Which Position Group needs to "prove it" this season?
- Thread starter OscarBerkshire
- Start date
Listened to a CFB podcast this morning talking about ISU and their record in one score games in 2024, and what happened if they regress to the mean. My thought was what if Roccos pick 6 rate also regresses back to the mean, and he doesnt throw 3 or 4 causing ISU to be in one score games they shouldnt be in.
Jonesing for real football at this point
Jonesing for real football at this point
If the o-Line improves and we are able to get the run game going then I'm really not concerned with replacing two NFL WR's.
QB - This is the most important position in sports, I think you throw this out as it's always QB
WR - I have low expectations given what we lost and I think it's setting the team up to fail if you put too much on the new guys
RB - see below
OL - If this group finally "proves it", it would lead to all the positions above have good/great years and the team is likely back contending for a conference title. If they are average at best (standard CMC era), we are likely taking a step back on offense in 2025.
TE - Could be wrong here, but I think TE in the modern game is way over-rated. It should not come as a shocker the 2024 team was the best season in the CMC era, when we used the least amount of heavy TE sets.
DL - #2 most important IMO, if they take a step forward, it takes SOOO much pressure of the back 8
LB - Campbell/Heacock worst position group YoY. No NFL players, I have low expectations
CB - If transfer Tre Bell lives up to the early hype, this group (if healthy) will be good
S - Feel good about starters, back-ups are a question but I have faith in the scheme
WR - I have low expectations given what we lost and I think it's setting the team up to fail if you put too much on the new guys
RB - see below
OL - If this group finally "proves it", it would lead to all the positions above have good/great years and the team is likely back contending for a conference title. If they are average at best (standard CMC era), we are likely taking a step back on offense in 2025.
TE - Could be wrong here, but I think TE in the modern game is way over-rated. It should not come as a shocker the 2024 team was the best season in the CMC era, when we used the least amount of heavy TE sets.
DL - #2 most important IMO, if they take a step forward, it takes SOOO much pressure of the back 8
LB - Campbell/Heacock worst position group YoY. No NFL players, I have low expectations
CB - If transfer Tre Bell lives up to the early hype, this group (if healthy) will be good
S - Feel good about starters, back-ups are a question but I have faith in the scheme
Didn’t CW mention a return guy in a recent pod? Wasn’t it one of the transfers? Or maybe a freshman? I was only half listening while I was mowing.
This. I thought that the OL was at least decent last year. Not great, but probably the best of the Campbell era. They lose their best two OLs, but have a bunch of guys back with starting experience. If they make the move from decent to good, that makes everything easier. A good running game will help Rocco more than great WRs.
Jaylin was dangerous on punt returns, hope Xavier can bring that too.
Before last year he punts sail over his head a lot of the time, usually resulting in a large loss of hidden yards. That may have been schematic, but glad he and the scheme improved.
The Utah and UCF games come to mind. Those three pick 6's (though UCF technically had just one) happened while we were driving and in/right at FG range. Big momentum swings and likely 10-14 point swings each time. Those can change a game pretty quickly.
Absolutely. We had quite a few games where pick sixes made it much closer than it should have been. And honestly, I can't remember many that were just due to pressure. Mostly, they were due to bad reads, bad throws or tipped balls. So really, yeah, we won a bunch of close games, but that's kind of deceiving.
Definitely Rocco needs to clean that up and get up into the mid 60's completion %. The question to me is whether his interceptions and fairly low % were due to trying to force the ball to Higgins and Noel or if he struggles to see the field. That's something that we're going to learn real quick, because Higgins and Noel are gone. I think that you can argue that this WR group is better overall just because it's deeper (especially if you include the TEs). They just don't have the difference makers at the top. So can Rocco see the field and find who's open rather than locking in on 1-2 guys? We'll see.
I think with WR the top end talent really is the difference maker. Getting open against anyone is kinda the key. Most guys can get open against mid or bad competition… but still I have faith in the WRs. In the Campbell era, we have always had an NFL or borderline NFL guy in the WR corps. Literally from day 1 of his era. I don’t think it’s crazy to expect that that could continue
Related to our o-line, is our early down running game. If we can get into 2nd/3rd and shorts, it makes life much easier for our receivers/Rocco, hot take I know. I may way off base (which I have been in the past) but I feel we were in a lot of 3rd and long situations where we relied heavily on Noel and Higgins.
I think our running game was okay (middle of the Big 12 iirc), last year, elevating that would go a long way for the offense.
I think our running game was okay (middle of the Big 12 iirc), last year, elevating that would go a long way for the offense.
Offensive line. I’d like to see Sama get more than 0-1 yard carries before breaking a 30+ yarder.
