Athlon’s college football preview has us going 6-6.
Athlon’s College Football Preview
- Thread starter Rebelsss
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It talked about the coaching change. It did mention that Brumfield and Ricky White are back. It said many of our top performers hit the transfer portal.
Aiden Robbins would be nice to have back… but life goes on!
I agree, but smaller backs probably fit the system a bit better. That being said, it is good to have diversity in the backfield and somewhat who can play with more power.
Ughh, he transferred to YBU.
I hope his teammates don’t rat him out for having sex.
Thanks, Robbie, for sharing this.
6-6 or 7-5 sounds about right to me. If we hit either, or better, I'll be very happy since we are almost never bowl eligible!
6-6 or 7-5 sounds about right to me. If we hit either, or better, I'll be very happy since we are almost never bowl eligible!
UNLV has only hit 6 wins twice in the last 20 years and not many more the 20 years prior to that so 6-6 would be like Alabama going undefeated.
Call me crazy, but Aiden Robbins is totally replaceable. I'll get a little stat nerdy now...
Arroyo overweighted his commitment to Robbins. He was given 20+ carries in 6 games last year and only broke the 90 yard barrier 3 times. That it. 3. Averaged 4.8 YPC, nothing special.
Take away his best and worst total rushing performances and he barely rushed for 750 yards in the other 10 games.
C. Reese was given exactly 1/4th the carries as Robbins and averaged 7.2 YPC. That's 50% greater than AR. While I believe Reese is not an every-down back and best used as a change-of-pace back, he was underutilized. If given more carries his YPC will likely slide. That being said, we still had much more value to extract out of Reese. Our best total team rushing output probably would have been 65/35 Robbins to Reese rather than the 80/20 Arroyo allocated.
Now on the eyeball side of things for AR, he could only collect the yards blocked for him. He was not producing alpha based upon his own abilities. He was mediocre at best finishing runs for a guy his size. So many runs stopped dead or turned sideways upon contact for a guy his size. Pad level too high. AR didn't take us to a bowl when we had everything set up...hot start, soft schedule, ect
I didn't rate him highly during the season and still don't even though Sitake wanted him and he transferred. He (Sitake) is not that great anyway so maybe they're a match made in heaven.
Given the choice between a poor-man's Chuckwagon and AR I'd really have to think on that one. That's why he's replacable. I'm sure Odom can find us a poor-man's Chuckwagon.
I agree that Robbins somewhat disappointed in his runs given his size. He wasn't exactly the second coming of Christian Okoye out there.
That being said there were moments that his physicality paid off. He often got the best of 1 on 1 scenarios against DB's for sure.
His size was an issue in creating holes, which was a problem for us last year which hurt him. Unlike Reese, and of course Chuck who was a master at this, he couldn't squeeze through smaller openings or windows to get past that first line of defense very often unless it was a wide open hole or cut back lane.
That being said there were moments that his physicality paid off. He often got the best of 1 on 1 scenarios against DB's for sure.
His size was an issue in creating holes, which was a problem for us last year which hurt him. Unlike Reese, and of course Chuck who was a master at this, he couldn't squeeze through smaller openings or windows to get past that first line of defense very often unless it was a wide open hole or cut back lane.
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Comparisons to Christian Okoye..
Oh boy. Time for another bong rip.
I get what you’re saying by running tall.
We had a magnificent run for running backs. From Lexington Thomas to the chuck wagon.
I’m having nightmares when the chuckwagon coughed up the ball before halftime and the opponent scored.
Oh boy. Time for another bong rip.
I get what you’re saying by running tall.
We had a magnificent run for running backs. From Lexington Thomas to the chuck wagon.
I’m having nightmares when the chuckwagon coughed up the ball before halftime and the opponent scored.
I completely agree with @VegasKC SDM !
I always thought that AR was a dime a dozen. Never wowed me given his physical gifts. I'm not rooting against him personally (just against BYU) so I hope that he does well individually. I just don't think that he was a "must keep" for us.
I always thought that AR was a dime a dozen. Never wowed me given his physical gifts. I'm not rooting against him personally (just against BYU) so I hope that he does well individually. I just don't think that he was a "must keep" for us.
Especially for a first year coach who had several of his better players leave.
Watch out, no realistic expectations allowed here or you'll get called out for having unacceptably low standards.
Fact is, we've had a ton of turnover and it's tough to say the roster has been improved across the board by it.
We have a QB that's been here for a bit, but hasn't proven to stay healthy and/or produce consistently on the field. Behind him, are two QB's with zero playing time, and one that looked very mediocre last year. Brumfield going down with injury is my biggest concern.
In addition, we lost multiple key pieces from the O-Line. I have a feeling this is going to bite us as soon as injuries start to take place.
On top of that is a brand new offensive system. It has a lot of hype, but I'm tempering my expectations on how it will turn out on the field. We will see.
I am optimistic that our defense will be stronger than it has been in many years. That has to do with the players, both returning and newcomers, as well as a coaching staff with a decent track record on that side of the ball.
Phil Steele predicts that we do not qualify for a bowl game this year and that we finish towards the bottom of the league. His predictions are usually pretty accurate.
With all that said, getting to 6 wins year one would be a great start for this staff and regime. Should be able to carry a lot of momentum forward in the years to come.
Fact is, we've had a ton of turnover and it's tough to say the roster has been improved across the board by it.
We have a QB that's been here for a bit, but hasn't proven to stay healthy and/or produce consistently on the field. Behind him, are two QB's with zero playing time, and one that looked very mediocre last year. Brumfield going down with injury is my biggest concern.
In addition, we lost multiple key pieces from the O-Line. I have a feeling this is going to bite us as soon as injuries start to take place.
On top of that is a brand new offensive system. It has a lot of hype, but I'm tempering my expectations on how it will turn out on the field. We will see.
I am optimistic that our defense will be stronger than it has been in many years. That has to do with the players, both returning and newcomers, as well as a coaching staff with a decent track record on that side of the ball.
Phil Steele predicts that we do not qualify for a bowl game this year and that we finish towards the bottom of the league. His predictions are usually pretty accurate.
With all that said, getting to 6 wins year one would be a great start for this staff and regime. Should be able to carry a lot of momentum forward in the years to come.
Going 6-6 would be incredibly disappointing... Again, Arroyo was like 3 TDs away from 8 wins. Returning the QB, getting better staff, and better defense that shouldn't be a problem. Yeah, Michigan is untouchable, but any other game on that schedule should be a toss up from a fans perspective entering the season. We shouldnt be happy to go 6-6 anymore, thats not getting the job done.
Aiden Robbins is not that replaceable! We have never had a back that big be that good for us since Cornett. I get it, he went to the enemy and some here will hold that against him but UNLV’s typical backfield is more Lexington Thomas than Aiden Robbins. I believe you always have to have a big back to go with the lightning!
I’m having lunch with Harvey Hyde tomorrow. I’ll see what he thinks of our upcoming season.
You’re right, one of the worst FBS programs of all time, with a whopping 4 total bowl games in its history should be completely disappointed appearing in a bowl game for the first time in 10 years. Especially with a first year head coach with an almost complete roster turnover.
He must be in his mid 80"s. How is he holding up. I hate that Biden gives us geezers a bad rap.
He actually just turned 84. He’s doing real good. He’s going to Catalina soon. I’ve hung out with him over at Catalina. He’s turned out to be a good friend over the years. He really knows Rebel football. He’s on the radio all the time. He’s very very active for someone his age.
Ask him what it was like to coach Cunningham as a coach and punter!!
What gave him the idea etc.
What gave him the idea etc.
And tell him, there’s a ton of Rebel fans that still love him.
He was before my time though..
Ask him if he recruited Suge Knight to UNLV.
He was before my time though..
Ask him if he recruited Suge Knight to UNLV.
I know people at UNLV that know Suge. He would come around and visit.
It would’ve been fun to be at UNLV when Harvey and Tark were there. Harvey’s best friend was Myron Tarkanian. Myron passed away about a year ago.
It was a fun time when Billy Bayno and John Robinson was coach..
I enjoyed my time at UNLV and when Coach Sanford was coach and Frank the Tank Summers was my classmate when I went to finish my Bachelors of Arts degree.
Past history has nothing to do with future expectations.. you ever want to get out of the basement and secure our future with a P5 invite, Expect more, be disappointed by mediocrity... if not, then continue to be happy to be a fringe 6-6 team because "it's better than we've been" and miss out on the $$$ that is necessary to keep the program running...
Again Arroyo was 3 TDs away from 8 wins, Sanchez almost made a bowl game... none of them had the talent or the experience this staff has and players have... Expect more, we do for basketball and we most certainly need to for football
Welp..talk is cheap until Brumfield gets injured again.
Btw, I did look at the schedule. It’s very easy..
The goal with Odom needs to be better than 6-6 but not in his first year. Most his recruiting wins have been with 2024 recruits, they aren’t here this year. I believe Odom will bring us success but it’s going to take some time. If you’re going to consider 6-6 in his first year a disappointment you honestly don’t understand football at all.
Coach thinks we’re going to have a winning season. We went over the schedule.
I think Arroyo almost went 6-6 with a damaged Brumfield and a swiss cheese defense...
Odom receives a 2 year starter at QB who knows day 1 hes QB1, talent at WR, and has added a ton of good 2023 players to the talent pool. He has had success with QBs in past and this league is very easy to win in if your QB play is slightly above average... SDSU started a CB for what 7 games last year at QB and went to a bowl game... the defense will be better than last year, and the new offensive system is going to create headaches for everyone in conference much the way AF run option does, except we have better talent and quarks...
Everything you mention is 100% on paper only. Same type of things we talk about in the preseason every year.
I’m hoping all of those things come to fruition and we’re talking about them as facts 3/4 into the season.
It's a matter of whether or not you think we will be better this year vs last.
New coach with new systems in year one typically have a rough go. So from a big picture standpoint that makes complete sense.
The counter to that is that both systems are supposed to be easy to pick up quickly.
The schedule may even be easier than last season which was pretty weak to begin with. Granted preseason schedule strentgh rarely holds up over time.
So 6-6 is definitely a safe bet, all things considered.
I do think a somewhat logical ceiling is much higher than that, if everything goes as advertised. I think the floor should be higher as well.
New coach with new systems in year one typically have a rough go. So from a big picture standpoint that makes complete sense.
The counter to that is that both systems are supposed to be easy to pick up quickly.
The schedule may even be easier than last season which was pretty weak to begin with. Granted preseason schedule strentgh rarely holds up over time.
So 6-6 is definitely a safe bet, all things considered.
I do think a somewhat logical ceiling is much higher than that, if everything goes as advertised. I think the floor should be higher as well.
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