#* opp ◞ jerome .

[swtsours-a]

OPPOSITES  TAG  DUMP  PT  3

[shiinavanhellsing]

Random question for all of my followers who watch Bleach....if you were to pick a voice casting for your oc or ocs who would you choose?

For the EBKs (Everybody Killer or Executive Bodily Kreators aka Exterminating Badass Kalamities) I have a pretty interesting set of cast members.

I'm definitely doing a two parter for this post alone.

For EBK Hekka aka the og Kenpachi aka the mystic martial artist aka the immortal hyena aka Big GGB (Go Get Back) aka “fuck a zanpakuto, I'll put this nigga in a spliff my damn self” aka “wipe a nigga nose”:

I can Metro Boomin as the professional calm business type but, if you actually think about fucking with him, well let's just say that he will have no problems returning the favor.

fun fact: if you ever watched a show on BET+ called All the Queens men, I literally based his personality on Marilyn “Madam” DeVille....

•other fun fact: in PSA, Byakuya (who will rather die than admit this to Hekka's face) has said numerous times that Hekka was the only person who made him realize what it means to actually fear somebody.

Next up is EBK Jaír who is the right-hand man for EBK Hekka aka the vodoun quincy, aka the flossiest voodoo combatant of all time aka “94gz no GZ like these you heard, jack bs we jack bigger bs drop my shit we gonna let it squeeze” aka Big Fever aka Big papi locsta himself:

He was the main one (and Dusty Locane of course) that came up to find as soon as I envisioned this character. I see Jaír as the type of person who moves 15 steps ahead and won't even let you move not a single goddamn step forward.

•fun fact: Yhwach actually considered recruiting Jaír into the Sternritters until he saw how powerful he truly was. He just pulled the “impure” excuse out of his ass because he knew that he was that strong enough to take out his whole team by himself.

•another fun fact: he's literally the only quincy in EBK.

For EBK Tareek aka “AYO REEK, REVERSE THE V!” aka king sand man himself aka Mr I make a call it's war aka it's mr Jack me or Clap me, the fuck?! aka “we gonna spin on these niggas and catch them off guard you heard” aka the big stomper not stepper himself:

fun fact: Tareek and Hekka are the only pure blood shinigamis of EBK. Nuria is considered a shinigami and espada hybrid and she's also a elemental deity.

another fun fact: outside of the EBK the only other person that told him to reverse the v was Ichigo himself.

another creative fun fact: his zanpakuto is similar to Soi Fon's, since they both wear it on their fingers. Difference is that his resembles something similar to brass knuckles.

But yeah, I was thinking about having him or Kyle Richh casted as EBK Tareek because of their ability to taunt their enemies but Lil Tjay came to mind because of how he immediately bounces back from his Ls.

Next up is EBK Nico aka “put one leg back start geekin like” aka Mr gang blitz from the back imma blitz through the front aka make em get jiggy before we shoot em you heard aka “we finna do a drill on these niggas today” aka Mr 1 way in and 1 way out you can't get jiggy on my block:

As soon as I started writing this and Talk Facts came onto my rotation, I couldn't help but pick the perfect person to cast as EBK Nico. He's that cocky ass nigga who will have no problems pissing you off and when he screams “new opp pack in the air” he definitely means it.

fun fact: his powers were mainly deprived from Barragan since due to experimentation (guess who experimented on him), but he managed to also control smoke alongside ash as well.

another fun fact: EBK Nico, Kartier and Ohagi are the only pure blooded espadas in EBK

another fun fact: when he disintegrated Jerome's leg and put his ashes in his blunt, he added salt into the wound by getting sturdy as the Sternritter was screaming in agonizing pain while shouting “made a new dance it's called the Jerome bop!”

Next up is EBK Ohagi aka “I'll stomp a nigga out of his shoes” aka Mr “gun jam up he get beat with a knocker” aka Mr “boom a nigga if he come at me crazy” himself aka “imma still up it in designer”:

I pictured him as Sugarhill Keem at first, but then I was thinking about how Ohagi is seen as the fashion king but will have no problems upping it in designer if provoked and for some reason King Combs came to mind.

Fun fact: besides Hekka, Nuria and Jaír, Ohagi is known for having a deadly temper.

Another fun fact: Ohagi, Nico and Kartier are the only pure blooded espadas in EBK.

Another fun fact: he has leopard form whereas he's black with white spots all over and a espada form whereas he's wearing off-white with all black gradients around his outfit.

Another fun ass fact: when Kenpachi, Shunsui and Byakuya were getting scolded by Yamamoto for leaving their captains robes in battle, Kenpachi admits that he gave their robes to Ohagi for him to hold only for old man Yammi to show them a video of Ohagi, Riina and Dotty dancing and doing lite feet to the song Valid like salad with their captains robes on.

•Hekka sent Yamamoto that video for shits and giggles

•One more fun fact: he's extremely proficient with using any weapon that's given to him like a gun, sword, kunai, arrow and etc.

→He has used Riina's lightning bolt, Jaír's rose gun that was deprived from his tattoos, Ichigo's sword (yes y'all, he has his own gentsuga tenso but it's in a navy blue color) and Bambietta's own bombs against the Sternritters themselves.

Then there's EBK Kartier aka Mr “don't run don't trip” aka “fuck the dissing imma act the fuck up” himself aka “every opp shot, everything dead likeeeeeee” aka Mr “catch a nigga lacking he get put in a box” aka Mr “keep dumping until that nigga stops breathing, duh” aka Mr “shoot up the spot and the shooters get shot too” himself:

After naming my book title after PSA by Kay Flock, I just knew that there was a way to have him involved as a character and here it was! He's definitely that type of nigga that will have no problems shooting first, asking questions later and then shooting you again if you respond with something he doesn't like at all.

Fun fact: he's the youngest male in EBK but he's the third youngest member himself (the youngest are actually EBK Dotty and Riina)

Another fun fact: He was the OG 6th espada until Tousen kidnapped him and used him for experiments alongside Nico, Nuria and Ohagi.

Although he's the shortest EBK member (he's 5'5" himself) he's still considered taller than Captain Hitsugaya himself.

He's also very proficient in hand to hand combat despite always using a gun 24/7.

His espada form is said to be similar to a bull or a ox due to the horns that are shown on his head.

Aaaaaaand that's about it for the men of EBK, I'll do the women of EBK sometime today or tomorrow but let me know who your favorite character is and why.

[nicolebonnet]

Battery City Post Style Section       ft. Jerome Rohan & Charlotte Warner

[cannibalgh0st]

003, Jerome!!

- Nsfwitchy (bear with me cause it’s a side blog lol)

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you

How I feel about this character: GOD I LOVE JEROME SO MUCH....LIKE...TOO MUCH

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Probably Bruce Wayne and Jonathan Crane...!!! *hey they both have rhyming names!* opps! and sometimes Oswald too!

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Ahh..hmm...Jervis...

My unpopular opinion about this character: Probably one of the most sympathetic characters in the series of Gotham. I know he killed his mother and did a shet ton of bad things...but I really feel for him. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: UHHH THAT HE LIVED FFFFFFFML

my het ship: oh! This is hard for me...HMMMMMM...if anything I choose Ecco! but that might be because that’s the first girl I thought about for Jerome uwu *they might’ve made a really good evil duo!*

my fem/slash ship: UHH WITH GIRL BRUCE AND GIRL JEROME...YEY....

my OTP: Valeyne/Batjokes and Scaryjokes (Jerome/Jonathan)

my OT3: As a team: Arkham's Finest *Jerome/Jonathan/Jervis* but! as a ship I simp for Bruce/Jerome/Jonathan

my cross over ship: You know what. Give him a Harley from a DCverse or even another Joker.... *JokerxJoker rights!* 

my kink: For Jerome! Scars/blood/mouth stuff/ and sometimes bondage...I feel Jerome likes being restrained....

a head cannon fact: He has a very high pain tolerance and enjoys the fine arts. He’s linguistic and knows how to do magic tricks! I feel Jerome is all about the theater... I actually give him a lot of Jack Napier's interests from Batman 1989....and from the Arkham video game series!

my gender bend: For Jerome?? HMMMMM....YES....I mean if Jerome was a girl I wouldn't mind it especially if it’s the same personality and plot!!!! Am a huge simp lmao 

*Thank you for the asks!!!* 

[v3gano]

Day 2 - Your favorite character. Akuma For most of my childhood, I was a dumb little Ryu stan. I figured out that three piece with a side of hadouken combo, and practiced enough to use it as my reliable maneuver to send scrubs to the corner so I could cheese away. Then came high school, and the reality of being able to outside for lunch. Cool. Figure I’d go to Jerome to see wassup with the comedera. First thing on my mind is usually pizza, and it wasn’t long before I went in the first one I saw. That pizza spot just so happened to have the X-Men vs. Street Fighter arcade system ready to go. Adiós, quarters. The first time I got to play, there wasn’t really people around, so I got to get a few licks in playing single player. I select Wolverine and Ryu, in black, never in bumass white. Shit’s sweet at first. As far as versus games go, I only had experience with Marvel vs Capcom back home. But both Wolverine and Ryu were familiar characters, so I was straight. Out of nowhere, a junior shows up, and drops a quarter in the slot. He selects Akuma and Ken. And proceeds to W A X my ass. It was my first time witnessing Akuma. Deadly fucking fast. Dumb heavy strikes. Sweet ass special moves. Badfuckingass. First impression was that he was a mix of Ryu and Ken. And I fucking loved it. The beatdowns I kept receiving with every quarter dropped, though? Not fun. Raging fucking Demon after Raging fucking Demon. Quickest dozen quarters I’ve ever spent on a versus game. Through those brutal ass Ls, the dude introduced me to the character named Akuma that day. And my life changed forever. You’re goddamn right I made sure how to plug in the Raging Demon arcade input before I went back to class. After that day, Ryu was sent to the bench. Weakling. Every chance that arises, I select Akuma. Despite the terrible defense, that speed and wicked power was way too good to pass up and not learn about. And it’s been great ever since. You know what isn’t great? THAT BITCHMADE HOPPING OVER THE GLIDE SHIT WHEN I TRY TO CATCH AN OPP WITH THE RAGING DEMON. NOTHING BOILS MY BLOOD MORE THAN WASTING THREE HARD EARNED SUPER BARS!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CWpo2KRrtkB/?utm_medium=tumblr

[hooking]

I feel the sun, feel the sun, feel the sun Drop me heavy in the water I wanna' run, wanna' run, wanna' run But you keep me at the alter

[junker-town]

UTEP football might (eventually) not be hopeless!

The bar is low in El Paso, but the Miners could win three or four games in 2019 while building toward an interesting future.

Bill C’s annual preview series of every FBS team in college football continues. Catch up here!

When UTEP head coach Mike Price retired after the 2012 season, former Miners offensive lineman Sean Kugler came to town with knowledge of what he was getting into. He had a “build in the trenches and out-tough everyone” plan, but he couldn’t attract either the talent or the assistant coaches and went 18-36.

Five years after starting over, UTEP started over again. It took a while to find a Kugler replacement, but Dana Dimel, one-time wunderkind, decided he wanted a second shot, no matter the risk.

Hired by Wyoming at age 34 after two successful seasons as Bill Snyder’s Kansas State offensive coordinator, Dimel had won 22 games in three seasons in Laramie, good enough to earn him the Houston job ... where he won just eight in three. Cast to the trash heap, he ended up back with Snyder in Manhattan. Still only in his mid-50s, he found an opportunity to lead an FBS team once more.

As with Kugler, you can see what Dimel wants to do. He and Snyder evolved (devolved?) from a more pass-heavy attack in the mid-1990s to physicality and zone reads. At its best, the offense combines power with the ability to spread defenders out — despite the Wildcats’ QB-run-heavy approach, they routinely led the nation in the number of solo tackles they forced defenders to make.

Defensively, KSU played soft and structured on standard downs, waiting for opponents to make a mistake, then trying to finish them off once leveraged behind schedule.

Despite recruiting at a lower level than most of their Big 12 peers, the Wildcats won eight or more games six times in seven seasons in the 2010s. This approach can work.

But we don’t yet know whether it will work in El Paso. UTEP did go just 1-11 in Dimel’s first season. But the Miners appeared to be getting somewhere before they ran out of steam.

First 5 games (0-5): Avg. score: Opp 33, UTEP 15 | Avg. percentile performance: 12% | Avg. performance vs. S&P+ projection: +0.6 points per game

Next 4 games (1-3): Avg. score: Opp 26, UTEP 21 | Avg. percentile performance: 51% | Avg. performance vs. S&P+ projection: +12.2 points per game

Last 3 games (0-3): Avg. score: Opp 42, UTEP 18 | Avg. percentile performance: 9% | Avg. performance vs. S&P+ projection: -11.9 points per game

The middle third of the season wasn’t impressive, exactly, but it was intriguing. After they got dominated by FCS’ Northern Arizona, it was a clear step forward to see them losing by only a combined 10 to North Texas and Louisiana Tech. After a 19-0 loss to eventual Conference USA champ UAB, they outlasted UAB, 34-26, to end a 20-game losing streak.

Granted, they sort of mailed it in after that. That’ll happen sometimes. But for a brief time, playing this team wasn’t very much fun.

Unfortunately, Dimel was fielding a team pretty heavy on seniors. There is quite a bit of continuity in the offensive backfield, but he has to break in an almost entirely new receiving corps and about seven new defensive starters.

Offense

Yearlong statistics aren’t going to tell us much, as UTEP’s offense was desolate for much of 2018. They averaged under five yards per play six times, under 3.5 four times.

But let’s focus on their decent performances. They scored 24 points on both North Texas and Louisiana Tech, then put up 34 on Rice and 32 on MTSU. This was the closest thing we got to a glimpse of a happy future.

What were the Miners accomplishing? They were figuring out diverse ways to move the ball on standard downs. (Passing downs weren’t a success, even during this run.)

They had to play three different quarterbacks during this span, as Kai Locksley missed time with an ankle injury and Ryan Metz battled a concussion. Against UNT and LT, though, this grab bag went 19-for-32 for 334 yards (17.6 per completion) on standard downs — they were leaning heavily enough into their run tendencies to find go route opportunities downfield in run situations.

Against Rice and MTSU, they simply ran the ball well; backs Quardraiz Wadley and Treyvon Hughes combined for 52 carries and 285 yards (5.5 per carry) in those games even though the pass didn’t really work.

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

Quardraiz Wadley

So that’s the vision of Dimel’s and veteran coordinator Mike Canales’ offense: run a lot on standard downs (64 percent of the time, 30th in FBS) and play off of every potential counter — run the QBs a lot if it’s working, run the RBs a lot if it’s working, go deep to keep defenses honest. It’s not the most creative vision, but it can work.

There’s strong continuity for run game personnel, at least. Locksley and Brandon Jones are scheduled to return; Locksley is the better runner (5.3 yards per non-sack carry to Jones’ 3.9), but Jones found the most vertical passing success (16 yards per completion to 11.3). Dimel also inked lanky (6’5, 200) three-star freshman TJ Goodwin of Houston Cy Falls as part of what the El Paso Times called “easily UTEP’s top class in almost a decade.”

Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images

Kai Locksley

Wadley and Hughes are seniors as well. Wadley was easily the more explosive back of the two, but he fumbled five times, and Hughes gained at least four yards on a higher percentage of his carries (47 percent to 46). Perhaps the most intriguing back, however, hasn’t taken a snap yet.

Dimel signed mid-three-star freshman Deion Hankins from nearby El Paso Parkland. The 6’0, 212-pound Hankins rushed for 2,240 yards last season and claimed offers from schools like Arkansas and Oklahoma State. His Hudl film shows a back with good vision, a quick first step, and some girth, if not top-end speed.

This pretty good trio of backs might have a good line. Guard Bobby DeHaro earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a freshman, big seniors Ruben Guerra and Markos Lujan have combined for 26 career starts, and four other young returnees started at least one game last year.

UTEP might have the pieces to lean into its run-first identity. The Miners will have to, however, because there’s no reason to think the passing game will be more consistent.

Locksley and Jones both completed under 50 percent of their passes, and that was before they lost four of last year’s top five targets. The receiver position is extremely green, but if you’re hunting for positive spin, there’s this: the returnees are fast. Foster (17.4 yards per catch) is back, as are slot men Walter Dawn Jr. (13 per catch over parts of three seasons) and Tre’Shon Wolf (14.4 as a freshman). They are all-or-nothing guys, but so are their QBs.

Any hope for consistency might come from the tight ends. UTEP’s were up-the-seam threats, catching 28 of 49 passes for 475 yards (17.0 per catch), but they are gone, so Dimel signed a pair of JUCOs (Luke Laufenberg and Rashad Beecham) to fill the void.

Defense

The UTEP defense was easily the steadier unit. It played more than four decent games and ranked 111th in Def. S&P+ — not good, but better than the offense (127th). Unfortunately, it was extremely senior-heavy: three of last year’s top five linemen, the top two linebackers, and the top three defensive backs are all gone. Dimel signed five JUCO defenders to stem the tide, but coordinator Mike Cox, also a former Kansas State assistant, might have his work cut out for him just matching last year’s numbers.

The secondary should come around first. UTEP was aggressive in pass defense, ranking 68th in passing marginal efficiency and 52nd on passing downs. But while safety Kahani Smith and both starting corners are gone, there is still a solid corps with veteran safeties Justin Rogers and Michael Lewis (combined: 3.5 tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed) and corner Josh Caldwell.

At least one of three JUCO cornerbacks, preferably two, will need to contribute quickly, and depth is an obvious issue, but there’s some stability back there.

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Lewis

Up front, the Miners at least have Denzel Chukwukelu for one more season. The 290-pounder from Rockwall stepped up in 2018, recording 6.5 TFLs and 11.5 run stuffs. But he’ll have mostly new dance partners around him as newcomers attempt to pass veteran backups on the depth chart.

Dimel got solid production out of since-departed linebackers A.J. Hotchkins and Jamar Smith and will replace them with some combination of JUCOs (Joe Jay Smith, DJ Turner), the aforementioned veterans (Dylan Parsee, Stephen Forester, Kalaii Griffin) and youth (sophomore Sione Tupou, mid-three-star freshman Jerome Wilson).

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Dylan Parsee

Up front, you’ve got Chukwukelu and fellow senior Chris Richardson at tackle, but end is an almost total unknown. Junior Christian Johnson and redshirt freshman Praise Amaewhule combined for three tackles last year; they’re your returning leaders. The Miners had a pretty good pass rush in blitz situations in 2018, but most of the players responsible for those sacks are gone.

Special Teams

Outside of place-kicking, UTEP had a respectable unit. Unfortunately, place-kicking is kind of important. Then-senior Jason Filley went just 1-for-5 on field goals outside of 40 yards, and for a team that needed to coax points out of even the most tenuous scoring chances, that was costly. Sophomore-to-be Gavin Baechle showed a strong leg on kickoffs, so maybe that improves.

Often-used punter Mitchell Crawford kicked balls high and unreturnable, which resulted in a poor average (39.8 yards per kick) but a decent net (37.4).

2019 outlook

2019 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 31-Aug Houston Baptist NR 13.4 78% 7-Sep at Texas Tech 55 -35.8 2% 21-Sep Nevada 83 -24.1 8% 28-Sep at Southern Miss 74 -31.0 4% 5-Oct UTSA 128 -4.3 40% 19-Oct at Florida International 88 -27.7 5% 26-Oct Louisiana Tech 86 -23.6 9% 2-Nov at North Texas 84 -29.0 5% 9-Nov Charlotte 120 -8.2 32% 16-Nov at UAB 106 -21.2 11% 23-Nov at New Mexico State 121 -13.1 22% 30-Nov Rice 126 -6.0 36%

Projected S&P+ Rk 130 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 130 / 124 Projected wins 2.5 Five-Year S&P+ Rk -20.3 (129) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 124 2018 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* -17 / -6.5 2018 TO Luck/Game -4.4 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 46% (58%, 35%) 2018 Second-order wins (difference) 3.2 (-2.2)

I tried to focus on the high points, but the low points were low enough to rank UTEP 130th, dead last, in S&P+ in 2018. And while the offense is projected to improve with decent returning production, the defense is projected to take an equal step backwards. The result: a projection of 130th again.

Honestly, I would expect something a little bit higher than that. UTEP still doesn’t have the depth to carry a high performance for 12 games, but the Miners should take last year’s four-game sample of solid play and make it more like six or eight. The run game should be sound, the passing game should produce random explosions, and newcomers should help to create an at least decent pass defense, even if the run defense and pass rush are bad.

There are some potential wins on the table. Four of UTEP’s six home games come against teams projected 120th or worse in FBS; if the Miners are merely a top-115 team or so, they could easily end up with three to five wins, a definable accomplishment for a team that’s won once in two years.

Really, though, 2019 is about continuing to build. Provide a little bit more proof of concept, hope that some of your 2019 signees break in, and give them room to grow.

Dimel’s energetic recruiting gave UTEP fans reasons for hope. But it’s going to take at least one more season before there’s reason to raise the bar.

Team preview stats

All 2019 preview data to date.

[pamphletstoinspire]

Gospel Reading and Commentary for Wednesday, January 16, 2019 - Roman Catholic - Mark 1: 29 - 39

29. And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

30. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. [p. 28]

31. And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

Bede, in Marc., 1, 7: First, it was right that the serpent’s tongue should be shut up, that it might not spread any more venom; then that the woman, who was first seduced, should be healed from the fever of carnal concupiscence.

Wherefore it is said, “And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, &c.”

Theophylact: He retired then as the custom was on the sabbath-day about evening to eat in His disciples’ house. But she who ought to have ministered was prevented by a fever.

Wherefore it goes on, “But Simon’s wife’s mother was lying sick of a fever.”

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc., 1, 32: But the disciples, knowing that they were to receive a benefit by that means, without waiting for the evening prayed that Peter’s mother should be healed.

Wherefore there follows, “who immediately tell Him of her.”

Bede: But in the Gospel of Luke it is written that “they besought Him for her.” [Luke 4:38] For the Saviour sometimes after being asked, sometimes of His own accord, heals the sick, shewing that He always assents to the prayers of the faithful, when they pray also against bad passions, and sometimes gives them to understand things which they do not understand at all, or else, when they pray unto Him dutifully, forgives their want of understanding; as the Psalmist begs of God, “Cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret faults.” [Ps 19:12]

Wherefore He heals her at their request; for there follows, “And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up.”

Theophylact: By this it is signified, that God will heal a sick man, if he ministers to the Saints, through love to Christ.

Bede, in Marc., 1, 6: But in that He gives most profusely His gifts of healing and doctrine on the sabbath day, He teaches, that He is not under the Law, but above the Law, and does not choose the Jewish sabbath, but the true sabbath, and our rest is pleasing to the Lord, if, in order to attend to the health of our souls, we abstain from slavish work, that is, from all unlawful things.

It goes on, “And immediately the fever left her, &c.”

Bede, in Marc., 1, 8: The health which is conferred at the command of the Lord, returns at once entire, accompanied with such strength that she is able to [p. 29] minister to those of whose help she had before stood in need.

Again, if we suppose that the man delivered from the devil means, in the moral way of interpretation, the soul purged from unclean thoughts, fitly does the woman cured of a fever by the command of God mean the flesh, restrained from the heat of it concupiscence by the precepts of continence.

Pseudo-Jerome: For the fever means intemperance, from which, we the sons of the synagogue [ed. note: See St. Augustine on Ps 72, no. 4, 5, “Ecclesia Socrus Synagogue.” The Church is called the daughter of the Synagogue in the spurious ‘Altercatio Eccles. et Synagog.’ (Aug. Opp t. viii, p. 19.) They word ‘synagogue’ is applied to the Church by Justin M. Dial, see Tryph, p. 160 (Ben.) Clem. Alex. Str. vi, 633.], by the hand of discipline, and by the lifting up of our desires, are healed, and minister to the will of Him who heals us.

Theophylact: But he has a fever who is angry, and in the unruliness of his anger stretches forth his hands to do hurt; but if reason restrains his hands, he will arise, and so serve reason.

32. And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.

33. And all the city was gathered together at the door.

34. And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew Him.

Theophylact: Because the multitude thought that it was not lawful to heal on the sabbath day, they waited for the evening, to bring those who were to be healed to Jesus.

Wherefore it is said, “And at even, when the sun had set.”

There follows, “and He healed many that were vexed with divers diseases.”

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: Now in that he says “many”, all are to be understood according to the Scripture mode of expression.

Theophylact: Or he says, “many”, because there were some faithless persons, who could not at all be cured on account of their unfaithfulness. Therefore He healed many of those who were brought, that is, all who had faith.

It goes on, “and cast out many devils.”

Pseudo-Augustine, Quaest. e Vet. et Nov. Test. 16: For the devils knew that He was the Christ, who had been promised by the Law: for they saw in Him all [p. 30] the signs which had been foretold by the Prophets; but they were ignorant of His divinity, as also were “their princes, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” [1 Cor 2:8]

Bede: For, Him whom the devil had known as a man, wearied by His forty days’ fast, without being able by tempting Him to prove whether He was the Son of God, he now by the power of His miracles understood or rather suspected to be the Son of God. The reason therefore why he persuaded the Jews to crucify Him, was not because he did not think that He was the Son of God, but because he did not foresee that he himself was to be condemned by Christ’s death.

Theophylact: Furthermore, the reason that He forbade the devils to speak, was to teach us not to believe them, even if they say true. For if once they find persons to believe them, they mingle truth with falsehood.

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: And Luke does not contradict this, when he says, that “devils came out of many, crying out and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God:” [Luke 4:41] for he subjoins, “And He rebuking them, suffered them not to speak;” for Mark, who passes over many things for the sake of brevity, speaks about what happened subsequently to the abovementioned words.

Bede: Again, in a mystical sense, the setting of the sun signifies the passion of Him, who said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” [John 9:5] And when the sun was going down, more demoniacs and sick persons were healed than before: because He who living in the flesh for a time taught a few Jews, has transmitted the gifts of faith and health to all the Gentiles throughout the world.

Pseudo-Jerome: But the door of the kingdom, morally, is repentance and faith, which works health for various diseases; for divers are the vices with which the city of this world is sick.

35. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

36. And Simon and they that were with Him followed after Him.

37. And when they had found Him, they said unto Him, “All men seek for Thee.” [p. 31]

38. And He said unto them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.”

39. And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

Theophylact: After that the Lord had cured the sick, He retired apart.

Wherefore it is said, “And rising very early in the morning, He went out and departed into a desert place.” By which He taught us not to do any thing for the sake of appearance, but if we do any good, not to publish it openly.

It goes on, “and there prayed.”

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: Not that He required prayer; for it was He who Himself received the prayers of men; but He did this by way of an economy, and became to us the model of good work.

Theophylact: For He shews to us that we ought to attribute to God whatever we do well, and to say to Him, “Every good gift cometh down from above,” [James 1:17] from Thee.

It continues: “And Simon followed Him, and they that were with Him.”

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: Luke however says that crowds came to Christ, and spoke what Mark here relates that the Apostles said, adding, “And when they came to Him, they said to Him, All seek thee.” [Luke 4:42] But they do not contradict each other; for Christ received after the Apostles the multitude, breathlessly anxious to embrace His feet. He received them willingly, but chose to dismiss them, that the rest also might be partakers of His doctrine, as He was not to remain long in the world.

And therefore there follows: “And He said, Let us go into the neighbouring villages and towns, that there also I may preach.”

Theophylact: For He passes on to them as being more in need, since it was not right to shut up doctrine in one place, but to throw out his rays every where.

It goes on: “For therefore am I come.”

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: In which word, He manifests the mystery of His “emptying himself,” [see Phil. 2:7-8] that is, of His incarnation, and the sovereignty of His divine nature, in that He here asserts, that He came willingly into the world.

Luke however says, “To this end was I sent,” proclaiming the Dispensation, and the good pleasure of God the Father concerning the incarnation [p. 32] of the Son.

There follows: “And He continued preaching in their synagogues, in all Galilee.”

Augustine, de Con. Evan., ii, 19: But by this preaching, which, he says, “He continued in all Galilee,” is also meant the sermon of the Lord delivered on the mount, which Matthew mentions, and Mark has entirely passed over, without giving any thing like it, save that he has repeated some sentences not in continuous order, but in scattered places, spoken by the Lord at other times.

Theophylact: He also mingled action with teaching, for whilst employed in preaching, He afterwards put to flight devils.

For there follows: “And casting out devils.”

For unless Christ shewed forth miracles, He teaching would not be believed; so do thou also, after teaching, work, that thy word be not fruitless in thyself.

Bede: Again, mystically if by the setting of the sun, the death of the Saviour is intended, why should not His resurrection be intended by the returning dawn? For by its clear light, He went far into the wilderness of the Gentiles, and there continued praying in the person of His faithful disciples, for He aroused their hearts by the grace of the Holy Spirit to the virtue of prayer.

[morganbelarus]

Democrats Pull Out of Trump Meeting After His Shutdown Tweet

The top two Democratic leaders in Congress pulled out of a meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday after he tweeted that a budget deal with them was unlikely, raising the odds that the U.S. government will partially shut down next week.

Trump proceeded with the meeting anyway, calling reporters into the White House Roosevelt Room to see name cards for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at empty seats. The president was joined by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump blasted the Democratic leaders as “all talk and no action” and said he wasn’t surprised they didn’t come to the session. He said he expected Pelosi and Schumer would soon meet with him, but if there’s a shutdown, “I would absolutely blame the Democrats.”

The Democratic leaders said after Trump’s tweet that they’d skip a “show meeting” at the White House and instead ask for a meeting with Ryan and McConnell.

“Given that the President doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead,” they said in a joint statement.

Pelosi later criticized the president on Twitter, saying he was engaging in political stunts.

“@realDonaldTrump now knows that his verbal abuse will no longer be tolerated. His empty chair photo opp showed he’s more interested in stunts than in addressing the needs of the American people. Poor Ryan and McConnell relegated to props. Sad!,” Pelosi tweeted.

Trump sparked the dispute Tuesday morning.

“Meeting with ‘Chuck and Nancy’ today about keeping government open and working,” Trump said on Twitter. “Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!”

‘Urgent Issues’

“It’s disappointing that Senator Schumer and Leader Pelosi are refusing to come to the table and discuss urgent issues,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “The President’s invitation to the Democrat leaders still stands and he encourages them to put aside their pettiness, stop the political grandstanding, show up and get to work. These issues are too important.”

McConnell and Ryan echoed the White House in a joint statement.

“We have important work to do,” they said. “There is a meeting at the White House this afternoon, and if Democrats want to reach an agreement on these issues, they will be there.”

If Democrats and Republicans do not reach a deal on spending by Dec. 8, the federal government could face a partial shutdown.

Investors’ response to the dispute was muted. The dollar dipped after the Democrats’ statement and Treasuries extended gains, with the 10-year yield reaching the 2.31 percent level, signaling some movement to safety. But the U.S. stock market’s benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index continued to rise as investors placed greater emphasis on remarks made by Federal Reserve Chairman nominee Jerome Powell which analysts interpreted as favorable to bank stocks.

‘Dreamers’ Deal

Some Democrats have called for any year-end spending deal to include legislation to codify an Obama administration policy protecting from deportation young undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. Trump, who announced in September he was ending the Obama program, has said any deal protecting the so-called “Dreamers” should be paired with funding for a border wall and legislation that would reduce legal immigration.

The Dec. 8 deadline was set in a deal Schumer and Pelosi struck with Trump -- against the wishes of Ryan and McConnell -- to avoid a government shutdown and debt default in September. They agreed to fund the government at current levels and suspend the debt limit for three months.

Since that deal was struck, Congress has focused mostly on a tax overhaul and has made little progress reaching a spending deal to keep the government open. Other issues have also piled up, including the fate of cost-sharing subsidies that help defray deductibles and co-payments for low-income people with Obamacare insurance policies. Trump has stopped reimbursing insurers for the subsidies.

The negotiations also include efforts to lift legislative caps on military spending, raise the debt limit, provide more funding for disaster assistance, and extend a children’s health insurance program and an intelligence surveillance program.

Several of those issues face year-end deadlines and may end up in a huge spending plan requiring votes from both Republicans and Democrats.

Congressional Talks

The Trump administration does not want to include immigration as part of the year-end spending deal to keep the government open, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday.

“We hope that the Democrats aren’t going to put our service members abroad at risk by trying to hold the government hostage over partisan politics, and attaching that,” Sanders told reporters on Monday.

A Senate Democratic leadership aide said that Democratic leaders were able to reach a deal on a spending plan in April with Republicans in Congress and not the White House. They are looking to do that again.

In recent talks on a year-end budget deal, Democrats and Republicans in Congress have discussed a possible agreement to lift budget caps established under an Obama-era debt deal. The agreement would add $200 billion in spending above the caps over two years. However, the two sides haven’t agreed to divide the money equally between defense and non-defense programs, which Democrats want. Republicans are pushing for more defense spending than domestic spending.

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Democrats Pull Out of Trump Meeting After His Shutdown Tweet was originally posted by 16 MP Just news

[songwriternews]

New Post has been published on SONGWRITER NEWS

New Post has been published on https://songwriternews.co.uk/2018/10/macklemore-feat-lil-yachty-marmalade-official-music-video/

MACKLEMORE FEAT LIL YACHTY - MARMALADE (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

GEMINI – AVAILABLE NOW http://smarturl.it/MacklemoreGemini

DIRECTED BY Jason Koenig & Ben Haggerty

PRODUCED BY Honna Kimmerer

WRITTEN BY Ben Haggerty & Jason Koenig

CINEMATOGRAPHY BY Jason Koenig & Johnny Valencia

FEATURING Mitchell Savitsky Dre’moni Watts Matteo “Teo” Angeles KraShane “Spinz” Sims

1st ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Paul Dahlke

ART DIRECTOR John Lavin

STYLIST Therese Lefebvre

EDITED BY Jason Koenig, Johnny Valencia, Ben Haggerty

CAMERA DEPT Sam Nuttman – Specialty Camera Opp (motionstate.com) Ryan Brown -1st AC Conor McCarthy – 2nd AC Rick Wiley – Process Trailer

CASTING Anna Matuszewski Tami Wakasugi

ASSISTANT STYLIST Alex Nordstrom

HAIR & MAKEUP Jennifer Popochock Tanya Joseph

ART DEPT Set Decorator – Carrie Stacey Teo Shantz – Prop Master Petra Lavin – Assistant

CHOREOGRAPHY Anna Matuszewski

GRIP & ELECTRIC Vincent Klimek – Gaffer Collen Newberry – Key Grip Michael LePard – Best Boy Electric Isaac lane – Electric Mike Walker – Electric Greg Smith – Grip

PLAYBACK Tyler Dopps

SOUND DESIGN HEARby – John Buroker

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS

Antone Patterson Andrea Jewett Liam Cheskov-Dahlke Hannah Benson

CAR WRANGLER Corby Bartoli

SECURITY Seattle Police Department Seattle’s Finest Security

CAST: Macklemore, Lil Yachty, Marshawn Lynch, TV Johnny, C. Stone, Scarlet Parke, Sye Holland, James Ades, Elahna Ayson, Nicole Birce, Jayla Birge, Diane Bondoc, Xavier Borja, Coleman Cahill, Phoebe Cambell, Blair Coldrick, Amaris Cruz, Olu Dixon, Eyob Endris, Sanae Gates, Nyah Hickman, Jamal Hosn, Khaimah Jackson, Dalila Moyer, Dasia Sadorra, Sammie Tjeerds, Landon Tyler, Meka Vinmini, Sophia White, Jerome Welch, Scott Hameister, Oscar Valenzuela, Peter Lech, Mark Noguchi, Randie Brown, Kellen Florence, Dharma Martin, Tyler Roberts, Tre Watson, Luther Leonard, Saul Collins, Colin McArthur, William Bradt, Sean Brown, Morgen Johnson, Derrick, Cedric, Tony, Lexi Anthony, Alana Mikell, Jessica Turnansky, Abby Strand, Rusty the Dog

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Srilata Remala & The Remala Family, Dwayne Clark & Family, Dutch Brothers, Mitchell & Mandy Savitsky, Tommi Robinson, Brysen Angeles, Erin Sims, Coach K. Ron, Tricia Davis, Josh “Budo” Karp, Josh Dick, Zach Quillen, Ben Secord, Sadie Arnold, Mark Wondrack, Rebecca Stedman, Sheldon Cross & Kennedy H.S., Cherry Fellowship Hall, Jerry Raine & Turgeon-Raine Jewelers, Quick Stop the Chicken Shack, Taylor Durand-Skaggs & City of Seattle Office of Film & Music, Krys Karns & Washington Film Works, Heather Ryan & Key Arena, Moe & Mr. Grillz, MotionState, Koerner Camera, Joel Voelker, Amber Koniniec, Junus Khan, Lexi Anthony, Ryan McKinnon, Sharon and Jordan Alva, Jeff Gibberman, Cameron Sage, Anynago Arunga.

Macklemore managed by Zach Quillen & Josh Dick

Song Credits

Macklemore Marmalade feat. Lil Yachty

Performed by Macklemore and Lil Yachty Produced by Joshua “Budo” Karp and Tyler “Damn Dude” Dopps Additional Production by Ben Haggerty

Written by: B. Haggerty; M. McCollum; J. Karp; T. Andrews; T. Dopps; J. Rawlings

Lyrics by Ben Haggerty and Miles McCollum Piano by Joshua “Budo” Karp Bass by Tyler “Damn Dude” Dopps Drum Programming by Tyler “Damn Dude” Dopps Organ by Joshua Rawlings Background Vocals by Journey Pollard, Sinai Pollard, Jamaudray White, Larian Burney, Kimora Carson, Elizabeth Howell, Abbie Wright Additional Background Vocals by Gena Brooks, Tanisha Brooks, Josephine Howell, Dana Jackson, Karma Johnson, Maelu Strange ,Michael Allen, Deshe’ Brooks, Christopher Harris, Malaelupe Samifua

Mixed by Jon Castelli at The Gift Shop, DTLA Mastered by Dale Becker Engineered by Tyler Dopps Additional Engineering by Thomas Mann at Macklemore Studios Engineer for Mix Ingmar Carlson

Bengal Yucky (BMI) Boat Boys Publishing (BMI) Gutterfunk (ASCAP) Tyler Andrews (ASCAP) Dopps Tyler Matthews (BMI) Joshua Rawlings (ASCAP)

Lil Yachty appears courtesy of Quality Control Music, Motown Records and Capitol Records.

© 2017 Bendo, LLC. All rights reserved. source

[nyekreditterna]

Oppenheimer tror Powell kommer med åtte rentehevinger

Aksjestrateg Peter Oppenheimer i Goldman Sachs tror den nye FED-sjefen Jerome Powell vil sette opp renten fire ganger i år og like mange ganger neste år.

More at: Nye Kreditter Na

[v3gano]

Day 2 - Your favorite character. Akuma For most of my childhood, I was a dumb little Ryu stan. I figured out that three piece with a side of hadouken combo, and practiced enough to use it as my reliable maneuver to send scrubs to the corner so I could cheese away. Then came high school, and the reality of being able to outside for lunch. Cool. Figure I’d go to Jerome to see wassup with the comedera. First thing on my mind is usually pizza, and it wasn’t long before I went in the first one I saw. That pizza spot just so happened to have the X-Men vs. Street Fighter arcade system ready to go. Adiós, quarters. The first time I got to play, there wasn’t really people around, so I got to get a few licks in playing single player. I select Wolverine and Ryu, in black, never in bumass white. Shit’s sweet at first. As far as versus games go, I only had experience with Marvel vs Capcom back home. But both Wolverine and Ryu were familiar characters, so I was straight. Out of nowhere, a junior shows up, and drops a quarter in the slot. He selects Akuma and Ken. And proceeds to W A X my ass. It was my first time witnessing Akuma. Deadly fucking fast. Dumb heavy strikes. Sweet ass special moves. Badfuckingass. First impression was that he was a mix of Ryu and Ken. And I fucking loved it. The beatdowns I kept receiving with every quarter dropped, though? Not fun. Raging fucking Demon after Raging fucking Demon. Quickest dozen quarters I’ve ever spent on a versus game. Through those brutal ass Ls, that dude introduced me to the character named Akuma that day. And my life changed forever. You’re goddamn right I made sure how to plug in the Raging Demon arcade input before I went back to class that day. After that day, Ryu was sent to the bench. Weakling. Every chance that arises, I select Akuma. Despite the terrible defense, that speed and wicked power was way too good to pass up and not learn about. And it’s been great ever since. You know what isn’t great? THAT BITCHMADE HOPPING OVER THE GLIDE SHIT WHEN I TRY TO CATCH AN OPP WITH THE RAGING DEMON. NOTHING BOILS MY BLOOD MORE THAN WASTING THREE HARD EARNED SUPER BARS!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CWpoeMELvOi/?utm_medium=tumblr

[kaydelive-blog]

New post (MACKLEMORE FEAT KESHA - GOOD OLD DAYS (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)) has been published on Simplynresults

New Post has been published on http://simplynresults.com/?p=1478

MACKLEMORE FEAT KESHA - GOOD OLD DAYS (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yYV9-KoSUM

GEMINI – AVAILABLE NOW http://smarturl.it/MacklemoreGemini

DIRECTED BY Johnny Valencia 

PRODUCED BY Honna Kimmerer

WRITTEN BY Ben Haggerty & Tricia Davis

CINEMATOGRAPHY BY  Johnny Valencia & Ryan Haug

FEATURING Macklemore Kesha Josh “Budo” Karp   Keeley Swami Michael

1st ASSISTANT DIRECTOR  Paul Dahlke

PRODUCTION DESIGNER Teo Shantz 

STYLISTS Therese Lefebvre (Cast)  Samantha Burkhart (Kesha) Samantha Rhodes (Kesha)

EDITED BY Johnny Valencia & Ben Haggerty

CAMERA DEPT Ryan Haug – Specialty Camera Opp (motionstate.com) Steve Hyde- Super 8 Film  Ryan Brown -1st AC Conor McCarthy – 2nd AC

ART DEPT Emily Wood – Art Director Tenold Sundberg – Carpenter/Scenic

CASTING COORDINATOR  Jessica Hernandez

ASSISTANT STYLIST  Paul White

HAIR & MAKEUP Vittorio Masecchia

HAIR & MAKEUP ASSIST  Kaija Towner

GRIP & ELECTRIC Ryan Middleton – Gaffer Chris Taranto – Key Grip

COLOR  Joel Voelker & Johnny Valencia 

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Antone Patterson Cameron Sage Andrea Jewett Hannah Benson  Jake Magraw

CRAFTY Dave Nugent & Bobbi Gerlick

CAST  Jerome Welch, Rokea Jones, Tyler “XP” Andrews, Andrea Lopez-Diaz, Khalil Lee-Butler, Jessica Hernandez, Jayson Blasko, Haley Blakva, Jake Magraw, Nat Mengist, Stephanie Wright, Zak Wintz, Mollie Thompson, Eric Vaughn, Melanie Vaughn, Eric Freistadt, Jennifer Akemi, Julia Pascualy

SPECIAL THANKS TO:  Terry “Tumwater” Ryan & Judy Ryan, Frances Bowery, Chelsea Gillis, Lagan Sebert, Eyal Shmuel, Tricia Davis, Josh Dick, Zach Quillen, Jason Koenig, Ian Hubert & Kaitlin Romig, Julie & Bill Haggerty, Carl & Rita Comfort, Brian Thomas and the crew of the “Gen III”, Heather Valencia & Family, Jill & Dave Campell, Kurt Gordan & Family, Ray & Jackie Hovick & Family, Beth & Mike George, Randy Woodhams, ShuRyan McKinnon, Paris Call, Teri & Duane Woods, Ben Secord, Shu Jones, Motion State, Go4Nuge, Glazers, Caveman

Macklemore managed by Zach Quillen & Josh Dick

SONG CREDITS

Macklemore Good Old Days feat. Kesha   Performed by Macklemore and Kesha Produced by Joshua “Budo” Karp   Written by: B. Haggerty; K. Sebert; J. Karp; A. Joslyn; S. Wishkoski; T. Andrews   Lyrics by Ben Haggerty and Kesha Sebert   Additional Piano by Sam Wish String Arrangement by Andrew Joslyn Violin by Andrew Joslyn and Christopher Foerstel Viola by Seth May-Patterson Cello by Eli Weinberger Additional Percussion by Teo Shantz Choir Vocals by Tanisha Brooks, Josephine Howell, and Karma Johnson   Mixed by Jon Castelli at Studio X Mastered by Dale Becker Engineered by Tyler Dopps Mastering Assistant – Mandy Adams Engineer for Mix Ingmar Carlson    Bengal Yucky (BMI)  Dynamite Cop Music / Where Da Kasz At (BMI)  Gutterfunk (ASCAP) D B Joslyn Music (BMI) Swish You Were Here Music LLC (ASCAP) Tyler Andrews (ASCAP)   © 2017 Bendo, LLC. All rights reserved.

[junker-town]

Rutgers might look like a Big Ten football team by 2018

The Scarlet Knights should be far less embarrassing in 2017, at least.

This preview originally published June 19 and has since been updated.

Considering the levels of angst, the massive tale of early-2010s conference realignment didn’t affect that many power conference programs.

Texas A&M and Missouri joined the SEC.

Louisville, Pitt, and Syracuse joined the ACC.

Colorado and Utah joined the Pac-12.

TCU and West Virginia joined the Big 12.

Nebraska, Maryland, and Rutgers joined the Big Ten.

That’s some impressive movement, but it only represents about 20 percent of the power conference roster. For all the apocalyptic projections, that means about 80 percent of the P5 remained the same.

Most of the programs involved have proved their bona fides to their new conferences. Most have had at least a couple of shining moments. Texas A&M and Louisville have boasted Heisman winners in their new conferences. TCU nearly made the College Football Playoff in 2014. Missouri, Nebraska, and Colorado have combined for four division titles. Utah and West Virginia have each experienced 10-win seasons. Pitt knocked off eventual national champion Clemson last year. Syracuse and Maryland have at least had hoops success.

Rutgers has had what we’ll politely call a slightly different experience: The Scarlet Knights have become the unwitting face of All That’s Wrong With Realignment. From the start, the addition of RU to the conference lineup was seen as nothing more than a television money grab, a way of sneaking into the back door of the New York market.

That view was a little unfair; at the time of their announced move in November 2012, the Scarlet Knights were wrapping up their fourth nine-win season in six years and were coming off of the signing of a top-25 class. They won 11 games and finished 12th in the AP poll in 2006, and they averaged 8.3 wins per year from 2006-12. For that matter, they went 8-5 in 2014, their first year in their new conference.

Things took a turn. The school began a long string of PR defeats — a verbally incompetent athletic director, an abusive basketball coach, a football coach forgetting basic rules of decorum, a series of arrests — and recruiting trailed off. Head coach Kyle Flood was dismissed following a 4-8 2015, and he left he Ash with a mess.

Ash’s first roster was athletic but unbalanced. Rutgers had running backs and a decent offensive line but no quarterbacks. The Scarlet Knights had play-makers on the defensive line but no size. Injuries rendered a young set of linebackers and defensive backs completely ineffective. And did I mention the quarterback situation?

It was bad. Really bad. After falling to 106th in S&P+ in 2015, the Knights managed to fall even further, to 114th. The defense improved by a decent amount, but the offense was almost certainly the worst in the Power 5.

After scoring 89 against Howard and New Mexico during a 2-1 start, RU scored a combined 86 in nine conference games — 59 against Minnesota and Indiana and 27 in the other seven games. They were shut out four times.

This was the worst-case scenario, and it affirmed every cynical opinion the conference’s addition of Rutgers conjured. (Local columnists haven’t exactly helped, even if the conference’s practice of giving long-term junior membership is worth poking at.)

The good news is that Rutgers probably isn’t as far away from decent play as it seems. Ash signed RU’s best class in five years, and the team will only have a small handful of impact seniors this fall.

Mind you, the Scarlet Knights aren’t going to be good in 2017. Even with a couple of interesting transfers, the offense is still going to have a low ceiling, and the defensive line now has to rebuild. But after a pretty drastic Year Zero, Ash might provide proof of concept thanks to a far more seasoned defensive back seven and a new/old offensive coordinator. Plus, as defensive coordinator at Wisconsin in 2011-12 and co-coordinator at Ohio State in 2014-15, Ash showed a propensity for second-year improvement.

It wasn’t that long ago that RU was showing signs of potential. The Scarlet Knights were 9-1 late in 2012, and their Big Ten debut in 2014 featured a win over Michigan, a near-defeat of Penn State, and a bowl romp over North Carolina. But the last two years have served as a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s up to Ash to turn that around.

2016 in review

2016 Rutgers statistical profile.

You will rarely see QB stats as bad as what Rutgers produced in 2016. Junior Chris Laviano began as starter and completed 48 percent of his passes over parts of seven games. He was just 22-for-49 in Rutgers’ wins, and in shutout losses to Ohio State and Michigan, he went 4-for-20. He was mercifully benched after producing a passer rating of just 100.2, and replacement Giovanni Rescigno managed just a 102.6. In brief appearances, backups Zach Allen and Tylin Oden completed just two of 20 passes. That the No. 1 receiving target (Jawuan Harris) was a freshman probably didn’t help.

Rutgers ranked 124th in Passing S&P+, and the only real surprise there is that four FBS teams (Tulane, Kansas, Charlotte, Kent State) graded out worse. This had an obvious effect. When RU was able to establish the run game, the Knights produced a little offense. When the defense was too good against the run, RU had no Plan B.

After a month of scraping by with decent defense and mediocre offense, Rutgers ran out of tricks. Injuries at linebacker, defensive back, and receiver wiped out depth, and the reserves were lacking. Both sides of the ball succumbed.

First 4 games (2-2): Avg. percentile performance: 48% (31% offense, 50% defense) | Avg. score: RU 27, Opp 26

Last 8 games (0-8): Avg. percentile performance: 21% (17% offense, 27% defense) | Avg. score: Opp 45, RU 10

When offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer left to become Tom Herman’s receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Texas, Ash brought in an older hand. New coordinator Jerry Kill was Minnesota’s head coach from 2011-15 until health concerns led to his resignation; his Gopher offenses were physical and ground-based, and after stints as head coach of Northern Illinois and Minnesota, he’s no stranger to a rebuild. He has a set of transfers and some interesting freshmen and sophomores. We’ll see how much of a difference these new pieces can make in one year.

And we���ll see if a healthy, experienced defensive back seven can offset the attrition on the line.

Offense

Full advanced stats glossary.

If you adjust for degree of difficulty, the fact that Robert Martin averaged 5.2 yards per carry was ridiculously impressive. The senior-to-be dealt with multiple injuries and had one of the worst passing games in the country backing him up. He carried 42 times for 275 yards (6.5 per carry) against New Mexico and Iowa and managed a combined 30 for 168 (5.6) against Illinois and Maryland.

Martin spent time in Ash’s dog house, and his production was inconsistent, but ... of course it was. He had less peripheral support than virtually any back in the country. And even with him, Rutgers had the least efficient and least explosive offense in the Big Ten.

One shouldn’t underestimate the impact that Janarion Grant’s injury had, though. Grant caught 20 passes in four games, but he suffered a season-ending injury at the end of a 76-yard screen pass. From virtually that point forward, RU had no passing threat.

Grant, Martin, and two-year starting guard Dorian Miller give the Rutgers offense a little senior leadership. Even more could come from transfers. Ash made liberal use of the graduate transfer rule. Louisville quarterback Kyle Bolin, Miami running back Gus Edwards, and Arkansas receiver Damon Mitchell could play heavy roles this fall, as could traditional transfer Jerome Washington, a sophomore tight end from Miami.

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Robert Martin

Adding in other pieces like sophomore receiver Jawuan Harris (RU’s leading receiver in Grant’s absence), backup running back Josh Hicks, and perhaps incoming four-star freshman receiver Bo Melton, you might be looking at a retooled two-deep at the skill positions. Granted, the line now has to be restructured — three players who combined for 31 of last year’s 60 line starts are gone — but Miller and left tackle Tariq Cole should assure decent quality.

The pressure on Bolin is immense, though. Laviano and Oden transferred, leaving Bolin, Rescigno, Allen, and incoming freshman Jonathan Lewis, and of that foursome, Bolin is by far the most proven. He threw for 681 yards in the final two games of 2014, and he showed potential in tight early-2015 losses to Houston and Clemson.

Bolin lost the starting job to Lamar Jackson, but he has 2,104 career passing yards and a 140.8 passer rating. He is a play-maker and risk-taker, but if Martin, Edwards, and Hicks find traction on the ground in Kill’s physical system, he and Grant could provide more upside in the passing game.

There’s only so much improvement that can be expected after a No. 125 Off. S&P+ ranking, but this was quite the blood transfusion. Rutgers’ offense might not be great, but it will look nothing like last year’s.

Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images

Kyle Bolin

Defense

Rutgers’ defense had no chance. For starters, the offense was unsupportive dreck. Your ceiling is only going to be so high when you are constantly on the field, knowing that allowing a single touchdown almost ends your chances of victory.

Beyond that, we almost never saw the projected starting lineup. End Quanzell Lambert, the line’s leading play-maker in 2015, played in four games. Linebackers Greg Jones, Najee Clayton, Isaiah Johnson, and Andre Hunt missed a combined 36 games between them. The secondary featured safety Anthony Cioffi, cornerback Isaiah Wharton, and a “Who’s healthy this week?” grab bag.

That the Scarlet Knights still ranked 56th in Def. S&P+ was a testament to their drive-finishing ability as much as anything, but in this defense-friendly conference, they still brought up the rear.

The bad news is that the line again has to replace its only known play-makers. Lambert is gone, as are end Julian Pinnix-Odrick (10 TFLs in 2016) and tackle Darius Hamilton, the former blue-chipper who managed to stay on the field last year after missing 2015 but never returned to his pre-injury form. Cioffi is gone, too.

The good news: virtually everybody else is back, and thanks to injury, there is solid experience.

The even better news: there might only be two or three senior contributors. If the offense gets its act together in 2018 and beyond, the defense might be good enough to power a bowl bid.

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Darnell Davis (59)

Some assets:

Defensive end Darnell Davis. The former walk-on couldn’t match Lambert’s 2015 but did manage eight tackles for loss and two sacks. And in backup action, ends Kemoko Turay and Jimmy Hogan and tackles Kevin Wilkins and Jon Bateky combined for 10 TFLs and 4.5 sacks. There are no 320-pound earth movers, but the line does appear to have decent depth, especially if it gets something out of a young end like Elorm Lumor, Brendan Bordner, or Mike Tverdov.

Linebackers Trevor Morris and Deonte Roberts. The duo didn’t make a ton of plays as sophomores (just 6.5 TFLs between them), but along with sophomore Tyreek Maddox-Williams and juniors Brandon Russell and Eric Margolis [update: Maddox-Williams is out for the year with injury], they combined for a green unit that is far less green this time. If the line is stable — not the smallest “if” in the world — the linebacking corps should be capable. And again, there are exciting youngsters (true freshman Tyshon Fogg, redshirt freshman Solomon Manning) waiting.

Cornerbacks Blessuan Austin and Isaiah Wharton. The juniors were tasked with far more than expected last year and combined for a healthy 21 passes defensed. They’ll be joined by sophomores Damon Hayes and 2015 contributor Jarius Adams, and if junior safeties Kiy Hester and Saquan Hampton are healthy (they missed a combined nine games), Rutgers should have a solid secondary in 2017 and a downright awesome one in 2018.

There’s talent here, and you figure Ash and coordinator Jay Niemann (former DC at Northern Illinois and Ash’s DC at Drake in the 1990s) will utilize it. By 2018, the offense will need only to be mediocre for Rutgers to be competitive.

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Blessuan Austin

Special Teams

Janarion Grant was only beginning to figure out potential as a receiver when he got hurt last year, but he had long since proven his worth as a return man. He has eight career return touchdowns and had already scored two last year when he went down. His return alone means improvement for Rutgers’ special teams unit.

Unless he can kick or cover, though, his return doesn’t fix all of his team’s special teams woes. Rutgers ranked an awful 123rd in Special Teams S&P+, thanks to below-average place-kicking (David Bonagura missed two PATs and mad only one of 40 longer field goals) and maybe the worst combined kick and punt teams in the country. Bonagura’s kickoffs almost never reached the end zone, and Rutgers ranked 99th in both kick and punt return average allowed and 126th in both kickoff and punt efficiency. Yuck.

Bonagura and punter Michael Cintron are both back, for better or worse.

2017 outlook

2017 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 1-Sep Washington 13 -22.9 9% 9-Sep Eastern Michigan 96 3.9 59% 16-Sep Morgan State NR 38.5 99% 23-Sep at Nebraska 42 -15.4 19% 30-Sep Ohio State 2 -30.8 4% 14-Oct at Illinois 85 -3.8 41% 21-Oct Purdue 87 1.8 54% 28-Oct at Michigan 10 -29.6 4% 4-Nov vs. Maryland 72 -5.9 37% 11-Nov at Penn State 8 -31.2 4% 18-Nov at Indiana 39 -16.3 17% 25-Nov Michigan State 44 -9.9 28%

Projected S&P+ Rk 92 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 124 / 41 Projected wins 3.7 Five-Year S&P+ Rk -6.3 (94) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 63 / 56 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* -5 / -0.4 2016 TO Luck/Game -1.9 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 68% (60%, 76%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 2.0 (0.0)

Believe it or not, Rutgers optimists do exist — I have met a couple of them — and if they tell you their team might not be awful this fall, don’t laugh them off. Granted, they might be awful again, but there’s reason to believe a bounce back is in the works.

The defense got a lot of experience last year thanks to injuries, and there’s a core of sophomore and junior play-makers who should produce a top-60 or so ranking this year, then something even better next year.

Meanwhile, the offense has the new blood and experience it was dying for last year.

A solid defense, paired with an offense that features Martin, Edwards, Bolin, Grant, Mitchell, and a decent line? That’s not a Big Ten East contender, but it’s not one of the worst teams in the country either. S&P+ projects Rutgers 92nd, and I’m thinking something more in the range of 80th.

With home games against EMU, Morgan State, Purdue, Maryland (well, it’s at Yankee Stadium), and Michigan State, plus a less than intimidating trip to Illinois, RU could easily rise to 4-8 or 5-7 this fall. That’s not amazing, and it’s not even where the Knights were as recently as 2014, but after 2016’s disaster, it would be progress.

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[junker-town]

Arizona State’s Todd Graham can build coaches, but what about a program?

The Sun Devils themselves aren’t as impressive as Graham’s coaching tree.

This preview originally published May 25 and has since been updated.

Some guys are great facilitators.

Hayden Fry took Iowa to 14 bowls and engineered two top-10 finishes but is known for a coaching tree that features Bill Snyder, Barry Alvarez, and a wide array of Stoopses.

Hal Mumme took Kentucky to back-to-back bowls for the first time in 15 years but is remembered for his air raid disciples: Mike Leach, Dana Holgorsen, etc.

Former Miami and North Carolina head coach Butch Davis hired a host of future head coaches — Chuck Pagano, Greg Schiano, Rob Chudzinski, Randy Shannon, Mario Cristobal, Curtis Johnson, Everett Withers — but oversaw just one top-10 finish and one NFL playoff bid himself.

Mike Bellotti won 116 games with three top-10 finishes at Oregon, but his coaching tree shows he might have been better at prepping others than helping himself. He hired Washington’s Chris Petersen as his receivers coach, he named future Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter as his offensive coordinator in 1996, and he brought in a New Hampshire assistant named Chip Kelly in 2007.

Graham has had a fine career for himself. The 52-year-old has been a head coach for 11 seasons, and while he had the reputation of a mover — his first four seasons took place at four different schools — he has won 88 games, generated three ranked finishes, and won at least 10 games five times. He has had only three losing seasons.

At some point, however, he might become more known for the coaches he hired than for the games he won.

At Rice, he hired Major Applewhite (now head man at Houston) as his offensive coordinator and David Beaty (Kansas’ head coach) as his receivers coach.

At Tulsa, he brought in Gus Malzahn as offensive co-coordinator, and after Malzahn left, he brought in future SMU head coach Chad Morris. Malzahn just lured Graham’s 2016 offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey, to Auburn.

Memphis head coach Mike Norvell spent nine years under Graham, moving from Tulsa grad assistant to Pitt offensive co-coordinator to Arizona State coordinator. Norvell brought Chip Long, Graham’s tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, to Memphis as offensive coordinator. The pairing worked well enough that Long became Notre Dame’s OC after one season.

Jay Norvell joined Graham’s staff in 2016 before landing the Nevada job.

That’s six current college head coaches, plus likely future head men like Long and Lindsey. Graham’s newest offensive coordinator, former Alabama receivers coach Billy Napier, is regarded as quite the up-and-comer, too. Graham has former head coaches like Phil Bennett and Dave Christensen on the staff as well.

This is one hell of a coaching tree, one that will continue to blossom. And Graham’s barely been a head coach for a decade! Working under Graham means learning strong organizational principles and a system based on speed and aggression. With those basics, you can go in a lot of directions.

Of course, if you earn the reputation of molding exciting assistants, your reward is ... having to hire a lot more of them.

Two of Graham’s three losing seasons, by the way, happened in the last two years. From 20-7 in 2013-14, ASU has fallen to 11-14 since. The Sun Devils have regressed in almost perfectly linear fashion:

S&P+: eighth in 2013, 25th in 2014, 49th in 2015, 83rd in 2016

Offensive S&P+: 13th in 2013, 24th in 2014, 26th in 2015, 56th in 2016

Defensive S&P+: 15th in 2013, 41st in 2014, 81st in 2015, 114th in 2016

The offense has fallen, and the defense has vanished. The former can be explained in part by assistant coaching turnover; the latter, though, is a bit of an indictment — Graham, a former defensive coordinator himself, hasn’t lost a ton of defensive assistants. He’s either made the wrong hires or hasn’t recruited the right guys.

The ASU offense should be exciting in 2017; leading rusher Demario Richard, leading receiver N’Keal Harry, and flex guy Kalen Ballage (last year’s No. 2 rusher and No. 3 receiver) return, as do six linemen with starting experience. Three exciting transfers become eligible, and Graham and Napier have a pool of four semi-experienced quarterbacks. A return to the Off. S&P+ top 30 is conceivable.

The defense, however, could determine Graham’s fate. Coaches rarely survive three consecutive years of regression. The Sun Devils return lots of juniors and seniors on D, including attackers like end JoJo Wicker and linebacker DJ Calhoun, and Graham brought in Bennett, a seasoned coordinator. The good news is that a fourth straight year of defensive regression is nearly impossible.

2016 in review

2016 ASU statistical profile.

Graham squads are fast, confident, and assertive. His 2016 ASU team was flawed from the start, but against lesser competition, that didn’t matter too much. When the schedule got more difficult, however, the Sun Devils had no answers.

First 4 games (4-0): Avg. percentile performance: 61% (~top 50) | Avg. yards per play: Opp 6.6, ASU 6.3 (minus-0.3) | Avg. score: ASU 49, Opp 34 (plus-15)

Next 4 games (1-3): Avg. percentile performance: 39% (~top 80) | Avg. yards per play: Opp 6.3, ASU 4.0 (minus-2.3) | Avg. score: Opp 35, ASU 23 (minus-12)

Last 4 games (0-4): Avg. percentile performance: 17% (~top 105) | Avg. yards per play: Opp 8.4, ASU 5.1 (minus-3.3) | Avg. score: Opp 51, ASU 29 (minus-22)

Even early in the year, during tight wins over teams like UTSA and Cal, the defense was giving up a scary number of big plays. When the competition improved, the big plays became deadly. IsoPPP measures the magnitude of an offense’s successful plays, and ASU ranked 128th out of 128 FBS teams in IsoPPP allowed. If the Sun Devils weren’t creating havoc, they were getting gashed.

Meanwhile, quarterback Manny Wilkins dealt with ailments and was replaced by a couple different freshman quarterbacks. The run game vanished, which put far too much pressure on the QB of the week.

This is all a very bad combination, and after semi-respectable results — a 41-20 loss to USC, a 23-20 win over UCLA, a 37-32 loss to Wazzu — ASU imploded. This was a really bad team in November. Some shuffling on the coaching staff was warranted.

Offense

Full advanced stats glossary.

Despite his defensive background, Graham’s teams have been far more likely to excel on offense than defense through the years. Of his 11 offenses, six have ranked 26th or better in Off. S&P+, and only two have ranked outside of the top 60.

The Sun Devils ranked 56th in 2016, dragged down by Wilkins’ injury issues. When he was healthy, ASU was still limited by an iffy run game, but the passing game was at least dangerous. Freshmen Dillon Sterling-Cole and Brady White (combined: 51 percent completion rate, 4.8 percent INT rate, 3 TDs to 5 INTs, 5.5 yards per pass attempt including sacks) simply weren’t ready.

Wilkins: 63% completion rate, 2.9% INT rate, 6.1 yards per pass attempt (including sacks)

Sterling-Cole & White: 51% completion rate, 4.8% INT rate, 5.5 yards per pass attempt

The backup situation will likely be in better shape, at least. White, a former blue-chipper, and Sterling-Cole are both back, but Wilkins is also getting pushed hard by Alabama transfer Blake Barnett, who worked with Napier in Tuscaloosa. Barnett began 2016 as Bama’s starter but was quickly usurped by Jalen Hurts. In a small sample, he took a ton of sacks and hit on some really big passes.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Blake Barnett

Whoever wins the QB job will have a potentially awesome receiving corps. ASU does have to replace its two most efficient receivers — slot men Tim White and Frederick Gammage — but in Harry, Ballage, and slot receiver Jalen Harvey, the Sun Devils have three players who combined for 123 catches and 1,458 yards.

Harry, a former blue-chipper, held his own as a freshman No. 1, and Ballage combined an early 100-yard rushing game (137 yards, seven touchdowns against Texas Tech) with two late 100-yard receiving games (combined: 13 catches, 223 yards against Oregon and Utah). Meanwhile, senior Cameron Smith caught 41 passes in 2014 but has struggled to stay on the field the last two years. [Update: Smith has since transferred to Notre Dame.]

Joining the veterans are two exciting transfers. Sophomores Ryan Newsome (Texas) and John Humphrey (Oklahoma) are custom-built slot receivers with high ceilings. If either can replace White’s efficiency, and the winner of the QB battle can stay on the field, the passing game should hum.

The run game, though? A line that helped ASU rank 15th in power success rate and 21st in stuff rate is experienced despite the loss of two-year starting left tackle Evan Goodman. But neither Ballage nor leading rusher Demario Richard were even slightly efficient against defenses less awful than Texas Tech’s. Richard gained at least five yards on just 29 percent of his carries (the national average is about 40 percent), Ballage 28 percent.

ASU rarely moved backwards but still ranked 107th in rushing success rate. Returning everyone involved doesn’t automatically help those numbers.

Cole Elsasser-USA TODAY Sports

Kalen Ballage

Defense

The offense obviously has some question marks, but the raw components, plus Graham’s history, suggest improvement. Graham’s defense, however, has lost the benefit of the doubt. ASU showed the downside of aggression last fall, ranking a not-awful 67th in success rate and 45th in havoc rate but giving up an almost impossible number of big plays.

I mean, damn:

ASU allowed 3.7 gains of 30-plus per game (125th in FBS), 1.8 rushes of 20-plus (86th), and 12.5 passes of 10-plus (127th). To account for that, you better have the best efficiency numbers in the country. The Sun Devils did not.

A little bit of new blood could help. Graham brought in Michael Slater as line coach after the Beaty assistant engineered a massive turnaround on the Kansas D-line in 2016.

More significantly, he hired Bennett, Art Briles’ former coordinator at Baylor. Setting aside any moral issues you might (justifiably) have with former Briles assistants so quickly finding new work, this move makes sense. Bennett crafted a defense that served as a strong complement to the mach-speed Baylor offense.

The basics of the Bennett defense — an imposing defensive line anchored by a seasoned, swarming secondary — sound a lot like the basics of the defense Keith Patterson spent the last few years trying and failing to maintain in Tempe. (Patterson remains on staff as linebackers coach.)

Slater could have some fun with JoJo Wicker and Tashon Smallwood up front. The two combined for 20 tackles for loss and five sacks, and backup Renell Wren contributed six and 1.5, respectively. Linebackers DJ Calhoun and Koron Crump, meanwhile, combined for 22 and 13.5. That’s a lot of returning havoc, and Bennett should know how to use some of those pieces.

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

JoJo Wicker

Of course, havoc wasn’t the problem last year — breakdowns were. And the state of the secondary doesn’t automatically lead one to believe they will be solved. A more effectively aggressive front seven can produce aggrieved, mistake-prone QBs, but when the QBs get the passes off, they’ll be throwing into the teeth of a secondary that must replace half of its top four cornerbacks, plus safety Armand Perry, who just retired with injury issues.

The returnees are experienced; there just might not be enough of them. Safeties Marcus Ball and Chad Adams and corners Kareem Orr [update: Orr’s transferred to UT-Chattanooga] and Maurice Chandler are all either juniors and seniors and combined for 22 percent of ASU’s tackles last year. But they created almost no disruption — ASU was ninth in the country in LB havoc rate but 127th in DB havoc rate — and gave up at least four touchdown passes four times last year.

Opponents completed 64 percent of their passes and produced a 156.9 passer rating; ASU basically turned every opposing passer into USC’s Sam Darnold (161.1). And while Graham is not averse to signing JUCOs, he’s going to be relying on younger players to provide an energy boost in the back — four-star redshirt freshman Chase Lucas, for instance, finished the spring as a starting corner.

As goes the ASU pass defense, so goes ASU. The havoc recipe was all wrong in 2016, and that cannot continue.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Koron Crump

Special Teams

It could have been a lot worse for ASU last year; if not for the No. 4 special teams unit in the country, the Sun Devils could have gone lost at least a couple more games. They did, after all, go 2-1 in one-possession finishes.

Unfortunately, the primary reason for ranking fourth in Special Teams S&P+ was Zane Gonzalez, and he’s gone. Gonzalez went 13-for-15 on field goals over 40 yards and booted three-quarters of his kickoffs for touchbacks, setting a bar that his successor might not come anywhere close to clearing.

Tim White’s punt returns were the next reason for ASU’s strong special teams ratings; he’s also gone. This unit is almost completely starting over.

2017 outlook

2017 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 31-Aug New Mexico State 124 21.8 90% 9-Sep San Diego State 52 1.9 54% 16-Sep at Texas Tech 66 -1.4 47% 23-Sep Oregon 23 -5.9 37% 30-Sep at Stanford 12 -17.7 15% 14-Oct Washington 13 -12.3 24% 21-Oct at Utah 45 -4.2 40% 28-Oct USC 7 -16.1 18% 4-Nov Colorado 50 1.7 54% 11-Nov at UCLA 34 -6.6 35% 18-Nov at Oregon State 54 -2.8 44% 25-Nov Arizona 68 4.2 60%

Projected S&P+ Rk 58 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 31 / 85 Projected wins 5.2 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 7.2 (38) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 38 / 30 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* -4 / 2.0 2016 TO Luck/Game -2.5 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 71% (72%, 70%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 3.6 (1.4)

Even as the wins have vanished, ASU has continued to look like a Graham team: aggressive, fast, and willing to risk a few explosions to create some of their own. But the combination of injuries and poor pass defense created a disaster against just about any team with a pulse last fall.

Naturally, after three years of regression, S&P+ has stopped believing in the Sun Devils. They are projected to improve, but only to 58th, and with a brutal North slate that includes Stanford and Washington but misses Cal and Washington State, 58th isn’t good enough to guarantee a bowl.

Like Arizona and most of the Pac-12, though, ASU’s fate will be determined by tossups. Including non-conference games against SDSU and Texas Tech, the Sun Devils are looking at eight games with win probability between 35 and 60 percent. They had one likely win and three likely losses, so they’ll have to win a majority of the tight games to make sure their bowl drought ends at just one year.

At least Graham’s latest round of hires looks strong. His new offensive coordinator and defensive line coach are up-and-comers, and he brought in a potentially valuable old hand to save a flagging defense. ASU should show enough progress to keep Graham in Tempe for another year, but it might take until 2018 for everything to click again.

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