn and DC by the end of their tenures wasn't just the records, it was the consistent ass kickings we were taking. I can handle 4-8 or 5-7, what I can't handle is having 3 or 4 of those games be 40-10 type of contests. Those kill the fanbase/interest.

[NowherePoke]

I think one assumption made this off-season that I'm curious to see play out is the assumption that Cam Coffman will be a huge upgrade from Kirkegaard. Colby shouldered a lot of the blame for struggles in 2014.

Another assumption made: the defense will be better, simply because it can't get any worse. That's the argument. We'll see folks, we'll see.

The schedule isn't all that much easier than 2014. Michigan State and Oregon were juggernauts, but they didn't even dish out the biggest whipping Wyoming was dealt in 2014. Those two games are swapped out for App State and Washington State. Much easier? Absolutely. More wins than last year? Pokes are likely underdogs in both games.

As for MW play...

Colorado State will be easier. Air Force loses players, but the game is in Colorado Springs. Boise State and Utah State are Boise State and Utah State. New Mexico is at home, but has proven capable of beating Wyoming. San Diego State is a better opponent than makeshift Fresno was. Hawaii swapped for UNLV is a draw, Nevada might be a tad tougher than SJSU was.

So really, the only thing "easier" about this schedule is swapping out NY6 bowl winners Oregon and Michigan State for App State and Wazzu. Again, much easier? Oh yeah. Increase in wins because of this downgrade in difficulty? Not necessarily.

That's my tempered expectation. There are several games we consider wins that might be more difficult than expected. How many here this time last year thought Hawaii and San Jose State were legit threats (Especially the latter)? I thought FAU would be a cakewalk.

My point: there are 8-9 games Wyoming "could" win. That doesn't mean 50/50 games are like flipping a coin. Wyoming could very well go 4-8 again, or worse if the injury bug takes a big bite out of the defense. I'm leaning towards 6-6, but I think the floor for 2015 is lower than we're allowing.

My only disagreement is calling the swap of Hawaii for UNLV a draw. Playing on the islands, versus getting UNLV in Laramie is a big difference, even if both teams have their struggles.

One item that I agree with you on is the floor. A couple of injuries in the wrong spot and things could go south in a big hurry.

We play 3 of our first 4 at home against UND, EMU, and UNM. Burman gave Bohl a schedule that will allow for some wins and momentum. If we don't take advantage of that, it could be a really long season.

[djm19]

I am going through all of the old posts. Interesting to look back and see how the season has unraveled.

[ragtimejoe1]

I am going through all of the old posts. Interesting to look back and see how the season has unraveled.

Please stop. It isn't interesting at all.

[djm19]

I am going through all of the old posts. Interesting to look back and see how the season has unraveled.

Please stop. It isn't interesting at all.

I disagree. It is very interesting to see how much change has occurred in everyone. The only reason I am posting these, is to remind us that we are definitely rebuilding. I was touting 7 wins. I was wrong.

[stymeman]

i never expected a 1-11 or potential 2-10 season that's for sure, as most of us didn't either

[SDPokeFan]

I'm so glad I didn't post in any of these! But I agree it's pretty funny to see the optimism at the beginning of the year. If only they knew what was coming......

[J-Rod]

My point: there are 8-9 games Wyoming "could" win. That doesn't mean 50/50 games are like flipping a coin. Wyoming could very well go 4-8 again, or worse if the injury bug takes a big bite out of the defense. I'm leaning towards 6-6, but I think the floor for 2015 is lower than we're allowing.

I did get the bold right, but that was about it.

[nwpoke]

I didn't expect 7 wins, but I figured more than 1 or 2. I'm pretty sure I said something like we'd be competitive by the end of the season, and it would be fun to watch this team grow. I might have been obnoxious in saying that...and wrong. Dammit.