Favorables:

1.  Schedule:  Two sure victories instead of only one.  LSU drops off for Miss. State.  Other BCS opponent is Colorado which is in disarray.  UT and Georgia Tech come here.  Florida will lose Tebow, Spikes and a number of good players and will, in theory, be not as dominant.  Arkansas may lose Mallet to the draft.

2.  Returning Offensive players.  Basically everyone except Cox.  Should be one of the most talented receiving corps in the country with Green, King, Wooten, Brown and Rogers coming in.  Throw in a slew of talented tight ends and Sturdivant returning to a line which returns everyone, and there's some potential there.

Unfavorables:

1.  New quarterback:  Either Logan who has not impressed or a redshirt freshman.

2.  We lose three strong tackles on the DL in Owens, Atkins and Weston.  We have Jones and Tyson, but after that we seem a little thin.

3.  Questionable RB situation.  Will Ealey become a stud or will our backfield be underwhelming again.

Big Variables:

1.  Do we get a new defensive coordinator?  I think almost every fan who posts here agrees that getting a proven DC will help immensely.

2.  Does Curran come back?  I think his lack of prototypical size will keep him from leaving early, but it will be a real blow if he does not return.

3.  Does the defense-heavy recruiting class pay immediate dividends or will they be a year away from helping (similar to how some of Florida's young players were in 2007)?

Conclusion:  The easing of the schedule should result in a better record, but the breaking in of a new QB together with youth on defense will keep us from reaching all cylinders on both sides of the ball.  I don't see a big year unless all of the big things go our way:  (1) new and improved DC; (2) one of the young quarterbacks, my guess is Murray, plays big; and (3) some of the new defensive recruits make an instant impact.

Well, back to hoping we pull out wins against Auburn and Georgia Tech.  That would make this season easier to take.