that interception was debated his fault. the interception at end of forst half thrown by our starter far worse.
Maryland post game thread
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The Dakotas have rich football history and are located in great recruiting grounds. We have neither
The New England schools are at a natural disadvantage in Football compared to any other part of the country but the outsiders don't see that
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No offense to the teams we are playing but I have no interest in watching Florida Atlantic, Buffalo and Georgia State.
What if mens and women's BB played similar schedules?
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We’re blackballed from the ACC.
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Why? I don't buy that. What I do buy is the traditional mindset that you win by running the ball. And that you win with defense even if your offense can't score. In college football, you win by out scoring your opponent. Touchdowns matter.
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Dakotas are a great recruiting area? Almost 150,000 sq miles with basically 4 schools, and a total population of less than 50% of Connecticut <5,000 sq miles) alone?
Not sure where they get them, but I like to watch them. They do have a good culture there.
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How do we know we aren't once the ACC falls apart? I read a tweet a few months ago that schools like UConn, USF, Tulane, etc had been vetted as part of a contingency plan
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I actually thought the effort was ok. We were aggressive to the ball we just did a poor job once we got there.
There's still probably more kids playing Football in the Dakotas than CT lol, and the Midwest has a large Football culture
They don't play Football up here, and NE is almost always last in recruiting talent
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I didn't expect yesterday to be a win, but I also didn't expect to have almost no positives to speak about.
Conclusion up front:
Next Saturday might as well be the Super Bowl. Merrimack will be a tricky game, they traveled all the way to Air Force and only lost 21-6 albeit scoring on the last play of the game. If UConn lays an egg at home this Saturday then it's over. Just start the head coaching search Saturday night and make Brock the interim.
Mora needs to be throwing chairs at this point. Some people spent a ton of money on some players that are clearly not worth a bag of chips. If he throws a few bad apples off the team it wouldn't break my heart. As Hurley says: "Culture is caring". If that's the case we didn't see culture yesterday. This UConn, we aren't good at football, but we shouldn't accept performances like this from any team.
Head Coach:
I think the team looked more ready against NC State and Utah State than they did against Maryland. The difference is two new coordinators, a new defensive system (The offense looks the same but with even less effective play calling), almost 50 new guys on the roster and a coach in his third season.
This being his third season is what is most damning. Mora should be breaking people at this point. They were not ready and showed little to no energy.
Offense: I expected so much better from Sammis. And yet the bar was pretty low. He seems like an intelligent person and highly regarded. There were at least 3 instances of 3rd and 2 where we should have just run the ball and gotten a new set of downs. The line and the Running backs are the strength and experience of the offense. Instead in the first instance we went for a field goal which we had less a chance of making than a first down on 4th and 2.
You've got a rookie QB who has the weight of UConn nation on his shoulders (does he even care?) against a B1G opponent. Why increase the difficulty and put 1st downs on him? Line up under center and power the way to that 1st down. On the field goal we were easily in 4 down territory.
The knock on effect would have been a new set of downs, and if we don't score then at least the defense comes on a little fresher and we have theoretically gained some field position, maybe then the final score is a little closer.
But the biggest disappointment is the strange abandonment of the run. Where was the gashing run offense that we saw in 2022? That was supposedly Sammis. Maybe Zion Turner just was better at executing the RPO and reads than Fagnano and Evers, Who knows.
Either way, we handicapped ourselves yesterday by getting away from what should be our core competency.
Where did Cam Edwards go? Does anyone know?
Defense:
The Maryland first possession was a resounding success, for Maryland. Granted we created a fumble and I am glad we are going for that but they looked like a unit that had been practicing for two weeks maybe. Lost.
The front four was missing some Yates but looked the best of the unit but still didn't generate much of any pressure on Maryland's QBs.
The defensive backs were horrendous. This Jordan Wright character is already the most hated villain on the team in the circle of people speak with the most about. On my high school team we would have called him toast. The late hit and targeting was just poor judgement.
Before that he celebrated in the end zone for a coverage where the ball was thrown out of bounds. Are we paying this guy? I hope not.
The whole unit showed no discipline. But they looked better than the offense without looking good in any aspect.
Special Teams:
Ruelas looked great for JMU. Why did we let him go. We should have kidnapped him.
Generating some touch backs was nice. Punting was awful. Attempting to return punts is a nice idea. The new Gardner Webb kid has some wheels. Sheffield, what the hell man?
I'll be here all fall. That's all I got.
Conclusion up front:
Next Saturday might as well be the Super Bowl. Merrimack will be a tricky game, they traveled all the way to Air Force and only lost 21-6 albeit scoring on the last play of the game. If UConn lays an egg at home this Saturday then it's over. Just start the head coaching search Saturday night and make Brock the interim.
Mora needs to be throwing chairs at this point. Some people spent a ton of money on some players that are clearly not worth a bag of chips. If he throws a few bad apples off the team it wouldn't break my heart. As Hurley says: "Culture is caring". If that's the case we didn't see culture yesterday. This UConn, we aren't good at football, but we shouldn't accept performances like this from any team.
Head Coach:
I think the team looked more ready against NC State and Utah State than they did against Maryland. The difference is two new coordinators, a new defensive system (The offense looks the same but with even less effective play calling), almost 50 new guys on the roster and a coach in his third season.
This being his third season is what is most damning. Mora should be breaking people at this point. They were not ready and showed little to no energy.
Offense: I expected so much better from Sammis. And yet the bar was pretty low. He seems like an intelligent person and highly regarded. There were at least 3 instances of 3rd and 2 where we should have just run the ball and gotten a new set of downs. The line and the Running backs are the strength and experience of the offense. Instead in the first instance we went for a field goal which we had less a chance of making than a first down on 4th and 2.
You've got a rookie QB who has the weight of UConn nation on his shoulders (does he even care?) against a B1G opponent. Why increase the difficulty and put 1st downs on him? Line up under center and power the way to that 1st down. On the field goal we were easily in 4 down territory.
The knock on effect would have been a new set of downs, and if we don't score then at least the defense comes on a little fresher and we have theoretically gained some field position, maybe then the final score is a little closer.
But the biggest disappointment is the strange abandonment of the run. Where was the gashing run offense that we saw in 2022? That was supposedly Sammis. Maybe Zion Turner just was better at executing the RPO and reads than Fagnano and Evers, Who knows.
Either way, we handicapped ourselves yesterday by getting away from what should be our core competency.
Where did Cam Edwards go? Does anyone know?
Defense:
The Maryland first possession was a resounding success, for Maryland. Granted we created a fumble and I am glad we are going for that but they looked like a unit that had been practicing for two weeks maybe. Lost.
The front four was missing some Yates but looked the best of the unit but still didn't generate much of any pressure on Maryland's QBs.
The defensive backs were horrendous. This Jordan Wright character is already the most hated villain on the team in the circle of people speak with the most about. On my high school team we would have called him toast. The late hit and targeting was just poor judgement.
Before that he celebrated in the end zone for a coverage where the ball was thrown out of bounds. Are we paying this guy? I hope not.
The whole unit showed no discipline. But they looked better than the offense without looking good in any aspect.
Special Teams:
Ruelas looked great for JMU. Why did we let him go. We should have kidnapped him.
Generating some touch backs was nice. Punting was awful. Attempting to return punts is a nice idea. The new Gardner Webb kid has some wheels. Sheffield, what the hell man?
I'll be here all fall. That's all I got.
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The Dakota teams would crush us.
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This is nonsense. If you don't think coaching matters I don't know what to tell you.
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This is more nonsense. The Dakotas are not at all fertile recruiting grounds and the state of Connecticut has produced much more NFL players than the Dakotas combined.
The football players themselves?
The basketball people?
I really do not know who you are talking about.
This isn't true.
"The Huskies raised and spent about $100,000 last season through NIL efforts. This season, the number is up ten-fold, to somewhere between $1-1.25 million. That is something Benedict was willing to discuss.
“We’re going to double it next year, at least,” he said. “We’re going to pour gas on it. We’re going to win in football. I’m tired of being disrespected as a brand, nationally, because of football. And I get it. But the difference as we sit here today is we have NIL and revenue sharing now. And before, when we were a BCS affiliate with the old Big East, we could recruit differently. When that went away, it really impacted this university in a way that is probably unique because of the location. There are very, very good recruits here. But there are a limited number. And they all go, if you look at the top 10 every year, there’s one thing in common — all of them are going to power [conferences]. Whether NIL and revenue sharing will help us keep some of those kids will be determined, but we can recruit in a totally different way. We have an unbelievable university. We have great facilities. We have great coaches. And we’re going to start providing people with great opportunities in other ways.”
As Big 12 expansion rumors boil, UConn pours NIL money into football: ‘Tired of being disrespected’
Yes, but hitting a receiver in the shoulder pads on a short roll out - it something you don’t normally see.
Now maybe the receiver should have his body turned more but it was extremely disappointing either way.
I would prefer we start Cole next week.
But if we want to go with who is best prepared to start with least risk, Fagnano most certainly has my vote.
He looked cool out there, like he had been there before.
One thing I haven’t heard others say but I will but kudos to our O Line. Our QBs saw pressure - certainly but they weren’t being pushed all over by Maryland - in fact very few sacks yesterday.
The run blocking was P@ poor but QB protection a B-.
We had poor play by the receivers and subpar play by the QBs.
I was especially not happy with Evers - he needs much more time before he starts the next game.
We did hire a good coach. He came into a situation where everybody is self-hating. The poison was already in the system. We talk down everything so badly then we wonder why things don't go upwards.
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They hire better coaches. Serial winners. I like Mora but he is not what you call a serial winner.
His pattern is that his best season is early on and degrades from there.
I want a serial winner, I want a zealot and a fanatic.
Joining the ACC now would be like boarding a ship before it hits an iceberg.
What used to be what many thought of as a “dream destination” is no longer.
They are classic definition of “washed up“ IMO.
UConnDan97
predicting undefeated seasons since 1983
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I'm not ready to give up on Mora yet.
From a recruiting standpoint, he was able to get a bunch of players (new and transfer) that had P5 offers; something that the last 2 guys didn't. We laid a freaking egg against Maryland, but let's see how the next few games go and whether or not the team gels together. That gel process is very much in his control...
Even if you don't believe in the Dakotas their neighbors being in the Midwest definitely care about college football. Ours aren't doing us any favors
UConn could go 1-2 against those three teams. Unfortunately UConn is at the level of those three teams. If you wish a P4 schedule right now then expect many 3-9 seasons.
You want something that is a low probability luck of the draw
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Then drive there and recruit. It’s not like there are a ton of high level schools out there. This excuse is tired and BS.
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yeah, I have to admit when I saw his press conferences prior to the season the best way to describe his demeanor was flakey.
He strikes me as someone who is getting ready to retire in a couple years and he's trying to ride it out a bit.
I don't begrudge him for this fact, by the way. Seems like a great guy to sit down and talk about what's happening. He just doesn't seem like he's gotta go and get after it,
People here, always get on Bob Diaco like he was just this pariah, and there was no upside at all to his approach to coaching. In reflection, I kinda liked his energy and craziness, and I never saw us play a better game than against Houston when he was our coach.
Problem is UConn football recruiting budget is the same as WBB team. Top teams in P4 spend more on one recruiting trip. Perhaps Mora can hitch a ride with Geno on recruiting trips.
I have always been anti Big East and pro power conference and remain so. However, recent events with the Big 12 and what is likely to be another bad season in football has finally burst my bubble. To think that it is possible that Merrimack will win the next game says it all about the state of the football program. I was only pointing out that left behind AAC schools have much better football and will likely be next up for the ACC, at least.You completely missed my point Bubby. Of course UConn would take an invite from the ACC, all I’m saying is the Big 12 is the better option for many reasons, travel costs be damned, if an invite comes. That being said, if you don’t see how the ACC could implode and get divided up when FSU, Miami and Clemson leave, then I guess you think if UConn becomes Gonzaga East that won’t hurt the school and ALL it’s athletic programs.
Two years ago we got absolutely rolled by a few mid to lower tier ACC teams and ended up having a pretty good season. Last year we started off by hanging in there with a pretty good 9 win ACC team, that would have been better if their QB didn't get hurt mid season, and we had a horrible season. Maryland is probably going to be a good mid tier Big Ten team that is better than any of those.
Regardless, if recent history suggests anything, it is that judging how our season goes based on any particular early game against a P4/P5 opponent, may not be the best idea.
While it was a crap show, in prior years it seemed like both the technique/execution and physical talent were miles off. Even when we had the good season 2 years ago, the physical talent on the team seemed to be overcome by great game day execution. This was even the case last year when it looked like even if our players had executed perfectly, every team appeared to have more physical talent than us.
Yesterday we played a team that should have been way above us in the physical talent area and they were definitely above us in that area, but not as much as I would have expected. Our execution definitely stunk a lot of the game, but at very few points did it seem like if we executed, Maryland's physical talent would have been too much. It felt like we were surprisingly close in that area compared to where we should be.
Technique and execution are things the team can improve and physical talent is something they cannot. From my view, even though the game yesterday was not good in any way, I saw a team that has the potential to be a good team if they can execute. That is something that we have not had in years. Regardless of if it works out in the end or not, I think there is a glimmer of hope that if the team gets it together execution/technique wise, they could be a pretty decent, comfortably bowl bound team.
Regardless, if recent history suggests anything, it is that judging how our season goes based on any particular early game against a P4/P5 opponent, may not be the best idea.
While it was a crap show, in prior years it seemed like both the technique/execution and physical talent were miles off. Even when we had the good season 2 years ago, the physical talent on the team seemed to be overcome by great game day execution. This was even the case last year when it looked like even if our players had executed perfectly, every team appeared to have more physical talent than us.
Yesterday we played a team that should have been way above us in the physical talent area and they were definitely above us in that area, but not as much as I would have expected. Our execution definitely stunk a lot of the game, but at very few points did it seem like if we executed, Maryland's physical talent would have been too much. It felt like we were surprisingly close in that area compared to where we should be.
Technique and execution are things the team can improve and physical talent is something they cannot. From my view, even though the game yesterday was not good in any way, I saw a team that has the potential to be a good team if they can execute. That is something that we have not had in years. Regardless of if it works out in the end or not, I think there is a glimmer of hope that if the team gets it together execution/technique wise, they could be a pretty decent, comfortably bowl bound team.
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