If BiG doesn't improve, UConn has no shot

[Vowelguy]

The BiG may start battling the ACC for weakest P5 football conference.

• Purdue getting pasted by Central Michigan
• Illinois losing to Western Kentucky
• Penn St in a close one with Akron
• Nebraska in a close one with McNeese St
• Ohio St struggled against Navy last week
• Rutgers may be the league bright spot, which shows just how bad things are

If this continues, Delaney et al are going to turn their attention to schools with strong FB. Or markets that open the league up to better recruiting. It does no good to "lock up" the NYC market if your product sucks.

 

[clmssun]

The BiG may start battling the ACC for weakest P5 football conference.

• Purdue getting pasted by Central Michigan
• Illinois losing to Western Kentucky
• Penn St in a close one with Akron
• Nebraska in a close one with McNeese St
• Ohio St struggled against Navy last week
• Rutgers may be the league bright spot, which shows just how bad things are

If this continues, Delaney et al are going to turn their attention to schools with strong FB. Or markets that open the league up to better recruiting. It does no good to "lock up" the NYC market if your product sucks.

UConn just needs to continue to focus on UConn: Football on-field performance, attendance, strong TV viewership, maintain basketball superiority, increase research... I don't have the answers regarding optimal balance with limited budgets, but everyone here understand the situation.

 

[Seaa Blue]

The sky falls every year about this time.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Nebraska struggling is very odd (and how's PSU doing now?), but talking like this about Purdue and Illinois being bad is like talking about DePaul and RU being bad in the Big East.

 

[Vowelguy]

3 big games tonight. They gotta win at least 1.

 

[Cleanface]

The B1G is 17-3 so far this CFB year (including today's games so far)

Oh noes.

BTW - what if they win all three tonight??


edit; Just saw the PSU score. 21-3 is close??

 

[Calamitous]

The BiG may start battling the ACC for weakest P5 football conference.

• Purdue getting pasted by Central Michigan
• Illinois losing to Western Kentucky
• Penn St in a close one with Akron
• Nebraska in a close one with McNeese St
• Ohio St struggled against Navy last week
• Rutgers may be the league bright spot, which shows just how bad things are

If this continues, Delaney et al are going to turn their attention to schools with strong FB. Or markets that open the league up to better recruiting. It does no good to "lock up" the NYC market if your product sucks.

The B1G and ACC are essentially the same IMO. If MSU can keep Oregon close or beat them, I'll give the B1G the edge over the ACC in football at this very early stage in the year.

McNeese put a scare in Nebraska. But it's important to know that McNeese State is a good team for an FCS school that could probably win the Sunbelt or CUSA. Heck, McNeese could probably win 3 or 4 conference games in the ACC or B1G this year depending on who they played. Not making excuses for Nebraska, but that was a risky FCS team to schedule. Also, CMU is not a bad team and Navy has been winning 8 to 9 games every year at the FBS level for quite some time. It's really early in the season and weird things happen. I'm used to the ACC struggling in early season games like these. It's good to see the B1G and Big XII aren't any different.

 

[Tenspro2002]

It's probably more accurate to say "If UConn doesn't improve, UConn has no shot".

It's a fair question to ask how our football performance this year will set us back in terms of P5 entry. In the span of two games, our season outlook has gone from "cautiously optimistic" to "continued trainwreck".

 

[pj]

UConn football has to improve. As clmssun says, UConn has to try to improve on every parameter. You don't know which one will be decisive. Every little bit might be the mite that pushes us over the top.

I don't think the B1G's football performance matters that much to UConn's chances. Whether B1G football is good or bad, they won't be looking to new additions to be better than Michigan/OSU/PSU/Nebraska/Wisconsin/MSU, unless Oklahoma and Texas become available. If B1G football is bad, that means the existing B1G programs need to improve, not that they need an outside savior to come rescue them. The B1G has more self-confidence than that.

(The ACC does not, thus the great lengths to woo Notre Dame, and the emphasis on Louisville's/Syracuse's/Pitt's relatively small football advantage over their geographic and, in the case of Louisville, academic demerits.)

 

[Vowelguy]

The B1G is 17-3 so far this CFB year (including today's games so far)

9 of those wins are against FCS

 

[Ldandy]

UCONN simply needs to be credible in football, the way that it was at the end of a The Edsall Era. No one expects UCONN to become a national power, as there are entirely too many hurdles in place to reach that level.

At the end of the day the only metric that matters is $. Do you bring more to the table than you take from it? If the answer is yes, then you have a shot. If it isn't, then short of legal or congressional intervention you're likely out. For me personally, I believe your overall AD would bring a lot to the table, that said I'm not an accountant in The B1G Offices.

 

[NickyNewark]

The BiG may start battling the ACC for weakest P5 football conference.

• Purdue getting pasted by Central Michigan
• Illinois losing to Western Kentucky
• Penn St in a close one with Akron
• Nebraska in a close one with McNeese St
• Ohio St struggled against Navy last week
• Rutgers may be the league bright spot, which shows just how bad things are

If this continues, Delaney et al are going to turn their attention to schools with strong FB. Or markets that open the league up to better recruiting. It does no good to "lock up" the NYC market if your product sucks.

Our local pro baseball team stinks but most still watch and the Mets could win and we still wouldnt care! A tenth of the metro area is better than all of mani fb states like La. or Miss. IMO!!

 

[NickyNewark]

3 big games tonight. They gotta win at least 1.

Hopefull two.

 

[NickyNewark]

UConn football has to improve. As clmssun says, UConn has to try to improve on every parameter. You don't know which one will be decisive. Every little bit might be the mite that pushes us over the top.

I don't think the B1G's football performance matters that much to UConn's chances. Whether B1G football is good or bad, they won't be looking to new additions to be better than Michigan/OSU/PSU/Nebraska/Wisconsin/MSU, unless Oklahoma and Texas become available. If B1G football is bad, that means the existing B1G programs need to improve, not that they need an outside savior to come rescue them. The B1G has more self-confidence than that.

(The ACC does not, thus the great lengths to woo Notre Dame, and the emphasis on Louisville's/Syracuse's/Pitt's relatively small football advantage over their geographic and, in the case of Louisville, academic demerits.)

An ACC complex...u hit the nail on the head pj....note bstimp? The B1G isn't insecure but instead confident.

 

[clmssun]

I hope UConn is ending these scheduled games with schools like Stony Brook and Towson State. USF just signed a home-and-home with Syracuse. Today USF hosted Maryland. UCF will host Missouri, hosted South Carolina last year, and that game in Ireland was to be a UCF home game. Yes, things are difficult within the AAC when dealing with the Power 5, but the door is not shut...yet.

Ideally, I hope UConn can schedule BC, Syracuse, Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland, but any games with ACC or B1G are good, even SEC, Big XII, Pac-12.

I apologize for not being fluent in UConn's future schedules. I am not trying to sound like a pedantic a, but games like today (opponent, performance, attendance) absolutely must cease.

 

[ASweet3781]

I hope UConn is ending these scheduled games with schools like Stony Brook and Towson State. USF just signed a home-and-home with Syracuse. Today USF hosted Maryland. UCF will host Missouri, hosted South Carolina last year, and that game in Ireland was to be a UCF home game. Yes, things are difficult within the AAC when dealing with the Power 5, but the door is not shut...yet.

Ideally, I hope UConn can schedule BC, Syracuse, Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland, but any games with ACC or B1G are good, even SEC, Big XII, Pac-12.

I apologize for not being fluent in UConn's future schedules. I am not trying to sound like a pedantic a , but games like today (opponent, performance, attendance) absolutely must cease.

We play BYU and Boise State.

Today was to get a W, which we barely did. Enjoy it because it may be one of our only wins this year.

So every other school can schedule a cupcake or 2 (Syracuse played Nova, BC played UMass, Rutgers played Howard, Pitt played Delaware) but UConn can't? We may be the worst team in college football right now and you want to schedule to ensure we go winless? Don't see how that helps.

 

[clmssun]

We play BYU and Boise State.

Today was to get a W, which we barely did. Enjoy it because it may be one of our only wins this year.

So every other school can schedule a cupcake or 2 (Syracuse played Nova, BC played UMass, Rutgers played Howard, Pitt played Delaware) but UConn can't? We may be the worst team in college football right now and you want to schedule to ensure we go winless? Don't see how that helps.

As Ldandy says, UConn has to show their financial worth. The games with BYU and Boise are good, but there are AAC teams getting games (even home) with Power 5. If UConn drew 50k versus Stony Brook (like last year with Michigan) -- and a fat TV number -- then it is not so much a problem. But I don't gather this game drew much, and I, personally, am not upset at the fans. I am upset with the Athletic Department for scheduling that "no win" opponent. IMO, games against UMass and Buffalo are more productive than Stony Brook or Towson State. I know that UCF and USF are working hard (and succeeding, so far) to have one Power 5 each year. If the 8 AAC games illustrate where UConn is, I would hope they would use the other four games to play who they want to play, where they want to get.

 

[billybud]

ouch...

The Big Ten had a bad weekend...Ohio State was beaten at home, Michigan was shut out at Notre Dame, Michigan State lost to Oregon...

I wonder which out of Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan State will be champ....I am thinking Michigan State...but what do I know?

 

[pj]

Scheduling is a problem. Previous athletic director let it slide and current one has had some difficulty getting good games. Not sure why it's so hard. It would be much easier to build up the fan base if good home and homes could be scheduled.

 

[clmssun]

While indeed Power 5 schools regularly schedule one, sometimes two, FCS cupcakes, keep in mind those subject schools are already Power 5 with the requisite 8 or 9 (Power 5) conference games per year. With AAC not being Power 5, UConn has only four slots for any Power 5; this year there are zero P5 opponents.

Another thing to keep in mind with AAC not being Power 5: The only two schools to jump directly from non-power conference to power conference are Utah and TCU*. Much of their promotion was tied to geography, and this can also be rather favorable for UConn. (UConn offers pieces of more lucrative markets than TCU and Utah, but TCU and Utah benefited from great geographical separation from the nearest Power school.)

Utah and TCU were genuine "BCS Busters" on the field. UConn can't beat Power 5 schools if they don't play them.

* Yes, TCU "got the call" from the BCS Big East while in MWC, and then "got the call" from Big XII before ever officially playing in Big East.

 

[pj]

I agree. It is important to play some local schools but as you say UMass and Buffalo are at least FBS. However, I am happy that Army is on our schedule this year.

 

[Calamitous]

Scheduling is a problem. Previous athletic director let it slide and current one has had some difficulty getting good games. Not sure why it's so hard. It would be much easier to build up the fan base if good home and homes could be scheduled.

With the way schedules are planned well in advance for 5 to 10 years for most schools, it will be difficult getting those good games. But I bet UConn could get WVU on the schedule as they are always looking for an eastern game these days. It would be great if UConn could schedule Rutgers, Maryland, Syracuse and Boston College on a routine basis. And it's probably a good idea to schedule some of the better MW schools like Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, etc even if they aren't in the "mighty" P5. I think UConn could be a good football program, but just needs some momentum.

 

[clmssun]

Yes, the Army game in Yankee Stadium is a good idea. UConn fans need to turn Yankee Stadium into Rentschler West.

If, in the future, Syracuse or Rutgers "demands" a neutral site setting such as Yankee Stadium, I encourage UConn to do it.

 

[Vowelguy]

It's probably more accurate to say "If UConn doesn't improve, UConn has no shot".
".

Yes but that may not be enough.
If a conference is in a strong position, then it can focus on markets, demographics, and ”fit.”
But if the conference is not offering a good product, then it's not going to get cable companies to pay, and it's gotta focus on improving its quality.

Under the first scenario, I think UCOnn had a decent shot at an invite in the next 5-10 years. But if the BiG s recent performance continues, that probability shrinks significantly.

 

[woomba]

The only potential long term benefit is that if Texas continues to suck the next few years to the point that A&M is doing laps around them that may destabilize the B12 enough for the entire thing to collapse.

If the Big Ten is still struggling at that point they may be willing to take the bulk of the entire B12 in- academics be damned.