The View From Section 241 — Temple

[NEforceUConn]

Great writeup BL. I file this game under ”Thank the fb gods for a favor”.

But this win can work to our advantage because team now realizes they have to bring it every game. Concerning our qb situation: It will work out but our OC needs to have a plan for each of their strengths. I thought he called a so-so game for JF’s strengths. Either that or the Temple dbs are really really good (which may be the case).

 

[Hamms30]

I didn't play football, won't pretend to be some guru, but doesn't putting Evers in make us even more of a running team and reduce variability? At least Fagnano offers the possibility of passing, though it didn't go well Saturday.
For those beating on Fagnano for his performance, think about your favorite baseball pitcher. Do they go 7 innings every time. Did our best BB player even have an off night? You just can't adequately rate a QB based on 1 game, good or bad.

It forces the defense to account for the QB as a threat. If you're not really worried about the QB running, you can load the box and your front seven now have 5 defenders matched against the linemen, and two defenders left to account for the running back since you're not worried about the QB. Then your other 4 defenders are responsible for 3 receivers and a tight end. With a running QB, now it's one defender covering the RB while the other extra guy has to make sure the QB doesn't take off and run unaccounted for. If Evers can throw a bit more accurately and take some heat off his short throws so the receivers can catch and possess, he could be a very dynamic player. And he has to stay in the game. Fagnano isn't the stronger runner and now with Evers down and McDonald out for the season, he's even less of a running threat because the staff needs to make sure he stays healthy otherwise Welliver is the only one left in the bullpen. Guessing they'd like to keep his redshirt.

 

[uconnbill]

I learned from this game that UConn can win a game they shouldn't have. That is something that would not have happened last year or in the last 10+ years. The week off will help to heal and get the game plan to beat Wake who looked good the past weekend.

 

[jbdphi]

Stick to Aussie Rules.

In order to get YAC you have to place the ball well for the receiver.

Maybe if Evers did that he would pass for more than 80 yards a game.

I’ll stick to Aussie Rules if you stick to Zoos.

Different strokes for different folks - you seem enamored with Fagnano and think Evers is dogshit. I think Fagnano has inflated numbers from passing against incompetent defenses (see Merrimack) and from great plays made by his receivers. As for Evers, I think he has better potential if he can stay healthy (which he hasn’t).

Hopefully we can win a bunch more games with either or both and move on. Maybe you can go a day or two without taking a dump in Evers’ corn flakes. You never know - anything is possible.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I learned from this game that UConn can win a game they shouldn't have. That is something that would not have happened last year or in the last 10+ years. The week off will help to heal and get the game plan to beat Wake who looked good the past weekend.

Good teams learn lessons from their losses and improve.

Really good teams and great teams learn while winning and take those lessons forward.

 

[rich1122]

It forces the defense to account for the QB as a threat. If you're not really worried about the QB running, you can load the box and your front seven now have 5 defenders matched against the linemen, and two defenders left to account for the running back since you're not worried about the QB. Then your other 4 defenders are responsible for 3 receivers and a tight end. With a running QB, now it's one defender covering the RB while the other extra guy has to make sure the QB doesn't take off and run unaccounted for. If Evers can throw a bit more accurately and take some heat off his short throws so the receivers can catch and possess, he could be a very dynamic player. And he has to stay in the game. Fagnano isn't the stronger runner and now with Evers down and McDonald out for the season, he's even less of a running threat because the staff needs to make sure he stays healthy otherwise Welliver is the only one left in the bullpen. Guessing they'd like to keep his redshirt.

McDonald out for the season? Missed that. How come?

 

[Bongo Fury]

If they had a bad record, they’d probably bring in Welliver out of desperation.

 

[huskymedic]

McDonald out for the season? Missed that. How come?

Bob Joyce mentioned he was out for year w/ foot injury during the pre-game radio show on Saturday.

McDonald came up limping during a series in the Buffalo game… not sure if he further exacerbated it in practice leading up to Temple or just from the Buffalo game.

 

[noeynox]

I’ll stick to Aussie Rules if you stick to Zoos.

Different strokes for different folks - you seem enamored with Fagnano and think Evers is dogshit. I think Fagnano has inflated numbers from passing against incompetent defenses (see Merrimack) and from great plays made by his receivers. As for Evers, I think he has better potential if he can stay healthy (which he hasn’t).

Hopefully we can win a bunch more games with either or both and move on. Maybe you can go a day or two without taking a dump in Evers’ corn flakes. You never know - anything is possible.

You're not even the least bit curious why the same group of receivers can't make great plays on throws from Evers? Maybe if a simple slant is thrown in a manner where the WR can catch it and keep running rather than having to dive to the turf to complete the catch, we'd see similar great plays by the same WRs.

I think a lot of that is from rust and can get better, and i have to believe he nails those throws in practice cause it hasn't happened yet in games.

I think you are selling Fagnano short, the throw to Buckman after escaping a sack was a winning play.

 

[CL82]

I think you are selling Fagnano short, the throw to Buckman after escaping a sack was a winning play

It was. His locking on to receivers, under throwing, overthrowing are not though.

I think both Fagnano and Evers are good enough to help us to win, barely. I also think against semi-decent competition both will struggle. It doesn't mean that either one is a bad kid, or a bum, it's just who both of them are.

 

[jbdphi]

You're not even the least bit curious why the same group of receivers can't make great plays on throws from Evers? Maybe if a simple slant is thrown in a manner where the WR can catch it and keep running rather than having to dive to the turf to complete the catch, we'd see similar great plays by the same WRs.

I think a lot of that is from rust and can get better, and i have to believe he nails those throws in practice cause it hasn't happened yet in games.

I think you are selling Fagnano short, the throw to Buckman after escaping a sack was a winning play.

Absolutely I’m curious and I’m not sure why it hasn’t happened. In theory, as a better running threat, those passes should work better with Evers but I haven’t seen as many of those calls from Sammis with Evers at QB.

Already said above (or in another thread) that the play to Buckman was awesome and thank goodness because it saved the game for us. Conversely the second INT thrown was a horrific decision and throw and it almost lost us the game.

 

[noeynox]

Absolutely I’m curious and I’m not sure why it hasn’t happened. In theory, as a better running threat, those passes should work better with Evers but I haven’t seen as many of those calls from Sammis with Evers at QB.

Already said above (or in another thread) that the play to Buckman was awesome and thank goodness because it saved the game for us. Conversely the second INT thrown was a horrific decision and throw and it almost lost us the game.

Could be they are called and not executed. The slants we have seen have not been executed as well, on other plays he may just not be pilling the trigger on the throws.

Going forward if you want ro attract more guys like Bell and Sheffield, you need to show you will get them the ball.

 

[gioff2323]

No less credit because Fresno St played without its #1 QB. We played 99.9% of the season without our #1 QB.

In fairness Fresno and liberty played without their qb1. But that’s football.

 

[jbdphi]

Could be they are called and not executed. The slants we have seen have not been executed as well, on other plays he may just not be pilling the trigger on the throws.

Going forward if you want ro attract more guys like Bell and Sheffield, you need to show you will get them the ball.

Certainly possible. Another potential explanation is differences in opponent. Maybe Duke’s defence was better prepared / able to stop those. Obviously Merrimack was not.

 

[noeynox]

Certainly possible. Another potential explanation is differences in opponent. Maybe Duke’s defence was better prepared / able to stop those. Obviously Merrimack was not.

Now do Buffalo.

 

[AllHusky]

No revelations here, we have 2 flawed QB’s

Assuming health for Evers Mora and Sammis have to find a way to use both while Evers gets his reps and improves, and Fagnano provides contrast in style and experienced leadership.

How the heck that works is beyond me, but clearly both add value to the Offense, while their flaws, if either is used exclusively, reduce our offensive effectiveness over time.

Sammis was exposed against Temple, he’s got to learn faster. WF is huge for the program for so many reasons.

1-0 is the goal.

 

[gioff2323]

Why is there so much arguing over the qb position? Truth be told, we have good players and depth there for 1st time in forever. JF is fine, nothing more. But he seems to do better coming off the bench. And when he’s in, Ds adjust knowing he’s little threat to run by design or scramble, the latter which exposes our OL and their ability to build a pocket. He’s a great backup and an ok starter, but I love having both.

 

[freescooter]

I would say Fagnano is a very good backup. Glad we have him. I also think he is a better runner than people give him credit for. He isn’t great but he’s had a few solid runs. What I like is that he isn’t a run first guy. The pass to Buckman is a good example where some guys would have tucked it and run. I’ve seen him do that several times. He had a td pass against Buffalo where he did something similar.
I think he is limited in his abilities but he has played within his limitations pretty well. When was the last time a UConn Quarterback had multiple 200 yard games? He did the job when he was asked to do it. And I think the team responds to him.

 

[ScottVib]

When was the last time a UConn Quarterback had multiple 200 yard games? He did the job when he was asked to do it. And I think the team responds to him.

Last year Roberson had 6 of them.

 

[ZooCougar]

I’ll stick to Aussie Rules if you stick to Zoos.

Different strokes for different folks - you seem enamored with Fagnano and think Evers is dogshit. I think Fagnano has inflated numbers from passing against incompetent defenses (see Merrimack) and from great plays made by his receivers. As for Evers, I think he has better potential if he can stay healthy (which he hasn’t).

Hopefully we can win a bunch more games with either or both and move on. Maybe you can go a day or two without taking a dump in Evers’ corn flakes. You never know - anything is possible.

I'm not enamored. Neither are great. But one is a better passer and there simply is no debate.

 

[ZooCougar]

Certainly possible. Another potential explanation is differences in opponent. Maybe Duke’s defence was better prepared / able to stop those. Obviously Merrimack was not.

Your guy barely passes for 90 yards a game. Stop talking.

 

[ZooCougar]

Now do Buffalo.

And also explain why receivers don't get YAC with Evers.

 

[RSTuthill]

In fairness Fresno and liberty played without their qb1. But that’s football.

As did we in both those games. But that's football.

 

[Jetskies]

I think it is sustainable. Remember, there are 3 types of recruits now: high school recruits, transfers with 3 or more years of eligibility, and plug and play transfers with 1 or 2 years of eligibility. UConn is going after all three types of players which means some of the transfers are not one and done and still need to be developed. Guys like Evers, Robinson, Bass, Porter, have 3+ years of eligibility.

One other key point is finding QBs. UConn's offense in the past has been terrible, but this year, the offense is actually pretty good which will attract transfer (and maybe top HS) QBs. The availability of transfer QBs has been around for years before the portal and it will continue in the future as QBs want to play. Schools like Georgia will recruit one top 10 QB per year and all can't start, so there will be transfers available.

i can't decide if i love or hate the portal.

without the portal, we don't get Sheffield, Bell and the RB's - Fair enough.


BUT --- Like, what is the point of recruiting anyone other than a plug-n-play player, if everyone is gonna transfer away anyway?
why invest your energy in developing a nick evers? he will suck until he doesn't suck (if he develops at all), and if he does turn a corner, he gets greedy and looks to get back into the P4, using our tape for his benefit (see Diego Pavia, Joly, Sluka, etc).

i don't know how this new normal translates into sustainable success for teams like UConn, who are spending their efforts developing kids who are probably just using us to get to where they actually wanna be.

it doesn't feel mutual. I might settle down if I saw it being fully mutual - we're gaining from them as much as they're using us. But one season of "success" doesn't erase 13 years of futility, and if every year is a major roster rebuild because of portal departures, then we have no guarantee that next year will be any good, based on how well this year went. We could go 9-3 just just go 2-10 again the next year.

and i didn't even mention the money being spent. Just coaching effort/investment.

 

[PRHusky]

While I agree that beating the likes of Merrimack, FAU, Buffalo and Temple is not particularly impressive, especially when compared to some of the teams we beat in 2022, what is extremely impressive is how we absolutely dominated those first three opponents and how we found a way to beat Temple even when it seemed everything was going against us. Whenever we have won in recent years, including 2022 and 2023, it almost seemed that we caught every break in those games and rarely did we dominate anyone.