# Ole Miss is coming off of a 6-6 season. They are still on a post season ban, scholarship reductions and probation through 2020. Half a dozen starters transferred out of the program like running back Jordan Wilkins, quarterback Shea Patterson, and defensive end Marquis Haynes and they had a slew of injuries this spring. They do return senior QB, Jordan Ta'amu and the #1 projected WR in the 2019 NFL draft, 6-foot-2 and 225 pound A.J. Brown. Brown highlights a group that also features D.K. Metcalf and DaMarkus Lodge. Metcalf looks primed for an even bigger year in 2018, and he had a tremendous outing in the Grove Bowl. They are stacked at WR. PUSH
Lamar WIN by 24+
Houston is coming off of a 7-5 season. Kendal Briles is the new play-caller at UH and he has installed a more attacking, up-tempo spread offense this season. Junior, D'Eriq King is his QB. In Saturday's Red & White Game, King completed 8 of 13 for 259 yards and touchdowns that covered 58 and 60 yards. King started the final four games and finished with a 64.7-percent completion rate with 1,260 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Arguably his biggest moment came when he led a fourth-quarterback comeback on the road to beat No. 17 South Florida. DLine will once again be the strength of the UH defense. They will feature DT Ed Oliver, Sr DE Jerard Carter, and TCU transfer Isaiah Chambers. Our OL will have their hands full and perhaps the best DL we will face in 2018. WIN by 3
@ Oklahoma State is coming off of a 10-3 season but lose QB Mason Rudolph and WRs Washington and Ateman. They also lose a lot of experience on defense and replace their defensive coordinator. MAN I WISH THIS GAME WAS IN LUBBOCK! They're ripe and even though we've only lost the last two in the series by a combined 8 points, we haven't won in Stillwater since the 2001 season. Oklahoma State extends that 9-game winning streak in the series out to 10 games and takes the lead in the all-time series to 22-21-3. LOSE by 7
West Virginia went 7-6 last season and return some nice pieces on offense, including QB Will Grier and WRs Sills (18 TDs) and Jennings (97 receptions). They aren't great on defense and will give up a lot of points but they will be one of the better offenses and outscore teams more times than not. This game will come down to where our offense is at with 4 games under their belt(s) as I believe that our defense will give us a chance. PUSH but I really want to believe
@ TCU went 11-3 last season but lose QB Kenny Hill, four OL starters, Howard, Texada, Bradley, Orr and Boesen on defense. A neutral-site game vs Ohio State will show us a little about where TCU stands in 2018 and with 12 days to prepare for this game and considering Kliff's record versus Patterson, I actually think that all bets are off and that we grab a win in Fort Worth. The TCU faithful don't show up well on Saturdays in the fall, this is a Thursday night... WIN by 3
Kansas is bad. Maybe worse than Baylor (1996-2009) bad. We come out rusty after the emotion of a road win in Fort Worth and with 9 days to prepare our minds drift a little to an upcoming game at Iowa State. We still have too much and pull away to WIN by 17
@ Iowa State went 8-5 and dang it if they haven't had our number under Campbell. They have as many or more questions than we do right now. Only 4 OL have solidified spots. They haven't found their 5th at the end of spring and while they have a great group of RBs, they lose WR Lazard and currently don't have an offensive coordinator (left for the Indianapolis Colts) so Campbell is calling the plays. On defense, they lose MLB Joel Lanning and all three safeties that played meaningful snaps for the 2017 defense. They will know who their guys are by the time we play but has Campbell recruited well enough to fill the holes that begin to show by year 3? These will mostly be his players now and moving forward. I think that we start to show a little fatigue and it is a conference road contest. I also think that our run game and defense keep us in it. LOSE by 7
Oklahoma, 12-2 in 2017, is better than us by a pretty significant margin. I could give some detail but I'm going to fast forward to move us along. I believe that this will be our low point in the season and when you "Boo Birds" will be your most obnoxious and loudest about Kliff and TTU football. I also believe that we go up from here. LOSE by 21
Texas went 7-6 in Tom Herman's 1st season and he is recruiting lights out already, but hasn't Texas historically done less with the most? This is the maddening thing about being a Red Raider and honestly it is probably what saved Kliff's job last season-- we will beat UT. I've compared Kliff to Spike (the guy that recruited him) for two years now. Spike was so mediocre as a coach. He averaged 6-5 for 13 1/2 years and we liked him just fine, mostly because he went 6wins and 7 losses against UT, the best in program history. (Leach was 2-8). Kliff beat UT as a QB in 2002 and now in 5 years as HC he has already beaten them twice and two in a row IN AUSTIN. Kliff gets his first win over UT in Lubbock. We follow up by building him a statue, that we later tear down the next time we lose. WIN by 7
@ Kansas State finished 8-5 last season. If Texas does less with more, than Snyder and KState have been doing more with less to be the yang to UT's yin. Snyder returns all five OL. That's all you need to know. @W. McKay , @C. Level , @A. Dickens , myself... doesn't matter who plays QB behind that line, Bill Snyder will beat Texas Tech, Texas, and at least 6 other teams in 2018. I wish that guy would retire already... we tear down Kliff's statue. LOSE by 10
# Baylor TL;DR they will still be bad. They will have maybe had a slightly better season in 2018 because they are recruiting really, really well but we WIN by 14
That is how I come up with 6 wins. Actually 6-4 and if we split our PUSH games, 7-5 overall. As a Kool-aid drinking, optimist, I am on record with saying that we will go 8-4 and I will stick with that but do truly see how we could finish with 5 wins or 9 wins. Some of you have asked to be shown where we (the optimists) see 6 wins, there you go.
Lamar WIN by 24+
Houston is coming off of a 7-5 season. Kendal Briles is the new play-caller at UH and he has installed a more attacking, up-tempo spread offense this season. Junior, D'Eriq King is his QB. In Saturday's Red & White Game, King completed 8 of 13 for 259 yards and touchdowns that covered 58 and 60 yards. King started the final four games and finished with a 64.7-percent completion rate with 1,260 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Arguably his biggest moment came when he led a fourth-quarterback comeback on the road to beat No. 17 South Florida. DLine will once again be the strength of the UH defense. They will feature DT Ed Oliver, Sr DE Jerard Carter, and TCU transfer Isaiah Chambers. Our OL will have their hands full and perhaps the best DL we will face in 2018. WIN by 3
@ Oklahoma State is coming off of a 10-3 season but lose QB Mason Rudolph and WRs Washington and Ateman. They also lose a lot of experience on defense and replace their defensive coordinator. MAN I WISH THIS GAME WAS IN LUBBOCK! They're ripe and even though we've only lost the last two in the series by a combined 8 points, we haven't won in Stillwater since the 2001 season. Oklahoma State extends that 9-game winning streak in the series out to 10 games and takes the lead in the all-time series to 22-21-3. LOSE by 7
West Virginia went 7-6 last season and return some nice pieces on offense, including QB Will Grier and WRs Sills (18 TDs) and Jennings (97 receptions). They aren't great on defense and will give up a lot of points but they will be one of the better offenses and outscore teams more times than not. This game will come down to where our offense is at with 4 games under their belt(s) as I believe that our defense will give us a chance. PUSH but I really want to believe
@ TCU went 11-3 last season but lose QB Kenny Hill, four OL starters, Howard, Texada, Bradley, Orr and Boesen on defense. A neutral-site game vs Ohio State will show us a little about where TCU stands in 2018 and with 12 days to prepare for this game and considering Kliff's record versus Patterson, I actually think that all bets are off and that we grab a win in Fort Worth. The TCU faithful don't show up well on Saturdays in the fall, this is a Thursday night... WIN by 3
Kansas is bad. Maybe worse than Baylor (1996-2009) bad. We come out rusty after the emotion of a road win in Fort Worth and with 9 days to prepare our minds drift a little to an upcoming game at Iowa State. We still have too much and pull away to WIN by 17
@ Iowa State went 8-5 and dang it if they haven't had our number under Campbell. They have as many or more questions than we do right now. Only 4 OL have solidified spots. They haven't found their 5th at the end of spring and while they have a great group of RBs, they lose WR Lazard and currently don't have an offensive coordinator (left for the Indianapolis Colts) so Campbell is calling the plays. On defense, they lose MLB Joel Lanning and all three safeties that played meaningful snaps for the 2017 defense. They will know who their guys are by the time we play but has Campbell recruited well enough to fill the holes that begin to show by year 3? These will mostly be his players now and moving forward. I think that we start to show a little fatigue and it is a conference road contest. I also think that our run game and defense keep us in it. LOSE by 7
Oklahoma, 12-2 in 2017, is better than us by a pretty significant margin. I could give some detail but I'm going to fast forward to move us along. I believe that this will be our low point in the season and when you "Boo Birds" will be your most obnoxious and loudest about Kliff and TTU football. I also believe that we go up from here. LOSE by 21
Texas went 7-6 in Tom Herman's 1st season and he is recruiting lights out already, but hasn't Texas historically done less with the most? This is the maddening thing about being a Red Raider and honestly it is probably what saved Kliff's job last season-- we will beat UT. I've compared Kliff to Spike (the guy that recruited him) for two years now. Spike was so mediocre as a coach. He averaged 6-5 for 13 1/2 years and we liked him just fine, mostly because he went 6wins and 7 losses against UT, the best in program history. (Leach was 2-8). Kliff beat UT as a QB in 2002 and now in 5 years as HC he has already beaten them twice and two in a row IN AUSTIN. Kliff gets his first win over UT in Lubbock. We follow up by building him a statue, that we later tear down the next time we lose. WIN by 7
@ Kansas State finished 8-5 last season. If Texas does less with more, than Snyder and KState have been doing more with less to be the yang to UT's yin. Snyder returns all five OL. That's all you need to know. @W. McKay , @C. Level , @A. Dickens , myself... doesn't matter who plays QB behind that line, Bill Snyder will beat Texas Tech, Texas, and at least 6 other teams in 2018. I wish that guy would retire already... we tear down Kliff's statue. LOSE by 10
# Baylor TL;DR they will still be bad. They will have maybe had a slightly better season in 2018 because they are recruiting really, really well but we WIN by 14
That is how I come up with 6 wins. Actually 6-4 and if we split our PUSH games, 7-5 overall. As a Kool-aid drinking, optimist, I am on record with saying that we will go 8-4 and I will stick with that but do truly see how we could finish with 5 wins or 9 wins. Some of you have asked to be shown where we (the optimists) see 6 wins, there you go.
