Wasabi Fenway Bowl Game Post Game

[HuskyNan]

 

[ZooCougar]

Bust of a day. Lots of sour feelings. Personally I have debated all sides of this in my head.

As we all know, the season took a strange ending when our winning head coach bailed for ski conditions and current staff also checked out (yes they are here, but they are not staying which makes them less effective coaching his roster) - mostly because that its the nature of the coaching business. I would like to think most guys would have played that bowl had Mora stayed...or at least a few more.

In a few days we can all rebound and put this behind us through the joy of portal season, the second HS signing window in Feb and of course, plenty more of winning UConn MBB and WBB.

Its hard not to look at every snap of UConn football and think it has a meaningful impact on its B12/ACC status. However, you just have to step back and take a breath. Did the entire ACC and B12 go into bowl season this year guns a blazing? Nah- that didn't happen either. Our flat bowl performance really isn't out of step with many others inside and outside of the power conf world. We went 9-4 and had a third successful season in four years - that fact didn't change yesterday at Fenway.

And so what should matter about UConn football remains in place. Upward trajectory, new HC coming in with all the experience you could ask for and school-admin committed to football. Now could this school be even more committed to football - well, the next level of commit we need is the kind that only the Governor's office can provide, but yeah that is another discussion.

So chin up, be proud and I would not bother reading too much more about this bowl. Next!

The Big 12 had like one or two bowl eligible teams just completely skip a bowl. As long as the team maintains its winning form this result will be forgotten.

 

[ZooCougar]

I can't blame Bell one bit. The offense was unequipped to get him the ball. He would be playing for nothing.

I don't understand why people can't see this for themselves.

 

[Purple Stein]

How would he "get it done"

You think he just asks very nicely?

"Please, Mr. Big 12, may I have some of your Big 12?"

 

[ZooCougar]

Our defense could not stop Army. I doubt we win by 20, but we would definitely have had more points than 17 and Army probably less than 41.

We'd win by 10-15 points. We would have held the ball long enough to keep the defense serviceable. The Army defense sucks at defending in space. I have little doubt that the offense would have feasted with Joe in there.

 

[BlueandOG]

I think Notre Dame was the brunt of a lot of jokes for opting out this year, but they probably got it right. I expect that next year will have a lot more universities following suit...

I totally agree. If they don't restructure bowl games to make them meaningful to the players, they are doomed.

 

[BugsyCT]

I know 5 people who won’t be attending any bowl game unless the players are 100% committed. Every kid should be required to sign a personal pledge to their teammates that they promise they will play the full season, bowl game included. Loved Fagnano and Bell, but kind of lost a lot of respect for and interest in them going forward. I’ve been a critic of Mora’s classless move from day 1. Same goes with coaches. You leave before a bowl, there is a huge penalty. Sick of this garbage. We were raised to respect the game, respect commitment and effort, support your teammates, and lay it out on the field. It was a game of character, honor and toughness. That’s why I loved the game. They are killing what I love. It pisses me off.

Like others have said, this is a wider college sports problem that the bigwigs who pull the $$ strings have created. Coaches & players are going to bail before bowl games. That's the world we now live in. You can hold grudges all you want against individuals but this will keep happening in this current fugly college football system.

The only thing that matters for UConn football is getting a P4 invite. The bowls have become meaningless crap and will most likely get phased out eventually the way things are going.

 

[BlueandOG]

If the players don't care about the bowls, then I don't care about the bowls. The bowls have been ridiculous, with the Clemson/Penn State game one of the silliest exhibitions of half-assery I have ever seen in a college football game.

End the bowl games, and make the playoffs games with real stakes. Then make an "NIT' bracket with real dollars for each win. That would get player buy in.

I totally agree. Last year the Fenway Bowl mattered to the players, and it showed. This year, the exact opposite. I used to love bowl season. Now, I won't watch any non-playoff bowls (other than our game) because the players don't care.

 

[ec33]

Every one, right? You are making a false distinction between bowl games and any game during the season.

Here's your original quote:
View attachment 115138
Anytime you play sports you put yourself at risk. A college golf player could injure himself preventing him from having a pro career. A college volleyball player could get concussed, preventing her from a career in…say...accounting. How is one of those things any less "absurd" than another? So following your train of thought to its logical end point, you're advocating for no collegiate sports.

There have been football players that have shut it down well before the season is over. It goes back to character (and NFL front offices rightly judge them on that decision).

Azzi could stop playing and still be drafted #1 overall. And she is certainly risking another ACL injury. If the WNBA paid like the NBA it would be hard to fault her decision from a rational perspective. But we would judge her character negatively (as people are currently doing regarding Bell not playing in a post-season exhibition game in which UConn didn't have a QB capable of completing a pass to him if he have played).

But we aren't talking about Azzi ending her UConn career in January. We are talking about Azzi not playing in a post-season exhibition tour to celebrate yet another title. Meaningless games that have no bearing on anything and especially not her future (although with UConn, you could easily argue that none of their football games matter because they are an independent -- and I am of the opinion that this is true outside of the larger context of a conference realignment that none of the current players will benefit from).

Added later: But we have to keep in mind that with football and bowl games -- the combine is around 8 weeks away. And muscle strains could adversely impact his prep and performance at that event, hurting his draft stock and potentially costing him a position on an NFL roster. So it isn't only crippling injuries (like a Jaylon Smith) that are of concern, but a far larger range of more typical injuries that occur during a football game. As of end of the scheduled reason, Bell stopped being a football player and become an underwear Olympian.

 

[cullaville]

At least he was there unlike Fagnano and others who didn't show up to cheer the teammat

It was a competitive game where our best players made a choice to not participate.

Once they decided not to play they weren't UCONN players anymore, including Bell.

 

[UCan3]

The QB play was terrible. He had pretty much every receiver but Bell too. If Bell played it wouldn’t have made a difference.
In the first half, half his passes got blocked at the line of scrimmage.

He very much looked like a 4th string QB.

when you say terrible did I miss something or did he throw some interceptions fumble? Give the ball away just making sure I didn't miss anything watching the game yesterday. I was watching it on YouTube recording and I did fast forward through some commercials, but it must've missed something. He certainly looked OK not great and like a back up, but certainly would not categorize it as terrible terrible.

 

[UCan3]

I can't blame Bell one bit. The offense was unequipped to get him the ball. He would be playing for nothing.

well, he could've played for the fans that showed up and supported him in the last two years. Or to try to get us to 10 wins or to support the other players on the field. Not blame him for taking one snap - you can count me out for that take

 

[AllHusky]

While our group sat during pregame in the bitter cold (in seats built for 1912 bodies), one of our guys said he found what he called "the best bet on the board" and we should pound it to cover all our expenses and provide us all with a steak dinner. His track record is pretty good. What was the bet? Total Rushing Yards!!
Army 263 UConn 73.5. His reasoning?-
"Army is Army but the oddsmakers blew it on UConn. We have a young running QB who likely won't be passing much, Cam Edwards, Mel Brown and Victor Rosa are all playing. The O line is pretty sound even with the two opt outs. I think we can muster at least 20 yards rushing per quarter. I'm betting big on UConn over 73 rushing yards for the game!" Final outcome? We rushed for 183 Yards!
Luckily, we all listened to the logic and bought in. Not only did we recoup all of our expenses for the game, we enjoyed dinner at a fabulous Boston steak house.
Later, the guru said--"always look for the one bet that makes the most sense.Take the time to find it. Sometimes there isn't one, sometimes it's there but you won't see it-- but quite often It's staring you in the face"
Good advice!

Awesome. Best post of the last 3 weeks!!

 

[J187Money]

My sister’s company does business with Wasabi. They were thrilled with the turnout last year and lobbied hard for us this year. From what I hear they are very happy.

Tough beat but was kind of expected given the players we had. Still had a good time. My expectations were realistic.

 

[cullaville]

Get a grip. The game didn’t matter. This is college football in 2025.

the game was played so it mattered

 

[cullaville]

I don't understand why people can't see this for themselves.

He would be playing for the University that gave him the chance and his teamates

 

[JohnFSilver]

I don't think I have ever been less interested in a game ever for UConn FB. It is like a one off exhibition. You can't make any judgments off it. It didn't validate or invalidate the season, and it isn't anything of a precursor of what is to come.

If mora didn't leave, would the team have been in that kind of state? I don't think so. But who knows?

This is the oddest game UConn has played since it played mass twice in a season.

It was less valuable evaluation wise than a spring game.

 

[JohnFSilver]

the game was played so it mattered

Game don't matter. Like, if the players don't care, then it doesn't matter.

 

[JohnFSilver]

It was only in the last month that we were told the bowl means nothing which is an admission our football program plays for nothing as of right now. That will need to change ASAP if you want fans to support the program.

That is being a whiner. Sorry, context matters. UConn lost its coach. Half team is in portal. This was an exhibition in almost every regard. They played their fourth string freshman QB in 25 degree weather.

UConn fulfilled its contract to the bowl. Good for them. The check cleared. Good for them.

As far as anything else?it says a lot more about these three things that have killed bowl season.

1. CFP playoff
2. Coach carousel timing
3. Transfer portal

Because of those three things, the culture of the sport has changed.

 

[tiger paw]

Disappointed but not unexpected. Had to replace a 7Yr record setting QB with a freshman QB with 1 career pass. 38 bowl games plus 12 team playoff. That means 49 teams end their season with a loss. Still not the low spot for 2025 season. That for me was the Delaware game. Too many bowl games. Cut it down to 16 games. Attendance was very low for a most of these games. All teams that do not get a bowl bid get extra days of spring practice + pre season camp.

 

[CL82]

I know 5 people who won’t be attending any bowl game unless the players are 100% committed. Every kid should be required to sign a personal pledge to their teammates that they promise they will play the full season, bowl game included. Loved Fagnano and Bell, but kind of lost a lot of respect for and interest in them going forward. I’ve been a critic of Mora’s classless move from day 1. Same goes with coaches. You leave before a bowl, there is a huge penalty. Sick of this garbage. We were raised to respect the game, respect commitment and effort, support your teammates, and lay it out on the field. It was a game of character, honor and toughness. That’s why I loved the game. They are killing what I love. It pisses me off.

I still think the answer is simply the backload the NIL with the final payment only payable if you participate in any bowl games. It's an easy solution and if kids decide, it's not worth the back end of their deal, so be it.

 

[CL82]

They played their fourth string freshman QB in 25 degree weather

It was played with "the fourth string quarterback" because at least two quarterbacks ahead of him opted out. It's circular reasoning to justify opting out because people opted out..

 

[BRS24]

Did I correctly hear the announcers sometime in the 3rd (??) quarter say that other players were also calling it a day after Bell did?

 

[ZooCougar]

when you say terrible did I miss something or did he throw some interceptions fumble? Give the ball away just making sure I didn't miss anything watching the game yesterday. I was watching it on YouTube recording and I did fast forward through some commercials, but it must've missed something. He certainly looked OK not great and like a back up, but certainly would not categorize it as terrible terrible.

I say it from the standpoint that I still have two eyes.

He’s a 6 foot 3 QB but had as many blocks as completions.

Honestly people like you are why we had bad QBs for so long. You seriously don’t know what good QB play is.

 

[CL82]

There have been football players that have shut it down well before the season is over. It goes back to character (and NFL front offices rightly judge them on that decision).

Azzi could stop playing and still be drafted #1 overall. And she is certainly risking another ACL injury. If the WNBA paid like the NBA it would be hard to fault her decision from a rational perspective. But we would judge her character negatively (as people are currently doing regarding Bell not playing in a post-season exhibition game in which UConn didn't have a QB capable of completing a pass to him if he have played).

But we aren't talking about Azzi ending her UConn career in January. We are talking about Azzi not playing in a post-season exhibition tour to celebrate yet another title. Meaningless games that have no bearing on anything and especially not her future (although with UConn, you could easily argue that none of their football games matter because they are an independent -- and I am of the opinion that this is true outside of the larger context of a conference realignment that none of the current players will benefit from).

Added later: But we have to keep in mind that with football and bowl games -- the combine is around 8 weeks away. And muscle strains could adversely impact his prep and performance at that event, hurting his draft stock and potentially costing him a position on an NFL roster. So it isn't only crippling injuries (like a Jaylon Smith) that are of concern, but a far larger range of more typical injuries that occur during a football game. As of end of the scheduled reason, Bell stopped being a football player and become an underwear Olympian.

The logic is the same for every sport. You may feel differently about different sports, but the logic is the same.