Scheduling idea

[shizzle787]

Our final game to be penciled in for next year is against UMass at home. Why don't we play them every year the same weekend as conference championship weekend? There are only 8 Saturday games nationally that day, and it would give us both an extra bye and extra scheduling flexibility?

 

[noeynox]

Our final game to be penciled in for next year is against UMass at home. Why don't we play them every year the same weekend as conference championship weekend? There are only 8 Saturday games nationally that day, and it would give us both an extra bye and extra scheduling flexibility?

That is a good one. I was thinking we should play this game on rivalry weekend as I watched games yesterday, but you're idea is better.

 

[Exit 4]

This idea is okay- as long as the national media doesn’t call it the relegation bowl.

 

[shizzle787]

I emailed Benedict, Neal Eskin, and Ryan Steinberg the following:


To whom this may concern,

Hi. My name is . I am a UConn alum, donor and big fan of both the basketball programs and football program. I am very happy with the hire of Jim Mora as our football coach. I think we have a bright future.

I would like to point out a few suggestions for our future football scheduling that I think may be worth considering. I for one am very happy with the move to the Big East for Olympic sports and think that football independence is the way to go in the absence of an invite from either the ACC or Big Ten.

Without further ado, here are my ideas:

1. We need to schedule Army yearly. The only years missing going forward are 2023 and 2026. They are a regional service academy who is also independent, and they have UMass on the schedule yearly going forward. We should continue to schedule UMass yearly going forward as well.

2. I believe that we should reach out to Army and then UMass about playing our annual game the same week as conference championship weekend. There are only usually eight games played nationally that Saturday (the first in December) so we won't necessarily get "lost in the sauce" by playing that week. Also, it would allow the program an extra bye week and extra scheduling flexibility. I would reach out to Army first because they are the more high profile program.

3. I believe that we should schedule six P5 programs home and home every year (no more and no less). This would give us three P5 home games to keep the fanbase interested. We do a good job getting ACC and Big Ten programs on the future schedules home and home. We just need to bump up the number of P5 games yearly from four to six. (I think it is awesome that we were able to schedule Ole Miss and UNC home and home-keep it up!)

4. I don't think we should be playing body bag games anymore. They do guarantee us a nice check, but they also guarantee us a loss, a game that might be behind a streaming paywall, and a maximum of six home games.

5. I think we need to try to get Boston College to agree to an annual home and home series. They are our New England rival, and we put more people in seats in Chestnut Hill than just about any ACC opponent they face.

6. We need to play only one FCS opponent a year. I know we had issues scheduling this year which forced the scheduling of two FCS opponents, but going forward we need to schedule only once FCS opponent a year. It will allow us to get to a bowl game with six wins, and it will allow us to have a seventh home game every other year if we get rid of the body bag games. Crucially, this game needs to be played in late October or November so that we have scheduling flexibility in September and early October.

7. We need to play two Mountain West teams a year (one at home and one away). This will allow us a minimum of seven games televised on CBS Sports network and will allow us some exposure out west. If we play either UMass/Army yearly the first weekend of December, we will not necessarily have to play a Week 0 game at a MW school who plays Hawaii.

8. We need to play one of USF, Temple, or ECU yearly. They are regional opponents that we are familiar with.

9. We need to avoid at all costs playing any schools from the MAC, C-USA, or Sun Belt. The majority of the fanbase is not familiar with these schools, and when we play them on the road, the game will likely be televised on a streaming service.

10. Finally, I realize that some of these ideas are more difficult than others to enact, but I can ensure you that the vast majority of UConn football fans agree with me on these points.

Here is a potential potential schedule based on my ideas above:
1. Duke
2. @Syracuse
3. Indiana
4. @N.C. State
5. @UNC
BYE
7. Temple
8. Wyoming
9. @Utah State
10. Maine (FCS)
BYE
12. Boston College
13. @UMass
14. Army

Thank you for your consideration and go Huskies!

Let's see if anything comes from it.

 

[CTMike]

God Bless King Shizzle

 

[Platt81]

I emailed Benedict, Neal Eskin, and Ryan Steinberg the following:


To whom this may concern,

Hi. My name is . I am a UConn alum, donor and big fan of both the basketball programs and football program. I am very happy with the hire of Jim Mora as our football coach. I think we have a bright future.

I would like to point out a few suggestions for our future football scheduling that I think may be worth considering. I for one am very happy with the move to the Big East for Olympic sports and think that football independence is the way to go in the absence of an invite from either the ACC or Big Ten.

Without further ado, here are my ideas:

1. We need to schedule Army yearly. The only years missing going forward are 2023 and 2026. They are a regional service academy who is also independent, and they have UMass on the schedule yearly going forward. We should continue to schedule UMass yearly going forward as well.

2. I believe that we should reach out to Army and then UMass about playing our annual game the same week as conference championship weekend. There are only usually eight games played nationally that Saturday (the first in December) so we won't necessarily get "lost in the sauce" by playing that week. Also, it would allow the program an extra bye week and extra scheduling flexibility. I would reach out to Army first because they are the more high profile program.

3. I believe that we should schedule six P5 programs home and home every year (no more and no less). This would give us three P5 home games to keep the fanbase interested. We do a good job getting ACC and Big Ten programs on the future schedules home and home. We just need to bump up the number of P5 games yearly from four to six. (I think it is awesome that we were able to schedule Ole Miss and UNC home and home-keep it up!)

4. I don't think we should be playing body bag games anymore. They do guarantee us a nice check, but they also guarantee us a loss, a game that might be behind a streaming paywall, and a maximum of six home games.

5. I think we need to try to get Boston College to agree to an annual home and home series. They are our New England rival, and we put more people in seats in Chestnut Hill than just about any ACC opponent they face.

6. We need to play only one FCS opponent a year. I know we had issues scheduling this year which forced the scheduling of two FCS opponents, but going forward we need to schedule only once FCS opponent a year. It will allow us to get to a bowl game with six wins, and it will allow us to have a seventh home game every other year if we get rid of the body bag games. Crucially, this game needs to be played in late October or November so that we have scheduling flexibility in September and early October.

7. We need to play two Mountain West teams a year (one at home and one away). This will allow us a minimum of seven games televised on CBS Sports network and will allow us some exposure out west. If we play either UMass/Army yearly the first weekend of December, we will not necessarily have to play a Week 0 game at a MW school who plays Hawaii.

8. We need to play one of USF, Temple, or ECU yearly. They are regional opponents that we are familiar with.

9. We need to avoid at all costs playing any schools from the MAC, C-USA, or Sun Belt. The majority of the fanbase is not familiar with these schools, and when we play them on the road, the game will likely be televised on a streaming service.

10. Finally, I realize that some of these ideas are more difficult than others to enact, but I can ensure you that the vast majority of UConn football fans agree with me on these points.

Here is a potential potential schedule based on my ideas above:
1. Duke
2. @Syracuse
3. Indiana
4. @N.C. State
5. @UNC
BYE
7. Temple
8. Wyoming
9. @Utah State
10. Maine (FCS)
BYE
12. Boston College
13. @UMass
14. Army

Thank you for your consideration and go Huskies!

Let's see if anything comes from it.

I can’t see Army looking to lock in back to back weeks to end the season since they always play Navy the week after the conference games. I think UMass is smart and could work though. Thinking big if Mora and Brown can get them both respectable you could do a H/H/N cycle where every third year it’s played at Gillette, again only if teams are annually good enough to fill a good portion of stadium.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Decent idea. But I’d try to convince Notre Dame to play that weekend every year instead.

In the years they are competing for a post season invite like this year, they are at a disadvantage because they are always off this weekend and all of the other teams are competing in a Conference Championship game on National TV. This would give them a chance to remain in the conversation with a focus NBC national game every year.

If we need to, we can give them a scheduling advantage to entice them. In a 4 year cycle, they could have 2 home games, while we get 1 true home game at The Rent and one “home” game at an Northeast Pro stadium (Giants/Patriots/Yankees/Red Sox/etc). I think it might just actually work.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Decent idea. But I’d try to convince Notre Dame to play that weekend every year instead.

In the years they are competing for a post season invite like this year, they are at a disadvantage because they are always off this weekend and all of the other teams are competing in a Conference Championship game on National TV. This would give them a chance to remain in the conversation with a focus NBC national game every year.

If we need to, we can give them a scheduling advantage to entice them. In a 4 year cycle, they could have 2 home games, while we get 1 true home game at The Rent and one “home” game at an Northeast Pro stadium (Giants/Patriots/Yankees/Red Sox/etc). I think it might just actually work.

And not only would it give Notre Dame football exposure on championship weekend, but it could be a huge fundraising/alumni weekend for them every four years.

Imagine having a women’s/men’s ice hockey doubleheader at MSG on Friday night. On Saturday you have a noon football kickoff at Met Life Stadium, followed by a womens/mens basketball doubleheader at MSG at 6pm.

Would be a huge travel/fundraising weekend for Notre Dame. And selfishly, an awesome UConn sports weekend in the city too!

 

[wheelerdog]

I'm not an Edsall fan, but I know he hated playing past Thanksgiving weekend because it deterred from recruiting. Just a thought.

 

[Bubba1957]

Lots of good ideas. Don’t agree about the “body bag” games comment. Looking back at the Clemson game, there were more of them being helped off the field than us. Also who knows what teams will look like a few years down the road. They guys did not embarrass themselves against Clemson and got to have a great experience.

 

[Durks07]

This idea is okay- as long as the national media doesn’t call it the relegation bowl.

Trademark this while you still have the chance.

 

[Plebe]

This idea is okay- as long as the national media doesn’t call it the relegation bowl.

LOL that would probably be one of the nicer nicknames slapped on it.

Here's to hoping Jim Mora turns things around and up.

 

[noeynox]

Play for the old Yankee Conference trophy.

 

[Stinger92860]

Decent idea. But I’d try to convince Notre Dame to play that weekend every year instead.

In the years they are competing for a post season invite like this year, they are at a disadvantage because they are always off this weekend and all of the other teams are competing in a Conference Championship game on National TV. This would give them a chance to remain in the conversation with a focus NBC national game every year.

If we need to, we can give them a scheduling advantage to entice them. In a 4 year cycle, they could have 2 home games, while we get 1 true home game at The Rent and one “home” game at an Northeast Pro stadium (Giants/Patriots/Yankees/Red Sox/etc). I think it might just actually work.

I’d signup for a 2 and 2 with no game at the rent, as long we get the gate at the Pro stadium.

 

[Kolumbo]

This idea is okay- as long as the national media doesn’t call it the relegation bowl.

It could be something food related, or The Bradley Bowl.

January 20: An Airport Named By a Plane Crash

At the start of 1941, though the United States had not yet formally entered World War II, the U.S. military was anxious to shore up defenses along the eastern seaboard, which some considered a vuln…

todayincthistory.com

Clam Bake

Clam chowder

Lobster rolls

 

[shizzle787]

It could be something food related, or The Bradley Bowl.

January 20: An Airport Named By a Plane Crash

At the start of 1941, though the United States had not yet formally entered World War II, the U.S. military was anxious to shore up defenses along the eastern seaboard, which some considered a vuln…

todayincthistory.com

Clam Bake

Clam chowder

Lobster rolls

I like the Chowder Pot. It could be a three-team trophy with Army as well.

 

[UC1995]

I'm not an Edsall fan, but I know he hated playing past Thanksgiving weekend because it deterred from recruiting. Just a thought.

I don’t think we got much return on that way of thinking.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I think the Independent strategy is that we'll play anyone any time on the East Coast - and if we're going to do that then it should include some "body bag" games; otherwise why bother being Independent?

 

[Jimdish255]

Our final game to be penciled in for next year is against UMass at home. Why don't we play them every year the same weekend as conference championship weekend? There are only 8 Saturday games nationally that day, and it would give us both an extra bye and extra scheduling flexibility?

Can we start aiming a little higher please?

 

[coachcap]

I disagree with Shizzle's "no body bag games" comments. As an independent, any source of revenue should be exploited. AND, as the team improves, these games should be more competitive. They also are good media exposure. Hopefully the point will soon be moot as the Huskies return to winning ways.

 

[Jimdish255]

I disagree with Shizzle's "no body bag games" comments. As an independent, any source of revenue should be exploited. AND, as the team improves, these games should be more competitive. They also are good media exposure. Hopefully the point will soon be moot as the Huskies return to winning ways.

Those big upsets get a lot of play. And the way the press has beaten us up will make it more impactful when we do it.

 

[metsfan2323]

The UMASS game should be the last game scheduled every year and the date should float to a common open date. This would help both teams with their very difficult independent scheduling.

 

[shizzle787]

Can we start aiming a little higher please?

We should aim for Army first. UMass would be the backup option.

 

[metsfan2323]

Can we start aiming a little higher please?

Aim higher with who?

As an independent we will be thankful just to have 12 games every year. 11 against FBS opponents will be a minor miracle.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Aim higher with who? As an independent we will be thankful just to have 12 games every year.

Not true.