I agree with you that FSU 2010 will be a unique circumstance with the level of available talent and the number of improvements made this offseason.
It’s easy to expect only slight improvement when you think about the changes individually, and likely too easy to expect great improvement when you see them all in one place.

I like your points and i think you are right.. The D will definatly be better this year and in retrospect getting the ball back into the hands of CP7 and letting him sail one to Fortson to make a catch for the books. Or running the reverse to Reed for a touchdonw from the 25 yard line. I definatly see BETTER execution on both sides of the ball and i know that Jimbo will make sure of that. I see one of Jimbo’s biggest expectations is getting W’s. I remember Jimbo saying that wants to give G5 some playing time on offense, cant wait for that.. I think that FSU has alot of things in place to be very successful. It feels good to have a team where EVERYONE is on the same page. Funny that you say that this team might be better than 1999 because they will look or be nothing like that team. Because we are FSU of 2010!!!!!

Though realistically the 8 or 9 win season would be great, I just have this odd feeling that we are going to surprise even the most optimistic of predictions for this year.

I have the same feelings, just like romance..you see the reality, and you feel guilty for being realistic, but you want it to happen so badly that maybe it will work. Damed anticipation, let the season begin….lol

I am just hoping that FSU will win every game that I go to this year. Have plans to attend 9-10 games….not including ACCCG or a Bowl Appearance. Go Noles!

I was going to post something similar in regards to the intangibles that ARE in our favor…. One more that I find worthy of mention is this….

Our schedule is tough, everyone says so, the experts agree, and in reality it IS a tough schedule… However….
Our toughest conference games are at home. The game @ Miami has historically been a game where home field advantage means little.
The game @ Oklahoma is a “win-win” for us all around. We get them early, before there is much for them to prepare for, we’ll have all the emotional advantages… AND… In OOSNC games (that’s “out of state non-conference”), including bowl games we’re 57-10 since 1990… including wins at USC, BYU, Notre Dame, Colorado, etc… .Bottom line, this is the type of game we have historically played well in (sod game?).
But even if we lose the game, if we play well, we’ll still get respect by the “pundits” if we keep it close.

For bad teams, they want the Dukes, Marylands, Virginias, etc. as home games hoping to steal a win at home. For the better teams, we want “winnable” road games to get the best record. Getting UNC, Clemson, BC, BYU and Florida at home is MUCH better than having them on the road like we had last year… The schedule sets up for a possible MNC THIS YEAR… Senior QB, an offense that CAN “outscore” other teams regardless of defense play.

The schedule being “hard” also helps a hungry team stay focused week to week in practice. I look at the UF 2006 season as one where the difficulty of the schedule helped them be in the position to play for the championship.

So… when considering the “strength of schedule” … remember that it may not be QUITE as hard as it looks at first glance.

should tell you a lot about the level of instruction going on as far as the process of being a great defense. The days of just putting better players on the field were over. It worked for many years, but we saw the deterioration happen before our eyes. It actually is a credit to Mickey that he got our defense to “hang in there” despite the lack of scheme.

They actually did have some big stops that won us games last year (of course the reason why we needed them to was the horrendous play other than the one stop) Maryland last year comes to mind.

There is no way even a massively improved FSU team could defeat the likes of Alabama or Texas. We’re just not there yet.

However, the ACC is well within reach. This conference is ripe, and there isn’t another team that comes close to our growth this off-season, or returning the same kind of weapons on offense.

If you want to talk perfect storm, I’d say a better comparison is to our situation in the ACC.

Andrew Carter (whom I generally agree with) is picking Boston College as the pre-season favorite, and I know it’s mainly due to their schedule. But if FSU can get off to a strong start, there is absolutely no reason they should lose to BC at Doak, or drop enough other ACC contests to fall behind the Golden Eagles. No. Way.

Which is to say, I think it’s realistic to expect this team to play in the Orange Bowl. I’m sorry, but I don’t think UNC is going to have a very good year when the dust settles, and Georgia Tech lost far too many weapons on both side of the ball. Not to mention we beat UNC last season, and would’ve beaten the Ramblin’ Wreck if we’d made even one defensive stop.

So there.

;)