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The Bottom Line for 2024

E1k said:
If the coaches can maximize what we have 10-2, if im just going off our roster 9-3, worst case scenario 8-4

I think we have a supremely talented offense, might be the best set of starting skill players in a while, im still not sold 100% on the oline dominating games. Last year the oline was a very good pass blocking group and even then we max protected ALOT and when we didn’t our tackles got exposed at times so lets see how much that improves …run blocking left alot to be desired in acc play. Also replacing cohen and lee who were 3 plus year vets so thats a step down

We have good top of the acc talent but idk if its dominant talent that i can comfortably say its 10 wins or bust, that would be hoping EVERYTHING went right and that’s just unrealistic. But like i said up top, if the coaches maximize what we have this can be a 10 win team but that remains to be seen.
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That's absolutely fair. Only thing I'll say is that I have a hard time seeing 8-4 after everything we have added in the off-season especially a QB of Ward's caliber after what we had at QB last year which for all practical intents and purposes was an 8 win team. I think many lose sight of the improvement the squad as a whole will make regardless of the additions. For example last year your could see a marked improvement in the overall play of the team from 2022. QB play sunk us but there was an obvious improvement overall. I also think some get so caught up on what we lost from last year in terms of players and forget all of the young players who had a big role last year who are returning. I have been critical of Mario for certain things but this staff has shown evidence that they develop players. I'm looking forward to seeing them continue and improve upon that.
 
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FrancisSawyer said:
That's absolutely fair. Only thing I'll say is that I have a hard time seeing 8-4 after everything we have added in the off-season especially a QB of Ward's caliber after what we had at QB last year which for all practical intents and purposes was an 8 win team. I think many lose sight of the improvement the squad as a whole will make regardless of the additions. For example last year your could see a marked improvement in the overall play of the team from 2022. QB play sunk us but there was an obvious improvement overall. I also think some get so caught up on what we lost from last year in terms of players and forget all of the young players who had a big role last year who are returning. I have been critical of Mario for certain things but this staff has shown evidence that they develop players. I'm looking forward to seeing them continue and improve upon that.
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Respect but ill play devils advocate here on this theory of tvd sinking the team. Im just projecting to this year im not tryna spark old debates on our old qb he was terrible and we upgraded x10

Our 5 losses

Gtech- bad tvd game but i refuse to blame him with how we gave the game away in the end

Unc- overall ok game for Tyler, the entire team made losing plays that made it hard for us to overcome. We literally imo out played them 3 out of the 4 quarters but that 3rd quarter was so bad all around we just couldn’t recover. Had a terrible pick, a fumble snap, defense got shredded. Overall team loss to me

Nc state - tvd worst game, i put this one solely on him, he deserved to be benched imo

Fsu - emory fought hard, probably our toughest opponent on paper. Was closer than it should have been imo. Had some questionable calls by refs and our coaches didn’t capitalize on some moments

Louisville- probably one of tvd best games but defense got shredded

Some of these games weren’t totally on tvd, i agree with cam his lows aren’t near as low as tvd and obviously his highs are higher but it cant just be oh we replace cam with tvd and we automatically win games. Everyone has to do their job and the coaches have to be an advantage for is instead of what felt like a disadvantage alot of times last year…if the coaches dont improve as well especially dawson and mario we could drop games we shouldn’t again…Sorry for the long post lol
 
E1k said:
Respect but ill play devils advocate here on this theory of tvd sinking the team. Im just projecting to this year im not tryna spark old debates on our old qb he was terrible and we upgraded x10

Our 5 losses

Gtech- bad tvd game but i refuse to blame him with how we gave the game away in the end

Unc- overall ok game for Tyler, the entire team made losing plays that made it hard for us to overcome. We literally imo out played them 3 out of the 4 quarters but that 3rd quarter was so bad all around we just couldn’t recover. Had a terrible pick, a fumble snap, defense got shredded. Overall team loss to me

Nc state - tvd worst game, i put this one solely on him, he deserved to be benched imo

Fsu - emory fought hard, probably our toughest opponent on paper. Was closer than it should have been imo. Had some questionable calls by refs and our coaches didn’t capitalize on some moments

Louisville- probably one of tvd best games but defense got shredded

Some of these games weren’t totally on tvd, i agree with cam his lows aren’t near as low as tvd and obviously his highs are higher but it cant just be oh we replace cam with tvd and we automatically win games. Everyone has to do their job and the coaches have to be an advantage for is instead of what felt like a disadvantage alot of times last year…if the coaches dont improve as well especially dawson and mario we could drop games we shouldn’t again…Sorry for the long post lol
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Again that is fair and I shouldn't have said that Qb play sunk us but it did play a critical role. However my overarching point of overall team improvement still stands. Good post.
 
301cane said:
As favorable as the schedule looks right now I’d have to say 10 wins should be doable if we can maintain some semblance of a healthy squad
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Bingo. This.

Yes, Miami has all those pieces sitting here right now.

Godforbid the injury bug bites and key players are lost; what Mario doesn't yet have is a two-deep and next-man-up program, which is what he's trying to build.

The Canes of old; you had first stringers playing hurt because the were afraid if they came out of a game the guy behind him would take his job permanently.

Not saying those days will ever return, but Miami will still be depth-challenged in 2024, despite how good some of these first stringers look.

Pray to stay healthy this season.
 
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No excuse to lose to that putrid Gator team and certainly no excuses to lose to a Nole team at Home with no star QB under center. No excuses.

11-1 or get Mario the **** outta here!
 
Hate to pull this lazy take, but if Richt can go 10-3 and an ACCCG appearance with Rosier, Mario better **** well win 10+ with Ward and this roster. Get a DT or two and another DB and let’s ride.
 
Handsome Squidbum said:
Anything less than 11-1 would be a failure IMO. FSU made it's 12-0 regular season run in year 4. This is year 3 for Cristobal, but this isn't 1973. The way the portal works now means teams can become contenders almost instantly. If a coach can't build a playoff contender in 3 years, either
1. he mismanaged the portal
2., didn''t have resources
3. isn't a very good coach
(or some combo of the 3).

We know resources aren't the problem so if we aren't playoff caliber this season, it's either #1 or #3. It shouldnt take Cristobal 4-5 years to turn the program around.

I think Cristobal is up to the task and we are in for a great season. If we are undefeated going to December, I'll try to convince my wife to name our son Mario.
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The last 20 is making me want to say 10-2/9-3.
Frick being patient, no more excuses.
ACC champs and a playoff spot. The time is NOW.
Here's to baby Mario!

Btw, my son is now 20 years old.
"Coker" didn't seem like a good option at the time,
so I went with ...Devin.
 
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NJshoreCane said:
The last 20 is making me want to say 10-2/9-3.
Frick being patient, no more excuses.
ACC champs and a playoff spot. The time is NOW.
Here's to baby Mario!

Btw, my son is now 20 years old.
"Coker" didn't seem like a good option at the time,
so I went with ...Devin.
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I think this article sums it up:


UM should win the ACC this season, at minimum. Very few teams are perfect across the board, there are going to be some deficiencies (I think ours is going to be weakness at interior DL and CB). TCU and UW both had significant flaws but that didn't stop them from making the title game. That's what elite coaches do.
 
mirvin88 said:
Hate to pull this lazy take, but if Richt can go 10-3 and an ACCCG appearance with Rosier, Mario better **** well win 10+ with Ward and this roster. Get a DT or two and another DB and let’s ride.
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Been saying it for years. We'll see a good season again when our QB breaks some UM records. For crying out loud, our QB record book has to be one of the weakest looking in the country. For Rosier to have the TD record is shameful. That must change. If Cam can break the UM record for TDs, we'll win the ACC. If he doesn't, we'll be in trouble, and will probably see 9 wins, max.
 
M3N said:
lol some of you guys don’t watch football at all.

We have some major holes defensively in the secondary. And a patchwork OL with 1 good RB.

Will be very lucky to win 9
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Have you actually looked at our roster? OK, Martinez is an excellent RB, agreed. Lyle arrives in the Summer and RB is a position that even a fresh arrival can contribute from day 1. That gives UM 6 RB's, not counting Fletcher, who might be ready by mid season?

-Damien Martinez
-Ajay Allen
-Lyle
-Chris Johnson (speed)
-Wheatley Humphry
-Lofton (TE - HB) beast of a flexible short yardage back that can catch.

Only question at OL at this point is how effective will the replacement Center be. There will be some new studs on the defensive side in this new class, and most likely at least one DT added. Overall the offensive roster at QB / RB and TE should be dramatically better than 2023, and capable of putting up 40 points or more in every game. There will be some defensive surprises like McConathy. Overall I don't expect an actual falloff defensively, just better offense. Both sides need to get better with quality depth for sure to be able to compete with a UGA. But for 2024 in the ACC (and playing UF) the roster is solid and anything less than 10 wins would be a very bad look. Even two losses with this roster will leave people shaking their heads.
 
I've said 10-2 since the minute Cam committed, and if anything, what has transpired since then has only increased my expectations.

ZERO, and I mean ZERO reason to win 9 or less. Aside from an injury to Cam...I'm talking the team stays reasonably healthy, him most importantly, and we have average to good injury luck.

I'd be more disappointed with 9-3 this year than I was with 5-7 in Year 1.
 
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For the "10 wins or GTFOH guys," I kindly ask to please include (subliminal is fine) "barring injury" to that sentiment. Several of you have already mentioned that, so thank you. We lack expereinced depth at several key positions all over the defense. We had a LOT of guys miss time last year due to injury.

As many have accurately pointed out, this schedule is doo-doo, so 10 wins is the floor, but I've done the win, win, win, lose, win, win game too many times over the last 20+ years to count on it for anything. Every year there is a team or two that ends up being better than we thought and each year there are a couple that are worse than we thought (insert Miami comment/joke/insult/reality here).

Barring significant injuries, World Series here we come!!!!
 
We won’t get a schedule much easier than this for awhile.. Our hardest game is at home against FSU…For the folks thinking we go 9-3 or worse…you must think we would 4-8/5-7 with UFs schedule then, huh? The excuses are over. Mario has to find a way to get to 10-2. Even 2 losses would be head scratching..
 
Number1CanesFan said:
I agree with the holes defensively, but patchwork OL and only 1 good RB? NO. We have one of the best OL's in the ACC. Whose OL is better? At RB, we have 1 great RB healthy and a bunch of unproven talent. That doesn't make them not good. They just don't have experience.
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LG and C are a downgrade from last year. There is no doubt there. Maybe some1 surprises at the guard spot.

If Martinez goes down who’s up? Fletcher has been out since the bowl game as rumors swirl of Lisfranc injury. Behind him we have an average back in Allen, two very slight build RBs and Lyle who is a summer 1 enrollee. Looking into the future, but there will be 2 RBs transferring out.
 
OrangeBowlMagic said:
I've said 10-2 since the minute Cam committed, and if anything, what has transpired since then has only increased my expectations.

ZERO, and I mean ZERO reason to win 9 or less. Aside from an injury to Cam...I'm talking the team stays reasonably healthy, him most importantly, and we have average to good injury luck.

I'd be more disappointed with 9-3 this year than I was with 5-7 in Year 1.
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9-3 would be a major disappointment for sure. Guess it would depend on the 3 losses and how we played in those losses. We weren't the only ones that overrated our 2022 team as some publications and sports pundits had us in the top 15. That was some of the worst football I've ever seen.
 
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