Welcome to Niner Nation. I guess we still need to earn the respect that we all think we deserve, however it shouldnāt be this hard to change the mindset of those that are suppose to be āneutralā. A couple of games donāt make a trend, however in contrast, there are also currently teams in the top 25 that will continue to be the favorites in their games and stay in the top 25 primarily based on where they were ranked before the season and who they are even if they lose and play low level competition.
We are neither at this point, but for those that continue to bet against us only make our middle fingers stronger and longer when we prove people wrong.
Difficult to get a bead on this squad after they faced 2 high potent, efficient offenses. That being said I donāt consider army and unc defenses to be elite. Youāll read they have the weapons to score but thru 2 weeks havenāt seen it yet. Hopefully, the film shows something to exploit. Again, Itāll be on Reynolds and crew to put enough points up. Our defense has shown potential but I donāt think theyāre there yet to take over a game.
I hope Iām 100% wrong, but oddsmakers are right more often than wrong. I dont think itās as simple as looking at records after only 2 games. We beat a Duke team which was a huge win, especially for our local image, but they could be a really bad teamā¦not just an ACC cellar dweller. And even against GW, our defense showed some glaring weaknesses.
As much as I dislike UNC CH, they are a top 25 team and may have done the same to us than they did to Ga State. And this will be our first road game. I think this game is a toss up, but Iām not super offended we go into this game as dogs.
I think the spread essentially suggests the game is a toss upā¦home field advantage is maybe 2-3 points in the line (not a better, so I donāt know). Armyās defense was excellent last season and really stout this year too, I think.
Georgia State has weapons on offense and if it clicks the Niners defense will have to have its best game to dateā¦by a long shot. Duke hurt themselves, dropped td pass and fumble (caused by a great hit) inside the five kept the Niners in the game. Georgia State is not playing well, really struggling to put the offense together (which shocks Panther fans because everyone worried about the defense going into the season).
I think this could be a really close game, tighter than the records suggest. But, between the two teams, the Niners are playing with a healthy confidenceā¦Panthers are not. That counts for something, I think.
I give the nod to the Niners, I just think the Panthersā season is about to tank with a 0-5 startā¦maybe worse. As much as I hate going against the Panthers, Iām going with the Niners because going into Illinois 3-0, with I think a real shot at winning there, would be huge for the programā¦Can you imagine being 4-0 and two of those wins against P5s!!! The win means more for the Niners, although a win for the Panthers might turn their season around (doubtful, week after this game the Panthers go to Auburn).
Army is a unique opponent too, tough to really tell anything when you play against them that applies to more conventional teams. I think this is a 60-40ish game in our favor and a good measuring stick. Itās the type of game we need to win if we want to get to where we want to go. Iād love to jump on them early and hopefully get them saying āHere we go againā.
I think it will be a battle though and we win a close one.
Hitting them early would definitely keep them dejected. Need to keep the pressure on and take their will to win. We know theyāre already unhappy with their start to the season. They were expected to roll army.
Awesome news!! Hard to imagine 1 player will be able to fix our atrocious run defenseā¦but he should certainly help and make a difference. Just how big of a difference we will see!!
