[pcgoode]

No doubt SC will have a very good passing attack this year, but they did last year as well.  Playing at home vs the Cardinal in 2011 they were under 300 yards passing (284 to be exact, and I believe that total included the triple overtime yardage, so not as impressive as the numbers would otherwise indicate). This year they face the Cardinal at Stanford without a proven left tackle and some serious depth issues on both sides of the ball, and Stanford's front seven on D are looking really good.  Oregon didn't pass much against the Cardinal in the 2011 game - a grand total of 155 yards.  The Ducks have lost their starting QB and LMJ - hard for me to imagine that doesn't effect them at all (although admittedly KB and DT are pretty amazing athletes). 

My own optimistic scenario is that the Cardinal win either against SC or Oregon this year (I realize this is a tall order, but the Card have had SC's number for a few years now, and it wasn't that long ago that the Card beat the Ducks in Eugene), and run the table vs the rest of their opponents.  This might be enough to get back into the BCS.  For this to happen the front seven on the Card D will have to consistently shut down the run and passes that take some time to develop.  The secondary will have to make tackles in space more consistently than they did last year.  I am hopeful that the secondary can improve their tackling, as I think that can be coached for those who have the right attitude (vs. not having enough speed, which I don't think is as much of an issue as others think).  The offence will need to develop cohesion on the O-line pretty quickly for the power running game, and Nottingham/Nunes will need to be able to run play action effectively to keep opposing D's off balance.

My less optimistic scenario is that the Card lose to both SC and Oregon but run the table vs everyone else.  The two teams that some others have been giving others pause, Washington and ND, have had a number of issues in the off-season, so I would be disappointed if they lost to either of them, even on the road.  I doubt this kind of record would get the Card back into the BCS, but given what we lost in the NFL draft, would still be a good season.  In my mind anything more than two losses in the regular season in 2012 would be a bit disappointing.       

[pcgoode]

No doubt SC will have a very good passing attack this year, but they did last year as well.  Playing at home vs the Cardinal in 2011 they were under 300 yards passing (284 to be exact, and I believe that total included the triple overtime yardage, so not as impressive as the numbers would otherwise indicate). This year they face the Cardinal at Stanford without a proven left tackle and some serious depth issues on both sides of the ball, and Stanford's front seven on D are looking really good.  Oregon didn't pass much against the Cardinal in the 2011 game - a grand total of 155 yards.  The Ducks have lost their starting QB and LMJ - hard for me to imagine that doesn't effect them at all (although admittedly KB and DT are pretty amazing athletes). 

My own optimistic scenario is that the Cardinal win either against SC or Oregon this year (I realize this is a tall order, but the Card have had SC's number for a few years now, and it wasn't that long ago that the Card beat the Ducks in Eugene), and run the table vs the rest of their opponents.  This might be enough to get back into the BCS.  For this to happen the front seven on the Card D will have to consistently shut down the run and passes that take some time to develop.  The secondary will have to make tackles in space more consistently than they did last year.  I am hopeful that the secondary can improve their tackling, as I think that can be coached for those who have the right attitude (vs. not having enough speed, which I don't think is as much of an issue as others think).  The offence will need to develop cohesion on the O-line pretty quickly for the power running game, and Nottingham/Nunes will need to be able to run play action effectively to keep opposing D's off balance.

My less optimistic scenario is that the Card lose to both SC and Oregon but run the table vs everyone else.  The two teams that some others have been giving others pause, Washington and ND, have had a number of issues in the off-season, so I would be disappointed if they lost to either of them, even on the road.  I doubt this kind of record would get the Card back into the BCS, but given what we lost in the NFL draft, would still be a good season.  In my mind anything more than two losses in the regular season in 2012 would be a bit disappointing.