I decided to keep going from the last ten, because I really wanted to get through the schedule and come up with a realistic sense of how this team might perform in my waaaay to early college predictions. A lot of that means looking at how other teams have performed and coming up with a sense of whether or not this can be a breakout year for the team. Short version: I think it can. Here’s why:
UNC played with a walk on QB last year. They lost three in three weeks, leaving them with basically nothing. Not to knock the skills of their season-long QB, but he wasn’t the guy. They were competitive against teams prior to and in games in which these major injuries occurred. I am left from this information, and the knowledge that there are 9 qbs on roster fighting to be that guy, that there is indeed a chance they are better and are poised for a breakout year.
No, it won’t start on the 13th with South Dakota. SD is a better football team than Colorado State. Houston Christian, the following week, is not. By the time this team begins divisional play they should be a 3-1 or at the minimum a 2-2 team. Those divisional games are hard to call. These teams know each other. there is a lot of history, in spite of the UNC roster being fairly new. They can handle the Idaho teams IMHO. I believe they beat Sac State and lose the next two home games only to rebound in Flagstaff and beat NAU. W win will happen against either Portland state or Eastern Washington but perhaps not both. It comes down to momentum and courage at that point. All of that adds up to a 8-4 best case record and a 5-6 worst case record. Both are a vast improvement. One may be enough to get a trip to the playoffs.