Alabama Begging for 2015 Opponent

[DoctorWho85]

If he brought in talent, they are apparently still in their RS Freshman form. That was my point. We may have talent, but they are currently small, weak, and slow. Our OLine (right now) would not even make it out alive.

There's a huge difference between a true/red shirt freshman and a 1AA player. I would go as far as to say a lot of freshman in a 1A school are about the same as a 5th year senior in a 1AA school. Referencing the Oline it a moot point. The Oline has been terrible for 3 years and literally cannot get any worse than it was last year. GDL ruined the group mentally and PP let them get lazy. Maybe a bunch a fresh faces on the line is exactly what this team needs right now.

Edit: I'm not saying we're up to speed yet. I don't know. All I know is what Diaco is telling us. It seems to me that Diaco is at least correcting the S&C mistakes of the past. We may not have the size of other teams, but at least it seems we'll actually be better conditioned for games.

 

[Waquoit]

Sure. Give it the college try. And when they tell you to go screw, you don't take the road game in Tuscaloosa?

Sure, why not?

 

[Jimdish255]

S Miss doesn't exactly open up another recruiting area, but whatever. This was never going to happen anyway.

 

[DoctorWho85]

S Miss doesn't exactly open up another recruiting area, but whatever. This was never going to happen anyway.

If Alabama is really that desperate then I would at least hope that WM gave Battle a call. I know it was a long shot, but I would like to hear that there was an attempt to schedule Bama.

 

[Dooley]

If Alabama called Warde today and said come down and play us at Bryant-Denny and we will give you nothing, I hope he says "YES!" before the question can get out. UCONN should be going after these types of games and opponents, not FCS (or lower) schools from the northeast. Would UCONN lose the game? Most definitely. But maybe just maybe UCONN fans would travel well (just like the ND and Michigan games) and the team can put up a fight for some of the game. That's how you turn around the negative perception of UCONN football...not by scheduling Holy Cross types and calling it a great day for New England rivalries.

 

[SubbaBub]

If Alabama called Warde today and said come down and play us at Bryant-Denny and we will give you nothing, I hope he says "YES!" before the question can get out. UCONN should be going after these types of games and opponents, not FCS (or lower) schools from the northeast. Would UCONN lose the game? Most definitely. But maybe just maybe UCONN fans would travel well (just like the ND and Michigan games) and the team can put up a fight for some of the game. That's how you turn around the negative perception of UCONN football...not by scheduling Holy Cross types and calling it a great day for New England rivalries.

We would need expenses and payment for the lost home game, which compared to what Bama makes for home game, it's not much. There is still a business component to scheduling.

 

[Husky25]

I would also like at least a phone call.

Be that as it may, unless a contract is signed, we will probably never know. It's not my worse fear, necessarily (but it is quickly gaining steam), but if Alabama announces a game for 9/15/15 vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, I hope the anti-Manuel crowd suppress their rage long enough to consider that a call may have been made and went unanswered or that other programs got the jump on UConn.

Manuel does not negotiate through the media. He's developed that MO throughout the time he's been at UConn. I hope others will give him the benefit of the doubt in this case as well if it doesn't work out to many fans' wishes.

 

[John]

I would also like at least a phone call.

Be that as it may, unless a contract is signed, we will probably never know. It's not my worse fear, necessarily (but it is quickly gaining steam), but if Alabama announces a game for 9/15/15 vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, I hope the anti-Manuel crowd suppress their rage long enough to consider that a call may have been made and went unanswered or that other programs got the jump on UConn.

Manuel does not negotiate through the media. He's developed that MO throughout the time he's been at UConn. I hope others will give him the benefit of the doubt in this case as well if it doesn't work out to many fans' wishes.

Yes - when all is said and done, I just hope there's a "I made the call. I tried" and then we all move on.

 

[Husky25]

Yes - when all is said and done, I just hope there's a "I made the call. I tried" and then we all move on.

There won't be. No one uses the media like that. When was the last time you read a press release in this industry that announced a negative of this kind?

What would the opening line even be?

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thanks for coming. I'd like to announce that the University of Connecticut football program will not be playing Alabama in the 2015-16 football season, but in a win-win for the two athletic programs, they will not be getting their a$5 kicked in Gampel on February 4, 2016 either. Go Blue."

Somehow I can't see that happening. Maybe it's just me.

 

[kibblesnbits]

If Alabama called Warde today and said come down and play us at Bryant-Denny and we will give you nothing, I hope he says "YES!" before the question can get out. UCONN should be going after these types of games and opponents, not FCS (or lower) schools from the northeast. Would UCONN lose the game? Most definitely. But maybe just maybe UCONN fans would travel well (just like the ND and Michigan games) and the team can put up a fight for some of the game. That's how you turn around the negative perception of UCONN football...not by scheduling Holy Cross types and calling it a great day for New England rivalries.

Troy often puts up a good fight against SEC schools but no one is ever going to invite them to the SEC. We need a balanced schedule that enables the team to win, stay healthy through the season, go to bowls and represent well against the P5. All are important goals, not just being a plucky, sacrificial lamb for as many P5 money games as we can get. We also need home games (some expected wins and some competitive) to continue building the fan base. If we have a schedule with at least 6 home games that includes an OOC slate with one FCS (obviously at home), one MAC/Sunbelt level, one competitive P5 and one reach P5 (probably on the road or neutral) that should provide a reasonable chance to show the program OOC and, hopefully, prepare the team for success in conference.

Warde could probably schedule 4 P5 games per year in short order if he wanted. Of course, those games would be more on the road than home because we don't have any leverage (i.e. seasons generally of 5 and, perhaps, 6 home games only if the P5's are at the lower end of the spectrum) and would leave the team probably pretty beat up if we schedule up too far going into the conference slate. Even most true power programs schedule at most one other power for a TV game, one relatively likely win against a competitive school and a couple they should almost never lose so they can be prepared but in good shape going into the conference - both physically and in the national standings.

 

[1husky]

There won't be. No one uses the media like that. When was the last time you read a press release in this industry that announced a negative of this kind?

What would the opening line even be?

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thanks for coming. I'd like to announce that the University of Connecticut football program will not be playing Alabama in the 2015-16 football season, but in a win-win for the two athletic programs, they will not be getting their a$5 kicked in Gampel on February 4, 2016 either. Go Blue."

Somehow I can't see that happening. Maybe it's just me.

Didn't we do that with the Notre Dame at Fenway game that went to BC?

 

[gioff23]

S Miss doesn't exactly open up another recruiting area, but whatever. This was never going to happen anyway.

do you think there is a place on the planet that is not in their recruiting area

 

[John]

Troy often puts up a good fight against SEC schools but no one is ever going to invite them to the SEC. We need a balanced schedule that enables the team to win, stay healthy through the season, go to bowls and represent well against the P5. All are important goals, not just being a plucky, sacrificial lamb for as many P5 money games as we can get. We also need home games (some expected wins and some competitive) to continue building the fan base. If we have a schedule with at least 6 home games that includes an OOC slate with one FCS (obviously at home), one MAC/Sunbelt level, one competitive P5 and one reach P5 (probably on the road or neutral) that should provide a reasonable chance to show the program OOC and, hopefully, prepare the team for success in conference.

Warde could probably schedule 4 P5 games per year in short order if he wanted. Of course, those games would be more on the road than home because we don't have any leverage (i.e. seasons generally of 5 and, perhaps, 6 home games only if the P5's are at the lower end of the spectrum) and would leave the team probably pretty beat up if we schedule up too far going into the conference slate. Even most true power programs schedule at most one other power for a TV game, one relatively likely win against a competitive school and a couple they should almost never lose so they can be prepared but in good shape going into the conference - both physically and in the national standings.

Doesn't have to be a formal announcement, I'm just thinking a little casual aside during a conversation with the press. I'm not talking a press conference here.

 

[Husky25]

Didn't we do that with the Notre Dame at Fenway game that went to BC?

If UConn did this, you can prove it by finding a press release from the school, far easier than I can prove a negative. In all the articles I read at that time, nowhere is Manuel quoted.

 

[1husky]

If UConn did this, you can prove it by finding a press release from the school, far easier than I can prove a negative. In all the articles I read at that time, nowhere is Manuel quoted.

So we didn't float a story to the press about how we were trying to get a game with Notre Dame at Fenway which Notre Dame denied and then several months later announced they were playing against BC? Normally, I would agree with you and say no one uses the media to announce that hey "I made the call I tried" and then we all move on, but in this case I'm pretty sure that's exactly what we did.

 

[Husky25]

So we didn't float a story to the press about how we were trying to get a game with Notre Dame at Fenway which Notre Dame denied and then several months later announced they were playing against BC? Normally, I would agree with you and say no one uses the media to announce that hey "I made the call I tried" and then we all move on, but in this case I'm pretty sure that's exactly what we did.

Not in any article I pulled up, which are not hard to find...neither is the Boneyard thread, which while it took on a life of its own, is not an official UConn source.

Here's the original Boston Globe Article

It says the Red Sox Brass were trying to organize it for 2014 and Connecticut fits the mold being only 85 miles away. The ND at Fenway idea was not originally floated by UConn.

Subsequent articles have Swarbrick throwing cold water on the idea (with UConn) and quote Former "Head Coach" Pasqualoni as saying that Warde Manuel is working hard on the OOC schedule, but really made no indication that he knew what the heck Manuel was doing. Besides, I would, will, and had at that point begun taking whatever Former "Head Coach" Pasqualoni had to say with a grain of salt regardless.

 

[Woof 101]

As much as I would love to see the Huskies running out on the field at Bryant/Denny, I can't see it happening. Bama fans I know (which is a lot) have complained about the OOC home schedule for several years and, despite our BB prowess, would see a UConn FB game as a step below any of the TX or FL AAC teams. Heck most would rather play Tulane where there at least some ancient history and could therefore justify the game.

I guess this puts Holy Cross off their radar also..... Just say'n...

 

[kibblesnbits]

I guess this puts Holy Cross off their radar also..... Just say'n...

We'll, Alabama has Western Carolina, an FCS team coming off a 2-10 season, on this year's schedule.

 

[hjoerring]

Lets go to Bama. At this point it doesn't matter to have a home and home. Any national exposure would be great! You never know, upsets really help put teams on the map and the "play any one at any time" mindset doesn't hurt either when conferences are looking for a new football team!

You are so right. Getting your ass kicked-- 40 to 3, might not be something easily forgotten "when conf. are looking ....." I'm sure thar Warde and Diaco are smart enough to follow and stick with a less reckless plan. "Any national exposure ...." Wow! The air down here isn't that bad- really, come down.

 

[Adios]

Neutral field. We'll look weak playing one road game.

 

[J187Money]

I'm of the anyone anywhere mindset. And anyone who went to that ND game would probably agree that doing a one-off road game didn't hurt. They won't beat us any worse than UCF did last year or like WV did nearly every year. Pile on all kinds of big games on the road or neutral site. That's gotta be better for recruiting than games against Buffalo and HC.

 

[J187Money]

Neutral field. We'll look weak playing one road game.

Butch - we are weak. Hiding from the big boys isn't going to change that.

 

[UC990411]

Because playing UConn at The Rent is not as good as playing Vandy in Tennessee, Kentucky at Kentucky or Arkansas at Arkansas.

It isn't...

 

[Adios]

Butch - we are weak. Hiding from the big boys isn't going to change that.

Right now, yes. But it is very possible for this program to revert to their winning ways before PP.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Butch - we are weak. Hiding from the big boys isn't going to change that.

Exactly.

I am of the opinion that playing one game, at Bama is no worse (perception wise) than one game there and one at either the Meadowlands or Foxboro. Yes, the added game on our schedule would have benefits to the program, both with future strength of schedule and improving our presence in either NYC's or Boston's metropolitan area but those who may knock the program for playing a one-off road game against a major program would have a similar reaction to a road game & neutral site arrangement.

The only possible logic I can see to not pursuing this is a decision (jointly by Manuel and Diaco) that the program would benefit more (in 2015) from a win that would count towards bowl eligibility than a high profile game that would almost assuredly be a loss with an unattractive final score.