TV ratings will determine out football future.

[Waquoit]

Everyone knows I've been one of FHCRE's biggest critics, but I have to ask who has been doing the recruiting lately? They've picked up some decent players in 2021, so far.

That's one reason I'm back on the HCRE bandwagon. I admit I only know what I read here about recruiting but it appears it's trending up. We should have a team with some seasoning playing a schedule with winnable games. We win those games, we turn a few heads, we get more looks... That's how you build a program. And that's preferable to me right now than bringing in another guy and giving him another 5 years. I'm not getting any younger.

 

[UConnDan97]

Recruiting is trending up. Interest is actually building with the move to independence. Edsall will return the team to competence and at a price we can currently afford.

I don't comprehend the timing of or reason for this thread. Especially after we've landed what looks to be a few studs on the recruiting trail.

If UCONN football was a stock, it's recommendation right now would be a "buy"...

 

[Jimdish255]

I think the objective is dollar arbitrage. You take an AAC Or independent team, for example, making net $5 Million and you let them in for 10 Million for 5 years. You negotiate a reduced add-on rate with ESPN. So, instead of $42 Million, you move that to $30 Million. The net result is the conference picks up another $20 MM, the new entrant picks up another $5 M a year, and ESPN has paid down for the add while leveraging up a new team into higher market tier.

Why would ESPN pay a $25m premium for a property they already own, then watch a league "partner" they basically own walk away with an extra $20m. premium? They aren't killing the AAC just yet. Too many time slots to fill. The plan is to keep it on a strict diet for an extended period. They accomplished that with the last contract and we walked. Bold move but might just work out. And ESPN really doesn't have much incentive to rock the boat, especially in uncertain times for the college sports landscape. But if they can sell that smoke more power.

 

[BlueDogs]

Why would ESPN pay a $25m premium for a property they already own, then watch a league "partner" they basically own walk away with an extra $20m. premium? They aren't killing the AAC just yet. Too many time slots to fill. The plan is to keep it on a strict diet for an extended period. They accomplished that with the last contract and we walked. Bold move but might just work out. And ESPN really doesn't have much incentive to rock the boat, especially in uncertain times for the college sports landscape. But if they can sell that smoke more power.

Certain markets (and products) become more valuable when repositioned and packaged as premium be it by realignment or otherwise - Kind of like like turning PBR into a cache beer that hipsters pay twice the price for. Any market that gets a B1G team becomes immediately more valuable and commands more advertising dollars...

 

[Samoo]

Why would ESPN pay a $25m premium for a property they already own, then watch a league "partner" they basically own walk away with an extra $20m. premium? They aren't killing the AAC just yet. Too many time slots to fill. The plan is to keep it on a strict diet for an extended period. They accomplished that with the last contract and we walked. Bold move but might just work out. And ESPN really doesn't have much incentive to rock the boat, especially in uncertain times for the college sports landscape. But if they can sell that smoke more power.

Liked for the last sentence, a common phrase in the Balkans.

 

[Palatine]

What makes for great football TV?

Lots of scoring.

Chuck plays.

Trick plays.

Feats of athleticism like amazing catches or escapes.

Winning really helps but you can be entertaining if you do the above.

 

[billybud]

UMass 62...Liberty 59 (2018) would fit that mold.

So would Louisville 62...Wake Forest 59 (2019) as well.

Entertaining? Maybe to some.

I would rather watch a game like Georgia 23...Notre Dame 17 (2019)

or...Florida 24....Miami 20 (2019)...but that's me.

 

[Guapo]

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I was against re-hiring Edsall in the first place because I worried he would turn off fans. It is true that he seemed to lack offensive imagination and when UConn played good teams, he played to not lose by too much.

RE 1.0 won't bring back fans. But...then they hired Lashlee...which gave me hope that at least Benedict understood that interesting offense mattered. But...he left. The last two years the offense has sputtered due to talent, but I don't think it was that predictable and boring. Pindell was fun to watch and there seems to be some WR talent.

I think due to a talent gap, we really don't know yet what an RE 2.0 offense is. I know it won't be triple option (sorry @Guapo ). Let's see what he rolls out this year.

 

[billybud]

The success of the option begins and ends with the physicality of the offensive line vs the defensive opponents.

 

[freescooter]

Those 56-48 games to me are just dull. Too much offense is as bad or worse than too much defense. Just put 11 orange cones out there on the defensive side and let teams score until time runs out or somebody trips over one of them. NFL learned that and quietly loosened the rules on defenders a few years ago to actually let dbacks cover instead of letting receivers run free. At least with great defensive games it is like a chess match. College needs to get back to a better balance where 30 points is a good offensive day.

 

[Alum86]

Anything short of a complete disaster and he will be back for at least one more.

Wins may not be the determining factor but anything less than 4 is pushing his luck. 5 and he is definitely back.

It’s almost like he is the History teacher coaching Wilby. Hey, he ain’t beating Naugy or Ansonia, but he beat Crosby. Bring him back!

 

[Stinger92860]

I’m thinking the best way to help the school is to go to the game but leave every TV at home on with the UConn game playing. Ask all of your relatives and friends to have at least one TV on with the UConn game.

Anyone here working for one the cable companies who can provide guidance for better ratings?

 

[weyuo]

This has got to be the most snakebit program of all time.

• Randy(1.0) gets them to a point where the local fans just start to believe this team can win against the big boys by winning a three-way tie to go to a major bowl. They get blown out and Randy bails.
• Major controversy with the hiring of Coach P as one of the big donors threatens to pull out and makes a bunch of media noise about it. Pasqualoni, who came from the Cowboys and you would think should be able to recruit well lays an egg with that and with the hiring of his staff. So much for the CT high school coaches having his back. Most of the good CT talent still went elsewhere. That and he shows up as the transition from the imploding Big East to the new and untested AAC starts to unfold. A lot of UConn fans get so angry that Louisville gets the nod over the Huskies into the ACC that ticket sales start to dramatically drop.
• A new AD and school president have absolutely no clue or plan on getting UConn into the conversation with any P-5 conference expansion(with one exception: the AD got himself into the P-5). Then to drive one more nail into the football program's coffin they can Pasqualoni before he can finish out his third season(sending a very negative message to any good or name potential HC's) and hire an assistant coach to save a sinking ship that has used car salesman written all over him and no seasoned, proven, head coach experience which the program desperately needed at the time.
• So before there is absolutely no one left attending UConn home games the used car salesman is booted out and, just shake your head, the guy that bailed on you in the first place and couldn't make it in his P-5 "Dream Job" gets re-hired.
• Two losing seasons later, but with just a glimmer of hope that the recruiting may be taking a turn for the better, the school decides to abandon any shot at a guaranteed bowl invite(which is the ultimate goal for any college football team) so that they can make sure the women's basketball team can at least pay for itself from TV money they probably would not have been able to make in the new AAC TV deal. That, and to pacify basketball fans both men and women. Throw the football team under the bus but at least the basketball teams are playing enough local games so that nobody who is going to the Seton Hall or Georgetown away games anyways are satisfied.
• So, even with that mountain to climb the new AD cobbles together a fairly attractive independent football schedule with promise of better ones to come. The recruiting seems to keep improving and just when the coaches(who dodge a major bullet by having early Spring session) are poised to start molding this into a legit D-1 football squad the world itself turns on them with a virus that won't let anyone come within 6 feet of each other. All this time lost in organized strength and training for the 11 that enrolled early. The whole team could have used this time for S&T and skills training and yet they get snake bit once more.
• When does this unbelievable streak of poor timing and just plain back luck end?

 

[ZooCougar]

Good numbers could make us very attractive for the next round of conference roulette.

However, under Edsall we play one of the most boring, unwatchable styles of football imaginable. That's just a fact.

He’s got a real eye for talent. We also came from trailers.

 

[ZooCougar]

Excellent, excellent attempt to try to hide yet another useless Edsall sucks thread with a headline and first sentence that makes it seem like you really wanted to discuss something else.

If Randy Edsall were a cereal, he would be Wheetabix.