Rank Our 2015 Opponents

[IrishHokie22]

1. USC
2. Georgia Tech
3. @ Clemson
4. @ Stanford
5. @ Pitt
6. Texas
7. Navy
8. Boston College
9. @ Virginia
10. Wake Forest
11. @ Temple
12. UMass

I don't see teams 8-12 having much of a chance. Virginia is awful; I'm not sure why anyone sees them as a sleeper.

Navy, as always, scares the hell out of me and beats the shit out of our team physically.

@ Pitt and home against Texas are games we should win but are more than capable of losing. If we play to our potential we should win both games with relative ease.

@ Stanford will be brutal as always, and GT is a much, much better version of Navy. Those games could go either way. I think we're better than Clemson but Death Valley is a very tough place to win.

We're more than capable of beating USC but we'll have to play well. Everyone needs to be on that night.

 

[Irish YJ]

Let's be fair though, outside of FSU and South Carolina, who has Clemson played at home over the last four years? Georgia outside of that and that's about all I can think of.

In terms of USC, I think they're the closest thing to as talented as we are. I still think we hold the edge. We've recruited as good or better than them since Kelly took over minus last year. We also have better coaching. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Kelly has his faults, but you have to admit, his staff knows how to develop talent. Not so sure about Sark and his squad. The only guy I was rather impressed with on their staff was their OL coach, and he's no longer there (took the OC job at scUM). USC was not that impressive last year, and I don't think they'll be that much better this year. They've got plenty of talent, but their depth is a huge concern and it's a problem practically everywhere. ND ran into some horrible luck last year, while USC got extremely fortunate by avoiding the injury bug. We just have to hope ND's fortunes are better this year. Call me overly optimistic, but that's just how I see it.

If we are being fair, they beat UGA, and Auburn at home in the past couple years. They also beat Louisville last year, which we lost too. Their losses have only been to FSU and South Carolina I think. I think it's more about who they haven't lost too. They haven't lost to any NWs or USFs at home.

 

[Crazy Balki]

If we are being fair, they beat UGA, and Auburn at home in the past couple years. They also beat Louisville last year, which we lost too. Their losses have only been to FSU and South Carolina I think. I think it's more about who they haven't lost too. They haven't lost to any NWs or USFs at home.

I don't recall Clemson losing practically their entire starting and 2nd string defense either if we're truly being fair. Auburn in 2011, but they weren't good at all that year. They barely beat Utah State and Miss State prior to that game, and LSU, Alabama and UGA all completely embarrassed them (45-10, 42-14 and 45-7 respectively). Louisville was okay, but we did a lot to throw that game away, and UGA ran them over in the bowl game. Again, not really much to talk about in terms of big time home games. Let's not forget that FSU pounded them in 2013, they didn't just beat them, but flat out obliterated them.

 

[Irish YJ]

I don't recall Clemson losing practically their entire starting and 2nd string defense either if we're truly being fair. Auburn in 2011, but they weren't good at all that year. They barely beat Utah State and Miss State prior to that game. Louisville was okay, but we did a lot to throw that game away, and UGA ran them over in the bowl game. Again, not really much to talk about in terms of big time home games. Let's not forget that FSU pounded them in 2013, they didn't just beat them, but flat out obliterated them.

They lost a lot on D, but have recruited very well. I believe one of the top DL hauls last year if not the best, one of the top LB hauls in 2014 and 2013. Good DB haul in 2013 as well. They have the horses to plug in. If they fail to make their star ratings, that's one thing, but on paper they have the guys.

And yes, they got creamed a couple times. So did we. But again, the pure numbers say they are pretty damn good at home in terms of W/L. Better than we have been in t he last 5 years I bet.