BSU Bronco Nation:Boise State Preseason Football Preview: UConn

[TheJerk]

Given past performance and some serious question marks at key positions coming into this year, a "guarantee" victory on our schedule seems a little over the top

 

[Dan Thompson]

sorry, but you wont stay within 3 scores of Boise.

 

[FAIRTIDES]

Yeah he had Cochran starting 8 games, claims he's posed for a big year, then references an inexperienced QB as one of our big issues. He has Ashiru at DL. These are not opinions. The are incorrect facts.

And seriously if you're gonna write something about a team solely based on last year's statistics why even bother?

Some guy was told to write "something." So, he wrote "something." No research. No fact checking. No editorial proof reading. Just "something."

 

[UConnDan97]

sorry, but you wont stay within 3 scores of Boise.

Correct. We will beat you by 4 scores or more...

 

[SubbaBub]

Not saying BYU or BS suck, but please let's not give them leather helmets and harkening back to the 7 blocks of granite. UConn can't help but be much better, even in the 1st game. PP/GDL were not just bad, they were super duper bad; bad in scheme set up, player conditioning, game management, play calling, you name it they couldn't even use time outs correctly. BYU and BS have no such coaching improvements from last year.

BYU was 8-5 last year. Best win (all per Massey) #28 Texas. opening game lost to 2-10 Virginia team away, were 2 wins 3 losses last 5 games. 3 of 8 wins against #97 or worse opponents. Had pretty solid schedule with lot of top 20 to 50 opponents. Were 3-3 away with 5 pt. win over Nevada and 1 pt. win vs. Houston.

BS was 8-5 last year. Best win #45 Utah State. Opening game lost to Wash 6-38, lost BYU 20-37. 6 0f their 8 wins were against teams ranked 100 or worse. So BS beat 2 teams ranked in the top 99 - wins were against #'s 45, 78, 113, 139, 146, 175, 199, 250. Were 2-4 in away games.

UConn was 3-9 last year. All 3 wins were against teams rated worse than 100. Of 9 loses only 1 (USF) was against team rated worse than 100.

BYU will be surprised at what they run into, by the end of the BS game there will be no surprises for opponents. I see 6-0 going into ECU who will have already beaten Penn State and Missouri.

super duper intergalactico bad.


And, I can't name a single player on either team. But, I'm not writing blog articles. BYU will be a good measuring stick. Sort of the opposite of Towson, where the loss told us it was going to be bad. A win vs. BYU will portend good things this season. I expect to beat Boise at home which a new coach. The old coach left for a reason, he just did a better job of it than some coaches I could name.

 

[Dooley]

sorry, but you wont stay within 3 scores of Boise.

You will see. And when you do, I hope that you come back here and let the spirits lift you my friend. 2014 is about making fans, old and new. The win over Boise will start something special here at UCONN. Once this dog gets off its leash, there ain't any use running from it.

U-C-O-N-N UCONN UCONN UCONN!!!

 

[J187Money]

Like it was written by Rashad McCants (or his tutor).

 

[whaler11]

Leaving Phillips on the team is probably the least egregious of his numerous errors.

Yes I'm combining the criticsm of the CFN article with this one.

It's shocking I know that there are a lot of crappy blogs on the internet. I don't know why anyone would react.

I also know people are talking themselves into 6 and 7 wins. The schedule is not adventageous for that result.

First year head coaches taking over 3 win teams that somehow still graduated a lot of talent don't usually translate into big turnarounds.

Pasqualoni will take time to fix. Six wins isn't out of the question but today UConn would be favored in 3 games: Stony Brook, Temple and @Army.

 

[uconnfan68]

Yes I'm combining the criticsm of the CFN article with this one.

It's shocking I know that there are a lot of crappy blogs on the internet. I don't know why anyone would react.

I also know people are talking themselves into 6 and 7 wins. The schedule is not adventageous for that result.

First year head coaches taking over 3 win teams that somehow still graduated a lot of talent don't usually translate into big turnarounds.

Pasqualoni will take time to fix. Six wins isn't out of the question but today UConn would be favored in 3 games: Stony Brook, Temple and @Army.

I think you will see an immediate change, and in the next few years it will accelerate when the Diaco recruits are ready. We are heading in the right direction at warp speed.

 

[whaler11]

I think you will see an immediate change, and in the next few years it will accelerate when the Diaco recruits are ready. We are heading in the right direction at warp speed.

And while I hope you are right, this stuff takes time so be careful about your expectations.

 

[huskypantz]

I'm honestly not so sure that Boise is all that of a crazy team to beat. Especially this season. They've lost their long-time HC in Chris Petersen- don't forget he was the man that made Boise, "Boise".

Before Peterson, Dirk Koetter was 26-10 and the next HC Dan Hawkins was 53-11. Peterson was a great coach but they were playing at a high level before he got there.

 

[UConnDan97]

On a related note, it looks like Boise State and the AAC have settled on the exit fee:

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/03/boise-state-aac-resolve-lawsuits/

The exit fee will be 2.3 million from Boise State, paid over a 5 year period, front-loaded. After taxes and distribution, I'm guessing that UConn will see about $50.03...

 

[UConnDan97]

Speaking of Boise:

IDS_Southorn4:33pm via Twitter Web Client
Boise State and the AAC dropped suits after BSU agreed to negotiated exit fee of $2.3M. AAC got $1.6M this week and $140K/yr next 5 yrs.

IDS_Southorn4:49pm via Twitter Web Client
Boise State, AAC settle. BSU accepts reduced exit fee. Story, along with documents of settlement.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/07/03/3265482/boise-state-american-athletic.html

Damn! You are too freakin' fast!

 

[Confident Carl]

Well...when Boise loses, they will have lost to a team with an inexperienced QB, a non-existent OL, struggling to win any game. Because ladies and gentlemen, Boise is going to lose this game. Mark it down and take it to the bank. We are gonna punch them in #$king mouth...

Just to piss the Broncos off let's paint the field UCONN blue for the BSU game and wear our UCONN blue uni's

 

[uconndogs]

Yes I'm combining the criticsm of the CFN article with this one.

It's shocking I know that there are a lot of crappy blogs on the internet. I don't know why anyone would react.

I also know people are talking themselves into 6 and 7 wins. The schedule is not adventageous for that result.

First year head coaches taking over 3 win teams that somehow still graduated a lot of talent don't usually translate into big turnarounds.

Pasqualoni will take time to fix. Six wins isn't out of the question but today UConn would be favored in 3 games: Stony Brook, Temple and @Army.

Wisdom.........

 

[Srqhusky]

I think you will see an immediate change, and in the next few years it will accelerate when the Diaco recruits are ready. We are heading in the right direction at warp speed.

I agree there will be immediate improvement. the lack of conditioning was noticed in the first season where the team couldn't finish games. by his third year they couldn't start or finish games. If this team is as conditioned as we hear we will be in every game. Look for uconn to be a spread buster type team this year.

 

[uconndogs]

I am usually a glass half full type of guy. But, this season, especially at the start, could simply be brutal.

P and GDL may have actually been terrorists with the intent of deliberately sabotaging UCONN football. They went right for the throat and completely obliterated an OL. That was an OL that was senior laden last season and was simply awful for the last two seasons. Sure, they were poorly conditioned and evidently had an aversion to the weight room, and GDL's schemes were so duck*ed up they were doomed for failure from the start. But, on what basis do we believe the talent behind these guys is better? And exactly how quickly do we expect a new group to both get physically ready and learn a more rational scheme?

Couple that with a new defensive scheme which relies heavily on play at LB - where we will be inexperienced in a lot of spots and......boy, if I'm sitting at a bowl game watching this team play I am very happy and frankly, very surprised.

 

[Husky68]

I am usually a glass half full type of guy. But, this season, especially at the start, could simply be brutal.

P and GDL may have actually been terrorists with the intent of deliberately sabotaging UCONN football. They went right for the throat and completely obliterated an OL. That was an OL that was senior laden last season and was simply awful for the last two seasons. Sure, they were poorly conditioned and evidently had an aversion to the weight room, and GDL's schemes were so duck*ed up they were doomed for failure from the start. But, on what basis do we believe the talent behind these guys is better? And exactly how quickly do we expect a new group to both get physically ready and learn a more rational scheme?

Couple that with a new defensive scheme which relies heavily on play at LB - where we will be inexperienced in a lot of spots and.boy, if I'm sitting at a bowl game watching this team play I am very happy and frankly, very surprised.

Remember back to having a 19/20 year old body (I have trouble thinking back that far), in 6 months of intense training you could remake your body. Jan, 1 to Aug 29 is enough time to get guys much, much stronger; and these weren't couch potatoes just not peak D1 trained.
Talent doesn't have to be better, just better trained and better schemes for blocking. How about a running back that breaks through initial contact, has some drive/speed, QB who delivers ball early and WR who are threat to go deep - couple that with OL that actually attempts to block someone vs. standing there bewildered and you have a big improvement. Just some deception on offense will make it much better.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I can do without the terrorist analogy.

 

[whaler11]

I am usually a glass half full type of guy. But, this season, especially at the start, could simply be brutal.

P and GDL may have actually been terrorists with the intent of deliberately sabotaging UCONN football. They went right for the throat and completely obliterated an OL. That was an OL that was senior laden last season and was simply awful for the last two seasons. Sure, they were poorly conditioned and evidently had an aversion to the weight room, and GDL's schemes were so duck*ed up they were doomed for failure from the start. But, on what basis do we believe the talent behind these guys is better? And exactly how quickly do we expect a new group to both get physically ready and learn a more rational scheme?

Couple that with a new defensive scheme which relies heavily on play at LB - where we will be inexperienced in a lot of spots and.boy, if I'm sitting at a bowl game watching this team play I am very happy and frankly, very surprised.

I think 6 wins is in play potentially if there is more talent on the offensive line then we have seen to date.

The coaching has to be an improvement because you almost can't be worse.

I think it's missing in a lot of these discussions how many guys they lost and how much production came from them.

When you are getting blow out of every game with a legitimate opponent, you can still improve a lot and not win a lot of games.

 

[Dooley]

6-7 wins is definitely in play this year. Confidence is a wonderful thing. The energy that this coaching staff has is infectious with 18-22 year old kids. The 1st win is always the most important one. Look at last year's black hole of a season. 0-9 turned into 3-9 as soon as the team gained confidence after they beat Temple. I know, 3-9 still stinks but it was very important for the guys to go into the offseason with confidence. The team is attacking Coach Balis' strength program with full vigor. The results of just a few weeks were already visible at the Spring Game. With a full summer of proper diet and weight training going into Summer practices, I really think this team will be ready at the start of the season. Get an early season W then watch out.

 

[CL82]

Well...when Boise loses, they will have lost to a team with an inexperienced QB, a non-existent OL, struggling to win any game. Because ladies and gentlemen, Boise is going to lose this game. Mark it down and take it to the bank. We are gonna punch them in #$king mouth...

...and so it begins, the voices in my head saying "Yeah, Dan's right! We are going to punch them in #$king mouth!"

 

[uconndogs]

I can do without the terrorist analogy.

Sorry if I offended, especially to our men and women in uniform.

 

[freescooter]

"With a new coach, an inexperienced quarterback, no established running back, and a non-existent offensive line, Diaco and his Huskies have their work cut out for them if they want to see any victories this season."

well that's kinda harsh....."any" victories?

I guess since he already used "inexperienced" to describe the QB.....he didn't know how to describe the OL...but calling it "non-existent" seems like a poor choice of words. Not to mention he missed that Phillips is gone...but he did catch McCombs being gone.

Overall a poor effort...I would give him a "D".

there were a bunch of inaccuracies, starting with the comment that Cochran "started" 8 games. He started 4 and played in 4 more in mop-up duty as I recall. They missed Philipps transfer. Overall a bad job. I think they came to generally the correct conclusion though. "any victories" is indeed pretty harsh, but the idea that victories could be difficult to come by in this transition season isn't too far off the mark.

 

[freescooter]

Yes I'm combining the criticsm of the CFN article with this one.

It's shocking I know that there are a lot of crappy blogs on the internet. I don't know why anyone would react.

I also know people are talking themselves into 6 and 7 wins. The schedule is not adventageous for that result.

First year head coaches taking over 3 win teams that somehow still graduated a lot of talent don't usually translate into big turnarounds.

Pasqualoni will take time to fix. Six wins isn't out of the question but today UConn would be favored in 3 games: Stony Brook, Temple and @Army.

Agree on all counts, though I might add Memphis to the list. I don't think Memphis is very good.