We're project to be 8-4 this year... :(

I can see Georgia, Mississippi State and maybe FSU, but this is way too early.

Anything under 9 and I would be extremely disappointed.

Outside of Georgia and Missouri, every other game was decently close. FSU was basically Franks just giving the game away.

By the South Carolina game, we were down 28 scholarship players (33 for UAB and FSU).

This year we won't be down 25+ unless there are some injuries and craziness but I think the S&C is demonstrably, much better.

However, if they think an LSU team that needed an Extra point to beat us last year will beat us this year when Mullen destroyed them with a team that had a lot less talent, I'm not sure what they're predicting on.

We have 3 straight tune up games at The Swamp, a game against a first year D1 HC at Tennessee, a game against another first year D1 HC at MSU and fricking Orgeron at the Swamp.

Unless our quarterbacks are playing so unbelievably bad, we should be going into the Georgia game undefeated. MSU is the only really tough game. After that, it's FSU and I personally think Taggart is already flopping in the recruiting game.

If we have substandard QB play again, 8 - 4 is a reality.

If the Quarterbacks evolve even a fraction we'll go 9 - 3.

If we're lucky and the Quarterbacks actually play well we'll go 10 - 2.

The offense changing doesn't bother me too much, Franks seemed to improve last weekend and the S&C program has taken hold.

We have 3 tune up games to fix the kinks in the defense and offense, all 3 are at home, all three are against programs that have substantially less talent.

The defense changing does bother me a little, but not that much.

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We’re making much bigger changes and we’re coming off a 5-7 team.

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And I get that we need to temper expectations and all that jazz, but almost our entire team is coming back.

Players who left:

Calloway (Didn't play.)
Powell (Played, but I prefer Toney.)
Goolsby (Underutilized, we aren't missing him.)
Zaire (Lol.)
Mark Thompson (Scarlett is better.)
Sherit (Missed half of the season.)
Bryan (Most missed player outside of Sherit.)
Dawson (Will be missed.)
Harris (Never saw the field in 2017.)
Washington (Injured)

The point is: Only 3 of them played the entire year (Dawson, Bryan and Powell). The rest all had backups in the game, which means our starters this year.

Out of our starters, we return at least 20 players who started. Not backups who rotated in, but actually started.

tl;dr we should improve at every single position outside of Defensive Line and we actually have backups this year. That would have won us 9 last year, we aren't playing Michigan this year so there's no excuse we can't do it this year.

Exactly.

Quarterbacks: ???
Receivers: +
Running Backs: +
Tight Ends: +
Offensive Line: +

Defensive Line: ??? (For me at least.)
Linebackers: +
Cornerbacks: = or +
Safeties: = or +

To me, saying Mullen is only going to win 8 games next year with an easier schedule, more talent and with almost all returning starters when he won more at MSU last year is almost like Gator Nation is saying they have absolutely no faith in Mullen's capacity to maintain or turnover talent.

Yeah, I'd figure someone who isn't really keeping up with Florida's roster would say that.

McElwain was a cancelled game and a few plays away from having 8 wins (FSU, A&M, Northern Colorado, LSU) with over half of his starters either suspended or injured for the year.

There is no reason Mullen can't win 9 games losing to MSU, Georgia and one of LSU, FSU.

There's no reason we can't expect Mullen to do better than McElwain's first two years -- 10 and 9 respectively with a game being cancelled in 2016 which would have given him two ten win seasons.

Again, if Mullen is egregiously mediocre, then sure 8 is okay. But returning an entire team's starters in a historically weak East with our weakest OOC schedule in years shouldn't result in a lackluster year.

Again, if he can't develop a quarterback we're where we were to begin with. I have faith that he can.

If McElwain can win ten games with Treon Harris, I'm far more confident Mullen can with Franks or Trask.

I’m not saying Mullen can’t develop a quarterback. Take the last three years with the Falcons for instance. Ryan and the offense struggled the first year under Shanahan and then the second year the offense put up historic numbers. Then last year with Sark they struggled again. I expect them to take a big step forward again this year. This is just one of many examples what a first year system does to a team. That’s why I don’t think Florida will be an exception.

I feel less confident about Mississippi State just because it's @MSU. I think the only game that is going to be unwinnable is against Georgia, but then again we need to see how Kirby adjusts this year.

All I know is that if we can play 25+ players down with no quarterback nor HC and still be in games last year, we can win games with a healthy team and a motivated HC.

Crazy things happen, and I know they lost a lot of players but I have no doubt they will play hard and have a head full of steam.

Georgia's more of a mystery than we are, though, and I could easily see an overconfident team hearing how good they were dropping 4 games.

LSU, Auburn, Florida and a game they should win (happened twice in 2016).

They could also go undefeated, though, it all just depends on how Kirby adjusts to losing a ton of starters and NFL talent.

I know we have a chance to win, I just said the "should" part to qualify that. There are still a lot of factors to look at, though.

I will take a QB that knows who to throw the ball to on most plays.

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Georgia's more of a mystery than we are

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I don't really know about that. Granted I'm not familiar with your roster either so I'm halfway ignorant on the subject, but we don't really have as many mysteries as people may think. We know exactly what we have in the OL, QB, WR, TE, RB, DL, K, one CB and one S. Both OLBs have some playing experience but not a ton so those could go either way. ILB is absolutely a concern for sure. The other CB and S spots are a bit up in the air, as is punter. But it's not like we lost half the team.

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I could easily see an overconfident team hearing how good they were dropping 4 games.

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This I definitely don't see. I think @SC (on the fringe, and ONLY because it's early and away), @LSU (again, only because it's early and away), UF, and AU are the only games we're in any real danger of losing. And again 2 of those are simply because of other factors, not because of their talent or coaching. I woudl be floored if we lost all 4 of those. I think 10-2 is our absolute floor this season.