What's the problem?
It's easy to finger point at our dilemma........our long time dilemma.
Since I never played or coached the game, I'm only offering suggestions of cause/effect of our on field results for many years as a fan for close to 50 years .
Is it the coaches? Its as easy to blame them for the teams performance as it is to blame any President for the country's dilemmas. The buck stops on their desk......be it for something under their control or not. In the case of UConn, since the inception of UConn's entry into BCS/FBS play, most of the coaches had a respectable degree of success in their resumes........after all, I can't thing of any coach in any UConn program who was hired because they were good losers.
Are the athletes giving up and not trying? I doubt it.....so far. Most have been given a chance to obtain something they possibly otherwise would not have......the chance of a college education. I firmly believe all are trying their darnest to the best of their abilities to succeed in both.
Is it coaching philosophy? How many times last night did the commentators as why when you are down by four touchdowns you are trying to play field position by punting like you are in a close game? What does that say to your players? Lack of confidence? I remember a SEC game I saw in 2013 when Franklin was coaching Vanderbilt against Kentucky. On the very first offensive series of the game, Franklin elected to go for it on a forth and four.......from their own 26. And because of academic standards, Vanderbilt does not get the typical SEC recruit. Talk about confidence and messages to your team. (the little engine that could)
Maybe the skill ceiling of the players are not as high as found on other teams. You can't produce a high energy program at the BCS/FBS level when the recruits we get also had offers from Sacred Heart, CCSU, Maine, Albany, Rhode Island, Albany, etc. And that has been going on since Edsall years....with few exceptions. Maybe the recruiting pundits know something most fans hate to admit........HS football in the northeast does not produce a wealth of BCS/FBS talent. That's why Syracuse, BC, Massachusetts, UConn struggle to compete at high levels of play.
It's easy to finger point at our dilemma........our long time dilemma.
Since I never played or coached the game, I'm only offering suggestions of cause/effect of our on field results for many years as a fan for close to 50 years .
Is it the coaches? Its as easy to blame them for the teams performance as it is to blame any President for the country's dilemmas. The buck stops on their desk......be it for something under their control or not. In the case of UConn, since the inception of UConn's entry into BCS/FBS play, most of the coaches had a respectable degree of success in their resumes........after all, I can't thing of any coach in any UConn program who was hired because they were good losers.
Are the athletes giving up and not trying? I doubt it.....so far. Most have been given a chance to obtain something they possibly otherwise would not have......the chance of a college education. I firmly believe all are trying their darnest to the best of their abilities to succeed in both.
Is it coaching philosophy? How many times last night did the commentators as why when you are down by four touchdowns you are trying to play field position by punting like you are in a close game? What does that say to your players? Lack of confidence? I remember a SEC game I saw in 2013 when Franklin was coaching Vanderbilt against Kentucky. On the very first offensive series of the game, Franklin elected to go for it on a forth and four.......from their own 26. And because of academic standards, Vanderbilt does not get the typical SEC recruit. Talk about confidence and messages to your team. (the little engine that could)
Maybe the skill ceiling of the players are not as high as found on other teams. You can't produce a high energy program at the BCS/FBS level when the recruits we get also had offers from Sacred Heart, CCSU, Maine, Albany, Rhode Island, Albany, etc. And that has been going on since Edsall years....with few exceptions. Maybe the recruiting pundits know something most fans hate to admit........HS football in the northeast does not produce a wealth of BCS/FBS talent. That's why Syracuse, BC, Massachusetts, UConn struggle to compete at high levels of play.
