I still think that with the defensive depth and overall talent level we're looking at 8-4. Maybe we'll win some shootouts and finish with a better record, or maybe we'll lose some and go 7-5.
We still have to play AU, who is going to make sure that if they don't beat anyone else this year they beat us. UT can still score points. UGA can score points and they have a defense. FSU is struggling offensively but they have a good defense. LSU is steamrolling everyone right now.
All those games are toss ups at the very least, and if BAMA misfires on offense and gives teams a short field? What if Mustin gets hurt again and goes out? He's arguably the spark plug on our defense right now and the second half against Arkansas is a good indication of (1) how much we rely on one player to hold it together for the defense and (2) our level of depth and talent.
I'm not saying that we have a WAC defense. All I'm saying is that we're not THAT good either. This is not the '92 defense but some of the statements I see made from people on various boards would lead you to believe that Arkansas is the pinnacle of offensive excellence in D1 and it was only due to our superior defense that we won that game. Some of these statements are coming from the same people that before the game, predicted 35-17 blowout wins based largely on Arkansas' inability to pass the ball. Of course Arkansas can run the ball though because they have 2 tailbacks that they run about 50 times a game combined.
Casey Dick did not come into his own against us the other night either. The guy completed less than 50% of his passes and he threw touchdowns on us because we didn't cover anyone. His first touchdown was nothing but blown coverage on our part. He didn't DO anything spectacular. We just blew coverage and bit on the play-action. His TD pass to Hillis was because we couldn't cover the back out of the backfield.
I'm proud of our kids and they are improving, but they're still raw and undisciplined sometimes on defense. It's not a knock on them, it just comes with the territory when you've got young players in a new system. But the situation is what it is and field position is going to be critical for us this year.
Anyway, that's just my opinion. I'm proud of the kids and they're going to improve (and are improving) but we're not there yet. Some of these games are going to be very tall orders for our young defense, especially if the offense turns the ball over.
