Predictions for upcoming Fooseball season?

1) 3-9. Don’t know who we’ll beat, but I think we’ll match last year’s win total.

2) My answer would probably be Darrian the Barbarian, but I think that’s who everyone would pick, so I’ll go a different direction with the term “newcomer.” Darius Willis drew rave reviews on the scout team last year, and I’m excited to see what he can do. Willis is listed at 6’3 243, but looked to have good speed and a nose for the ball from his time on the field in the Spring Game. Losing Springer hurts, but I feel like Willis could end up being better.

3) I look for Bradley McDougald to be most improved. He played just two games at safety last year, and while he did some good things that have generated some hype about his future at the position, he also looked lost at times. A full off-season working at safety should give him a much better grasp of his role in the position, and I look for him to be a difference-maker this fall.

4) Tim Biere. I’ll go a little off the beaten path with my MVP pick. I think the RBs will be splitting carries to the point that it will be hard to pick out just one as the difference maker. The receivers all look to be in the good-but-not-great category, so I think Biere will shine in his senior season. The O-line shouldn’t need so much help blocking this year, which will open up his receiving opportunities and allow him to be a force in the passing game (such as it is). I look for him to lead the team in TD catches.

5) My defensive MVP is Toben Opurum. A full-year as a full-time DE should give him the experience and comfort level he needs for his strength and athleticism to show on the field. He should rack up some sacks and TFLs, as well as some bone-jarring hits here and there to remind the offense to be scared of him. This is all presuming, of course, that the rest of the d-line isn’t so weak that the opposition focuses two blockers on TO at all times.

6) I’m also most excited for the K-State game. We get them at home in consecutive years, and we ought to be ready to tear them apart after last season’s debacle. The question is, will we be good enough to tear them apart? A win in this game might just make the season for me, even if we were to go 2-10.

7) The biggest strength offensively is the running game. We should have a healthy, much-improved o-line (along with a good blocking TE) creating some seams for a stable of exciting young RBs to run through. Defensively, our strength looks to be the linebacking crew, who was all over the field making plays at the Spring game.

8) Our greatest weakness is a tie between quarterback and cornerback. Webb may be growing into a much improved QB, but no one has seen it yet. As for the corners, they’re athletic enough to make some plays, but have zero coverage instincts and spend most of the play chasing their man from behind. Remember Baylor? Yeah…

Overall I’ll be judging this team in terms of their progress in specific areas, rather than solely in the W-L column.

1) 4-8 – wins over McNeese state, North Illinois, KState, and Iowa State

2) Miller is the easy choice here but I’m also excited to see if Jimmay Mundane gets in the mix and what he can do.

3) Big John Williams. Man is ready to do work in the middle and will make a difference at DT. Or so I hope and pray.

4) Sims is my pick, Patterson a close second.

5) Bradley McDougald, with Toben a close second.

6) I agree that KState is the league game I’m most excited for. Their defense should be horrible again and I think we have an honest shot to upset them. Like I said earlier, if we play them late in the year last year no way do we lose nearly as bad as we did. Overall though, I’m just ready for the first game and to see where we are at.

7) Running game… thats pretty obvious.

8) Coaching? JK… well maybe. Weakness is probably the passing game ( a mix of QB troubles and WRs failing to get open or dropping passes is to blame) and cornerback.

1) 2-10
2) Pat Lewandowski
3) Kale Pick
4) Jeremiah Hatch
5) Keeston Terry
6) KU/MU of course
7) Lots of running backs
8) No depth on the lines

1.) W-L
I could see us only winning one game this season, but I’m going to be optimistic and say 3-9, with wins over McNeese State, Northern Illinois, and Iowa State.

2.) Incoming Player you’re most excited to see
I know he’s not really an incoming player, but I’ve been most looking forward to seeing Bourbon play. After the injury, I’m not really holding my breath that he’ll have the year I was hoping for. Other new players that I’m pretty excited about would be:
Willis
Bakare
Miller
Pierson
Mueller

3.) Player who you believe will be the most improved
I’m hoping for Webb, but it might just be a pipe dream. I think Opurum is a more realistic pick for this question.

4.) Offensive MVP
Kind of along with Rivet’s thinking, I hope the entire offensive line will earn this title. Of course, if they do their job, then this Sims will probably have a huge year.

5.) Defensive MVP
I’m thinking either Opurum, Willis, or Tharp. If I had to pick one, it would be Toben.

6.) Matchup you’re most excited to watch
Right now, I just want to know what kind of team we’re going to have this year, and I think the Northern Illinois game is where we’re going to find that out. If there’s team I’d love to beat, it would KSU . . . but I don’t know if we’ll be quite there this year.

7.) KU’s biggest strength
I’d say the offensive line, but I thought that last year as well. It’s probably our running back depth.

8.) biggest weakness
I’d say our lack of a pass rush and QB play. Hopefully, both of these areas will be improved over last year.

1) W-L

I’ll say 3-9, but I really have no idea what to expect. McNeese State is the only game I feel confident looking at on paper, but I can’t imagine we don’t end up winning a couple more than that. N. Illinois seems a lot like So. Miss, in that they’re a non-BCS school that seems to be dangerous pretty consistently and put some talent into the NFL (granted I know nothing about the scheme or personnel for NI), but a BCS team should always expect to beat a mid-major. And then I believe a win could be had over KSU or ISU, but as I’ve said before, I have no idea what to expect from the team. More likely, we’ll lose a game or two of those I mentioned, but end up beating Texas or something ridiculous like that.

2) Incoming player

Darrian my answer, but since everyone here has probably seen his highlights by now, I’ll talk about a guy who I’m excited about who I’m not sure will even play this year, Damon Martin. He’s one of many OL prospects in our class and needs to put on weight (Rivals has him at 265 right now), but watching his highlights, he has a really nice burst off the line. If he can put on weight and get up to speed on the offense, I’d imagine he’ll push for PT. However, I think it’s more likely he redshirts and takes over at G in a year or two. I have heard a couple of places that he is a candidate to switch to DT, but not sure if that is based in fact or just due to his first step.

3) Most Improved

I think we’re all hoping whoever our QB is will be the most improved, but I don’t know if I think Webb or Mecham have “it”, so I’ll say Hatch. He didn’t play horribly last year, but he’s lost some weight and I think he has the potential to be an all Big XII player if he keeps improving. Toben is also another strong candidate here.

4) Offensive MVP

Until I see another player consistently perform on offense, I’ve gotta say Sims. It could easily be Miller, but I think Sims is gonna end up being the workhorse, and our passing game is gonna make us run it a lot. Patterson and Beshears will get more big plays, but I think our QB play holds them back.

5) Defensive MVP

I think our LB core ends up being the strength of our defense, but Toben will be the best individual player. I’d argue he played as well as anyone on our D last year, and that was with very time to learn the position. I expect him to get 7 or so sacks, but also become a better player against the run.

6) Matchup you’re most excited to watch

I’ll say Texas Tech, because I think after this game we’ll have a pretty good idea of what the team’s ceiling is for this season. Before this we face a cupcake, a strong non-BCS team, and a strong OOC opponent that will be looking for revenge. If we are able to compete with Tech, wins against the lower-tier Big XII schools will seem more realistic and should give the team confidence, and we can hold out hope for a bowl. Or…we could get lit up, and in that case, this game will confirm our worst fears about this season.

7) KU’s strength

Gotta be RB. It’s maybe the only position where we have both significant talent and depth. However, I think our LBs and WRs will be strong groups as well.

8) KU’s weakness

Corner. I have nightmares about the Baylor game from last year, but I think our secondary should be better this year. Patmon showed some flashes and our safeties should be improved which will help. We’ve recruited fairly well in the secondary (according to the recruiting services at least), so hopefully getting some new blood on the DL will improve the pass rush and not leave these guys on an island so much.