2015 Football Predictions

[Western_101]

I am interested to hear what people think our chances are this year. I am not close to the program, and have done little to no research on our opponents. So, at the risk of this coming off as a "Half Baked attempt" feel free to disregard my predictions and simply view this thread as a conversation starter.

Eastern.........65% chance win....top of OVC is still middling to bottom MVFC, also we never lose our home opener
Illinois...........20% chance win....not a great program, still it is Big Ten and it is at their place (man I still pine for that Arkansas win that wasn't
Coastal.........50% chance win....Really impressed a lot of people....apparently they are impressing the Sun Belt Con. At there place could be tough
Southern.......65% chance win......man we used to dominate them forever....then they did it to us....I don't think expectations are high this year for SIU
South Dakota 85% chance win.... clearly SD has some catching up to do in level of competition in the Valley
Northern Iowa 35% chance win....sometimes a team just has your number.....but thats why we play the games
Illinois State 50% chance win....closest think we have to a rivalry game....we were better than them last year and historically are the better team
Youngstown...60% chance win....good team, over rated, we have the home field advantage.
NDSU............50% chance win......clearly on paper they are better....but we always play them tough and home team has yet to win.
Indiana State 65% chance win....ISU falls back to Earth and settles into their familiar role as doormat (ouch)
SDSU............ 45% chance win....SDSU not as good as years past....could be interesting to see what injuries present themselves late, could be a W.

[lovethenecks]

Prediction for the season, if you looked at the FCS Coaches poll recently released you would predict this team will be either 2-9 or a stretch at 3-8. Based on what we lost on defense unfortunately I can't predict anything better. Seems like we are falling behind other teams in the conference. Sorry but 2-9 or 3-8 is the final number

[Western_101]

2 wins seems bleak.

I think 6 wins seems realistic.

[letsgonecks]

It's a tough one to predict and see why Lovethenecks is going 2 or 3 wins, with the question marks at LB and CB. To me, the thing is we have a great D-line and solid Safety's, so there is some hope there for the defense. Plus, these players are unknown with the exception of Brett as they don't have much/if any game time experience, so they could turn out to be solid players.

The biggest thing to me is our Offense is going to be better than a majority of the teams we play. ISUr, Coastal Carolina and maybe Illinois (have to include them as their B10) will be the only teams that will be able to match or better our offensive output. I'm not saying we walk through everyone else like NDSU, but just saying we should have a better offense and games will come down to our D. Per usual, NDSU will have a top tier defense, so that will limit our output and possibly give their offense more opportunities to outdo ours.

EIU - Win with the home field advantage, by a 10 or fewer
CC - Loss, by 14 or fewer
IL - Loss, by 14 or fewer (really want to pick a Win here, especially with their only major weapon last year in Dudek out for the season).
SIU - Win with the Homecoming crowd and them likely having a down year.
South Dakota - Win by a decent margin
UNI - Loss and might be our biggest deficit
ISUr - Win on the road. Our guys will be wanting blood and playing for sweet revenge.
YSU - Win at home, but again a close game.
NDSU - Loss to the BiZon in the dome by 17
ISUb - Win on the road by 14
SDSU - Win with the home field advantage and chance to punch playoff ticket. Similar to the 2010 win against UNI.

[Neckfansince71]

If you just follow preseason rankings I can see why one might say 3-8. And yes, the defense has lost some key players. But seasons are made to be played and the only true ranking comes at the end of the season when the dust finally settles. I think this team is special! They are on a mission! 8-3 and playoff bound is my prediction! jc

[lovethenecks]

I appreciate where you are coming from, but unfortunately they will only win 2-3 games this season. Your reasoning that they will beat SIU with the homecoming crowd support is flawed as last year the game had 5,000 fans or less vs ND State this year probably 3,000. The reality is this is tough conference with teams that are bubble FBS level schools and FBS quality facilities, we are not those schools. Defense will struggle and the loss of DC/Ward will be felt as he was a top level guy. Offense is not deep and those first 3 games against tough competitors could take its toll on the team. Love the positive outlook, BUT it still will be 2-3 wins, and all new coaches in 2016

[Western_101]

Bob Neilson is a proven winner. Regardless of what the record ends up being at the end of the season he isn't going anywhere. A coach gets more than 3 years to rebuild a program. Also WIU is not in position to be buying out contracts every 3 years.

Love the Necks, why are you always so pessimistic?

[letsgonecks]

I'll take WIU at home against SIU with 5 people there. My thinking with it being homecoming is; playing at home helps give you an edge and with it being homecoming should bring a bit more. I certainly hope the interest by the student body picks up and that will only come with wins, so we'll see what they can do early on.

Eitherway, SIU is a very winnable game.

Interested in seeing what games you think they can win Lovethenecks. I know this is all opinoin and wishful thinking on my end and others, but I really do feel confident in this team. Every conference team has lost major contributors, so we'll see who has people setup. You very well could be right, just hope not!!!!!

[lovethenecks]

In response to your question Letsgonecks, regarding the games that we can win. All games can be won or why bother playing the games! But realistically there are four games that we have a fighting chance to end up with the W. South Dakota, Southern, Eastern and Indiana State. That being said of those 4, we win 2 or 3, based on what I see today. RedNeck, coaches get 3 years to turn programs around, that's just the way it work. Nothing against the coach or staff. Unfortunately they are evaluated on W's and L's, need 5 or 6 W's to show progress

[letsgonecks]

That's a fair assessment and seems to be the consensus outside the program. It'll be a tough grind of a season, but I still have high expectations.

In regards to the coaches; unless Bob wins us a National Championship and moves on the FBS, he'll be back next year. Sadly, we're not a must win program, but sure wish we could afford that attitude. We've had 1 playoff team and 3 (2, 6-5) winning seasons in the last 10 years, so we don't have the luxury of demanding a winner.

You see it all the time in sports, both college and pro. Coaches, GM's and AD's winning, but not winning enough or enough titles, so they're gone and others hanging around for years with minimal success. I will say, I feel Bob and the program have shown improvements over the last 2 years and this year will be a big deciding factor in the future of the program.

CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!