Temple Post Game Thread

[RedStickHusky]

That’s Cochran.

Cochran retired but there was another they tried to use as a decoy when he was concussed.

 

[UCFBfan]

Cochran retired but there was another they tried to use as a decoy when he was concussed.

It was Chandler Whitmer

 

[Purple Stein]

Not blowing hot and cold. Temple decided to defend the run and dared Fagnano to beat them by the pass and he couldn't do it. With Evers as a dual threat QB, it opens up the run game even though Evers hasn't proven that he can beat them with the pass yet.

He actually did do it. 23-20.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Unfortunately, if Fagnano could run like Evers, he wouldn't be at UConn. At least not yet...

Where else would he be, because he can't throw for s+++

 

[F101Voodoo]

But Uco

Yup. As ugly as it was if UConn avoided the three turnovers and the punt block we win that game like 35 to 13.

But UConn owns the turnovers and punt block. If if if one wins on IF.

 

[businesslawyer]

But Uco

But UConn owns the turnovers and punt block. If if if one wins on IF.

That would make sense IF we lost. We didn’t. We did enough to win. Temple didn’t. It’s not much more complicated than that.

Did we play well? In many ways no. In some ways yes.

 

[Banta55]

Some on this board get picky negative even after a win. Is Temple good? No. Is their D as bad as many say? Unclear. They supposedly had been missing 2 of their better defenders for several games who returned against us. Look at their opponent scores overall. Every loss was against teams that score big time against all their opponents and are currently either 1 or 2 in their conference.

How bad was Fagnano? Not that bad. Every QB on the planet misses deep throws every game. Every QB on the planet makes crap throws under pressure. How did our O line handle the couple of TU’s stronger, faster defenders? How different are we with Evers? There are a load of posts unhappy with his passing. Could we have scored more with him playing? I don’t know and i don’t know how anyone knows. Fagnano can’t run as well as Evers., but he isn’t lousy either. Plays aren’t designed for him to run They both have strengths and weaknesses and both have been in and out of the line up so often i find it hard to figure out if one has the edge over the other. I actually would like to see what Evers can do with some consistent reps because he has not played vs live action since his last hs year. Obviously teams have to defend us differently, but is he really dual threat, meaning does his running really open up his passing and can he take advantage of it. Not much to go on so far. Until Evers is really healthy Fagnano is the guy and we have done ok so far with him, granted vs Buffalo there was no need to throw. With 2 concussions just in a month, I think Evers is nuts to keep playing football, at lesst this year if not forever. How many previous head bangs has he had? Go Huskies.

I agree he should stop playing, has the rest of his life..

 

[F101Voodoo]

That would make sense IF we lost. We didn’t. We did enough to win. Temple didn’t. It’s not much more complicated than that.

Did we play well? In many ways no. In some ways yes.

Our defense was very good yesterday that is for sure.

 

[Purple Stein]

Because they played two service academies. Their front four was pretty good.

And Oklahoma.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

I don't know what some of you see when you watch Fagnano. He makes about 3 good throws out of 10 attempts, and the other 7 are usually brutally bad. He can't run and he isn't accurate.

 

[Bomber36]

That would make sense IF we lost. We didn’t. We did enough to win. Temple didn’t. It’s not much more complicated than that.

Did we play well? In many ways no. In some ways yes.

I agree…Winning when you don’t play well is the way you know a team is getting better. We would have easily folded in a game like this in recent years.

 

[SuperHuski]

Well that game was like a movie. Full of highs and lows. In the past, that movie would have been classified as a horror for UConn fans. Yesterday, it felt like a superhero movie and we were the superheroes.

I get that some people are upset about the "how" we won. Yes, we were supposed to crush Temple based on Vegas, Stats, Computers, and I predicted as much as well. But when it mattered most, after we took all of our opponent's best punches, it was us that delivered the final knock out blow in the end. The heart of the team has changed. We're no longer the punching bag of CFB and realignment hellhole, we're the fighters that refuses to go down.

This is easily our most talented team in some two decades. But the players and the coaches still have more to figure out. Temple, as predicted, oversold our wide zone run game. They knew our strengths and wanted us to beat them some other way. That way should've been through the air, but our star receiver was injured early, our QB did not have his touch (58% completion, 21 QBR), and our o-line was making mistake after mistake (4 penalties). Our OC was slow to adjust this game or the offense was ill-prepared.

I think our biggest weakness as team so far has been our overall passing game. We have a lot of creativity when it comes to the run game, but I'm not seeing anywhere near the same with our passing. We have a stud receiver that the opposing team is always going to double. I would like to see Bell play different WR positions. Motion him. Bunch him in a stack. Use him in play action, set up screens for him, or even align him in the backfield. Tyreek Hill is a traditional X receiver (like Bell), but you'll see him motion or line up somewhere other than the ends. Maybe this is not Bell's game, maybe he doesn't want to, but there isn't a lot of layering or misdirection with our passing game right now.

But I wouldn't dwell too much on the shortcomings of this game. It's rare for growth to happen linearly. There were always going to be stumbling blocks and humbling moments. In the past, we would've rested on our laurels and accepted that sometimes, a win isn't in the cards. That's we've already done enough, held on enough. What a tremendous display of strength, discipline, and resiliency to rip victory out of the jaws of defeat. UConn FB grew up yesterday and if it wasn't for the Vandy upset, more of the CFB world would have seen it.

 

[Purple Stein]

I don't know what some of you see when you watch Fagnano. He makes about 3 good throws out of 10 attempts, and the other 7 are usually brutally bad. He can't run and he isn't accurate.

I feel like this needs to be said in every thread. He is maddeningly inconsistent. He is capable of making really good throws and he is capable of missing the easiest throws possible. He was that way at Maine. He's that way here. He can be pinpoint accurate while simultaneously having no touch whatsoever. He can have great touch on a ball that lands nowhere near the receiver. That's JF.

In the end yesterday he completed 60% of his passes for 272 yards and was the winning quarterback. Given the pressure he was under, sign me up for those numbers every week.

We know Evers is Mora's guy. We know Evers is out there next. And we'll all be rooting for him. But can we cut some slack to the backup QB who nearly threw for 300 yards and just got us win number 4?

 

[storrsroars]

Temple front 6 was far from bad. Their oline was decent too. We won by a fluke. Take it gracefully.

Not sure I fully agree on this regarding their DL. Their left side was fantastic, their right side not nearly as good. Problem was, throughout the 1st half and into the 4th quarter, Sammis kept calling running plays against Temple's left side, resulting in TFLs and tiny gains. When we ran right, much better success. Also had more success running up the gut vs running to left.

 

[Kolumbo]

Good morning, I had the strangest dream last night about a football game were a goal line stance turned into a TD for the defense. Weird.


I call it -- THE ROBBERY AT THE RENT -- UConn stole one yesterday.

No man. UConn had the lead for the last 4 minutes of the game. Call it -- THE REJECTION AT THE RENT!!!

 

[ZooCougar]

UConn did not deserve to win. The guy who recovered the fumble and ran for a game-ending touchdown should be criticized by Mora. Jump on the fumble, game over. Risking the fumble-return could result in a further fumble to be returned for a Temple win.

That was a selfish look-at-me move. Team first, please.

I just. Can't.

 

[gioff2323]

It broke at the end and we almost gave the game away...

That’s the definition of not breaking

 

[UConnDan97]

You mean, Tyler's concussed? "Put him out wide and throw him a screen" Lorenzen?

They almost got that kid killed.

That was Edsall if I'm not mistaken, and it was one of the worst football moves I had ever seen up to that point... and eventually I saw Diaco which changed the calculus...

EDIT: based on other comments, I actually think it was Whitmer that I was thinking about, and that was on Pasqualoni...

 

[FfldCntyFan]

You seem really confused. You want Evers to continue playing an unsustainable and unsuccessful play style.

Neither are good but one is better than the other.

One guy gives us the best chance to win. And the other is Nick Evers.

Don’t worry. Nick will start against Wake and you’ll get another chance to achieve clarity.

Zoo,
Why are you so determined to die on this hill?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

They almost got that kid killed.

That was Edsall if I'm not mistaken, and it was one of the worst football moves I had ever seen up to that point... and eventually I saw Diaco which changed the calculus...

That was P. Actually GDL deserved the blame as he had free reign over the offense.

 

[UConnDan97]

Side note: Chandler Whitmer is a pass game specialist now for the Atlanta Falcons. Very cool! Good for him...

 

[UConnDan97]

That was P. Actually GDL deserved the blame as he had free reign over the offense.

Yeah, that was definitely Whitmer I was remembering, not Lorenzen. That wad 100% GDL / PP...

 

[storrsroars]

fwiw, ESPN's new rankings have JF 11th in Passer Rating, and 8th in yards per completion.

Also 79th in passing yards, just ahead of Castellanos. And 102nd in completion % (couple of spots behind Brock).

All of which pretty much agrees with this board's perception of a guy capable of big plays who's also very erratic.

 

[ZooCougar]

Zoo,
Why are you so determined to die on this hill?

I own this hill. And nobody will take it. You simply don't know football.

 

[UConnDan97]

Zoo,
Why are you so determined to die on this hill?

Sometimes, it can be hurtful emotionally to have an opinion that others don't share, and the body tends to react by "doubling down".

Do I happen to know who the best QB on this team is? As a scientist, I can't say I do with any high level of certainty. So I have to defer to the experts.

Has Mora given me ANY REASON AT ALL not to trust his judgment??? I'd argue that his judgment is the only thing that should matter now, as he has us on track to go to our second bowl game in 3 years. His choice is very likely to be the correct choice...