Mora's ceiling?

[RedStickHusky]

Probably better as an off-season discussion, but the rapid and obvious player development to date has me very excited about where this program could be in three or four years.

 

[businesslawyer]

I agree it’s a better offseason discussion. But my answer would be that the program’s ceiling without a conference is below Mora’s.

 

[Sportsman5]

where this program could be in three or four years.

The quality of the transfers we get this off-season will be a big indicator. We attracted a couple of good transfers last year when the program had no positive momementum. Can we get 5+ of those types of guys and maybe 1 massively impactful guy this off-season and then repeat that every year? We can make a bowl most years by beating up on bad teams. But to be a top 20 team the talent level has to be significantly higher and we need depth. That will likely come from transfers.

 

[SubbaBub]

Way too early for this. I get a 2 game winning streak has us all giddy but here is what we've actually accomplished.

Based on relative power rankings
2-0 in games we had to win.
1-1 in games we had a shot to win!!
0-3 in games with no chance of winning.

Of the remaining schedule we have 1 game that is must win (UMass) and 4 we have a shot at (through Liberty in the top 50 is a stretch).

Our schedule has 8 games vs the worst of the worst, a competent coach should be winning most of these.

Mora is meeting expectations with extra points for dealing with a ton of injuries, actually winning the games he should win (hem..Holy Cross), and pumping a ton of energy into both the program and the diehard fanbase.

As a first building block, it's all good but there is still a long way to go before we get back to respectability where a mod level P5 team has to worry about us beating them. The concern right now is to keep improving and hope we don't run out of gas. 4 wins would be a bit of a disappointment. 4.5-5 is probably about the right over under as we sit today.

At the start of the season I wanted to be at 4 going into the last two games. CCSU, FIU, UMass and a WTF win somewhere ib there (I thought it was going to be Ball State)

I think we can get there. Having 5 going to Army with a win this week and UMass is a handsdown positive outcome for the season.

 

[uconndogs]

I agree it’s a better offseason discussion. But my answer would be that the program’s ceiling without a conference is below Mora’s.

Agree with this.

This is a bit off topic, but what the heck. If college football does bifurcate into 40 or so elite programs outside the NCAA (read SEC and BiG), then the landscape opens up for a program like UCONN. Goodness only knows what that next level will look like, but I have to believe UCONN can be very well positioned in that type of landscape. It's very early for Mora, but you have to believe with his experience he would be the right fit for that environment.

I am completely impressed with his ability to hold this team together during that brutal first half of a season. We simply have not had that type leadership here for a very long time.

 

[Palatine]

Super Bowl.

 

[Austin316]

So far his ceiling has been higher than the general fan base which is nice to see.

If you said we had a shot at being .500 with the injuries we’ve had I would say you’re nuts.

In the past we’ve had leadership that didn’t empower the players to play and you could tell some checked-out early. Now it seems everyone has a role, even the younger players and walk-ons, and they are having fun while doing it. That’s a testament to great leadership and culture rebuild. It’s not like these guys aren’t good enough, they clearly are a very talented group that just needed a great leader to remind them what it takes to be successful.

 

[Husky68]

Not sure how talented (but not Ohio State talented, or even UCLA level) high school kids would look at UConn (of course with Mora as coach) but not much fun knowing you are likely going to a team that at best is just ok and has several killer teams in their conference that just are almost always going to beat you.

Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan State- Rutgers.

Their ratings per Massey are 3,4,8,33,55,58,72.

So go to Rutgers and at least 6 of your conference games are most years against teams that are on paper a little better to way, way better. UConn will get some real good high school kids, Mora (and include his staff) will be a big attraction.

As for facilities UConn holds its own.
Academics UConn holds its own.
Schedule wise lot of nice and diverse matchups. Not Notre Dame level but still good. Get Sec or Big14 game most years and several ACC games; go to Texas/Florida/California.

As for young transfer guys are almost like high school but with "a little what did I get myself into" knowledge that makes a kid like the opportunity to develop into the player he thinks (and maybe his current coach doesn't think) he can be. Mora big attraction.

Older, one or two years of play transfers, will look at who is the coach (NFL hopes), how good is the team, teams playing style vs. his abilities AND who are they playing the next couple of years. Mora big attraction.

I see the Mora's ceiling as getting UConn into the new playoff scheme. 2025 beat Fruit, Purdue and The Ohio State (and all the rest) and we're in (I'm saying playoffs change by then). Zion Turner's Heisman year.

 

[Bubba1957]

Mora has succeeded at the highest levels where other "great" college coaches failed miserably (Saban, Meyers, Ruhle, etc..). So, no crazy expectation but no ceiling. There was no "wait and see" like some of the more analytic members of the board have been saying about him. From day one, I've thought we are lucky to have him and he is the best coach we've ever had.

 

[Dooooooomed]

 

[History Geek]

Agree with this.

This is a bit off topic, but what the heck. If college football does bifurcate into 40 or so elite programs outside the NCAA (read SEC and BiG), then the landscape opens up for a program like UCONN. Goodness only knows what that next level will look like, but I have to believe UCONN can be very well positioned in that type of landscape. It's very early for Mora, but you have to believe with his experience he would be the right fit for that environment.

I am completely impressed with his ability to hold this team together during that brutal first half of a season. We simply have not had that type leadership here for a very long time.

This 1000%. That is the plan I’m sure.

 

[History Geek]

Super Bowl.

I was going to say National Championship but I like this better.

 

[RSTuthill]

I agree it’s a better offseason discussion. But my answer would be that the program’s ceiling without a conference is below Mora’s.

As we have said many times before, winning solves a lot of things if not almost everything. Someone even noted the tone of this board.

So UConn keeping its head down, grinding away, winning those games that they are supposed to (and those are often easy to lose, to wit Fresno's performance), winning at least half the games they have a legitimate shot at, going to bowls more often than not, my guess is that UConn will find itself in an attractive conference in four more years. Then HCJM can coach as long as he wants and turn the reins over to Charlton. But we are getting way ahead of ourselves. Ball State.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Does anyone know how JM feels about Patoni tiles?

 

[J187Money]

I'm already locked in for the Army game to get win #6 or #7!

 

[CL82]

Does anyone know how JM feels about Patoni tiles?

So, you are suggesting a domed stadium in Storrs? Regardless, it doesn’t matter the kiln explosion that took out the maestro destroyed the technology. We will never see it’s like again.

 

[Kemba Time]

I once led UConn to 6 national championships on NCAA football for PS2 and Jim Mora is a much better football coach than I am, so that seems like a good place to start.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I once led UConn to 6 national championships on NCAA football for PS2 and Jim Mora is a much better football coach than I am, so that seems like a good place to start.

Well yeah, but I had them in the big10...

 

[Greedo]

This is a "look what I can do" year for Mora for sure. He's taken this husk of a team and won games, imagine what he could do with a more talented roster (and fewer important injuries). If a fringe P5 recruit doesn't look at this team and say "Yeah, this guy will make me an NFL player," he has rocks for brains. Mora is capable of being the coach of a playoff caliber team. It's just a matter of if the recruits he needs to do that will look at what he's started here and decide they want to be a part of it.

 

[CL82]

This is a "look what I can do" year for Mora for sure. He's taken this husk of a team and won games, imagine what he could do with a more talented roster (and fewer important injuries). If a fringe P5 recruit doesn't look at this team and say "Yeah, this guy will make me an NFL player," he has rocks for brains. Mora is capable of being the coach of a playoff caliber team. It's just a matter of if the recruits he needs to do that will look at what he's started here and decide they want to be a part of it.

I do wonder what the season would’ve looked like if we had been bit by the injury bug quite so hard.

 

[RSTuthill]

I do wonder what the season would’ve looked like if we had been bit by the injury bug quite so hard.

Me too. But then I tell myself that this is football. There is always an injury bug. It's part of the game. UConn is thin is all. Next year will be better as the building back better continues. And I do not mean that in a political sense in any way at all.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I agree it’s a better offseason discussion. But my answer would be that the program’s ceiling without a conference is below Mora’s.

The old Big East absolutely and the longest iteration of the AAC, agree with that too.

I don't think our ceiling is lower playing as an Independent on predominantly national tv, compared to the future dreadful AAC behind the ESPN3 paywall.

 

[businesslawyer]

The old Big East absolutely and the longest iteration of the AAC, agree with that too.

I don't think our ceiling is lower playing as an Independent on predominantly national tv, compared to the future dreadful AAC behind the ESPN3 paywall.

True enough as to the last part. But stating we had no better option as it turned it doesn't change the cieling.

 

[gioff2323]

Mora has succeeded at the highest levels where other "great" college coaches failed miserably (Saban, Meyers, Ruhle, etc..). So, no crazy expectation but no ceiling. There was no "wait and see" like some of the more analytic members of the board have been saying about him. From day one, I've thought we are lucky to have him and he is the best coach we've ever had.

I love HCJM, but he was 31-33 as an NFL coach. Saban was 2 games under as well. Not quite successful and certainly no better than Saban.

 

[NowInStorrs]

I love HCJM, but he was 31-33 as an NFL coach. Saban was 2 games under as well. Not quite successful and certainly no better than Saban.

Jim "Literally Nick Saban" Mora