historian said:

---

Bear8084 said:

---

hodedofome said:

---

We play UT close most years so that one is possible. I just don't see how we beat OU however. They score too many points and Rhule is not comfortable in a shootout.

---

Matching the firepower and scoring of OU is hard for any team, but Rhule and Co. seemed alright against KSU, Okie State, Texas Tech, and Vanderbilt and the shoot-outs those games were.

---

True. But some of those should not have been shootouts. That's one of the reasons for possible doubts about 2019. I still think we can get 9 wins, maybe more. Cautious optimism.

---

Also very true. The defense is/was a weakness to the overall success of this team. We have absolutely have to make growth in that area to continue with the positive steps this program has taken. I guess my point was, as the season went on and the team got into a shootout, whether it should've happened or not, CMR and the team did what they had to do to win. Yeah, a handful of games got away from them and they couldn't keep up, but as a program that is still rebuilding, that is bound to happen.

Bear8084 said:

---

Also very true. The defense is/was a weakness to the overall success of this team. We have absolutely have to make growth in that area to continue with the positive steps this program has taken. I guess my point was, as the season went on and the team got into a shootout, whether it should've happened or not, CMR and the team did what they had to do to win. Yeah, a handful of games got away from them and they couldn't keep up, but as a program that is still rebuilding, that is bound to happen.

---

Good analysis.

Who will be standout players on defense other James Lynch and clay? Arnold wasn't great last year. Blake Lynch is inconsistent. Most of the backups are 1st or 2nd year guys. The scheme changed? The defense could be worse this year.

BaylorLit 01 said:

---

Who will be standout players on defense other James Lynch and clay? Arnold wasn't great last year. Blake Lynch is inconsistent. Most of the backups are 1st or 2nd year guys. The scheme changed? The defense could be worse this year.

---

Arnold got hurt last year and ended up redshirting. Blake Lynch's best games all came towards the end of the season...seemed like a light was coming on.

BaylorLit 01 said:

---

BaylorBJM said:

---

BaylorLit 01 said:

---

Crash Davis said:

---

BaylorLit 01 said:

---

I say 7 wins. We'll miss Mr. do-it-all Jalen Hurd and Bj Thompson. Can Mims step up and be the man without Hurd drawing attention? Platt is just a fast guy trying to play football. Can the offensive line improve despite being mostly the same people?

---

Platt had 400 yards and 5 TDs in 4 games before blowing out his knee in 2017. Monster numbers. Not sure what to expect from him going forward, but I'd be more inclined to blame his 2018 struggles on recovering from a knee injury and his strength (going deep) overlapping with Charlie's weakness (throwing the deep ball) than some lazy fast guy trying to play football label.

---

225 yards and 3 td's came on 3 long passes. You have to be able to run more than a fly route.

---

Lulz, what? You're discounting 60% of Platt's yardage because they came on big plays?

That's what deep threat WRs do.

---

That's fair. I hope he has a good season. His hands were shaky last year but maybe the injuries played a part. I'm excited to see Ty this year. Mims has all the tools; just needs to play with more of that Corey Coleman tenacity.

---

Correction...he has had shaky hands since he has been on campus. Hope he finds them and puts 1500+ yards up this season. Would be cool to see a bunch of TDs from a 6th year senior.

8 wins:

3 OOC
KU
KState
Texas Tech
WVU
ISU

Loses to:
OU
UT
TCU
OSU

YoakDaddy said:

---

8 wins:

3 OOC
KU
KState
Texas Tech
WVU
ISU

Loses to:
OU
UT
TCU
OSU

---

The more I think about it, we will have a victory over 1 of those 4 for a total of 9 wins.

7Wins... maaaybe 8

SFA
UTSA ALL wins, shouldn't even be close. If any are
Rice ... Whoa Nelly, not good.

IowaSt - here's my maybe
KS St - should be a win
Tech - PuLEASE be a win! Should be

OK ST - there, away game, probably loss
W VA- here, new coach, new QB... Win
TCU - LOSS... Fatterson, FtW, lots of F's *#!!!!!

OU - BOTH of these two... Losses
TX - Both just way better, OU probably undefeated
and wHorns possibly one/two losses at this
point.

KS - there, may be BAD weather, we don't play well in
cold. Could be closer than one thinks... Les,
improved by end of season, etc.
WIN though anyway

BBWCBear said:

---

7Wins... maaaybe 8

SFA
UTSA ALL wins, shouldn't even be close. If any are
Rice ... Whoa Nelly, not good.

IowaSt - here's my maybe
KS St - should be a win
Tech - PuLEASE be a win! Should be

OK ST - there, away game, probably loss
W VA- here, new coach, new QB... Win
TCU - LOSS... Fatterson, FtW, lots of F's *#!!!!!

OU - BOTH of these two... Losses
TX - Both just way better, OU probably undefeated
and wHorns possibly one/two losses at this
point.

KS - there, may be BAD weather, we don't play well in
cold. Could be closer than one thinks... Les,
improved by end of season, etc.
WIN though anyway

---

In 2015, we had a huge road win in Stillwater despite cold weather. I'm not saying we have the same team now that we had then, but it may not make as much a difference.

Come to think of it, though, the Texas heat will be in our favor when Iowa State comes to town. That will help us win.

You know I am with you on CAB.,,but I don't understand the hate for CMR? I think he has done a great job and this season is full of optimism! Sic em Bears.

Hopefully the 31st against SFA.

Brian Ethridge said:

---

Eball said:

---

You know I am with you on CAB.,,but I don't understand the hate for CMR? I think he has done a great job and this season is full of optimism! Sic em Bears.

---

You coming this Saturday or next Saturday?

---

I hope to be in McLane for both. I already have tickets for SFA. I've been ready for Baylor football since January!

In these projections, some of you seem to be forgetting the inevitable 2 win boost we'll get from our new uniforms.

Eball said:

---

... I think he (CMR) has done a great job ...

---

With a record of 8 - 17?

57Bear said:

---

Eball said:

---

... I think he (CMR) has done a great job ...

---

With a record of 8 - 17?

---

Absolutely! You have to be blind or willfully ignorant not to see the quality person and coach he is and the great decisions he has made in the time he has been here. I was certainly disappointed with year one but year two far exceeded my expectations and year three seems likely to have us up around 10 wins and another bowl game. The recruiting under the circumstances has been nothing short of spectacular and will only get better once the NCAA stuff is behind us. We have a ton of young athletic kids who have bought into a model of working hard to improve...even assuming CMR leaves us after a great season next year we will be situated in much better shape to transition to another likely excellent hire by our AD.

I have been a fan of BU football 55 years and our future is bright compared to some of the seasons of drought I have experienced.

enough.

- BUmma

{ sipping coffee }

{ eating donut }

Eball said:

---

57Bear said:

---

Eball said:

---

... I think he (CMR) has done a great job ...

---

With a record of 8 - 17?

---

Absolutely! You have to be blind or willfully ignorant not to see the quality person and coach he is and the great decisions he has made in the time he has been here. I was certainly disappointed with year one but year two far exceeded my expectations and year three seems likely to have us up around 10 wins and another bowl game. The recruiting under the circumstances has been nothing short of spectacular and will only get better once the NCAA stuff is behind us. We have a ton of young athletic kids who have bought into a model of working hard to improve...even assuming CMR leaves us after a great season next year we will be situated in much better shape to transition to another likely excellent hire by our AD.

I have been a fan of BU football 55 years and our future is bright compared to some of the seasons of drought I have experienced.

---

I enjoyed the CAB era a lot. I also enjoyed last season and am looking forward to this season. It is not an either / or proposition with CAB and CMR. Most people can enjoy the memories of the 48-14 beat down of OU in Norman AND enjoy the memories of the bowl game last year AND still look forward to this season.

I'm not as optimistic as all you 9 win people because conference road games are historically very hard for BU to to win but I sure hope you are all correct in your assessment.

We should win 7, but could win 6 or 8. I think a lot of people are underestimating Iowa State and forgetting how we have done historically playing at OSU and KSU.

We have 1 quality defensive end (2 if you consider Lynch an end, and in a 3-man front that is what he will be). Particularly against Big 12 offenses, our lack of pass rush will kill us.

Tech and WVU being at home helps us and should allow us to be bowl eligible before the Kansas game. If we have already won 6, we could be flat in that game.

Most likely 7 wins and we still will not have beaten a team with a winning record at season's end. Back-to-back bowl games is significant.

If we win 6 or even seven it will seem like we are hitting a plateau of being 6 or 7 win program with this regime. I do think 9 wins including a bowl win. The team that won the bowl last year looked about like that type of team. I think it is fair to expect that team to be our team this season and improve from there. I think there will be pleasant surprises.

If Charlie stays healthy all season - 9 wins.

I'm with the 7, maybe 8 crowd.

improvement, but wishing we could see more. Sic 'em, men, and get more.

PartyBear said:

---

If we win 6 or even seven it will seem like we are hitting a plateau of being 6 or 7 win program with this regime. I do think 9 wins including a bowl win. The team that won the bowl last year looked about like that type of team. I think it is fair to expect that team to be our team this season and improve from there. I think there will be pleasant surprises.

---

All true. While it may seem to be a plateau if we have 6-7 this year, it is premature to judge the Rhule era in year 3. Briles did not have his greatest successes until year 4 and beyond. Teaff had a good years 3 & 5 but did not have a bowl victory until year 8. I only mention them for comparative purposes. It may take some time for Rhule to fully establish himself at Baylor. We need to be patient! Briles has us spoiled, expecting excellence every year and that is rare. Other than Bama, how many football teams experience that?

What we cannot do is go back to being happy with mediocrity. That may have been fine in the past (prior to mid 00s) when we (the university) weren't even trying to win. I know that was not our rhetoric but our budget showed we weren't even trying. But now with the blue blood levels of $$$ we rightfully put into it now, being mediocre should not be the satisfactory return. I agree about year 3 but year 4, the writing is in the wall. That all said I'm not expecting any of that. I'm expecting improvement from the team that played in the bowl and about 9 wins this season.

PartyBear said:

---

What we cannot do is go back to being happy with mediocrity.

---

We can thank Art Briles for that. This may have been his greatest accomplishment at Baylor.

Well, along with this:

15 wins

8 regular season wins. We'll lose one we shouldn't, and win one we shouldn't.

57Bear said:

---

Eball said:

---

... I think he (CMR) has done a great job ...

---

With a record of 8 - 17?

---

There is no way a coach at BU can be successful with that record after 2 years.....except our last coach who was 8-16 after 2 years with no bowl game. Hmmmm. I'm amazed at the folks on even the free board that have no recognition of the mess Rhule inherited. Absolutely CLUELESS!

More like stubborn tunnel vision: they see what they want to see & ignore anything that does not fit their pre-conceived notions. I can think of a few cultural comparisons...

The more I think about it, the more I realize we will miss Jalen Hurd. He truly was a beast.

If the receiving corps can eliminate the "dropsies" they had last year, particularly early on, it's a way better than average year. Miss after miss last year cost us so many first downs, probably some scores.

I'm going with 10 wins plus the bowl, so 11. Hard to make the math work, but I'm hoping for some breaks this year we didn't get last year. We were VERY close to 9 last year, and our home schedule is strong.

historian said:

---

PartyBear said:

---

What we cannot do is go back to being happy with mediocrity.

---

We can thank Art Briles for that. This may have been his greatest accomplishment at Baylor.

Well, along with this:

---

That is such a great video!

gold rewards said:

---

The more I think about it, the more I realize we will miss Jalen Hurd. He truly was a beast.

If the receiving corps can eliminate the "dropsies" they had last year, particularly early on, it's a way better than average year. Miss after miss last year cost us so many first downs, probably some scores.

I'm going with 10 wins plus the bowl, so 11. Hard to make the math work, but I'm hoping for some breaks this year we didn't get last year. We were VERY close to 9 last year, and our home schedule is strong.

---

I think we will miss his versatility and particularly his ability to jump in at running back and pound the rock on short situations, rather than his receiving ability. As a slot receiver I think we have guys that can match his production, but we don't have anyone that can match his physicality