Rice post game thread

[TRest]

On the road you have to make plays when it counts. We didn’t. 3 times this year. Should be 8-0 from a talent perspective.

Frustrating.

That being said we aren’t really playing for anything but a bowl bid and we will earn that. The world doesn’t care if we are 10-2 or 8-4.

Although our attractiveness to a bowl at 9-3 is far greater than.

 

[RitzLuce1]

Although our attractiveness to a bowl at 9-3 is far greater than.

That should be the last thing on anyone's mind right now.

All 4 of the remaining teams we face are better than Rice (they lost to Florida Atlantic). If this coaching staff doesn't start fixing some of this stuff, a 6th win is not guaranteed.

 

[jdb50]

Sitting here now I totally agree with those who said we should have went for 2 to win the game in the first overtime. There was no way we were stopping Rice from the 25 if we kicked a FG in our next possession.

 

[uconnyankee]

the mark of a UConn program that is continuing to ascend, is a team that is winning comfortably against bad g6 teams. I can tell from the Boneyard's fury, that we are now beyond the "gratitude" phase for playing close games against bad FBS teams, even winning sometimes by the skin of our teeth. I agree.

By now in year 4, we needed to start beating teams like Rice, by 14-21 points minimum. Not necessarily blowouts, but results that clearly indicate we are a step ahead of these other programs. The fact we keep going to OT (not to mention Losing), shows we're right in the neighborhood of these schools we dream of being better then.... well, we're not better. I am thankful we're not losing 49-7 to the Rice's of the world, but again, year 4. I'm tired of that silver lining.

Today should have been 41-17 us, to demonstrate we're on our way to being ready for a REAL schedule. At this rate, all we're doing is confirming that we have no business getting Big12 and ACC teams to come to the rent on a regular basis; games that would get us back to the 40K crowds we keep dreaming about.

Here we go! Another loss and suddenly it’s the whole ‘we’re not good enough’ and ‘shut the program down’ shtick.

We lost a game. It freakin happens.
Regroup, figure out what happened and move on.

I’m curious if there are two crowd on here…. The ones who post after a win and the ones who post after a loss? If it’s the same people, get some meds.

The fact this loss is painful is a good sign. Hopefully lots of people in CT are pissed. It means they were into it. It means the game meant something.

This place is insufferable after a loss.

 

[Bonamassa]

They were full of themselves after BC.

 

[REB1094]

A good reminder today that UConn lost most of its buffer very early in the season and you HAVE to bring it 110% every minute of every game

37 points is the most Rice has scored against an FBS team since October 19, 2023. Needless to say the defense did not bring it 110% for every minute this game

At this point UConn is playing to make a bowl game against a real team and win it. Very clear path to make it, and certainly enough offensive firepower to win it. But need to regroup quickly and bring it 110%

 

[J187Money]

From a talent perspective?

They had 6 quarters to show they had superior talent. They didn't.

So every time a team loses they are less talented? I think we are more talented than everyone we have played this season. Which makes this all the more frustrating.

 

[ktuck911]

A good reminder today that UConn lost most of its buffer very early in the season and you HAVE to bring it 110% every minute of every game

37 points is the most Rice has scored against an FBS team since October 19, 2023. Needless to say the defense did not bring it 110% for every minute this game

At this point UConn is playing to make a bowl game against a real team and win it. Very clear path to make it, and certainly enough offensive firepower to win it. But need to regroup quickly and bring it 110%

Duke's giving us our 1st home loss if our D doesn't hold up. Too inconsistent. Our O can score but our D will keep the opponents at the same level of our O. Not good.

 

[Jetskies]

If you had told me back in August that after eight games we were not behind at the end of regulation in any game, I would have been ecstatic.

but technically that could be true and we could also still be 0-8.
5-3 against a horribly weak schedule isn't impressing anyone, 4 years into this rebuild.

 

[Kolumbo]

Here we go! Another loss and suddenly it’s the whole ‘we’re not good enough’ and ‘shut the program down’ shtick.

We lost a game. It freakin happens.
Regroup, figure out what happened and move on.

I’m curious if there are two crowd on here…. The ones who post after a win and the ones who post after a loss? If it’s the same people, get some meds.

The fact this loss is painful is a good sign. Hopefully lots of people in CT are pissed. It means they were into it. It means the game meant something.

This place is insufferable after a loss.

Come on. every message board out there is insufferable after a loss. That's the way it is. There is no way we should have lost to Rice, in this fashion, after having already lost to cuse and delaware the way we did, if we were much better than this. I don't think we are. It was a house of cards.

 

[Jetskies]

At this point UConn is playing to make a bowl game against a real team and win it. Very clear path to make it, and certainly enough offensive firepower to win it. But need to regroup quickly and bring it 110%

maybe i'm a jerk but with the losses we already have, plus the guaranteed duke loss and maybe one more, i think we've lost our shot at playing a "real" team in a bowl. 7-5 against this weak of a schedule, will not earn us a shot against a vulnerable Florida State or Penn State, which would have been the best case scenario for us in this year, the way things are shaping out with some of the weak blue bloods.

Here we come Marshall... again.
:/

 

[UConnTrumbull]

maybe i'm a jerk but with the losses we already have, plus the guaranteed duke loss and maybe one more, i think we've lost our shot at playing a "real" team in a bowl. 7-5 against this weak of a schedule, will not earn us a shot against a vulnerable Florida State or Penn State, which would have been the best case scenario for us in this year, the way things are shaping out with some of the weak blue bloods.

Here we come Marshall... again.

At this point I’m just hoping for ANY bowl

 

[ZooCougar]

maybe i'm a jerk but with the losses we already have, plus the guaranteed duke loss and maybe one more, i think we've lost our shot at playing a "real" team in a bowl. 7-5 against this weak of a schedule, will not earn us a shot against a vulnerable Florida State or Penn State, which would have been the best case scenario for us in this year, the way things are shaping out with some of the weak blue bloods.

Here we come Marshall... again.
:/

I don't think Marshall is eligible for the postseason because they bailed on a bowl last year.

 

[jostar1]

Mora was always the stepping stone to get this team out of the FBS basement. He succeeded in that but this team under Mora has hit their ceiling.

Now its time to try and find a young offensive coach to try and really build this program.

Mora's contract was extended to 2028 for $2.5 million per year.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Up to the coaches to improve defense. Every practice should be an "Oklahoma Marathon". And if your attempt at a tackle is as chicken---- as we see in the game, then the team runs sprints, while the offending player sits in a lawn chair. Hard tackling is vital to the game.

 

[Jetskies]

Here we go! Another loss and suddenly it’s the whole ‘we’re not good enough’ and ‘shut the program down’ shtick.

We lost a game. It freakin happens.
Regroup, figure out what happened and move on.
... This place is insufferable after a loss.

I understand the glass-half-full perspective, and I appreciate it.

But - respectfully, these ^ are the types of takes that are happy to be independent football + big east basketball till the cows come home.

This season so far, ISN'T good enough, for what UConn claims it wants to accomplish (full P4 membership).

UConn itself (Plus some of us here) want to get football to the big stage. Big stage teams don't lose in shootouts to Delaware and Rice.

The big 12 won't be impressed that we dropped 41 and 34 on these teams. They will laugh that we did that and STILL lost. If that is good enough for some of you fans, then all respect to you. Just know that it means you'll never see anything beyond what uconn already has now. It only goes DOWNHILL from here (after Hurley goes to NBA and Geno retires).

 

[calamity17]

One OT loss is an unfortunate coin flip. Two OT losses is unlikely but can happen. Three is a trend and a direct indictment of the coaching staff.

 

[SwingDog]

if the goal is to go to overtime with Delaware and Rice, and squeeze into an invitation for the irrelevant.com bowl against Western Kentucky, sure - we made it.

But the goal is and always has been getting into the P4. That was always the assignment, let's not lower the bar for JM.

WE ARE GRATEFUL - but some of us feel it's time to move past this phase, which is phase 1. going to our 3rd bowl in 4 years doesn't matter if it was a 6-6 record against a WEEAAAAKKKK schedule, and we bowled against WKU or someone irrelevant.

we're not fooling anyone in the P4 with those optics.
We fans who feel this way, are starting to feel a "plateau" and it's fair to question if this is the end of the Jim Mora rocketship.

We're not asking for his head on a platter, but a sober assessment of whether THIS is how good we want to be, and stay there and be happy... or are we still

shooting for a seat at the big boys' table. UConn will need to decide this for themselves, but if they're happy, then i personally will move on.

Lots of good points here. We put together a fairly soft schedule, similar to last year, with no "buy" games. Every game was winnable, with Duke, Syracuse, and Boston College being the three toughest opponents on paper. Losing to Delaware and Rice are bad losses, and really so was the Syracuse one as their season is spiraling downward. Sure, the three losses are OT losses, but they're losses.

Looking at the remainder of the schedule, with this defense, there are ZERO easy wins. We could say if not for the slippery turf the ever-steady Chris Freeman kicks one through the uprights earlier on and this one ends up going into the win column. But, as I've said before, you can't give up 44 points (to Delaware) and the 37 points (to Rice today) and expect to win, though it is reasonable to expect to when scoring 41 and 34 points in each of those losses.

At this point, for this to be considered a successful season we need to win at least 3 of the 4 remaining games or arguably all 4. For building the case for P4 consideration, beating Duke is crucial- particularly if that is the greater objective for this program as stated. If we are satisfied with mediocrity, I'm really not interested in getting behind that. I believe AD Benedict is committed to elevating the program, but we'll have to see how the remainder of the season plays out.

 

[Windham4th]

We tried to run but Cam was having an off day and that Frosh RB from Norway was only one that showed signs of life but he only got a couple of carries. Why I don’t know.

Because the decision makers are the same ones calling for 2 yard passes on 3rd and 6

 

[Jimdish255]

After all the mediocre plays and getting bullied on defense we had a chance to win a game on the road from the 2.5 yard line. Instead we played it "safe" and it worked. We saved Rice and gave them the best possible chance to win. It's pretty clear at this point something is very wrong on defense whether it be the scheme or the talent or both. Until something changes we can lose to anyone.

 

[gopher2]

Did Mora explain the decision to go for 1 instead of 2 in OT?

 

[RitzLuce1]

Did Mora explain the decision to go for 1 instead of 2 in OT?

No. According to Sam Calhoun he answered 1 question and that was it.

 

[storrsroars]

Fine. They should have gone for 2. But because it would require making a winning football play under pressure I doubt we make it and lose anyways.

7 year QB, Bell, Juice, Thomas and our coaching staff just couldn't find a way for 30 minutes in the 2nd half to move the ball and get points to maintain a lead. It was just too hard for them to figure it out. Rice must be a juggernaut of a defense.

Hard to say anything without an isolated camera, but Bell disappeared in 2nd half. NFL talent shouldn't be invisible against a G5 secondary.

 

[Nameless]

Yeah it’s also pretty ironic that our school which has produced championship basketball teams under 3 different coaches in 25 years is incapable of finding a football coach who can make us even remotely nationally competitive.

I appreciate what Mora’s done but there’s zero reason UNT, USF, Memphis, and Tulane should have more prominent and successful programs than us. It’s infuriating.

For the record, my post wasn't meant to be a jab at you. I just found it ironic that a post saying we should look to replace Mora was first liked by someone who, at least at one point, was clearly a fan of Mora by their handle.

In general I don't mind people critiquing the administration or athletic department. But I think it's absurd people are actually looking to replace Mora at this point in time. Who exactly is Benedict supposed to bring in? It wasn't that long ago this program was a legitimate laughing stock. We've had one winning season in the past what, 15 years? Let's actually have a run of sustained success before acting like this is some destination spot. We're all pissed off we lost a game we should have won. Believe me I am pissed, but I'm also thankful I actually expect to win football games again.

Some of those teams you mentioned have clear advantages, like being in recruiting hotbeds and actually playing in a conference (USF, UNT). Tulane got to where they are because they brought in a guy like Mora (Willie Fritz), and went through 3 bad years and 3 mediocre years (4-8, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-6, 2-10) before finally winning the AAC and then the Cotton Bowl in year 7. It not only took time, but the team appeared to take a major step backwards in year 6 record wise. Imagine if they fired him because they felt he had gotten them to the next level and mediocrity was all he would ever achieve.

 

[TRest]

That should be the last thing on anyone's mind right now.

All 4 of the remaining teams we face are better than Rice (they lost to Florida Atlantic). If this coaching staff doesn't start fixing some of this stuff, a 6th win is not guaranteed.

Going into today I thought 9 wins was reachable. Now I agree that we may be sweating it out to get the next one.