Early W-L prediction for 2015

[J-Rod]

The guys we lost aren't going to break this team for being gone. Rufran was a great leader in locker room, but his Senior year was MIA because of our offense and QB situation. Our LBs are all replaceable. Burns was ok.

Sonny Puletasi was a good player. The DL was held together with duct tape after he got hurt, and that duct tape was named Patrick Mertens. That is definitely a position of concern. That unit was obliterated to close the season.

[Hayduke]

I'll give it a shot.

9-5 North Dakota - Win
9-12 Eastern Michigan Loss
@ Washington State Loss
@ Appalachian State Win
@ Air Force Loss
Colorado State Win
@ Utah State Loss
@ Boise State Loss
New Mexico Win
@ San Diego State Loss
Nevada Win
UNLV Win

6-6 year...

[McPeachy]

Jeez. Sounds like some of you are writing off the season already. Spring ball is still have five days away.

Coffman will be better than our qb situation last year. We have absolute studs at rb, all conf d lineman, solid wrs.

Let's not be biased, but a little optimism is ok.

Well...not writing it off, but doing my own personal reality check...

1. How many players did we lose between fall of 2014 and spring of 2015 (some still TBA) - and not talking about graduating seniors here.

2. How many players will we lose between now and fall of 2015, and how many starters do we return? How many impact players do we return?

This is another full rebuild year...last year was a bandaid year with the late start the coaches had in recruiting, etc.

Last year the Pokes played two top 10 teams...none this year. The Pokes were also two plays from being bowl eligible......SJSU and UNM. It might be a rebuilding year, but a year in which the Pokes can make a bowl.

Of course, there was also the gift of the Florida Atlantic win. And squeaking a 5 point victory over FCS Montana, and a 4 point victory over Howdy Doody. Only against Fresno, did we have a convincing win - and I still don't know how that happened, oh wait - it was the coming out party for Brian Hill & Tyran Finley.

[WyoBrandX]

Pokes return the fewest amount of starters in the MW. The hope is bowl eligibility, but brace for a 4-8/5-7 type season. I think fans are underestimating just how much the defense might struggle. Bohl's offense goes down the toilet if he's giving up a lot of points. Gun to my head, I'd say 4-8 again, just like 2014. Rome wasn't built in a day. Hell, Bohl's NDSU powerhouse wasn't either.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think it's good that Wyo returns the fewest starters?

Get rid of the soft DC players. Bring in more Bohl players. At least players who have spent equal time or more time with Bohl than DC.

I'd have a hard time arguing that. Christensen brought in some decent players - and some stars - but if you weren't a wide reciever, running back, or quarter back, the chances are he didn't even bother evaluating you.

Bohl had a brutal first year. He got himself a nice refresher on FBS football. I look forward to him getting his recruits in place as soon as possible.

I heard somewhere that his mentality regarding players is very much similar to Roach/Tiller. Does anyone remember reading that too?

[BeaverPoke]

Pokes return the fewest amount of starters in the MW. The hope is bowl eligibility, but brace for a 4-8/5-7 type season. I think fans are underestimating just how much the defense might struggle. Bohl's offense goes down the toilet if he's giving up a lot of points. Gun to my head, I'd say 4-8 again, just like 2014. Rome wasn't built in a day. Hell, Bohl's NDSU powerhouse wasn't either.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think it's good that Wyo returns the fewest starters?

Get rid of the soft DC players. Bring in more Bohl players. At least players who have spent equal time or more time with Bohl than DC.

I'd have a hard time arguing that. Christensen brought in some decent players - and some stars - but if you weren't a wide reciever, running back, or quarter back, the chances are he didn't even bother evaluating you.

Bohl had a brutal first year. He got himself a nice refresher on FBS football. I look forward to him getting his recruits in place as soon as possible.

I heard somewhere that his mentality regarding players is very much similar to Roach/Tiller. Does anyone remember reading that too?

What mentality are you talking about? Help inform us younger folk please.

[PokeOLoco]

Speaking of this season, I kind of want to go to Pullman but given Hawaii torches our secondary, Im terrified to think about what Leach and his offense would do to it.

[WYCowboy]

I expect our special teams to be much better than last year - Bohl has said repeatedly that this will be a focal point. This is only one piece of the puzzle, but it sure will help.

[NowherePoke]

Jeez. Sounds like some of you are writing off the season already. Spring ball is still have five days away.

Coffman will be better than our qb situation last year. We have absolute studs at rb, all conf d lineman, solid wrs.

Let's not be biased, but a little optimism is ok.

Well...not writing it off, but doing my own personal reality check...

1. How many players did we lose between fall of 2014 and spring of 2015 (some still TBA) - and not talking about graduating seniors here.

2. How many players will we lose between now and fall of 2015, and how many starters do we return? How many impact players do we return?

This is another full rebuild year...last year was a bandaid year with the late start the coaches had in recruiting, etc.

Yep, this is a long term rebuild. I think there is potential for this to be the worst defense that Bohl has ever fielded as a head coach. We are a good 2-3 years away IMO.

For this year, the schedule is favorable and I do think we will see an upgrade in QB play. If the OL can hold together and avoid injuries (no depth there) we could be much improved on offense with our proven RB's (Wick and Hill). That can help to give the defense a break and control the ball.

Like most, I see a 4-8 or 5-7 type season but I also expect a little more fight and competitive games. I was hoping to see that in Bohl's first year, but I think we will see that this year. Last year we were basically slapped around in 5 games. I would like to see that happen less than 3 times this year. I expect some close losses this year, but that's part of the process. Last year we were 3-2 in "toss up" games that came down to the last possession. That's a credit to the coaching staff, but also probably not sustainable for a team that was 1-6 with 5 blowouts int he other 7 games. I think we will have more close contests this year, but don't see much improvement in the record.

[NowherePoke]

Speaking of this season, I kind of want to go to Pullman but given Hawaii torches our secondary, Im terrified to think about what Leach and his offense would do to it.

I expect they will score almost every time they have the ball. The question will be how well our offense can move the ball and control clock to limit their possessions.

I really think we are in for a rough season on defense.

[WYCowboy]

I think our defense will be some better than last year. More speed, better coaching, and more physical play in the secondary. At least the same or slightly better on the DL. LB is still up for debate. I expect the defense will get better as the season progresses if we don't have a rash of injuries. Depth is the main concern.

[mwc fan]

I'd be shocked to see Wacha actually playing MLB when the season starts. He's a decent player, but at 210 pounds I don't know if that's going to work. He usually played protected at OLB by the D end and when a play came his way he struggled to get off blocks. Also had a tendency to get caught up in the flow of blockers. I hope he does well and all, but I just don't know. Really concerned about the OLB spots too. Not much experience at all on the team. We basically have a walk on safety playing there, along with some offensive players that switched positions. Safety is also a huge concern. Let's face it Kamana was a train wreck at safety. Often gave up big plays and is the only safety I've seen that thinks he has help deep. I certainly hope the offense can keep the defense off the field for 75% of the game. I was feeling positive until I read the spring synopsis on the Defense. Hope Stanard and Bohl can get these guys coached up and hopefully they are more fundamentally sound then last years group.

[ragtimejoe1]

Like I said, I wouldn't be shocked with anywhere from 3 to 8 wins, but I'm curious, what others think of the teams we are playing. Hell, I think some of VK's teams would be competitive with this schedule.

Unless we take a giant step backwards, I just don't see that many games against juggernauts or even top 40 teams.

We should be fairly competitive by default this year. Record is really tough to predict.

[mwc fan]

Very tough to predict this year after reading about who left and who we have to fill spots. Looking back at last years team we had two guaranteed losses on the schedule and still could've been bowl eligible if the field goal didn't hit the upright, and we score on the final drive against NM. The MWC was so weak last year, Hawaii was still in the hunt for a MWC championship game going into the final week. This year the MWC is even weaker, so even though we are lean at spots there is still some hope.

[BeaverPoke]

Unless we take a giant step backwards, I just don't see that many games against juggernauts or even top 40 teams.

Our issue hasn't been Top 40 teams only, it's been Top 80 or even Top 100 teams.

[JimmyDimes]

I think our defense will be some better than last year. More speed, better coaching, and more physical play in the secondary. At least the same or slightly better on the DL. LB is still up for debate. I expect the defense will get better as the season progresses if we don't have a rash of injuries. Depth is the main concern.

I agree. There was a lot of positive talk about some of the youngsters who redshirted last year. The kids from Florida will bring some needed speed. We moved more speed to the LB position and the DL will be solid. A former starter in Chad Reese returns.

This will be CB's second year and I highly doubt we take a step back. I think the Pokes will surprise this year.

[JimmyDimes]

Like I said, I wouldn't be shocked with anywhere from 3 to 8 wins, but I'm curious, what others think of the teams we are playing. Hell, I think some of VK's teams would be competitive with this schedule.

Unless we take a giant step backwards, I just don't see that many games against juggernauts or even top 40 teams.

We should be fairly competitive by default this year. Record is really tough to predict.

Agreed......I do find it funny that some people on this board are talking Washington State up as some juggernaut. They won 3 games last year for crap sake.

[J-Rod]

Agreed......I do find it funny that some people on this board are talking Washington State up as some juggernaut. They won 3 games last year for crap sake.

They're really bad defensively. Moving the ball shouldn't be an issue as long as the OL has improved. That said, their young QB who took over for Halliday after his injury, Falk, was pretty good at throwing the ball around. Dropped 600+ passing yards on the road at Arizona State. I think their passing game has the potential to embarrass Wyoming's secondary, but the Pokes could make them uncomfortable if Coffman can move the changes. Really, Wyoming may be doing that a lot in 2015. Offense needs to be in form, cause the defense is going to need at least a few weeks to gel.

[fromolwyoming]

Agreed......I do find it funny that some people on this board are talking Washington State up as some juggernaut. They won 3 games last year for crap sake.

They're really bad defensively. Moving the ball shouldn't be an issue as long as the OL has improved. That said, their young QB who took over for Halliday after his injury, Falk, was pretty good at throwing the ball around. Dropped 600+ passing yards on the road at Arizona State. I think their passing game has the potential to embarrass Wyoming's secondary, but the Pokes could make them uncomfortable if Coffman can move the changes. Really, Wyoming may be doing that a lot in 2015. Offense needs to be in form, cause the defense is going to need at least a few weeks to gel.

We have an experienced QB and possibly the best RB duo in the conference going into the game.

[J-Rod]

We have an experienced QB and possibly the best RB duo in the conference going into the game.

Coffman hasn't started full-time since 2012. He may be experienced, but his job gap would frighten football employers lol. Wick and Hill should be a great tandem.

[JimmyDimes]

We have an experienced QB and possibly the best RB duo in the conference going into the game.

Coffman hasn't started full-time since 2012. He may be experienced, but his job gap would frighten football employers lol. Wick and Hill should be a great tandem.

He was the scout team QB last year while learning the Wyoming offense. He will be solid IMO.