Villanova Ranked 4th in FCS Preseason Poll

[CTBasketball]

I'm curious to see how our offense will be.

 

[pepband99]

The casual fan is there for the tailgate. I refuse to call doomsday before September 1 regardless of the outcome. Silly.

Exactly my thought - no need to be nervous all summer. This team will likely cause enough headaches come the fall...

 

[Ldandy]

There would be no coming back from a L to Nova by our casual fanbase. They will read/listen to the outrage (and jokes) over losing to another FCS team and will write the team off for good. That means season ticket holders only for the entire season. The good news: we can pick our seat location on a game-by-game basis!

I hope for your sake that you win this game and continue to do so throughout the season. You can't have stretches of games with attendance under 20000 in the stadium. The fan base needs to display more than ever that it will financially support UCONN now, not only if they can get in a better conference someday. A lack of legit support will make AD's nervous. Hopefully Bob can right the ship and put some W's on the board.

 

[uconnell]

I hope for your sake that you win this game and continue to do so throughout the season. You can't have stretches of games with attendance under 20000 in the stadium. The fan base needs to display more than ever that it will financially support UCONN now, not only if they can get in a better conference someday. A lack of legit support will make AD's nervous. Hopefully Bob can right the ship and put some W's on the board.

Guess you never saw Maryland's attendance before they joined the Big, of course that is not why they got the invite, but it certainly has improved since they joined. Why can't UConn? We certainly seemed to be looked at with a different set of criteria than any other school.

 

[freescooter]

Losses to Army and Villanova will absolutely result lead to dismal attendance. Casual fans are going to find something else to do if the product on the field is dreadful again. Just like every other sport if the team is bad the gate suffers. And it will take time to rebuild. Which is a big reason I disagree with Diaco's approach of not even trying to win last year. 6 wins last year would have been huge boost for the program. With South Florida Army and SMU and Tulane it should have been within reach. Not guaranteed of course but possible. Bring in a Juco qb if you didn't think what you had would work. Play to win every game.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Losses to Army and Villanova will absolutely result lead to dismal attendance. Casual fans are going to find something else to do if the product on the field is dreadful again. Just like every other sport if the team is bad the gate suffers. And it will take time to rebuild. Which is a big reason I disagree with Diaco's approach of not even trying to win last year. 6 wins last year would have been huge boost for the program. With South Florida Army and SMU and Tulane it should have been within reach. Not guaranteed of course but possible. Bring in a Juco qb if you didn't think what you had would work. Play to win every game.

This is a very good debate.

 

[freescooter]

I fear that the long term damage to the program of 2-3 more years of losing will create a huge hole we may take years to escape. Even if we had gone6-6 or even 5-7 last year and took a little step back this year it would have been more tolerable. Another 2-3 win year this year and any remaining good will will be gone. It could take a decade to rebuild the fan base.

 

[bobbyinaz]

I fear that the long term damage to the program of 2-3 more years of losing will create a huge hole we may take years to escape. Even if we had gone6-6 or even 5-7 last year and took a little step back this year it would have been more tolerable. Another 2-3 win year this year and any remaining good will will be gone. It could take a decade to rebuild the fan base.

This is a very real concern.

Another 2-3 win season will make it 5 consecutive losing bowless seasons. All of a sudden making a BCS bowl & winning conference championships becomes nothing more than a distant memory and UConn football starts to be perceived as nothing more than a perennial loser & punching bag by people in Connecticut & around the college football world. This perception becomes VERY difficult to overcome.

While we all love to laugh at Rutgers and the fact that they have won nothing, their recent football history is looked at by many across the country as one of a Top 30ish program. Many average college football fans across the country couldn't tell you that Rutgers was a losing program for 100 years. All they know is that they have won some games over the last 7-10 years, have played in a handful of bowl games & have won a bunch of them.

With another couple losing seasons, UConn football falls into an abyss that may take years to climb out of

 

[Ldandy]

Guess you never saw Maryland's attendance before they joined the Big, of course that is not why they got the invite, but it certainly has improved since they joined. Why can't UConn? We certainly seemed to be looked at with a different set of criteria than any other school.

I don't disagree that UMD's attendance has improved since joining The B1G, and that UCONN would likely see a similar bump should they get an invite to join the conference. Unfortunately I agree that you are being looked at with a different set of criteria than many other potential candidates. There is no compelling reason for the conference to expand, therefore any growth would need to raise the shares of all current members significantly as to render all other concerns irrelevant.

The Eastern Expansion of RU and UMD was not universally popular among B1G Schools. It required strong political maneuvering by Delany in order to get The Western Half of the league to sign off on it. UCONN would face the same challenge, but without the same guarantee of growing the pot like seen before. Drawing poorly at home will not help the perception of UCONN as a road draw for teams like Illinois or Purdue. The time is now. UCONN Fans need to double down and show the college football world that they will support their team first and foremost regardless of who's across the field.

 

[whaler11]

People come back fast. The Royals lost for 2 decades. One and half good seasons and their games average a 12.4 rating in the market. They are going to try and elect an entire all star team.

If you win and are entertaining they will come back fast.

 

[freescooter]

2 points. First the worse you are the harder it is to turn it around. Second being bad in the Big or even the old Big East is not as bad as being bad in the American.

 

[whaler11]

2 points. First the worse you are the harder it is to turn it around. Second being bad in the Big or even the old Big East is not as bad as being bad in the American.

It's almost impossible to be worse than they were last year. So at least you've got that.

 

[freescooter]

The concern being use of "almost."

 

[SonsOfNutmeg]

Not to overestimate losing to a FCS school (never mind the 4th ranked one), but I really feel like IF (and big "if") we lost to Villanova in our home opener it would be disasterous for this program. Diaco may lose the team, and forget about the Season ticket holders's and other casual fans who might have come to a game in 2015 and beyond. Honestly, its kind of a scary thought. I'm not one to think the sky is falling, especially under Diaco. I think he's smart, has a plan, and has the kids believing in him and what his vision of this UConn program will and CAN be, but we really need to turn on the wins this year if we have any hope of being taken seriously (which I could care less about), and/or ever have a shot at getting out of this conference and into the B1G, ACC, or Big 12.

 

[Gangtackle11]

Early scouting report on Villanova from the Hartford Courant.

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn...ll-insider-villanova-0619-20150618-story.html

 

[whaler11]

I wouldn't at all be surprised to see Villanova as favorites. They have a much more established offense than we do and honestly, we've been a dumpster fire for awhile now.

That being said, if Diaco can win convincingly, it will restore some small shred of hope for the future of the program. If.

I agree with Pudge's analysis of FBS s FCS level players and if it were just a skills competition the outcome wouldn't be in doubt. I am really concerned about overall coaching though. And whether this gets treated like a game or a scrimmage.

I doubt we'll be underdogs. It rarely happens. And rightly so. What is scary though is we've fallen so far that it is a toss up type game. This program has totally fallen of a cliff since Edsall left. We need an Edsall type coach again I think and I'm hoping we have one. But so far I'm not seeing it.

I fully expect to be underdogs. Figure Villanova -2

 

[Bonehead]

Take the points at home...two point conversion doesn't hurt.

 

[CTHUSKY74]

Based on what they have accomplished and what we have accomplished it's natural for many to favor Villanova. We have yet to prove we can sustain a drive with consistent run game pass game and some type of change of pace where we actually catch the defense unprepared for what we are running. More than just about any other change, we need to be able to sustain offensive drives, keep possession and score some points every time we have the ball. We need to give our defense more rest and better field position to work with. We need some plays/formations that will get us the feet/yds needed on the goal-line or for a third down to sustain the drive. I believe that a competent dual threat QB would help us immensely to bring these things along, even if not all the pieces are top level. I hope Bryant Shireffs is that QB to give us that competent QB play. Much of the ugliness we witnessed the past few years would have been ameliorated by competent QB play. Obviously, we still would have had many problems, but a few more scores, sustained drives and better field position in many of those games would have really changed our outlook and results. I'm also hoping that Balis's strength and conditioning program has really made a serious difference in the strength of players at each position. Although this years schedule makes it difficult to really improve the win/loss totals, the first step is putting competent/competitive play on the field in all aspects of the game so you actually have a chance to win and you can battle good opponents for four quarters and pull it out in the end. If your play is good your fans can be engaged and will stick around to see what happens. If you can't complete a pass or sustain a drive and you will be punting after a brief three and out every time, most fans won't stick around for four quarters of that. (I will only because I feel terrible for the players when everyone bails out.) So let's see what the coaching staff comes up with. I'm cautiously optimistic but having been burned so many times before it's hard to really believe it will improve dramatically. Hope I am shocked by how good we are!!

 

[BlueDogs]

We should destroy them and we must destroy them. No more Towsons and Stonybrook debacles and near debacles. We have take crush them early and dominate with fierce intensity and execution. Goal must be score on opening drive and end quarter up 14-0. Thereafter, we continue to punish them with unrelenting effort every single play. No opening drive fumbles. No missed assignments.

 

[Gangtackle11]

It's a new season and a chance for UConn to create some fan excitement. Villanova is as close to a FBS program in the FCS this side of North Dakota State.

They return the FCS Walter Payton Award winner in QB John Robertson. Robertson threw 35 Tds to 3 ints. while rushing for 1000+ yards. They have graduated several offensive players including 2 all-CAA linemen. 4 were in NFL camps and a OT was signed by the Packers out of OTAs.

Defensively they return 8-9 starters including Connecticut native & FCS All-American MLB Don Cherry. They were decent last season on defense, but not dominating. They play a 3-3-5 and rely on quickness over big powerful linemen.

They had Syracuse in the noose & missed a chippy FG in regulation that would have gave the 'Cats a win last season. They lost in double OT 27-26 failing on a 2 point conversion. They were beating BC at half in 2013 before losing 24-14.

Nova is a top 5 FCS preseason pick. They won't be intimidated by the FBS surroundings.

That said. UCONN SHOULD WIN, but it won't be easy.

 

[Bezzz]

We should destroy them and we must destroy them. No more Towsons and Stonybrook debacles and near debacles. We have take crush them early and dominate with fierce intensity and execution. Goal must be score on opening drive and end quarter up 14-0. Thereafter, we continue to punish them with unrelenting effort every single play. No opening drive fumbles. No missed assignments.

Survival is insufficient.

 

[jdb50]

No doubt for where we are that Villanova is going to be a problem. Put a dual threat competent QB against us and we have a hard time keeping up. It seems like forever that we had the ability at that spot to make people sit up and take notice. There is a scene in the movie "A Bridge to Far" that has Robert Redford leading an Army unit across a river in rubber boats to take the bank on the other side of I believe the second bridge that was on the way to Arnhem. As they are paddling Redford is speaking out loud "Hail Mary, full of grace". This is that kind of season for us. Winning the first one would be a huge accomplishment but if we don't we can't give in. We need to get better as the season goes on, bring back the toughness UConn had, the belief in each other the team used to show. We are at home. Someone has to make a play. No getting down, no letup. All out! I'm glad the season is almost here.

 

[whaler11]

Sure people can keep saying UConn should and will do one thing or the other. The market where people evaluate these things seriously say that UConn is a dog at home to Villanova.

Now that could be wrong and UConn might blow them out... but it's right more than it's wrong.

 

[Palatine]

September 3rd will be a big test. They are lead by Quarterback, John Robertson, Walter Payton Award Winner and Don Cherry Buch Buchanan runner up.
A win would be a good win because although FCS, Nova finished 7th in the counrty last year. They lost their opener to Syracuse at the Carrer Dome 27-26 and lost to Richmond 10-9 in Richmond. Hopefully Coach Wayne Lineburg who coached at Richmond from 2010-2013 can get some good info and film from his contacts at Richmond. Villanova lost one more game 34-31 to Sam Houston State in the Div. 1 football Championship. So they were 5 points away from being undeafeated last year. A win will be significant. A loss will not shock anyone. Bottom line - UCONN has to win this game.

If it's a big test we're screwed.

 

[J187Money]

If it's a big test we're screwed.

I don't think so. We could play very well and lose because whoever plays QB for us makes some mistakes because they haven't played live ball in a long time. I will only be concerned if we end up physically outmatched.

 

[coachcap]

With the doom & gloom shone here, one would think that 0-12 is UConn's fate. I'm not in that camp. This team will show vast improvement over last season. While I disagreed the the "it's a exhibition game" methodology of the non-conference games last season, I'm hoping that it will bear fruit as many lower class (frosh, sophs.) got valuable game day experience. Add in the off season in the conditioning program & this team is much stronger across the board. Let the naysayers blow their smoke screens. I think that Labor Day weekend will end with UConn having a W in the won-loss column. It starts now.

 

[coachcap]

I don't think so. We could play very well and lose because whoever plays QB for us makes some mistakes because they haven't played live ball in a long time. I will only be concerned if we end up physically outmatched.

I don't think that they'll be physically out matched. These kids have worked too hard in the off season. They want to prove something & defense of the RENT is paramount in their minds.

 

[Dooley]

The recruiting pitch is "make us a winner again". I'm sure that the same message has been handed down to current players. The team is now in year 2 of Coach Balis' S&C program and ready to go. The pressure is definitely on; we need to start the year 2-0. I'm not dismissing Nova or Army (both would have beaten or did beat us last year). But for the sake of UConn football, we need to win our first 2 games. That's the best possible way to get on the bowl eligibility track...or, at the very least, give the perception to the fans that we are on the bowl eligibility track so they might buy a ticket to a future home game. 4-5 wins is the absolute floor expectation this year given last year's "practice season".

 

[Palatine]

I don't think so. We could play very well and lose because whoever plays QB for us makes some mistakes because they haven't played live ball in a long time. I will only be concerned if we end up physically outmatched.

We should be better at almost every position. If we're not, we're screwed.

If we lose, it will likely be because of another crappy game plan by Diaco.

 

[coachcap]

We should be better at almost every position. If we're not, we're screwed.

If we lose, it will likely be because of another crappy game plan by Diaco.

Still chafing over ball on the Army 4 yard line & over a minute to go & Chandler throwing that pick 6 to seal it for the Cadets. Throw the damned ball into the Army Student Section & live for another play. These kind of brain farts have to stop.