Bob Diaco continues work rebuilding UConn, Huskies ranked No. 120 (Orlando Sentinel) | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Bob Diaco continues work rebuilding UConn, Huskies ranked No. 120 (Orlando Sentinel)

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J187Money said:
Shh. Facts.

(Damn Warde!)
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Most of whom transferred because they were riding the pine. Plus there is that pesky other 3/4 of the roster. Which btw has 22 fewer scholarships than a 1a team. Just the facts, Ma'am. And that contributes to why those teams would struggle more as the season went on. Even if 25% were 1a talent ( and in most cases it is marginal 1a but by no means all) the depth is just not there. Your 1a transfer dt goes down the guy replacing him is most likely not 1a. And that goes for every position on the field . It is also at least in part why these teams when they are close tend to lose late.
 
If you are just finding out now how bad this team was and that teams don't get fixed overnight I don't know what to tell you.

Yes, FBS teams should generally bury FCS teams. That's nice and all but when your team is so bad you can't move the ball against Stony Brook and get hammered at home by an 0-11 team who spent most of the season completely unable to score a single touchdown... general things don't apply to you.

If Diaco can beat Villanova it's a pretty big step forward for the program.
 
A better conditioned team, more experience on the OL and a good defense that will probably be even better, tells me we win the war on both sides of the line, and thus win the game.

Just the fact alone that we will be blitzing more (last year Diaco didn't feel the team could handle the exposure from blitzing) will help our defense.

I expect the conditioning will help our OL get the push needed to run the ball with more effectiveness and wear down Villanova by the 4th quarter.

Come game time I'd be willing to take all bets if we are getting points. I don't think we will be but only time will tell.
 
Excalibur said:
Villanova would finish with a .500 conference record if they played in the AAC next year.
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No doubt, they are a good team. But while teams like Villanova might have the horses to pull off a victory against an FBS school, I think they would wear down against an AAC schedule coupled with a some P5 OOC games.
 
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whaler11 said:
If Diaco can beat Villanova it's a pretty big step forward for the program.
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Truth!

Folks may not like it, but the fact is, it would be a big win.

It also sets us up to start the season with 2-0 before heading into four straight games where we will be sizable underdogs.
 
uconndogs said:
Truth!

Folks may not like it, but the fact is, it would be a big win.

It also sets us up to start the season with 2-0 before heading into four straight games where we will be sizable underdogs.
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Yeah, it would demonstrate progress, mostly likely would have lost to them last year. Also the games will be managed differently this year. Time to start coming out of the induced coma.
 
This team lays an egg to open next season they will wake up 0-6 and headed for a total disaster. Diaco will immediately be on the hot seat for the start of 2017. He goes 2-22 he may not even see 2017 in Connecticut. Not even saying that's necessarily fair, but I think that's what it would come down to.
 
uconndogs said:
This team lays an egg to open next season they will wake up 0-6 and headed for a total disaster. Diaco will immediately be on the hot seat for the start of 2017. He goes 2-22 he may not even see 2017 in Connecticut. Not even saying that's necessarily fair, but I think that's what it would come down to.
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If they go 0-12 Diaco deserves to be fired. It's hard to go 0-12. For reference, see our last game last year.
 
uconndogs said:
This team lays an egg to open next season they will wake up 0-6 and headed for a total disaster. Diaco will immediately be on the hot seat for the start of 2017. He goes 2-22 he may not even see 2017 in Connecticut. Not even saying that's necessarily fair, but I think that's what it would come down to.
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No students and last year SMU level crowds. Geeez.
 
Duncan Idaho said:
1/4 of Towson's roster that year was FBS transfers. A lot!
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It's shouldn't matter as 100% of our roster was FBS players.
The rationalizations in this thread are near as bad as the play last year.
5 wins while an improvement should still be unacceptable.
Saying Nova should be a tough game is just plain giving up on the program.
Set a higher standard then achieve it.
Limiting expectations to 3-4 wins is self defeating.
 
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SubbaBub said:
It's shouldn't matter as 100% of our roster was FBS players.
The rationalizations in this thread are near as bad as the play last year.
5 wins while an improvement should still be unacceptable.
Saying Nova should be a tough game is just plain giving up on the program.
Set a higher standard then achieve it.
Limiting expectations to 3-4 wins is self defeating.
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Not at all. I think most are hopeful that this season represents an inflection point in what had been a decline of the program.
 
Waquoit said:
But saying it won't would be delusional. After last year, I'm done with the happy horsesh!t.
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Yeah, not sure how saying Nova is going to be a tough game is giving up on program. It's being an honest about this team.

Regular posters on here, posting on a board for a team that was the worst team in FBS last season, love this program, I would say. None of us want the program to continue to be bad. But we have to look at this team honestly.

I am not going to jump ship if UCONN doesn't win more than 5 games. I actually think the odds aren't in our favor. I simply want to see progress. From the players. And most importantly, the coaching staff.
 
Sportsman5 said:
The problem with villinova is they have the 1aa player of the year coming back as their quarter back. That means that game is a big wild card.
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Our Defense needs to dominate their Offense!
 
SubbaBub said:
It's shouldn't matter as 100% of our roster was FBS players.
The rationalizations in this thread are near as bad as the play last year.
5 wins while an improvement should still be unacceptable.
Saying Nova should be a tough game is just plain giving up on the program.
Set a higher standard then achieve it.
Limiting expectations to 3-4 wins is self defeating.
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Somebody else gets it!!!
 
freescooter said:
Somebody else gets it!!!
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You guys are clueless on this one.

Message board posting expectations mean nothing. You and Subba can say that UConn should beat up on Villanova until you are blue in the face. It won't make it true.

Were you two in a coma the last month of last year?

Maybe in fantasy lands teams go from being terrible to really good with no transition - but here on Earth you don't just flip a switch and boom you are good.
 
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I still don't buy that we wereTHAT bad last year. I think at least some of it falls on coaching and a guy who really put winning distant 2nd to refashioning a program his way. He basically quit in the U.S. F game. He couldn't decide on a quarterback between Cochran an two bad quarterbacks and quite frankly anyone who saw Casey perform in 2013 should have handed him the job. I still don't buy that we lacked the talent to beat Army and had to struggle against Stony Brook. This was as much a coaching decision to be that bad as actalent decision.
 
freescooter said:
I still don't buy that we wereTHAT bad last year. I think at least some of it falls on coaching and a guy who really put winning distant 2nd to refashioning a program his way. He basically quit in the U.S. F game. He couldn't decide on a quarterback between Cochran an two bad quarterbacks and quite frankly anyone who saw Casey perform in 2013 should have handed him the job. I still don't buy that we lacked the talent to beat Army and had to struggle against Stony Brook. This was as much a coaching decision to be that bad as actalent decision.
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We were bad, all the way around. everyone deserves blame, including the coaches.
 
Talent, experience, size, strength & conditioning can make up for head coaching inexperience. While we may have had some quality players last year there were enough weaknesses that the opposition had no trouble exploiting them.
None of can predict what we will see this year, but we are all hoping that we have addressed the worst of those weaknesses (OL, QB) so that they are not huge liabilities.
If we have players with enough experience and better conditioning so that they can carry out the coach's game plans it should translate into more competitive play and putting ourselves in a good position to win games.
 
If it wasn't the first game of the season I'd have more confidence. If our team plays to its capabilities, we should win. But we will have a QB that is seeing his first serious game action for this program. Do you think Michigan would have lost to App St if that game was played in mid-October? I hope we are ready. It is the coaches' job to make sure we are ready. I know we have the talent to beat them. We just might not be a team yet by that point.

Which why I also think we could lose to Nova and end up with a successful season.
 
freescooter said:
I still don't buy that we wereTHAT bad last year. I think at least some of it falls on coaching and a guy who really put winning distant 2nd to refashioning a program his way. He basically quit in the U.S. F game. He couldn't decide on a quarterback between Cochran an two bad quarterbacks and quite frankly anyone who saw Casey perform in 2013 should have handed him the job. I still don't buy that we lacked the talent to beat Army and had to struggle against Stony Brook. This was as much a coaching decision to be that bad as actalent decision.
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Answered your own question. How do you protect your only healthy quarterback for the entire season, who really isn't that good ( qbr in the mid 20's), behind a OL (including TEs) that is even worse, who himself is one concussion from ending his playing career? While also introducing a new defense at the start and a new offense just past midseason?
 
J187Money said:
Do you think Michigan would have lost to App St if that game was played in mid-October?
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Michigan never contemplated losing to App St. They were totally flummoxed after treating them as an appetizing starter on a much heartier menu. We know what we're facing. We have the Towson experience and SMU close-out embarrassment as teaching moments. We are now better in all areas. We understand and respect Villanova's prowess but this is our coming out party. You can label it happy talk if you wish but there's a very small chance we lose that game. In fact I think we blow them out.
 
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Do you know how bad you need to be to be ranked 120? It means you are the equivalent of a mediocre FCS school. Until Diaco shows on the field that they can beat someone that's what they are. And yes they will have a very tough time against Villanova. 4 - 5 wins will probably be successful season.
 
Duncan Idaho said:
No students and last year SMU level crowds. Geeez.
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That game was an anomaly. Horrible weather, Christmas shopping season, and a game that "featured" 2-9 vs. 0-11.

Friends and relatives attended.
 
freescooter said:
I still don't buy that we wereTHAT bad last year. I think at least some of it falls on coaching and a guy who really put winning distant 2nd to refashioning a program his way. He basically quit in the U.S. F game. He couldn't decide on a quarterback between Cochran an two bad quarterbacks and quite frankly anyone who saw Casey perform in 2013 should have handed him the job. I still don't buy that we lacked the talent to beat Army and had to struggle against Stony Brook. This was as much a coaching decision to be that bad as actalent decision.
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Well that would be the issue. They were that bad. That would be why they got beat up by an 0-11 southern team in horrible weather at home.

It would be why Cincinnati beat them 41-0 at home and the game wasn't even as close as that score would lead you to believe.
 
Listen. We played awful football no doubt about it. But pulling the starter in the red zone. Refusing to throw. And if you're afraid to stick with a guy because he might get injured you really are in the wrong business. The girls hopscotch squad. Might need a coach with that outlook. Not a d1 football team. That is more excuse than a strategy
 
freescooter said:
... I think at least some of it falls on coaching ... He basically quit in the U.S. F game. He couldn't decide on a quarterback between Cochran an two bad quarterbacks and quite frankly anyone who saw Casey perform in 2013 should have handed him the job. ... This was as much a coaching decision to be that bad as a talent decision.
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Why does anyone think the coaching will be better this year?
 
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