Here's the problem with 3-3

[Stinger92860]

Now I have positive expectations. I am expecting us to beat USF. At 4-3, I will hope to go bowling. If this does not happen then I am crushed. This team has become fun to watch and it's refreshing to leave the tailgate and think the best part of game day is yet to come. We are dooooomed!

 

[gioff23]

Positive thinking and the BY don't often collide. One small step ....

 

[SubbaBub]

I was hoping for 4-2 at this point.

 

[SonsOfNutmeg]

We just need 3 more W's...

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Positive thinking and the BY don't often collide. One small step ....

Passive aggressiveness on the other hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

[Jerry27]

I said to a player parent at the beginning of the year that something just felt different about this year. I couldn't put my finger on it, the way players were talking, carrying themselves etc, but there was something that was giving way for me to have elevated expectations I tried my best to take a "prove it to me" position, and even said as much, but after the Missouri game I started wavering on that. There is something different and it's not just a feeling anymore, we have tangible evidence that things are changing, are they perfect? No, and I don't think anyone would say they are but this team has improved greatly and I too would feel disappointment if we fall short of bowl eligibility. Getting to six will be a tough haul as it looks like a bunch of teams have made some positive strides but I believe we can do it. Not to go full HCBD here but the "just get better everyday" mantra rings true here and we will be fine.

Next level of development... start punching people in the mouth!

 

[huskypantz]

If we win and move to 4-3, then we have a semirealistic expectation that we can beat Tulane and ECU. And THEN we have a little better chance to pull out one win among the Cincy/Temple/Houston trio. Lose and we're thinking 4-8. USF is the first 50-100 program we've faced this year so this is where we start to learn where we fit in.

 

[SubbaBub]

I said to a player parent at the beginning of the year that something just felt different about this year. I couldn't put my finger on it, the way players were talking, carrying themselves etc, but there was something that was giving way for me to have elevated expectations I tried my best to take a "prove it to me" position, and even said as much, but after the Missouri game I started wavering on that. There is something different and it's not just a feeling anymore, we have tangible evidence that things are changing, are they perfect? No, and I don't think anyone would say they are but this team has improved greatly and I too would feel disappointment if we fall short of bowl eligibility. Getting to six will be a tough haul as it looks like a bunch of teams have made some positive strides but I believe we can do it. Not to go full HCBD here but the "just get better everyday" mantra rings true here and we will be fine.

Next level of development... start punching people in the mouth!

It's amazing the improvement in the ride if you fix a flat tire regardless of the make and model of the car.

The team incapable of operating as a unit last season, it wasn't a talent problem. Better execution was always going to realize a huge gain. IMV, we are winning games this year that we should have won last year.

 

[NYUConn]

I can sympathize with the OP. I still have a mild panic attack every time BS drops back to pass.

We all went through something very clearly traumatizing during the PP years.

 

[weyuo]

We just need 3 more W's...

6 wins guarantees nothing and the bowl committees are looking at who brings the most fans to away events as one criteria. I think it was Temple that got snubbed one year with 6 wins. The way UConn nation travels you better get to 7 wins. That's another reason why the Huskies are not in a P-5 conference. I'm not saying there aren't P-5 schools that travel worse than UConn because I'm sure there are, I'm just saying a weak football program(steadily improving for sure) with weak away game attendance has handcuffed UConn to the G-5. 7 wins and your in for a bowl, which means a few more weeks practice for the team, more TV exposure to potential recruits and the opportunity for Husky nation to represent well enough to erode the small school, small fan base stigma.

 

[Husky25]

I can sympathize with the OP. I still have a mild panic attack every time BS drops back to pass.

We all went through something very clearly traumatizing during the PP years.

I'm not not nearly as traumatizing as Chandler Whitmer.

 

[NYUConn]

6 wins guarantees nothing and the bowl committees are looking at who brings the most fans to away events as one criteria. I think it was Temple that got snubbed one year with 6 wins. The way UConn nation travels you better get to 7 wins. That's another reason why the Huskies are not in a P-5 conference. I'm not saying there aren't P-5 schools that travel worse than UConn because I'm sure there are, I'm just saying a weak football program(steadily improving for sure) with weak away game attendance has handcuffed UConn to the G-5. 7 wins and your in for a bowl, which means a few more weeks practice for the team, more TV exposure to potential recruits and the opportunity for Husky nation to represent well enough to erode the small school, small fan base stigma.

That may have been the case last year (such as Temple found out), but The American added additional bowl tie-ins this season and a 6-6 UConn team is a lock to get to a bowl.

 

[Jerry27]

It's amazing the improvement in the ride if you fix a flat tire regardless of the make and model of the car.

The team incapable of operating as a unit last season, it wasn't a talent problem. Better execution was always going to realize a huge gain. IMV, we are winning games this year that we should have won last year.

I kind of liken what HCBD did last year to my time in boot camp; drill instructors broke us down to rebuild us in the image/mold we needed to be in order to accomplish our goals. Would it have been easier to just send us to our specific schools sure, but we would have never learned all we needed nor been in the shape we needed to do it so we would have failed.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, last year was a sacrificial lamb year, it wasn't done maliciously, it was done to strip us down and rebuild us and we are starting to see some results from it. The ceiling isn't even in sight in my opinion.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Now I have positive expectations. I am expecting us to beat USF. At 4-3, I will hope to go bowling. If this does not happen then I am crushed. This team has become fun to watch and it's refreshing to leave the tailgate and think the best part of game day is yet to come. We are dooooomed!

I can still feel the complete loss of energy when I saw Laetner's shot go in and fully remember the bitter disappointment of losing a regional final in overtime even though it happened 25 years ago. Five years prior to that I would have been thrilled with the prospect of making it to a regional final with the opponent needing overtime to knock us off.

I can deal with the disappointment of not quite making it to the top of the mountain. I'm tired of thinking that we'll never have a chance to attempt the climb.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

I was hoping for 4-2 at this point.

HCBD said we'd go undefeated, so I was expecting 6-0. I'm thoroughly disappointed at this point.

 

[SonsOfNutmeg]

As is the American is going to have plenty of bowl-worthy teams... Houston, Temple, Memphis, and Navy are all basically locks by now. Figure you have a solid ECU program and us that can make bowls. That's 6 right there- not even trying hard. Plus who knows what the committee will do- if Memphis beats Ole Miss this weekend things could get real intersting w/ the New Year's Six bowl games.

 

[NYUConn]

The American has 7 bowl tie-ins, not counting the G5 New Year's 6 spot. So 8 possible bowls, 7 guaranteed.

At the halfway point in the season, if you don't have at least 3 wins, you're probably not going bowling. So who is our competition?

Temple (5-0)
Houston (5-0)
Memphis (5-0)
Navy (4-1)
UConn (3-3)
ECU (3-3)
Cincy (3-2)
Tulsa (3-2)
USF (2-3)
Tulane (2-3)

Huskies can deliver a potential knockout blow to USF this weekend and Houston will all but end Tulane's dim hopes tomorrow night.

The teams will beat on each other and my prediction is that The American ends up with 7 bowl eligible teams, with the conference champ getting the G5 NY6 spot, meaning that someone else gets our 7th spot.

 

[BugsyCT]

Having positive expectations at 3-3 is not a problem, it's what's great about it.

UConn's been competitive in every game (with the arguable exception of Navy, but a few plays here & there and maybe it's a different game). Enough so that there's not a game left on our schedule that we don't have at least a puncher's chance in. We couldn't say that last year. It's incredibly refreshing to look forward to UConn football on weekends again with the feeling that our darkest days are finally behind us. The apathy is gone. We're a competent football team again. Now the next step is to become a good football team.

3 more wins and bowl eligibility is very doable. And Saturday, as we know, is huge.

 

[SubbaBub]

I kind of liken what HCBD did last year to my time in boot camp; drill instructors broke us down to rebuild us in the image/mold we needed to be in order to accomplish our goals. Would it have been easier to just send us to our specific schools sure, but we would have never learned all we needed nor been in the shape we needed to do it so we would have failed.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, last year was a sacrificial lamb year, it wasn't done maliciously, it was done to strip us down and rebuild us and we are starting to see some results from it. The ceiling isn't even in sight in my opinion.

We most definitely beknownst. If wouldn't have set back the rebuilding process one bit to beat Army, USF, Tulane or SMU.

 

[Doggie Style]

If we win and move to 4-3, then we have a semirealistic expectation that we can beat Tulane and ECU. And THEN we have a little better chance to pull out one win among the Cincy/Temple/Houston trio. Lose and we're thinking 4-8. USF is the first 50-100 program we've faced this year so this is where we start to learn where we fit in.

Your post is spot on but it is still VERY depressing to think that we would be happy with a "chance" to beat Temple,Cincy, or Houston .......

 

[huskypantz]

Your post is spot on but it is still VERY depressing to think that we would be happy with a "chance" to beat Temple,Cincy, or Houston ..

Yeah, agreed that it's depressing.......but the flip side is that we return 10 of 11 on O with another former starting lineman returning from injury. 6 of 11 on the D and the underclassmen are getting plenty of reps on that side of the ball. A transfer LB with a world of talent suits up next year. And our recruiting class is littered with guys that we beat out "P5" schools for. Did I mention that we also have a batsh!t crazy head coach? See, things are looking up!

 

[Jerry27]

We most definitely beknownst. If wouldn't have set back the rebuilding process one bit to beat Army, USF, Tulane or SMU.

Based on many complaints about how last year unfolded, no one had a clue what it was that he was doing. Some still won't accept it, but that's what he did. Look at all the bodies he ran in and out. Why do think that is? He wanted to see what he had, who could do what, and gain positive in game experience for a very young team. If winning was the result fine but the goal was to get better every day period. We as fans only see 2-10. Based on fan responses some still only see 2-10 because of course in hindsight they could have and would have done things differently. That's what I believe and I'm sticking to it.

 

[cohenzone]

I like what I see, which is an improving decent team. I have zero expectations for bowls one way or the other. I'd be disappointed but not down on them is they don't make it this year so long as they continue to improve. Looking at the games we have left, almost all of the
teams can score and our D is good but not intimidating. We will have to score, maybe even a lot, in several of these game. So, making a bowl would be great this year, but for sure, this year is creating expectations for the future, especially with a good core returning and some seemingly good new talent arriving.

 

[BlueDogs]

Stating the obvious, this is a critical game. I feel like if we can get a win, we have climbed the first hill and are on the other side. If we lose, we risk sliding back down the hill. Psychologically a huge game.

 

[Chin Diesel]

If it's any consolation all the players are dealing with playing with expectations for success for the first time in their UConn careers.
It's a step on the road to recovery. Having expectations of mediocrity and better.