Too early
True....until we even know what the QB situation looks like and what some of these freshman look like, we don't know much (even after spring, with so many new faces, we still won't know much....not until Sept. 9).
But since it's February and we're bored....
I'd break it up into "should win", "should lose", and "toss up". I put these in order of "most likely to win" to "most likely to lose".
Should win:Arkansas State
Louisiana Monroe
Chattanooga
South Carolina
Kentucky
Ole Miss
Because Kentucky and Ole Miss are road games, this group should be 6-0 best case, 4-2 worst case.
Toss Up:Mississippi State
Arkansas
Georgia
Clemson
LSU
At least all but MSU are home games...4-1 best case, 2-3 worst case. I really wanted to put MSU and Arkansas in the other group, but MSU on the road early in the year will be a tough win, and Arkansas can score with us, so who knows on that one too.
Should Lose:Alabama
Duh....best case we win, most likely we lose.
So best case is something around 10-2 or 11-1. But that's a very, very best case. Worst case is 6-6, which would be less shocking than 11-1.
So assuming we go "middle of the road" on the groups above (5-1 in the first group, 3-2 in the second group), I say 8-4 or 9-3, depending on how the Alabama game goes. So hopefully a bowl game means 9 or 10 wins.
That would be outstanding to me.
Don't forget, just because we had a great recruiting class doesn't mean we'll be significantly better in 2010. A local radio guy here always says there are three things that scare him....midgets, antique furniture, and rookies. Freshman are unknowns. We don't know how they'll pan out. And even if they are talented like we think...they are young, they are inexperienced, and therefore inconsistent and unreliable.
For defense, having inexperienced and inconsistent "bodies" will be a step up from having no "bodies" at all. But still, we should be realistic...they aren't going to turn things around overnight.
Factor in a new QB and new feature back running the ball....we should have our sights set similar to last year, with maybe a game better because of schedule.