I don't think they factor in coaching changes, and we have a punter with no stats and a kicking unit that was under 70% last year. So you probably project a little improvement in field goals, a step back in the punting, and there's not really anything for the projections to latch onto suggesting improvement in returns/coverage. So I'm optimistic it will be significantly improved, but that's heavily relying on the coaching impact so I can see the projections sticking with "atrocious."
I don't disagree with you, at all. But I am struggling to choose the 4 teams that will beat us. We will be dogs to Michigan and PSU. Outside of those 2, Nebraska looks to be 50/50 at worst against the rest of the schedule. 6 of our 9 conference games are against opponents who are below us in the rankings and 2 of the matchups against teams ranked higher are home games. Favorable schedule on paper so I am going with 3-0 on non-conf and 6-3 in conference. 9-3 with a bowl win to follow keeps MR on trajectory... but then does he stay here lol.