Thoughts on the Duke model?

[ktuck911]

IMO, Cutcliffe did a helluva job turning thing around down there in Durham.

Not a Duke fan by any means, but they showed me something with how well their football programs's improved. Is that a model we'd consider? or is that something that will happen once every 4 to 5 years down there?

 

[huskymedic]

IMO, Cutcliffe did a helluva job turning thing around down there in Durham.

Not a Duke fan by any means, but they showed me something with how well their football programs's improved. Is that a model we'd consider? or is that something that will happen once every 4 to 5 years down there?

What's the "model"?

 

[ktuck911]

Basically... SEC assistant that can recruit...

 

[huskymedic]

Basically... SEC assistant that can recruit...

Not sure it's a model or just finding the right coach peaking at the right time.

 

[billybud]

It is having a QB....and a couple of good receivers. Duke has a good QB this year.

The trick is maintaining over time.

Teams can prosper with a very good quarterback...and a good WR or two but they must reload to maintain place.

Marshall was much better with Leftwich, Pennington, and Randy Moss...then fell off.

WVU was a different team with Pat White...

NC State, with Phillip Rivers, was a good team.

Boston College, with Matt Ryan, was a much different team.

 

[Jax Husky]

Basically... SEC assistant that can recruit...

An SEC assistant that was a successful SEC Head Coach and GREAT developer of QBs. I was touting Cutcliffe all last year for the UConn job, alas....

 

[metsfan2323]

How about we go with the Boston College model? Hire Don Brown and let him turn around your defense and focus on running the ball on offense. A dramatic one year turnaround that I hope we can copy next year.

If not Don Brown then maybe we can do it with Narduzzi since I know so many of you are irrationally frightened by grey hair and people who have previously coached at UCONN, even if they were successful in their role.

 

[ZooCougar]

Cutliffe more than any other coach was the guy who developed the Mannings in college. He has a massive feather in his cap, and he was more than just a coordinator. He was Head Coach who got Ole Miss into the Cotton Bowl.

 

[Palatine]

The Duke model.

Lose for decades so any success will be hailed as fantastic.

 

[Colt house75]

How about we go with the Boston College model? Hire Don Brown and let him turn around your defense and focus on running the ball on offense. A dramatic one year turnaround that I hope we can copy next year.

If not Don Brown then maybe we can do it with Narduzzi since I know so many of you are irrationally frightened by grey hair and people who have previously coached at UCONN, even if they were successful in their role.

WILL TAKE ANY MODEL THAT WINS but prefer:
(I KNOW IT MIGHT BE TOO MUCH TO ASK!!!)
prefer this model a) Don Brown coach up 7 guys to the pros, wild men model on defense (top 12 in country), Parcells/Coughlin Offensive line model (huge, big mean and tough), and running backs that can pound the ball. Oh yeah, one last thing speaking of models....have Miss Connecticut/USA always do the opening coin flip.... wasn't that outstanding that night?

 

[FAIRTIDES]

What's the "model"?

That is an important question. How much of the model includes relaxed admission standards? Reason I ask? In the latest US News rankings, Duke is #7 which ties it with PENN and puts it ahead of three other Ivies. BTW, Stanford is #5, UCONN is, incredibly, all the way up to #57. My guess is that Cutliffe had assurances as to what the "model" would include before he signed. None of those "assurances" involved petitioning the Ivy League for membership.

 

[Colt house75]

That is an important question. How much of the model includes relaxed admission standards? Reason I ask? In the latest US News rankings, Duke is #7 which ties it with PENN and puts it ahead of three other Ivies. BTW, Stanford is #5, UCONN is, incredibly, all the way up to #57. My guess is that Cutliffe had assurances as to what the "model" would include before he signed. None of those "assurances" involved petitioning the Ivy League for membership.

A huge part of the model has to include relaxed admission standards. By relaxed admission standards, some of you readers and followers might think
that getting players that can't spell C-A-T is what it's all about. FAR FROM IT.

It means they don't have to pass the UCONN STRICT ADMISSIONS MODEL OF BEING 4.0 students.
It means the future HC has the latitude to get in 2, 3 & 4 star players that are B/C students, knowing that winning means $$$$.
It means looking at them and the product on the field as a business and we are investing in salesmen (players) that can sell the UCONN brand
whether they play on Sunday or become employed elsewhere.
It means added revenue (extra $4MM in gate revenue per year) and added alumni contributions.
{Cost: adding an added academic advisor at $75K per year to more closely monitor every marginal student/athlete.}...
It means coaching them up academically to succeed in life as well as on the field. {first six months in Storrs is all you need and most get it}
and....It means being able to play with the BIG BOYS. (consistently year in and year out).

AND SEEING UCONN FOOTBALL IN THE TOP 20 in the country every year.!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[HuskyMJ]

The Duke model.

Lose for decades so any success will be hailed as fantastic.

If Cutcliffe was there earlier maybe they wouldn't have lost for so long. Food for thought?

 

[HuskDawg]

A guy that fits a similar mold as Cutcliffe but younger at 39 would be Mike Bobo the OC at Georgia. The stations down here in Atlanta are talking him up as a high potential head coach candidate.
He's turned down other higher paying OC jobs but will likely look for his first HC job if the price and place are right.
He is very well regarded in SEC circles and with the HS coaches in the SE. Real family guy, and Georgia is a first class operation, would be a great hire for the Huskies.

 

[Colt house75]

A guy that fits a similar mold as Cutcliffe but younger at 39 would be Mike Bobo the OC at Georgia. The stations down here in Atlanta are talking him up as a high potential head coach candidate.
He's turned down other higher paying OC jobs but will likely look for his first HC job if the price and place are right.
He is very well regarded in SEC circles and with the HS coaches in the SE. Real family guy, and Georgia is a first class operation, would be a great hire for the Huskies.

No, just no....reminds me of the banter on Muschamp before Muschamp took the Florida job, in which, at last look, is bowl ineligible, first time in a gazillion years...with all that talent just no....
Make Lembo an offer he can't refuse, lighten up on admissions and run this like a business!!!!!!!!

 

[HuskDawg]

No, just no....reminds me of the banter on Muschamp before Muschamp took the Florida job, in which, at last look, is bowl ineligible, first time in a gazillion years...with all that talent just no....

No, just no....reminds me of the banter on Muschamp before Muschamp took the Florida job, in which, at last look, is bowl ineligible, first time in a gazillion years...with all that talent just no....
Make Lembo an offer he can't refuse, lighten up on admissions and run this like a business!!!!!!!!

Sure didn't hurt Louisville with the hiring of Strong from Florida, similar background.
You may be right and we shouldn't overreach and should bring in a guy with NE high school connections instead and his experience in those big games with Lehigh and Elon.

 

[Palatine]

If we wanted to follow the "duke model" which is having two winning seasons in the last fifteen, we should have kept Pasqualoni.

This is the dumbest thread in a long, long time.

 

[whaler11]

If we wanted to follow the "duke model" which is having two winning seasons in the last fifteen, we should have kept Pasqualoni.

This is the dumbest thread in a long, long time.

I'd agree if there weren't others proposing Don Brown as head coach.

 

[SubbaBub]

1. Hire a good coach
2. Play in the ACC
3. Profit

 

[TouchdownHusky]

How about we go with the Boston College model? Hire Don Brown and let him turn around your defense and focus on running the ball on offense. A dramatic one year turnaround that I hope we can copy next year.

If not Don Brown then maybe we can do it with Narduzzi since I know so many of you are irrationally frightened by grey hair and people who have previously coached at UCONN, even if they were successful in their role.

That's the model we need to get away from. That's 1960-70's football (17-14 games) not today's. Don't know why the attitude persists so strongly in New England. Today's game is run and gun. Outscore your opponent, not shut them down. Too many good athletes on opposing rosters. Need a high powered offense that can score, and score quickly. And that requires a passing game. Defense? Seems more and more that the measure of a really good defense is not their ability to shutdown teams, but rather their ability to shut down teams at the end of games. Let's use this coaching change as an opportunity to create an exciting (read that as offense) brand of football that will attract the kinds of athletes who will, in turn, help the program win with high frequency.

 

[ktuck911]

That's the model we need to get away from. That's 1960-70's football (17-14 games) not today's. Don't know why the attitude persists so strongly in New England. Today's game is run and gun. Outscore your opponent, not shut them down. Too many good athletes on opposing rosters. Need a high powered offense that can score, and score quickly. And that requires a passing game. Defense? Seems more and more that the measure of a really good defense is not their ability to shutdown teams, but rather their ability to shut down teams at the end of games. Let's use this coaching change as an opportunity to create an exciting (read that as offense) brand of football that will attract the kinds of athletes who will, in turn, help the program win with high frequency.

Good point bro...

 

[Jax Husky]

That's the model we need to get away from. That's 1960-70's football (17-14 games) not today's. Don't know why the attitude persists so strongly in New England. Today's game is run and gun. Outscore your opponent, not shut them down. Too many good athletes on opposing rosters. Need a high powered offense that can score, and score quickly. And that requires a passing game. Defense? Seems more and more that the measure of a really good defense is not their ability to shutdown teams, but rather their ability to shut down teams at the end of games. Let's use this coaching change as an opportunity to create an exciting (read that as offense) brand of football that will attract the kinds of athletes who will, in turn, help the program win with high frequency.

Yeah, that's exactly the style of offense that all the recent National Champions have used. You can be "high powered" and still run a pro style heavy I-Formation attack. Ball control, TOP, Field Possession, and Turnover Margin are still fundamentally the keys to winning football games. Look at Oregon, teams that keep them off the field, beat them.

Stanford, Florida State, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, are all examples of Top Tier teams that run a "boring" pro-style offense. Defense wins championships. Always has, always will.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Yeah, that's exactly the style of offense that all the recent National Champions have used. You can be "high powered" and still run a pro style heavy I-Formation attack. Ball control, TOP, Field Possession, and Turnover Margin are still fundamentally the keys to winning football games. Look at Oregon, teams that keep them off the field, beat them.

Stanford, Florida State, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, are all examples of Top Tier teams that run a "boring" pro-style offense. Defense wins championships. Always has, always will.

Not quite. Some of the programs you mentioned give up quite a few points on defense. They score in the air almost the same as the score on the ground. They maintain "time of possession" pretty near 50/50 (and that includes UConn). What DOES separate UConn from those programs is not old style defense wins mentality, but high octane offenses. They score, score and score.

School
Total Points Scored
Total Points Against
Alabama
437 (39.7 p/g)
102 (9.3 p/g)
South Carolina
378 (34.4 p/g)
223 (20.3 p/g)
Georgia
417 (37.9 p/g)
319 (29.0 p/g)
Stanford
367 (33.4 p/g)
208 (18.9 p/g)
LSU
413 (37.5 p/g)
245 (22.3 p/g)
UConn
174 (17.4 p/g)
336 (33.6 p/g)
School
TD’s Rushing
TD’s Passing
Alabama
25
25
South Carolina
19
29
Georgia
23
28
Stanford
23
19
LSU
31
20
UConn
8
10
School
Time of Possession
Time of Possession Opponent
Alabama
32:22
27:38
South Carolina
29:46
30:14
Georgia
29:31
30:29
Stanford
31:35
28:25
LSU
29:40
30:20
UConn
28:23
31:37

 

[Jax Husky]

Not quite. Some of the programs you mentioned give up quite a few points on defense. They score in the air almost the same as the score on the ground. They maintain "time of possession" pretty near 50/50 (and that includes UConn). What DOES separate UConn from those programs is not old style defense wins mentality, but high octane offenses. They score, score and score.

School
Total Points Scored
Total Points Against
Alabama
437 (39.7 p/g)
102 (9.3 p/g)
South Carolina
378 (34.4 p/g)
223 (20.3 p/g)
Georgia
417 (37.9 p/g)
319 (29.0 p/g)
Stanford
367 (33.4 p/g)
208 (18.9 p/g)
LSU
413 (37.5 p/g)
245 (22.3 p/g)
UConn
174 (17.4 p/g)
336 (33.6 p/g)
School
TD’s Rushing
TD’s Passing
Alabama
25
25
South Carolina
19
29
Georgia
23
28
Stanford
23
19
LSU
31
20
UConn
8
10
School
Time of Possession
Time of Possession Opponent
Alabama
32:22
27:38
South Carolina
29:46
30:14
Georgia
29:31
30:29
Stanford
31:35
28:25
LSU
29:40
30:20
UConn
28:23
31:37

Thanks for digging up those stats. What really sticks out is just how balanced those teams are. They run it well and pass with efficiency. Meanwhile the Oregon's and Baylor's of the world almost always have games where their pass heavy offense struggles.

 

[FAIRTIDES]

Yeah, that's exactly the style of offense that all the recent National Champions have used. You can be "high powered" and still run a pro style heavy I-Formation attack. Ball control, TOP, Field Possession, and Turnover Margin are still fundamentally the keys to winning football games. Look at Oregon, teams that keep them off the field, beat them.

Stanford, Florida State, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, are all examples of Top Tier teams that run a "boring" pro-style offense. Defense wins championships. Always has, always will.

The problem is that the programs you cite have first call on the "pro-style" (the "prototypes") recruits. Other colleges use spread-type systems because skill sets are more readily available. I believe that one of the problems ex-NFL types have, when taking a college coaching job, is lack of understanding of today's high school game and players. A recent SI article noted that over 70% of high schools run some sort of spread. I go to a fair amount of FCIAC games. There might be some Power-I or Winged-T teams around, but I can't remember the last time I saw a QB under center. Now it's nine guys spread from sideline to sideline, in front of a QB and RB, putting up BB scores. And it's fun for players and spectators. The present world of player development. Why fight it? Use it.