Can anyone muster up one positive takeaway?

[tower1]

To be honest, I was expecting worse. I think we will be competitive with Holy Cross. I am looking forward to a game that we have a chance to win.

Have you been drinking ?

 

[Husky68]

So.....we knew that two years ago. There were lots of excuses why he wasn't prepared for the college game. Two years later...he still is innacurate.

And...he won the starting job. Is he really the best we have ? And if so...why didn't they look at the transfer wire?

It's so weird that edsall was a QB and it feels like it's the position he has his worse judgement.

When you eliminate the impossible whatever is left, no matter how unlikely, is the answer. No sane head coach would have started this kid, unless HCRE2.0 is looking for a clone of his former self as a never used reserve college QB playing for the Fruit. FruitRE1.0 had not talent, not ability to pass, but boy could he manage the huddle (at least in practice). That's what he values.

 

[Watchdog]

Jack Zergiotis showed that he can’t throw accurately more than 10 yards downfield. For an offense that’s already limited, that’s a killer. There were wide open WRs on deep routes that he wasn’t close to hitting. Major, major problem going forward.

Even on short throws he's not putting the ball where it needs to be to keep the receivers' momentum going.

 

[Nextmanup]

No one with heat stroke, as far as we know.

Dehydration played a factor for some of the players .. 120 on the turf and there were people sick from the heat in the stands. It was hot and miserable today.

 

[Watchdog]

Due to a family event I only got to see up through the phantom fumble for a TD near the end of the first quarter. Do others agree Jack Zergiotis's arm was going forward? Not that the game would have been won without that, but it sure had to be deflating for a team with no history of winning or being able to come from behind.

Also, no matter how people denigrate FState, they are a veteran team playing in difficult conditions to which they were accustomed while UConn was playing for the first time in two years with no soft opponent to start the season and get some rhythm.

If they don't beat Holy Cross handily I'll be worried about the results for the season, but I'm still believing they can turn this around and win at least 4 games.

 

[Nextmanup]

Guys, let’s keep it real. Even though we prepared for two years let’s call it how it is- traditionally it’s tougher for offenses to get acclimated and defenses are usually ahead. A lot of the guys that played today on offense (skill players) was their first rodeo. Fresno played in the Fall both offensively and defensively.

Sure I wanted a more competitive game and it sucks to lose. But this was a tall task from the jump given the elements and adversity they faced.

What I did see was better LB and DB play- rallying to the football and getting the defense off the field on 3rd down- in the first qtr. That wasn’t a fluke at all. Calm down and let’s see how the first 3-4 games go before we reserve judgment

I was going to say the same thing. It was 120 on the field. It was hot. People were taken by ambulance who were in the stands. Imagine how the field felt.
These boys haven’t played in 20 months and there were boys who had their first start today. Give it a break. If they are still this bad half way through the season then we can demand they fire the staff
But to jump on them now when they still need to shake the rust off is reasonable.
No doubt I’ll join you if this team still is this bad halfway through. But let’s let a game or two or three play out before we jump on the boys and how bad they are playing..

 

[BlueDogs]

No you’re giving credit to a defense that was playing horrible. It’s called being a realest, I’m far from crying. If you want to be delusional to feel better that’s fine, you’re entitled to that.

Hornet, Fresno State is a mediocre FBS squad. Both teams played in the same heat. We aren’t even close to average including taking one year off which was the best thing possible for the team according to our football guru. I’ll give you rust is a factor, but this is literally more of the same with a staff that simply can’t get it done. It’s pathetic at this point. Winning Holy Cross validates we are competitive FCS program, but it proves nothing at an FBS level . The solution is clean house.

 

[Nextmanup]

Hard to watch. On to holy cross. Hopefully we see better play from our QB ..

 

[DoctorWho85]

Receivers got separation consistently. If we get a more accurate passer the offense may actually see the endzone a time or two

 

[RSTuthill]

I can't tell what is and isn't sarcasm anymore. Do you think 2 wins this year would make us "on track?"

A little bit of both sarcasm and serious comment. I think I predicted two wins this year with the comment that was my prediction until we have data that shows otherwise. So nothing that we have seen so far changes that. It is in that sense relative to my prediction that they are right on track.

(If I predicted three wins, my apologies. It was awhile back.)

No, I do not think that two wins are "on track" to achieve anything other than justification for ending the program and stopping the financial bleeding. And quite frankly, with the ease of portal transfers, as soon as UConn develops people they seem to leave for greener pastures, Peart, RVD and TJ being notable exceptions so far. So, is there a pathway forward to success? While I do not advocate firing coaches before five seasons (re the NYT article), I now have my doubts that Edsall is capable of pulling this off. Different times, different environment. While I admire his values, he seems like a dinosaur in his strategic and tactical approaches.

UConn could go out and get a young dynamic guy from FCS or the MAC or D2/3 or somewhere for perhaps what little money they seem to have. But that means a whole new style of play requiring different player personnel with different skillsets and a completely different playbook. We would be looking at another three or four years of two win seasons. The program would be gone by then.

And do we really know that the buyout stands at zero? When contracts get extended, that is a T and C that usually gets modified.

 

[RSTuthill]

Dehydration played a factor for some of the players .. 120 on the turf and there were people sick from the heat in the stands. It was hot and miserable today.

Do they not have misting fans and AC on the sideline? We have had plenty of really muggy hot weather in CT to get acclimated to that.

 

[UconnMICK]

Positive takeaway: To my eyes, it looked like we won the crampage battle about 4-9

 

[Uconnalliance]

completely overmatched, this won’t be the last time we visit this thread this season… wait for Clemson!! We may get mercy’d

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

One of my goals for the season was for them to force an FBS first string offense to punt. It happened on the first two drives of the year!!

 

[Brochacho]

We looked competitive in Q1 when the offense was terrible as opposed to historically bad. Nobody in their right mind expected a win. Win next week and we are right where we expected. I think every poster here would like to have (And expected to) look better than we did yesterday, but it is what it is. Fresno is solid - not a NY6 contender - but a solid 6 or 7 win team. Going into the season we expected UConn to be bad and clearly we still are. Thing is, we play a lot of bad teams. Two FCS teams. MTSU and UMass are among the worst (With UConn) at the G5/Indy level. Progress is 3-9 or 4-8 while looking better than the teams that are below us and we can still show that. Yesterday was discouraging, but I'm withholding judgment on the season & RE until we see what happens with Holy Cross. I'm not expecting 56-0 but if we get something like 14-12... then yes, yikes.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

There is one. Jack G. was massively disappointing. When he had trouble handing the ball off the first play of the game, knew he wasn’t in right mental state to lead the team.

Biggest issues is he misses guys left and right and doesn’t deliver balls where our receivers can fight for yardage. And honestly, just not a good tight spiral - hard for receivers.

While we are one game in, Krajewski looked like big, confident and delivered the rock. Yes, has missed a coupe throws but he looked far more in command of the offense. If it turns out he is our starter, got to put the decision to start Jack G today on the coaches.

While there is some negative in this post - it’s mostly positive.

My question is, what did he see in Zerg vs Steven Krajewski? Could Steven Krajewski have been in the doghouse for some reason?

 

[History Geek]

We looked competitive in Q1 when the offense was terrible as opposed to historically bad. Nobody in their right mind expected a win. Win next week and we are right where we expected. I think every poster here would like to have (And expected to) look better than we did yesterday, but it is what it is. Fresno is solid - not a NY6 contender - but a solid 6 or 7 win team. Going into the season we expected UConn to be bad and clearly we still are. Thing is, we play a lot of bad teams. Two FCS teams. MTSU and UMass are among the worst (With UConn) at the G5/Indy level. Progress is 3-9 or 4-8 while looking better than the teams that are below us and we can still show that. Yesterday was discouraging, but I'm withholding judgment on the season & RE until we see what happens with Holy Cross. I'm not expecting 56-0 but if we get something like 14-12... then yes, yikes.

This is where I am. I did not expect to win but 45-0 hit me like a ton of bricks. Did not expect the offense to look like it regressed after almost two years of maturation. I was worried about the OLine and I was right. However, the "glass half full" me hopes it was the heat, hopes it was Fresno proves to be good this year, hopes it was the shoes, hopes they learn and get better quickly. I will see with my own two eyes next Saturday vs. HC. If we don't dominate them, um, "yikes" just about covers it.

 

[CL82]

If they don't beat Holy Cross handily I'll be worried about the results for the season

If they don’t beat the Holy Cross handily, I think I’m done.

 

[herrbulldog]

Dehydration played a factor for some of the players .. 120 on the turf and there were people sick from the heat in the stands. It was hot and miserable today.

FWIW, Bulldog fan here, and wanted to comment on this. This game time can be blamed on CBS Sports and their need to fit a game into a specific time slot. This is normal weather for this time of year in Fresno. That is why all home games have historically been night games (7pm or later), at least early in the season. The last time a non-night game was held in these kind of conditions was against Colorado in 2012. That was at 5pm instead of 7pm. The result? Fresno won 69-14. That was also due to CBS Sports needing to fit a game into a time slot.

Best of luck on the rest of your season. Am hoping to make the return trip out there next year. Always enjoy going to one road game a year, and a trip to see the fall colors of the NE combined with a football game sounds like a good time.

 

[NE Football]

FS is a very good team. The problem is not RE, he has already proven that he can win here. The problem is we have dropped down a level by leaving the AAC. Recruiting has gone down as a result.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Randy’s plan was good, the players didn’t execute.

I didn’t watch the the game but it sounded horrible on the radio. Glad there were some positives. This performance is a least partially because they did not play against better competition last year. A whole year without full contact. Hope they can get it together in the next couple of games.

 

[jdb50]

Fresno expects to be good this year and had 20 out of 22 starters back. We will see how it plays out for them. Not scoring is what makes this so disappointing. Not being close enough to try a field goal. Without better QB play the HCRE will be fired. UMass played some big programs a few years back and they could score despite the beatdown. This ongoing QB problem has to get solved. Our o-line blocking schemes in the run game are an issue as our players can not execute them against a decent defense. Everything takes too long to develop. With no run game we were sunk. HC will tell us if any progress has been made. Winning by 2 touchdowns is not enough progress in my mind. Progress would be 38-10 UConn.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

The defense looked very solid first quarter and gave up big plays consistently in the 2nd. Fix those big play issues in the secondary and I believe this will be a solid D.

The offense may be historically bad this season if the QB can’t throw deep. Every opponent will fill the box and play receivers tight, not worrying about separation deep. That’s a recipe for disaster against all opponents except possibly Holy Cross.

If they win handily against Holy Cross, it’ll indicate nothing in terms of how they’ll do against other teams on the schedule. On the other hand, if they don’t win handily against HC ….

 

[Hoophound]

FS is a very good team. The problem is not RE, he has already proven that he can win here. The problem is we have dropped down a level by leaving the AAC. Recruiting has gone down as a result.

You are trolling, right? Recruiting is much better now. Our incoming class is actually “good”. The recruits like the Indy deal with some big names on the schedule and the CBS deal putting every game on national tv.

Edsall needs to get his head out of the sand, start Krajewski and hire a genuine OC and let him do his job. Randy Edsall should be a recruiter, evaluator and manager. Game planning has passed him by but I love his eye for athleticism and talent. (Except at QB, where he continually picks the wrong one)

 

[Bongo Fury]

Fresno expects to be good this year and had 20 out of 22 starters back. We will see how it plays out for them. Not scoring is what makes this so disappointing. Not being close enough to try a field goal. Without better QB play the HCRE will be fired. UMass played some big programs a few years back and they could score despite the beatdown. This ongoing QB problem has to get solved. Our o-line blocking schemes in the run game are an issue as our players can not execute them against a decent defense. Everything takes too long to develop. With no run game we were sunk. HC will tell us if any progress has been made. Winning by 2 touchdowns is not enough progress in my mind. Progress would be 38-10 UConn.

UMASS had Whipple