[washingtonismoney]

4) kal -- They'll have their stadium back and despite recent history I still fear Jeff the UC system's highest paid employee.  Plus now that we have the early season game, it won't be one where the players have imploded and given up on the season.

5) ND and/or UCLA/UA/WSU  -- Both games will be away.  After so many years of being a one-sided rivalry, we've finally started to give ND fits on the field and on the recruiting trail.  I feel like they'll be up for this game.  3 new coaches and systems, I'm thinking one of them manages to get us.

re: 5) UCLA's the only away game of the trio you list in the latter. Your ND prediction is also a classic gambler's fallacy.

re: 4): the 59ers have shown plenty of capability of imploding no matter what time of season it is. See 2009, where weeks 4 and 5 saw a drubbing by a combined 76-6. 2010 featured losses to Nevada by 21 in week 3, and Arizona in week 4, and SC in week 6. Weeks 4 through 6 were three straight losses in 2011.

T.edford's teams will implode whenever they feel like, really.

Anyway, it's not at all outlandish that the team will go 7-5, even without stuff like an epidemic of injury. I just don't think it's terribly likely. We lose a lot of talent, but everyone always loses talent. That's the game. It's what we return that's important. We return quite a bit and are bringing in the best recruiting class of any of our opponents.

[washingtonismoney]

4) kal -- They'll have their stadium back and despite recent history I still fear Jeff the UC system's highest paid employee.  Plus now that we have the early season game, it won't be one where the players have imploded and given up on the season.

5) ND and/or UCLA/UA/WSU  -- Both games will be away.  After so many years of being a one-sided rivalry, we've finally started to give ND fits on the field and on the recruiting trail.  I feel like they'll be up for this game.  3 new coaches and systems, I'm thinking one of them manages to get us.

re: 5) UCLA's the only away game of the trio you list in the latter. Your ND prediction is also a classic gambler's fallacy.

re: 4): the 59ers have shown plenty of capability of imploding no matter what time of season it is. See 2009, where weeks 4 and 5 saw a drubbing by a combined 76-6. 2010 featured losses to Nevada by 21 in week 3, and Arizona in week 4, and SC in week 6. Weeks 4 through 6 were three straight losses in 2011.

T.edford's teams will implode whenever they feel like, really.

Anyway, it's not at all outlandish that the team will go 7-5, even without stuff like an epidemic of injury. I just don't think it's terribly likely. We lose a lot of talent, but everyone always loses talent. That's the game. It's what we return that's important. We return quite a bit and are bringing in the best recruiting class of any of our opponents.