Now that we’ve wrapped up what was a very successful 2021 campaign, I’m interested to see what people think the goal for 2022 should be. I know that some smart **** on here is going to say “win all our games should always be the goal“ but we all know what reasonable expectations look like and what unreasonable expectations look like.
With Rattler coming in, I’ve got to think even in the most conservative minds, that’s an instant big boost to the offense. Elite quarterback play is the biggest key to making a jump in college football. Just look at Clemson for an easy example. I’m not expecting Rattler to necessarily be elite next year, but he has elite talent, there is no doubt. If he can be even 80% of what he was at Oklahoma his first year, I think we will certainly be better on offense by significant margin.
The biggest question on offense going into next year is clearly was the bowl just a flash in the pan or was it a sign of real progress? Satterfield‘s body of work this season has me pretty worried to be honest, but credit where it’s due, he called a very good bowl game. Looks like he’s coming back in 2022, so we might as well strap in and hope he can make big strides with Rattler at the helm. Hopefully we can grab a couple good portal receivers and maybe an offensive lineman somewhere. Even with Satterfield, I find it hard to believe we will be worse overall on offense next year than we were this year.
Defensively we lose some pieces, most notably Enagbare, Ellis, and Foster, but I think Clayton White proved this year that we are in very good hands on that side of the ball. In year two of that system, I expect that we will be at least as good as we were this
year, if not a little better.
With all that being said, I think the SEC east is wide open behind Georgia next year. Tennessee will be good as will Kentucky. I think Missouri is very beatable next year and Florida will look totally different. Our schedule is actually pretty favorable early. At Arkansas and at Kentucky are two massive games early that will tell us a lot.
At this point, I think the fair baseline expectation should be 7-5 with a chance to win 8 in a bowl. That could change given how the portal goes, but that would be progress from year one and I think would constitute a good season although perhaps not a great one.
With Rattler coming in, I’ve got to think even in the most conservative minds, that’s an instant big boost to the offense. Elite quarterback play is the biggest key to making a jump in college football. Just look at Clemson for an easy example. I’m not expecting Rattler to necessarily be elite next year, but he has elite talent, there is no doubt. If he can be even 80% of what he was at Oklahoma his first year, I think we will certainly be better on offense by significant margin.
The biggest question on offense going into next year is clearly was the bowl just a flash in the pan or was it a sign of real progress? Satterfield‘s body of work this season has me pretty worried to be honest, but credit where it’s due, he called a very good bowl game. Looks like he’s coming back in 2022, so we might as well strap in and hope he can make big strides with Rattler at the helm. Hopefully we can grab a couple good portal receivers and maybe an offensive lineman somewhere. Even with Satterfield, I find it hard to believe we will be worse overall on offense next year than we were this year.
Defensively we lose some pieces, most notably Enagbare, Ellis, and Foster, but I think Clayton White proved this year that we are in very good hands on that side of the ball. In year two of that system, I expect that we will be at least as good as we were this
year, if not a little better.
With all that being said, I think the SEC east is wide open behind Georgia next year. Tennessee will be good as will Kentucky. I think Missouri is very beatable next year and Florida will look totally different. Our schedule is actually pretty favorable early. At Arkansas and at Kentucky are two massive games early that will tell us a lot.
At this point, I think the fair baseline expectation should be 7-5 with a chance to win 8 in a bowl. That could change given how the portal goes, but that would be progress from year one and I think would constitute a good season although perhaps not a great one.
