This. I do think MD should be #1 (obviously I have my biases), but that is based on Wierman, McNaney, and the incredible stable of poles they're returning, not on the fact that they won the title. I think their SSDMs are going to obviously drop off, but still be above average. People forget how good Coffman was in 2021. I think he had a better year than Puglise that year.jrn19 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:56 am The “the team who ended last year #1 should always start the next season #1” thing is silly logic. They’re not the same team as the year before, it’s not the 2022 Maryland team defending the title in 2023, it’s the 2023 team. You inevitably run yourself into an incredulous #1 pick if there’s a total shock champion, like when UNC won in 2016 and then some people had them #1 to start 2017 and they were hardly a Top 10 team.
The offense loses a lot, but I think it is totally reasonable to look at their talent and see somewhere between 13-15 gpg. That could be enough with the possession advantage they'll have and the defense. When it comes to the rankings, to me UVA is the other possible choice for #1. I can't stop thinking about the 2nd game. Petey and Shellenberger are UVA's most impactful returners and they both got dominated by dudes MD has coming back. MD returns 6 guys who got USILA AA honors last year (2 first, 1 third, 3 HM). Virginia returns 7 (1 first, 1 second, 1 third, 4 HM). ND and Georgetown, if you include their transfers, have 5 each. I don't think those lists fully represent talent, but it definitely reflects the fact that MD is a reasonable candidate for #1 based on returning talent and not just because they won it all last year.