Redbird Football Season Predictions

Total Red

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6-5
I see this as a 7-4 team, but I have guessed a little too high in recent years and I can trace it back to injuries at the QB position. This year I'm factoring it in ahead of time. Annexstad will get injured at some point and it will cost us a game so 6-5.

L - Wisconsin
W - Valparaiso
W - EIU
L - SIU
L - N. Iowa
W - South Dakota
W - Indiana St.
L - North Dakota St.
W - Youngstown St.
L - South Dakota St.
W - WIU
 

TIMMY

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L - @ Wisconsin
W - Valparaiso
W - EIU
W - SIU
L - @ N. Iowa
W - South Dakota
W - @ Indiana St.
L - @ North Dakota St.
W - Youngstown St.
L - @ South Dakota St.
W - WIU

7-4. A wise old coach once told me "win the games you should win and steal one or two you shouldn't". We gotta beat SIU at home. I like our D stepping up to contain Baker. Plus it's the one game I know I can get to so they damn well better win.
 

DaveBird10

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L - @ Wisconsin
W - Valparaiso
W - EIU
W - SIU
L - @ N. Iowa
W - South Dakota
W - @ Indiana St.
L - @ North Dakota St.
W - Youngstown St.
L - @ South Dakota St.
W - WIU

7-4. A wise old coach once told me "win the games you should win and steal one or two you shouldn't". We gotta beat SIU at home. I like our D stepping up to contain Baker. Plus it's the one game I know I can get to so they damn well better win.
This is exactly how I see the season playing out. Win the games you are supposed to at home and then steal a game on the road where you should win. The SIU and South Dakota games at home will be very telling how this season plays out in the end. I think we have the depth on defense to win a few games and then hopefully the offense takes a step forward as the calendar flips to October and MVFC games.
 

fourthandshort

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7 - 4 overall (5 - 3 MVFC) is my absolute pick

6.5 - 4.5 overall (4.6 - 3.4) are my confidence weighted picks.

As pass game emerges, my confidence will certainly grow.


L - @ Wisconsin .. 1/99 loss. If we're sort of in it at half time, I'll take a moral victory. I don't see us being ready for this game. look slike our pass game is still a work in progress.

W - Valparaiso .. 99/1 win

W - EIU .. 90/10 win

bye week

W - SIU ... 67/33 win. Spack seems to do well preparing for good teams he knows, like SIU .. extra week prep makes this more winnable. They are very good, but don't have a bye week. This is sort of a must win, if we're looking to make playoffs. SIU at Home is more winnable than UNI, NDSI, and SDSU .. all on road and very good.

L - @ N. Iowa ... 25/75 loss. Normally I like our chances against good UNI teams .. Spack knows Farley well. But ... there is a poster on AGS named Clenz. He is a huge UNI fan, but also kind of a serious realist/pessimist and hates Farley's handling of offense. The way Clenz is talking this year ... these guys might be very good. And like us, they have new OC and new QB he likes. Keep any eye on this team .. plus their schedule is weaker than their usual gauntlet.

W - South Dakota ... 75/25 win - must win gme !!! These guys are pretty good, but we're at Home, and they have a brutal schedule. .. has to be tougest in FCS. They could be limping into Normal by week 7. And our pass game could be picking up by mid season.

W - @ Indiana St. .. 85/15 win - must win game !! Hear rumblings they will be tougher than people think. But could also be beat up and demoralized by week 8. The MVFC is so good this year with MoST and SIU now also top 10 contenders.

L - @ North Dakota St. .. 10/90 loss. Spack sometimes finds ways to compete with these guys, but they look to be very good again this year.

W - Youngstown St. .. 80/20 win .. must win game !! They'll be tough possibly, but hopefully beat up and demoralized by week 10.

L - @ South Dakota St. .. 33/67 loss. Normally like our chances against good SDSU teams - our history shows this. Spack seems to know them well too. But this is one of their most talented teams ever on offense. This would be a very surprising win, unless they get injury bug and/or beat up from the MVFC grind.

W - WIU .. 90/10 win .. must win game !! They usually play us tough even when we should win by 3 TDs. But I think we will survive the MVFC grind better than most 2nd and 3rd tier MVFC teams. So playing ISUb, YSU, and WIU in 2nd half of season helps us.
 

Birddog

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The 1st two games most of us will agree on the out come: 1-1. I tend to base my Redbird MVFC prediction on how they play against EIU. If they lose, gonna be a bad season. Win but look evenly matched, gonna be a struggle. Win big, there is hope.
 

redbirdfan04

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L - Wisconsin
W - Valparaiso
W - EIU
W- SIU
W - N. Iowa
L - South Dakota
W - Indiana St.
L - North Dakota St.
W - Youngstown St.
W - South Dakota St.
W - WIU

8-3
 

Virginia Redbird

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L - Wisconsin
W - Valparaiso
W - EIU
W - SIU
L - N. Iowa
W - South Dakota
W - Indiana St.
L - North Dakota St.
W - Youngstown St.
L - South Dakota St.
W - WIU

I will go with 7-4 but I think the SIU game is the decider of how the season will go. A loss at Wisconsin is almost a certainty but you never know. A win against Valpo again is almost a certainty. EIU is kind of an unknown somewhat like the Redbirds as far as coaching. A new head coach for the panthers but with an EIU background. He understands the rivalry and has been successful in the past. Spack of course we know well but the new OC brings an unknown to the Redbirds. If the Birds lose the EIU game then I think they probably drop another one or two along the way. If they should lose to the Panthers could they rebound against the Egyptian dogs? I am optimistic they beat EIU and then upset SIU.

Lets' get the games started! I want to see the new QB and the new offense.
 

fourthandshort

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I will go with 7-4 but I think the SIU game is the decider of how the season will go. A loss at Wisconsin is almost a certainty but you never know. A win against Valpo again is almost a certainty. EIU is kind of an unknown somewhat like the Redbirds as far as coaching. A new head coach for the panthers but with an EIU background. He understands the rivalry and has been successful in the past. Spack of course we know well but the new OC brings an unknown to the Redbirds. If the Birds lose the EIU game then I think they probably drop another one or two along the way. If they should lose to the Panthers could they rebound against the Egyptian dogs? I am optimistic they beat EIU and then upset SIU.

Lets' get the games started! I want to see the new QB and the new offense.
Agree here, though as long as we get at least one 1 win out of SIU, UNI, and SDSU .. then win games we should including USD/YSU .. then we are 7-4 and playoff bound for sure. But expect the unexpected in the MVFC ... I think this will go down as the best MVFC year ever .. better than 2014-15. There are 6-7 legit playoff teams and 4 or 5 Top 8-12 teams (NDSU, SDSU, MoST, SIU, UNI) .. adding ISUr and USD, though USD has brutal schedule and therefore little chance of making playoffs. They could be 5-6 and a top 25 team. Even UND could be a factor.
 

TIMMY

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Interesting thoughts. Seems like this is going to be a 12 and 22 personnel offense. I hope so. Smash mouth run it down their throats football. Cole and Wenkers need to go off. And the O-line needs to be stout and uncompromising. You can throw it and throw it well to the tight ends but I am still hoping for someone to step up and stretch the field from the wideouts. That would sure help open everything up for QB Annexstad. And it wouldn't kill me if Rittenhouse is thrown into the mix once in a while, It might provide a nice change of pace and force opponents to waste their time in practice. The D will be good. We'll cover people and get after QB's. I'm sticking with my 7-4! What a world. ESPN+, redbirdfan.com, etc. Sure better than waiting for the Vidette to show up in the mail. It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!
 

fourthandshort

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So my presumed easy (90/10) Home "W" against EIU may be more of a test than I and many of us were thinking. They just gave NIU everything they could handle on their own field .. more 1st downs, more total yards, but lost by just 7 after trailing by 15 at half. Looks like they ave a QB who throws pretty well .. survey of 1 game. I have no idea what NIU looks like this year ... but we should plan on a tough game in week 3.
1662148974706.png
 

MadBird

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So my presumed easy (90/10) Home "W" against EIU may be more of a test than I and many of us were thinking. They just gave NIU everything they could handle on their own field .. more 1st downs, more total yards, but lost by just 7 after trailing by 15 at half. Looks like they ave a QB who throws pretty well .. survey of 1 game. I have no idea what NIU looks like this year ... but we should plan on a tough game in week 3.
View attachment 777
That caught my eye today too.

NIU is predicted to be pretty decent by Athlon - first in MAC West - and Lindy's - 2nd in MAC West, and Athlon lists them as a bowl team. QB Lombardi, transfer from Mich St. is now a senior, pre-season all conference. So, not predicted to be a pushover.
 

RedbirdSoxFan

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So my presumed easy (90/10) Home "W" against EIU may be more of a test than I and many of us were thinking. They just gave NIU everything they could handle on their own field .. more 1st downs, more total yards, but lost by just 7 after trailing by 15 at half. Looks like they ave a QB who throws pretty well .. survey of 1 game. I have no idea what NIU looks like this year ... but we should plan on a tough game in week 3.
View attachment 777
Guessing the 2 interceptions may have cost them the game.
 

Birgs

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Hoping to be pleasantly surprised (and I actually changed my SD/EIU picks for optimism purposes). But, realistically, 5-6:

L - Wisconsin
W - Valparaiso
W - EIU
L - SIU
L - N. Iowa
W - South Dakota
W - Indiana St.
L - North Dakota St.
L - Youngstown St.
L - South Dakota St.
W - WIU
 
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