Why are they ranked in the top 15? Im just not seeing it. They look like a 7-5 team to me.

Lol Chris Peterson

going4roses;842716192 said:

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Lol Chris Peterson

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Still not seeing it.

Pac 12 Top Defense and a decent OLine to go along with a decent QB. Time will tell but what's not to figure out? Petersen hs more 'juice' than Dykes in coaching history. Dykes hasn't beaten any of the California schools or Oregon.

Media values defense. They rebuilt theirs after losing 3 first round picks. Also, that OOC schedule is a guaranteed 3 wins.

They have a stud (all conference) at every level of their defense--that big burley dude that we were in the mix for anchor their DL, they have that azeem dude for LB and they have buddha baker as S. You can't really ask for more than that.

They have a good sophomore QB, who they expect to make as much improvement as UCLA's sophomore, who gets all the hype.

They will be hard to beat at home, but we beat them last year, gonna be a good one.

Tim : Sark and tosh put our defense recruiting/development back 9yrs+ and subsequently boosted theirs tremendously

CP came in riding that defensive wave in with full support paying his coaches$$$ that came with him with ties to CA and elsewhere not bound by the same academics.
For instance Mathis is there headliner irrc had cal offer but could not qualify

DL guys with top talent and (cal)Fit are few and far between

Basically it's Petersen belief. They have the best D in the PAC. IF you believe in browning then they will make a big leap this year from 89th nationally offensive FEI (football outsiders offensive efficiency index). Personally. I don't see it. But they will end up with an ok record because as noted they are guaranteed 3-0 and they play AZ OSU and get ASU at home at the end of the year which are all probably wins

MoragaBear;842716243 said:

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Me, too. He's 15-12 at UW and half those wins were against terrible teams.

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Maybe this is the year they get within two touchdowns of Oregon.

I'm also not buying the UW hype. It reminds me of last year's ASU hype.

CRBear;842716246 said:

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Maybe this is the year they get within two touchdowns of Oregon.

I'm also not buying the UW hype. It reminds me of last year's ASU hype.

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HAHHAHHH they are better than THAT, but yeah, WAY overhyped

moonpod;842716247 said:

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HAHHAHHH they are better than THAT, but yeah, WAY overhyped

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My bad. Oregon only beat them by 6 last year. Progress!

ASU was a preseason 15 in the AP and 16 in the coaches poll.

yeah but what I meant is UW won't be as bad this year as ASU was last year but for sure way overhyped and IMO if they finish in the top 25 it'll be closer to 25

Press is giving UW the Coach Pete bump. I ain't buying the hype.

tim94501;842716186 said:

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Why are they ranked in the top 15? Im just not seeing it. They look like a 7-5 team to me.

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USC fans said the same thing about Cal before the 2004 season.

BearsWiin;842716258 said:

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USC fans said the same thing about Cal before the 2004 season.

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The difference is that it was clear AR was going to be a star after 2003 season.

ducky23;842716260 said:

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The difference is that it was clear AR was going to be a star after 2003 season.

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Lots of differences, actually. Petersen is a better HC. UW's defense is better than Cal's was. Cal's OL was better than UW's is. Did I mention that Petersen is a better HC? But the similarities are there too, including momentum from last year where UW looked a lot better down the stretch than they did early in the season (like Cal in 2003).

UW's biggest obstacle to 10+ wins this year is OC Jonathan Smith. There's a certain someone waiting in the wings, though, possibly whispering in his ear.

Early Tedford was 15-11. Petersen is 15-12. I tend to give the nod to the guy who previously had a BCS bowl win and six top-14 (four top-10) finishes.

Dykes apologists like to criticize early Tedford by arguing that the Pac-10 at the time was weak, so his record isn't really that impressive. Glad you're not one of those people.

Seems quite lofty for sure. Top 25 I can see and agree...

From one of the youngest and least experienced teams a year ago, clearly well-coached, there should be upside for sure. Many forget that CP had some pretty darn good Ds too, at least a few sub 20 PPG allowed Ds, even down to 12 points per game allowed.

FEI is seemingly the lowest ranking for UW's 2015 offense, and I see it at 85th, in the top 2/3rd of FBS. Our offense in 2015 was mediocre, 6th best in Pac-12 in scoring, yet 16th best offense, according to FEI? We have a new OC for a reason. Multiple measures, not just one, reveal that UW had a generally blah offense, a little below to even a bit above average... Here one can also see S&P offense ratings, and while many of the same FEI teams top the list in 2015, UW is very much higher there:

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaaoff

UW scored almost 31 PPG in 2015, 29 in conference games. Points are what matters, and UW was clearly in the top half of FBS in scoring. Yards per play is 6, inside the conference, 5.72, well in the top half of FBS, better than Southern Cal, Utah, for reference.

In 2015, UW had a pretty average offense, by most accounts. Since I'm a bottom-line guy, points per game, from a Pac-12 perspective, their offense was subpar, below the conference average, although better than average in FBS as a whole. Their D, one of the best in FBS.

Considering that was accomplished with a quite a bit of youth and inexperience, including a true freshman QB and a green O line, allowing for a high sack rate, the team is getting some deserved recognition. 15th though?

BearsWiin;842716269 said:

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Early Tedford was 15-11. Petersen is 15-12. I tend to give the nod to the guy who previously had a BCS bowl win and six top-14 (four top-10) finishes.

Dykes apologists like to criticize early Tedford by arguing that the Pac-10 at the time was weak, so his record isn't really that impressive. Glad you're not one of those people.

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Tedford inherited the worst Cal team in history. CP, not so much. Plus Boise St had a system and the freedom to get the players that fit. CP is a great coach, but I seriously question whether he could get Cal to a Rose Bowl. He has never dealt with the kind of anti-football bias at Berkeley.

As for "Dykes apologists" who discount early Tedford, while "there's always one" on this board, I doubt you can name more than two of this sort.

Since they finished 14 in the final AP poll last year I'd say 15 was an insult

MoragaBear;842716279 said:

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No, they started 14 in the preseason poll, which made no sense then, either. They ended unranked with no votes: http://www.espn.com/college-football...ar/2015/week/1

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Oops you're right about that

tim94501;842716186 said:

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Why are they ranked in the top 15? Im just not seeing it. They look like a 7-5 team to me.

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Yes, you are missing something!!
They have lots of talent with outstanding coaches.

I'm looking at the ESPN AP preseason rankings 2015, and there's no mention of UW. UCLA is #13 and ASU is #15.

First three games at home, easy foes... Then on the road, a very winnable game in Tucson. Then, back home against Stanford. I'll call that upset win now, and 5-0 going into Eugene, with a BYE after...

Cal89;842716289 said:

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First three games at home, easy foes... Then on the road, a very winnable game in Tucson. Then, back home against Stanford. I'll call that upset win now, and 5-0 going into Eugene, with a BYE after...

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The furd game will be interesting. But they have a very favorable opening schedule. (Granted most PAC schools opening the year with three easy ones) They also get ASU at home and they get OSU as a couple more shoo in wins IMO

89 and I have already hashed it out at length over UWs O. essentially if you believe in their Offense they are primed to have a good year. If you don't then they will still have a winning year, but not a #14 year.

This. Here's to Coach Pete following in the glorious footsteps of the other 'great' BSU head coaches.

MoragaBear;842716267 said:

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Peterson's better than early Tedford based on what? His time at Boise State? Because his 15-12 at UW with the pathetic preseason schedule they have every year says no.

Hawkins and Koetter were good at Boise, too. Not so much in P-10.

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Peterson+Defense+Offense that started several true/RS frosh last year and was playing well at season's end+favorable schedule(LSJU, USC at home, no UCLA). Top 15 might be a stretch but 5 losses is highly unlikely.

MoragaBear;842716243 said:

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Me, too. He's 15-12 at UW and half those wins were against terrible teams.

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Easy there, Moraga. By the measure of how many good teams a coach beats, CP has done very well over his coaching tenure.

By that very same measure, Sonny has to be considered one of if not the worst coach currently employed by any D-1 program. That's why I don't think that is a fair measurement.

UW has great players and great coaches. They have recruited much better than we have. There is a reason they are ranked and we are not.

How do we change this? Blowing them out would probably do the trick.

We beat them there last year. We get them at home this year

moonpod;842716309 said:

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We beat them there last year. We get them at home this year

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You're right. I fixed it. Thanks, moonpod.