eh, we play 12 games nowI'm thinking 7-4 next year, with a shot at 8-3.
The thing about your list that brings me the most joy is that the fightin' Fitz's are such an afterthought at this point that they're not worth looking up.Take a look at next year's schedule. Ours is quite favorable compared, say, to Purdue's:
2023 Big Ten crossover games released:
Illinois: PSU, Indiana, @ MD
Purdue: OSU, Indiana, @ Mich
Iowa: MSU, Rutgers, @ PSU
Nebraska: Michigan, MD, @ MSU
Wisconsin: OSU, Rutgers, @ Indiana
Lance might be at Nebraska or Wisconsin next year.When I see that schedule the only thing I can think of is.. Is Kevin Warren actually a hidden Illini fan? Is he trying to make sure we have a chance at making the Rose Bowl/CFP? Holy wonderful schedule man.
I mean really outside of Pedo State our toughest opponent maybe Kansas as long as they keep improving, don't lose Lance as HC and get their QB back or get another good QB in.
I’d wager he’s at neither.Lance might be at Nebraska or Wisconsin next year.
agreeI’d wager he’s at neither.
Can always tell when a fan came of age if they still think we only play 11 games.I'm thinking 7-4 next year, with a shot at 8-3.
It will depend on our roster to some extent.eh, we play 12 games now
8-4 very possible
9-3 a maybe
gotta think we win at least 7, and every game on the schedule is winnable
Single rival pairings:without a commissioner to help navigate this & a real possibility of 2 or 4 more additional members in the next 12-24 months , I can’t see any reason to get too deep into this yet
for the short term , just give every program 1 or 2 rivals and the rest of the schedule can be randomly assigned home and homes for the 2024 & 2025 years .
And you don't have to make those two casualties. Just smudge it and make those permanent too, it's fine, the sun will still rise tomorrow.Only two "must play" games are casualties (UM-MSU, UW-Iowa). The more I think about it the more this makes sense.
This is true and very valid. The MSU loss TRULY deflated a more casual fan base that was ready to buy back in (keep in mind, I think this was Dad's Day ... really unfortunate missed opportunity). The soul-crushing Purdue loss in the freezing cold (I was there!) probably really did a number on casual fan support, as well, given it cost us a trip to Indianapolis. Even if we got smoked by Michigan (no reason to think we couldn't hang with them after the outing in Ann Arbor), I think our hype going into next season would be a lot higher. With that said, I think attendance WILL be pretty decent this year. Assuming we start off 2-0, I will predict the following:Bret may have been annoyed, and was most likely justified to a point...
But he also needs to make sure he doesn’t lay an egg when the fans do finally show up...
I'd say we probably max out at 50k for the Penn State game. And sure if we start 4-0 then we will sell out no doubt about it. Looking at last year's numbers, I'd put my realistic goal for our average attendance to be 48k-50k by the end of the season.This is true and very valid. The MSU loss TRULY deflated a more casual fan base that was ready to buy back in (keep in mind, I think this was Dad's Day ... really unfortunate missed opportunity). The soul-crushing Purdue loss in the freezing cold (I was there!) probably really did a number on casual fan support, as well, given it cost us a trip to Indianapolis. Even if we got smoked by Michigan (no reason to think we couldn't hang with them after the outing in Ann Arbor), I think our hype going into next season would be a lot higher. With that said, I think attendance WILL be pretty decent this year. Assuming we start off 2-0, I will predict the following:
2022 Attendance
37,832 vs. Wyoming
33,669 vs. Virginia
37,579 vs. Chattanooga (Thursday)
44,910 vs. Iowa
45,683 vs. Minnesota
56,092 vs. Michigan State
45,574 vs. Purdue
2022 Avg.: 43,048
We saw a very nice bump last year, and word is our season ticket sales have increased ... but I would REALLY like to see continued improvement in ticket sales that matches the improvement from 2 wins to 5 wins to 8 wins!
2023 Home Games
42k-44k vs. Toledo
*Win at Kansas*
55k+ vs. Penn State
FAU probably won't be a huge crowd, but if we beat PSU (and God willing, FAU!) and can enter the Nebraska game at 4-0, that is a VERY legitimate chance at a sellout (especially considering Nebby fans will travel). The sad thing is that no matter what happens this season even if we're literally undefeated, the Northwestern home game will draw about 40k people max, lol. I've said it before, but both schools would be foolish to not move that bad boy to the INDOOR stadium in Arlington Heights as soon as it's built. The crowd at both sites sucks, and it would help both teams' exposure/image in Chicago and could become a really fun Thanksgiving tradition for Chicagoland people.