Rice Post Game Thread

[Punkbo]

Jayden MacDonald 2024 MVP

Totally agree. MacDonald has had an incredible year. I also want to send some love to Dal’Mont Gourdine, who also has played extremely well.

 

[AllHusky]

I don't think there's any way someone on this board could answer that question. No one knows what these contacts look like. My guess is theyre one year contracts but maybe they're tied to a scholarship or something

I keep hearing stories of kids being promised with no delivery, which indicates no contract. Are these isolated instances, or is their no standard contract like a National letter of Intent(NLI)?

 

[uconndogs]

Syracuse in my book is a must win IF we want some respect - right now every time we’ve played a good team, we’ve lost. Buffalo is an okay team - maybe that’s a good win?

Rice, Merrimack, the others, add up their wins so far this season and it isn’t pretty.

I like 5-3 but comon Syracuse is getting blown out in some games, they are ripe for us.

Like I said, I think we are close to a two TD dog at Syracuse. They are a much better team and it would take an extraordinary game for the Huskies to come out on top in that one.

McCord is a very good QB who got embarrassed at Pitt. I don't see that happening at the Dome against our Huskies.

 

[JMick]

I keep hearing stories of kids being promised with no delivery, which indicates no contract. Are these isolated instances, or is their no standard contract like a National letter of Intent(NLI)?

I watched a video with someone involved in the contracts for UConn. According to him, we deliver on our promises and make the kids sign a contract. But there was no mention of what the contract is, how long it lasts, etc.

There's definitely no standard contract. And some schools apparently don't do them and that's when you see things get sketchy

 

[Tdaley]

Jayden MacDonald 2024 MVP

I agree.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

There has to be a distinction between what the defense does and whether you think it could do it against better competition. A defense couldn‘t play better than ours did last night. That is the definition of light’s out. Is our defense so good it could look like that against better competition, or even against Rice with its starting QB? Probably not. But you can only totally shut down the team you’re playing that day. And we did.

fair points. I am probably not giving the defense enough credit…but I feel like most defenses would have had a good day against that offense yesterday…they were that bad.

But…I do feel the defense is very good..and I have been impressed with how well the 3-3-5 can be executed with competent coaching. I also have enjoyed watching a secondary that actually turns around when the ball is in the air. And I love McDonald’s play.

Again…I do think it’s a very good defense…I just struggle to say they are “lights out” when they play an offense that bad.

 

[giddyup]

I don't think there's any way someone on this board could answer that question. No one knows what these contacts look like. My guess is theyre one year contracts but maybe they're tied to a scholarship or something

The rule is they can’t lose their money based on playing or performance status or team affiliation. You invest and hope the name, image and likeness is popular enough to sell cars, beds, and whatever they are supposed to hawk.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Exactly. I really don’t know what some people think this team is. 5-3 with a few more wins likely.

Well, we blew out Merrimack so we should at least be able to hang with the mid-level schools in the SEC.

 

[AllHusky]

We are better than we were last year, and depending on retention, we'll be better again next year. Question is, are we better than we were 2 years ago('22)?

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I was in Charlotte, didn't watch game. But i don't know how you can get mad at a win. This was one of the worst fbs programs in fbs history and Mora has already become the second most successful coach in fbs era.

That said, I think you can change qb at this point. Performance should win out. That is a horrendous stat line having not watched the game. And I am an evers supporter.

I am gonna say this, and if the shoe fits, wear it. If not, ignore. The football program doesnt take away basketballs performance. You can't look at the program’a performance through lense of “how this affects basketball.”

I sense, two types of sentiments that kill this program morale. One is the basketball only crowd that want program to fail. The want to totally detatch from the rat race.

The other is a fanbase that so wants a P4 invite that every gosh darn game is Superbowl.

There is no expectation that this team should, likely, ever, threaten for CFP playoff. Ceiling isn't that high.

I agree on Evers…his accuracy isn’t getting better..and he hasn’t shown an ability to run without getting hurt or fumbling.

 

[cohenzone]

They have one loss by 2 pts and one loss by 28 to undefeated Pitt?

Right. I really don’t know what world are living in here relative to both the current level of a program which is respectable, or what they have bothered to find out about how our opponents have done against their schedules, especially against teams with winning records. We have lost to one pretty good ACC team, Duke, by 5, another average ACC team - Wake, by 3 and one lower level Big Conglomerate team, MD, by 47; which I think would not be quite so lopsided at this point. We have not lost to any real chump change and given two of them all they can handle with maybe a bit of help from a ref.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

I haven’t read all of the posts..so forgive me for posting a repititive post.

I have been a supporter of developing Evers…and maybe he isn’t showing what he can do because he is banged up. But…he can’t throw well or run well. Mora seems to keep getting dual threat quarterbacks that are uni-threat. Turner…slow…Roberson…slow…and so far..Evers is slow.

If Evers can’t run the ball…play Fagnano…i get that he is here only this year…but Mora owes it to the team to try to win as many games this year as possible. And a banged up Evers isn’t the answer.

Time to focus on winning games and not developing the NIL guy.

A very accurate post. UConn is not in a position to sacrifice this season to develop Evers for next year. They don't have that luxury and they have some young QBs on the roster, plus they can use the portal. Evers offers very little to the offense. Beside the NIL exists to bring in talent that is an immediate upgrade, not to develop talent for next season.

 

[cohenzone]

We are better than we were last year, and depending on retention, we'll be better again next year. Question is, are we better than we were 2 years ago('22)?

You mean when we were 6-7?

 

[Stray_Dog]

Like I said, I think we are close to a two TD dog at Syracuse. They are a much better team and it would take an extraordinary game for the Huskies to come out on top in that one.

McCord is a very good QB who got embarrassed at Pitt. I don't see that happening at the Dome against our Huskies.

oh come on now, - They will have ACC - REFS in their house! I don't see any unfair advantages, the home crowds, the refs, the play calling - their talent... COME on we win this by 50pts. ALL SARCASM provided or maybe its just opposite day!

 

[noeynox]

In defense of Nick Evers, this was the first time he's been able to play in back to back games and complete them. He is still a QB who has not played much except for this season. I'm ok with him starting as long as he is healthy, and from my vantage point behind the UConn bench he looked kinda gimpy; maybe the toe is still bugging him and limiting his mobility.

To everyone wanting Fagnano, be careful what you wish for. Yes, he's completed some passes, but he's also thrown some bad picks too.

Our D was stellar, even without Rice having Warner in the game. Rice's points came from a FG that was the result of great field position after a UConn fumble, and a KO return late in the game.

Evers hasn't thrown bad picks?

The WRs are showing frustration on the field. Far too many passes too long, too short, behind the WR, too far out in front and basically just off the mark. He was 9 of 24 passing yesterday with one INT but maybe that wasn't a bad on your book.

They have to go back in the portal and look for someone who could execute Sammis's offense. They found solid weapons at WR. Have to get them the ball with a chance to make plays.

 

[cohenzone]

Well, we blew out Merrimack so we should at least be able to hang with the mid-level schools in the SEC.

Merrimack is what i measure the world against. Bring on Oregon.

Think of the outright suffering my poor Wolverine son is going through this year. They could never smash Merrimack like we did.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I'm pretty confident that most here know what my stance has been on the Evers/Fagnano debate (although few grasp my reasoning).

That said, I felt (and have Business Lawyer and Nostical as witnesses) that we should have changed QB's at halftime yesterday. The offense needed a jolt and that was (at least in my eyes) the logical move.

Things we need to face:

Our offensive line has been exposed. We won't get where we want (being able to win the bulk of our games against the schools that have beaten us this season) if we don't improve our physical strength here. I want to see some feel good articles about players strength and conditioning improvements similar to what we regularly saw two decades ago.

Our QB play needs to improve dramatically. I'm guessing the book on Evers is to flush him left as that seems to be what we've witnessed a lot of recently and he doesn't seem capable of throwing accurately when moving left. Our ability to develop QB's (we've had very little if that since Orlovsky) will play a massive role in our future prospects as a program.

We need to keep improving our HS recruiting and reach the point where transfers are complimentary players, not a means of filling a roster. Continuity plays a kn enormous role in football success. Having a roster where the bulk of the players and the lion's share of the starters all have a few years in the system gives the program a huge advantage.

 

[JMick]

The rule is they can’t lose their money based on playing or performance status or team affiliation. You invest and hope the name, image and likeness is popular enough to sell cars, beds, and whatever they are supposed to hawk.

But is it based on a year to year basis or is it a multi year thing?

 

[cohenzone]

I'm pretty confident that most here know what my stance has been on the Evers/Fagnano debate (although few grasp my reasoning).

That said, I felt (and have Business Lawyer and Nostical as witnesses) that we should have changed QB's at halftime yesterday. The offense needed a jolt and that was (at least in my eyes) the logical move.

Things we need to face:

Our offensive line has been exposed. We won't get where we want (being able to win the bulk of our games against the schools that have beaten us this season) if we don't improve our physical strength here. I want to see some feel good articles about players strength and conditioning improvements similar to what we regularly saw two decades ago.

Our QB play needs to improve dramatically. I'm guessing the book on Evers is to flush him left as that seems to be what we've witnessed a lot of recently and he doesn't seem capable of throwing accurately when moving left. Our ability to develop QB's (we've had very little if that since Orlovsky) will play a massive role in our future prospects as a program.

We need to keep improving our HS recruiting and reach the point where transfers are complimentary players, not a means of filling a roster. Continuity plays a kn enormous role in football success. Having a roster where the bulk of the players and the lion's share of the starters all have a few years in the system gives the program a huge advantage.

I still think being an Indy will generally stunt our growth. Hard to get very good hs players away from power conferences or even from lesser programs that are close to home . And with the portal being so generous we will lose the better young players who sniff a chance at a better program before they mature with us. Getting impact transfers in is very hard to predict. In short, i don’t know if we can achieve a consistent level of winning. Maybe a bunch of ups and downs. I guess we will find out. Of course I’m at an age where the future is relatively short and maybe cognition shorter so i hope we get to a good overall product in the near future. Like next week.

 

[F101Voodoo]

Call me crazy but Sheffield is just as good as Bell and the fact that Evers cant get the ball to either of them and Fagnano was able to against arguably better defenses should be enough to make the change. Did Fagnano piss in Mora's cereal or something?

Yes, Mora was going to have Rice Crispies on game day.

 

[UCan3]

I'm pretty confident that most here know what my stance has been on the Evers/Fagnano debate (although few grasp my reasoning).

That said, I felt (and have Business Lawyer and Nostical as witnesses) that we should have changed QB's at halftime yesterday. The offense needed a jolt and that was (at least in my eyes) the logical move.

Things we need to face:

Our offensive line has been exposed. We won't get where we want (being able to win the bulk of our games against the schools that have beaten us this season) if we don't improve our physical strength here. I want to see some feel good articles about players strength and conditioning improvements similar to what we regularly saw two decades ago.

Our QB play needs to improve dramatically. I'm guessing the book on Evers is to flush him left as that seems to be what we've witnessed a lot of recently and he doesn't seem capable of throwing accurately when moving left. Our ability to develop QB's (we've had very little if that since Orlovsky) will play a massive role in our future prospects as a program.

We need to keep improving our HS recruiting and reach the point where transfers are complimentary players, not a means of filling a roster. Continuity plays a kn enormous role in football success. Having a roster where the bulk of the players and the lion's share of the starters all have a few years in the system gives the program a huge advantage.

The relatively big unknown is what Cole Welliver brings to the table.

His a big kid, should have no problem seeing the field, and throws with what I hear is decent accuracy.

Is some ways I don’t know why we worry about redshirts. We haven’t had not had someone hold onto the QB position for more than a couple of year. Shireffs was the last QB that put it all out on field for us IMO.

I am big Mora fan - no wavering.

But if he needs to improve, it is not treating every starter like their Tom Brady and should never have to “look over their shoulder.”

We should treat the position as something that we adjust as necessary - do what’s best for the game we are playing.

Evers was something like 9/28 yesterday - abysmal.

We won in spite of Evers not because IMO.

 

[ktuck911]

I'm pretty confident that most here know what my stance has been on the Evers/Fagnano debate (although few grasp my reasoning).

That said, I felt (and have Business Lawyer and Nostical as witnesses) that we should have changed QB's at halftime yesterday. The offense needed a jolt and that was (at least in my eyes) the logical move.

Things we need to face:

Our offensive line has been exposed. We won't get where we want (being able to win the bulk of our games against the schools that have beaten us this season) if we don't improve our physical strength here. I want to see some feel good articles about players strength and conditioning improvements similar to what we regularly saw two decades ago.

Our QB play needs to improve dramatically. I'm guessing the book on Evers is to flush him left as that seems to be what we've witnessed a lot of recently and he doesn't seem capable of throwing accurately when moving left. Our ability to develop QB's (we've had very little if that since Orlovsky) will play a massive role in our future prospects as a program.

We need to keep improving our HS recruiting and reach the point where transfers are complimentary players, not a means of filling a roster. Continuity plays a kn enormous role in football success. Having a roster where the bulk of the players and the lion's share of the starters all have a few years in the system gives the program a huge advantage.

We need NIL. Improve the OL there. We need to retain pieces and do that to keep this program on the up and up.

 

[uconnyankee]

If people didn’t think we have a long way to go, they are not paying attention. A work in progress. If people aren’t prepared ahead of time for a possible ugly game, this is not the team for you. Winning ugly is way better than losing a shoot out. Just my feeling after 25 years of seasons tickets with 10 years of pretty pathetic and most of a little crowd gone by the end of the 3rd quarter.

Yep! Learning to win is a process. I’ve said before that usually just before a team makes a big jump forward, there is a season with lots of very close games including some that go the other way.

Beating FAU, Merrimack and Buffalo set some crazy expectations.

This team has more learning but Sat was another step forward. I would love to see Welliver get some playing time, just for the experience aspect.

Evers has the tools, but we’re not seeing in the games. At some point, you’re as good as you are, and that might be where we are at with him. If we continue to see little improvement, why not let the slinger have a shot?

 

[gopher2]

Mora said last week that he knew what the problem with the OLine was, but didn't want to advantage the opposition by talking about it publicly. Well the problem wasn't fixed this week which I take to mean either 1) it's a problem that will take more than 1 week to fix, 2) the real problem is actually the QB play allowing defenses to prioritize the run in their schemes (but he didn't want to call out Evers) or 3) it is a problem that can't really be fixed (loss of Muraswki, being physically overmatched in places on the Oline etc.) Watching from the stands it seems our opponents are getting a lot of penetration all across the LOS.

 

[Bubba1957]

In defense of Nick Evers, this was the first time he's been able to play in back to back games and complete them. He is still a QB who has not played much except for this season. I'm ok with him starting as long as he is healthy, and from my vantage point behind the UConn bench he looked kinda gimpy; maybe the toe is still bugging him and limiting his mobility.

To everyone wanting Fagnano, be careful what you wish for. Yes, he's completed some passes, but he's also thrown some bad picks too.

Our D was stellar, even without Rice having Warner in the game. Rice's points came from a FG that was the result of great field position after a UConn fumble, and a KO return late in the game.

I was on the Evers train but after seeing every snap I’m off. He showed nothing that even looked like potential. He reminds me of Turner without the leadership skills. I still think Mora is great and hope he’s right about Evers, but that game was concerning. Again, I defended him in posts earlier this season.

Joe has better pocket awareness and a way better arm. Can’t really run the RPO with either. I much prefer quicker hitting run plays and play action off of them. Our backs are good at that and we seemed to run more earlier this season.