Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

[Carl Spackler]

It just occurred to me, even though I've been stumbling around it all day. Pasqualoni, as head coach at UCONN, has set two significant milestones within a matter of months. We beat a ranked opponent on the road about 9 months ago. We lost to a 1-AA team at home last night. He's nothing at UCONN, if not wildly inconsistent with how the team performs game to game.

I'm not completely off the train, because what's happened here to us last night, is not unprecedented. Michigan and Virginia Tech in recent years lost to 1-AA teams at home, and those programs are a lot further along in 1A football than we are.

I'm just incredibly disappointed at having the excitement of a new football season so rudely snatched away by a team that just sucked on the field.

But today is a new day, and there will be more games played, and a lot can change in how this team performs on the field, and I do expect them to perform better and win games and compete for a championship at seasons end. It's up to the decision makers to decide what to do to make that happen though, and I'm not a decision maker for the football program.

SO it's a new day, and we've got Maryland coming in 2 weeks. If the program stays as inconsistent has it has been, we'll probably stomp the crap out of Maryland. I hope we do, but I also hope that we get consistent at winning.

 

[huskymedic]

I'm not completely off the train,

Which train... the PP train or the UConn Football train??

 

[Carl Spackler]

That would be the Pasqualoni train. These teams in the past 2 seasons have been incredibly inconsistent. There are plenty of explanations as to why that is. I think that it would be foolish to throw the towel in on this season right now, and I think that making a head coaching change for this program right now, given all the intercollegiate athletics turmoil of the past few years is something you don't just do, unless you've got somebody lined up that wants to come in, and is familiar with what the job is going to entail when it comes to recruiting. Other coaches have come up in discussions that weren't successful and fired, and when the timing of that happened, etc. None of it applies to UCONN right now. If Pasqualoni is to be replaced, it's got to be a very carefully evaluated decision as to who comes in and why. I think that these kinds of things need to be happening from a management standpoint in finding those kinds of potential fits, because if I'm in charge of this program, right now - I'm not firing a head coach, unless I've got a very good idea who I'm going to be potentially replacing him with and why. We aren't a Michigan, or a Virginia Tech, or even a Louisivlle, or Syracuse right now. We are going to have to recruit to the level I hope we are committed to compete at, outside of one of the chosen groups of conferences by ESPN.

And this is the season that Pasqualoni has, to establish himself as either becoming a consistent winner, or a consistent loser, or remaining inconsistent. In my mind, there's only one acceptable scenario that doesn't warrant change.

 

[Bootsthemonkey]

Although I have seen nothing that would indicate this will be replicated by UConn this year, the 2010 Va Tech season comes to mind for those looking for optimism.

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-10/acc/2010-virginia-tech-hokies-football-schedule.php

 

[junglehusky]

Carl, I could see someone making a prediction that UConn will continue to be inconsistent, maybe stomp a few teams along the way to another 5-7 season (though I kind of doubt we'll even reach 5 wins after losing to Towson). What I can't take seriously is the idea that UConn football is about the turn the corner and win consistently under PP. He didn't get it done year 1, didn't get it done year 2, and at the beginning of year 3 not only did we lose our opener to a I-AA team, the UConn squad just does not pass the eye test. If they looked like a team that was well prepared and just came up short against a good opponent, that would be one thing. But you can't convince me that the staff had the team prepared to go out and win yesterday, or that they'll be able to do that for back-to-back games against any opponents of note.

 

[Carl Spackler]

For the record - Randy Edsall's first three seasons at UCONN went like this:

4-7 with plenty of 1-AA losses.
3-8 we lost to Rhode Island at home.
2-9 we beat Rutgers.

At the time, the program was in major transition struggling to get to 1A football.

We are now under Pasqualoni and have gone
5-7
5-7
0-1 so far......

we've had in a matter of months argueably one of the best wins (I know beating notre dame, and the bowl games) but beating a ranked conference opponent on the road is certainly a highmark of some sort, as well as clearly the worst lost since we've been playing at Rentschler.

Randy Edsall didn't get consistent at winning until well into years 4 and 5 at UCONN. Even Jim Calhoun needed a warmup period before getting consistent at winning.

THe danger we face now is quite similar to the danger a little over a decade now - where UCONN was struggling to move from 1-AA to 1-A and establish goals and competition level, we are now in 2013, at the 1A level, and the movement in intercollegiate athletics once again leaves us struggling to move from a BCS conference, to outside of that chosen group of conferences, and still maintain the competitive level.

 

[huskymedic]

That would be the Pasqualoni train. These teams in the past 2 seasons have been incredibly inconsistent. There are plenty of explanations as to why that is. I think that it would be foolish to throw the towel in on this season right now, and I think that making a head coaching change for this program right now, given all the intercollegiate athletics turmoil of the past few years is something you don't just do, unless you've got somebody lined up that wants to come in, and is familiar with what the job is going to entail when it comes to recruiting. Other coaches have come up in discussions that weren't successful and fired, and when the timing of that happened, etc. None of it applies to UCONN right now. If Pasqualoni is to be replaced, it's got to be a very carefully evaluated decision as to who comes in and why. I think that these kinds of things need to be happening from a management standpoint in finding those kinds of potential fits, because if I'm in charge of this program, right now - I'm not firing a head coach, unless I've got a very good idea who I'm going to be potentially replacing him with and why. We aren't a Michigan, or a Virginia Tech, or even a Louisivlle, or Syracuse right now. We are going to have to recruit to the level I hope we are committed to compete at, outside of one of the chosen groups of conferences by ESPN.

And this is the season that Pasqualoni has, to establish himself as either becoming a consistent winner, or a consistent loser, or remaining inconsistent. In my mind, there's only one acceptable scenario that doesn't warrant change.

So you're not completely off the train but you're caught in the door being dragged along.

I wrote off the first year before it happened because few teams truly prosper after a coaching change year 1. Last year we underachieved. This year was the - "okay Paul, show me what ya got" year.

Well he/they show me nothing...

I'm still on the Husky Express, but I'm waiting for the next train operator.

 

[sportsart]

Carl, I know you've gone off the deep end so I understand why you just compared our transition to 1A to our transition to the AAC.

You need a concussion check.

 

[willie99]

one decent game out of 25 does not make us inconsistent, we are very consistent. We're consistently bad, consistently boring, consistently hard to watch, consistently lacking enthusiasm and we lose to lesser programs on a consistent basis.

I bleed blue as much as anyone, I want so much to be proven wrong, but I have absolutely no faith in our coach. We will consistently suck until PeePee is gone.

 

[willie99]

maybe the most telling fact is this, we consistently look worse in the 2nd half. Every other coach beats PeePee like a drum in the 2nd half

 

[beasteast]

although, i was not in love with the hire of pp, i gave him a chance. last evening, i saw the same unexciting, boring football team i have seen for too long... im done. losing to a 1aa team is only the result of what is the problem. he will not be on the sidelines next year, and i only wish he will be removed immediately ... again not just because of the scoreboard last night.