Our scheduling philosophy going forward as an independent

[Jetskies]

Schools that schedule like G6 remain G6. I get that we need to win, but we also need to try to stand above the G6. We need to be "Notre Dame Light" now that BYU isn't that anymore. We aren't going to recruit P4 caliber players unless the schedule is better than most G6 schools play.

It's a difficult balance for Benedict and Mora.

i may be too conservative here, totally open to pushback from others.
But, I just don't think we're stable enough as a program yet, to be thinking about upping the competition aggressively.
JM has done a remarkable job so far, but I don't think we're fully out of the shadow of our horrible 2010's decade and up to 2021.

I think, and this is just me, but maybe we need another season or 2 of excellent (8-0, 7-1) performance against mediocre and pretty-good G5 competition, along with finally a couple upsets of those pesky ACC teams, to convince the CFB world that we are forevermore not the same uconn that was getting blasted by meh programs like MTSU and Army.

 

[HuskyHawk]

What are you talking about? Do you think all the schools that recently moved up scheduled like P5s?

Look it up yourself.

This. Ideally we’d be scheduling 4-5 P4 teams with one of them being a stretch team, and we fill the rest of the schedule out with upper level AAC and PAC teams. Maybe the likes of JMU or Liberty. UMass too, for the rivalry.

Fine, fine. I'm impatient. I don't like seeing UConn slumming it in any sport. I'd rather be a good FCS program than that. It's a reputational thing. I agree with @Jetskies that we probably aren't there yet. Hopefully it's not far off.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

Fine, fine. I'm impatient. I don't like seeing UConn slumming it in any sport. I'd rather be a good FCS program than that. It's a reputational thing. I agree with @Jetskies that we probably aren't there yet. Hopefully it's not far off.

Honestly, I like your aggressive mindset more than the folks who think we should only schedule terrible teams.

 

[ZooCougar]

Fine, fine. I'm impatient. I don't like seeing UConn slumming it in any sport. I'd rather be a good FCS program than that. It's a reputational thing. I agree with @Jetskies that we probably aren't there yet. Hopefully it's not far off.

We’re not slumming it. We’re actually competitive against peer programs.

Let’s walk before we run. We have zero business scheduling a preponderance of P4s. The Boises of the world don’t do it. Why should we?

 

[ZooCougar]

Honestly, I like your aggressive mindset more than the folks who think we should only schedule terrible teams.

Nobody is saying we should schedule bad teams. We are scheduling other G6 programs. We are a G6 program.

You can’t fake it till you make it. To build a winning a track record you have to win.

In 2022 we went 6-7 and then we dropped back to 3-9. Let’s be realistic. We need to build up some wins.

 

[Jetskies]

Nobody is saying we should schedule bad teams. We are scheduling other G6 programs. We are a G6 program.

You can’t fake it till you make it. To build a winning a track record you have to win.

In 2022 we went 6-7 and then we dropped back to 3-9. Let’s be realistic. We need to build up some wins.

agreed. "terrible" would be if our entire schedule was exclusively teams like akron, kent state, kennesaw, Jacksonville State, Sam Houston, and FAU (yes i know DID play FAU in real life).

Essentially if we purposely stuck to the bottom half of MAC, CUSA, and AAC.
eeeeeeek.

Thankfully that's not the case.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

Nobody is saying we should schedule bad teams. We are scheduling other G6 programs. We are a G6 program.

You can’t fake it till you make it. To build a winning a track record you have to win.

In 2022 we went 6-7 and then we dropped back to 3-9. Let’s be realistic. We need to build up some wins.

There are people on this board advocating for us to only schedule bottom of the barrel teams. I stand by my statement.

 

[ZooCougar]

There are people on this board advocating for us to only schedule bottom of the barrel teams. I stand by my statement.

Haven't seen that.

 

[freescooter]

There are people on this board advocating for us to only schedule bottom of the barrel teams. I stand by my statement.

Nobody has said that.

 

[freescooter]

Schools that schedule like G6 remain G6. I get that we need to win, but we also need to try to stand above the G6. We need to be "Notre Dame Light" now that BYU isn't that anymore. We aren't going to recruit P4 caliber players unless the schedule is better than most G6 schools play.

It's a difficult balance for Benedict and Mora.

That sounds great. It isn’t true but let’s not let facts get in the way.

Houston’s 2021 non-conference schedule: Texas Tech, Rice, Grambling, UConn. 22: Rice, Texas Teck , Texas Tech, Kansas.

Cincinnati 2021: Notre Dame, Indiana, Murray State, Miami-Ohio
2022: Arkansas, Kennesaw St, Miami-Ohio, Indiana.

And those were typical if you go back. 2 P4 teams and 1 G5, 1 FCS.

UCF 21- Bethune-Cookman, UConn, Louisville, Boise St
UCF 22: SC State, FAU, Louisville Georgia Tech.

SMU: 2023 LA Tech, Prairie View, Oklahoma, TCU
2022: North Texas, Lamar, TCUMaryland

All 4 played 2 P5 Games, not 5 or 6 or even 4. When they got to more than 2 it was due to a bowl matchup. And they ended up in Power leagues. They mostly played 1 FCS and 1 G6. You know what the real difference was? Those schools made football a priority. They had big wins and competed for conference titles and had consistent winning records. Had we done the same, we’d be in a power conference We didn’t. We hired bad coaches and scrimped on support systems.

BYU did play 5-6 but I would argue they are a different situation. They chose to go independent in hopes of upgrading their schedule and because they thought they could make it work. They had a good pedigree including a national championship and relationships with the PAC and other “national” teams. Despite that, they mostly played 5 P5 games, occasionally 6, mostly against the original PAC 12. BYU fans complained that they were mostly front loaded schedules.

 

[ZooCougar]

That sounds great. It isn’t true but let’s not let facts get in the way.

Houston’s 2021 non-conference schedule: Texas Tech, Rice, Grambling, UConn. 22: Rice, Texas Teck , Texas Tech, Kansas.

Cincinnati 2021: Notre Dame, Indiana, Murray State, Miami-Ohio
2022: Arkansas, Kennesaw St, Miami-Ohio, Indiana.

And those were typical if you go back. 2 P4 teams and 1 G5, 1 FCS.

UCF 21- Bethune-Cookman, UConn, Louisville, Boise St
UCF 22: SC State, FAU, Louisville Georgia Tech.

SMU: 2023 LA Tech, Prairie View, Oklahoma, TCU
2022: North Texas, Lamar, TCUMaryland

All 4 played 2 P5 Games, not 5 or 6 or even 4. When they got to more than 2 it was due to a bowl matchup. And they ended up in Power leagues. They mostly played 1 FCS and 1 G6. You know what the real difference was? Those schools made football a priority. They had big wins and competed for conference titles and had consistent winning records. Had we done the same, we’d be in a power conference We didn’t. We hired bad coaches and scrimped on support systems.

BYU did play 5-6 but I would argue they are a different situation. They chose to go independent in hopes of upgrading their schedule and because they thought they could make it work. They had a good pedigree including a national championship and relationships with the PAC and other “national” teams. Despite that, they mostly played 5 P5 games, occasionally 6, mostly against the original PAC 12. BYU fans complained that they were mostly front loaded schedules.

If BYU were still Indy then without the massive power conference TV money they would have to make their schedule go on a diet too.

 

[Fishy]

Schools that schedule like G6 remain G6. I get that we need to win, but we also need to try to stand above the G6. We need to be "Notre Dame Light" now that BYU isn't that anymore. We aren't going to recruit P4 caliber players unless the schedule is better than most G6 schools play.

It's a difficult balance for Benedict and Mora.

The sooner that people realize that we’re not auditioning for anything, the better off they’ll be.

 

[Drew]

The sooner that people realize that we’re not auditioning for anything, the better off they’ll be.

The last ship sailing into the night left in August 2023 and we were on it until they threw us overboard at the last minute

If the PAC had survived, we would’ve been in the Big 12. Makes me sick thinking about it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The sooner that people realize that we’re not auditioning for anything, the better off they’ll be.

Ah yes, the killer of hope, killing hope. I don't think non-P4 FBS is going to viable for much longer. For any school.

 

[Fishy]

Ah yes, the killer of hope, killing hope. I don't think non-P4 FBS is going to viable for much longer. For any school.

We’ve had chances, but circumstances have conspired against us in the wildest of ways at every turn. Any future promotion from the G6 to the P4 - for anyone - is akin to completing a Hail Mary where the quarterback and receiver are both blindfolded.

 

[ZooCougar]

The sooner that people realize that we’re not auditioning for anything, the better off they’ll be.

This is the only healthy way to look at it.

Treating everything as some sort of referundum is counter productive too.

 

[Fishy]

The last ship sailing into the night left in August 2023 and we were on it until they threw us overboard at the last minute

If the PAC had survived, we would’ve been in the Big 12. Makes me sick thinking about it.

I think there’s a better chance of being struck by lightning than there was of the series of events over two decades that kept UConn out of the power conferences coming to pass.

Think of how crazy it all was….and at the end, the Pac12, a century-old power conference dies and blocks our ascension.

It’s just amazing.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

Nobody has said that.

Thread: 2025 Schedule

Posts: #2, #4 - an example of a person who wants a record that’s all style and no substance.

 

[ZooCougar]

Thread: 2025 Schedule

Posts: #2, #4 - an example of a person who wants a record that’s all style and no substance.

Do you like going 5-7?

 

[Hskies4Ever]

That sounds great. It isn’t true but let’s not let facts get in the way.

Houston’s 2021 non-conference schedule: Texas Tech, Rice, Grambling, UConn. 22: Rice, Texas Teck , Texas Tech, Kansas.

Cincinnati 2021: Notre Dame, Indiana, Murray State, Miami-Ohio
2022: Arkansas, Kennesaw St, Miami-Ohio, Indiana.

And those were typical if you go back. 2 P4 teams and 1 G5, 1 FCS.

UCF 21- Bethune-Cookman, UConn, Louisville, Boise St
UCF 22: SC State, FAU, Louisville Georgia Tech.

SMU: 2023 LA Tech, Prairie View, Oklahoma, TCU
2022: North Texas, Lamar, TCUMaryland

All 4 played 2 P5 Games, not 5 or 6 or even 4. When they got to more than 2 it was due to a bowl matchup. And they ended up in Power leagues. They mostly played 1 FCS and 1 G6. You know what the real difference was? Those schools made football a priority. They had big wins and competed for conference titles and had consistent winning records. Had we done the same, we’d be in a power conference We didn’t. We hired bad coaches and scrimped on support systems.

BYU did play 5-6 but I would argue they are a different situation. They chose to go independent in hopes of upgrading their schedule and because they thought they could make it work. They had a good pedigree including a national championship and relationships with the PAC and other “national” teams. Despite that, they mostly played 5 P5 games, occasionally 6, mostly against the original PAC 12. BYU fans complained that they were mostly front loaded schedules.

I appreciate the work you put into this, but the context is important. Those teams played in what was at the time, unquestionably the best G5 conference. The next set of call ups was always coming from the AAC and those teams were at the top of the conference. They didn’t need to schedule P4 teams, and Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati were playing at levels higher than a lot of P4 teams at the time.

 

[Samoo]

There are people on this board advocating for us to only schedule bottom of the barrel teams. I stand by my statement.

Receipts or it everybody will think it is only in your imagination.

 

[Samoo]

Thread: 2025 Schedule

Posts: #2, #4 - an example of a person who wants a record that’s all style and no substance.

A) It's Free; and,
B) In neither of those posts does he advocate for playing "bottom of the barrel" teams. He suggests we play 2 P4 games and the rest G6 to give us a better chance of a winning record. Not close to your original claim

 

[Hskies4Ever]

Do you like going 5-7?

Dunno - depends on who we beat and how we lost the seven games. I don’t like the idea of going 5-7, but I think there are folks that would celebrate going 12-0 against 12 FCS teams. What does it mean to win 9 or 10 games if we don’t beat anybody?

If all you care about is the record, join the MAC. At least you’ll have a chance at a conference championship and you’ll have tie-ins to the Chuck E. Cheese Bowl on a Tuesday night in Arkansas.

It’s very important to win and to establish a winning culture, but we only want to schedule 2 P4 teams for what purpose? We won’t get ranked beating the little sisters of the poor. We won’t get into a decent bowl game. Last year we beat the teams we were supposed to beat and now it’s time to take another step forward.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

A) It's Free; and,
B) In neither of those posts does he advocate for playing "bottom of the barrel" teams. He suggests we play 2 P4 games and the rest G6 to give us a better chance of a winning record. Not close to your original claim

Idk what “it’s free” is in reference to. And yeah, after we won nine games, we want to retreat and play lesser competition? Maybe not exactly asking for bottom of the barrel but not exactly the heart of a champion either.

Guy also already has us losing 6 games next year. He’s not asking for bottom of the barrel but that’s the implication.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

Bottom line: you either want this team to be good or you don’t. A good record doesn’t make the team good and a bad record doesn’t make the team bad. Testing ourselves against good competition is all we have. We have no conference championship. We have no realistic playoff aspirations. I’m sorry that I’m not interested in beating schools with fewer resources every week. I don’t want body bag games - I’m not mad Ole Miss was canceled - but I’m glad we scheduled BC for this year rather than a Temple.

If we schedule some hard games, yeah maybe we go 5-7. Or maybe we go 7-5 and we start to earn some respect.

 

[ZooCougar]

Dunno - depends on who we beat and how we lost the seven games. I don’t like the idea of going 5-7, but I think there are folks that would celebrate going 12-0 against 12 FCS teams. What does it mean to win 9 or 10 games if we don’t beat anybody?

If all you care about is the record, join the MAC. At least you’ll have a chance at a conference championship and you’ll have tie-ins to the Chuck E. Cheese Bowl on a Tuesday night in Arkansas.

It’s very important to win and to establish a winning culture, but we only want to schedule 2 P4 teams for what purpose? We won’t get ranked beating the little sisters of the poor. We won’t get into a decent bowl game. Last year we beat the teams we were supposed to beat and now it’s time to take another step forward.

In football we are the little sisters of the poor in many ways.

 

[ZooCougar]

Bottom line: you either want this team to be good or you don’t. A good record doesn’t make the team good and a bad record doesn’t make the team bad. Testing ourselves against good competition is all we have. We have no conference championship. We have no realistic playoff aspirations. I’m sorry that I’m not interested in beating schools with fewer resources every week. I don’t want body bag games - I’m not mad Ole Miss was canceled - but I’m glad we scheduled BC for this year rather than a Temple.

If we schedule some hard games, yeah maybe we go 5-7. Or maybe we go 7-5 and we start to earn some respect.

They'll just say we went 7-5.

 

[Kembafan]

Bottom line: you either want this team to be good or you don’t. A good record doesn’t make the team good and a bad record doesn’t make the team bad. Testing ourselves against good competition is all we have. We have no conference championship. We have no realistic playoff aspirations. I’m sorry that I’m not interested in beating schools with fewer resources every week. I don’t want body bag games - I’m not mad Ole Miss was canceled - but I’m glad we scheduled BC for this year rather than a Temple.

If we schedule some hard games, yeah maybe we go 5-7. Or maybe we go 7-5 and we start to earn some respect.

I agree with this for the most part but we don’t want a losing season. Nobody will care if you played p4 opponents if you went 5-7. But I do agree we should play 3 to 4 p4 programs and try to schedule the best of the g6, but also pad a few wins too. It’s not all or nothing. It’s a balance.

 

[CCSU97]

The 2025 and 2026 schedules look to be done, and 2027 just needs an FCS game (although we need to reverse the locations for the 27/28 Temple series to get 7 home games in 2027 and 4 home and 4 road games for 2028 up to this point). I don't think my philosophy could come into play before 2029, but I think it is realistic after that.

Let's get CCSU back in East Hartford in 2027!