1. We have the best defensive line in the league in either division. Jalen Hurd and Josh Hobbs are top 2 round draft picks and we held them down and sacked Hobbs several times.
2. Our three linebackers are in the top 3 of the league in either division. Poling, Brown and Moore were all over the place yesterday.
3. We have a clutch kicking game with Zervos and Farkas who both have 3 more years after this which is exciting to think about.
4. Greg Windham has come into his own. He isn't quite Cooper Rush or Zach Terrell or even Drew Hare but I would take him over Thomas Woodson or Logan Woodside right now (BOLD STATEMENT I KNOW).
5. When healthy, our receivers can ball. Smith showed an SEC defensive backfield who he was. Reid and Cope are just solid and I am turning into a huge Belack fan. Throw in Papi's play and teams will have to contend with our passing game..of course that is contingent on Irons and Brown or (prayers here) AJ coming back healthy.

I never thought I would be this excited after a 1-2 start but I am. Texas State was an anomaly. I can't imagine any MAC team outside of Western being better than Tennessee and if not for Vinny Emanuele being our only back in the second half, we may have shocked them. GO CATS!

After seeing the sky falling after the first week. i have some hope for the East Division. Everyone in the east looks beatable - including us. if we continue to improve, i like OUr chances.

We appear to have a superior kicking game this year. Windham should continue to improve as long as his support players stay healthy.

He missed on several throws yesterday, but his misses weren't high or interceptions. I want to think he erred on the side of caution with his throws. Turnovers kill teams.

really thought Smith looked like the best receiver on either team yesterday. TENN couldn't stop him.

defensive front 7 looked like all the preseason hype was warranted yesterday. They play like that and teams are going to have trouble. Our secondary should benefit from that as well.

That said, I'll withhold judgement until after playing BG and Akron.

Can we win the East? Yes. Will we? IDK

I like the team attitude and work ethic. They had their wake up call the first week, and it's ancient history now. I think they will just continue to improve.

Ohio will win the East for one simply reason. Because it's the best team in the division this year.

I have to agree with you here. Still, I have concerns, and most of it relates to offensive play calling and approach, but Windham has my confidence for the most part. The real question to me is, how are they going to approach a game when it's against equal or lesser teams on the schedule? It's easy to get up for KU and UT given the national stage and the profile of the opponent. How will they show up when they have to get ready for Miami or Kent? How will they look when they play Central or Toledo? We'll see in a few weeks!

If this team ends up being good, imagine 10 years down the road looking at a game-by-game accounting of the seasons in the program and seeing a loss to Texas State.

I mean, it's not as big of a WTF moment as losing 31-0 to Northeastern a week after playing to within two touchdowns of Pitt in 2002, but it'll be pretty startling.

It's too early for me to say yes or no definitively. But last year I said it was time for some kind of change to the offensive side of the ball, specifically, something related to how they recruit and coach QBs.

If the results of this season effectively mirror the prior two seasons, then something needs to change to get better results, right? If the results improve, then maybe the plan the staff was working is on an upward trend. I think we'll all agree that the expectation should be to be playing in the MACC in Detroit.

Fair points. I admit I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as you on these things, so I appreciate the input. Also fair to give the new coach with the new approach at least 3-4 years to see if it bears fruit, since it's rare that a QB is ready as a frosh.

EDIT - an additional thought -- I do think it was a mistake to not have a QB as part of the 2016 class. Seems to me having at least one per year may make a lot of sense.

He has made no mistakes is true because he hasn't thrown the ball over the middle. Four of us, two former high school coaches and an Ohio high school coach of the year, went to Tennessee and came away with this. He throws a very good long out ball and a well above average long in ball. Short slants are often thrown behind the receiver and out patterns are thrown to the guys sitting on the bench. If the latter two throws are tightened up, 8 and 4 for the season is a very real possibility.