It's hard for me to say who took the worse spanking from UConn, FAU or Buffalo, but I am going to say Buffalo because the UConn defense had the Buffalo QB and their offense confused all game and in reverse at times. I kind of think UConn's 3-3-5 wasn't even necessary, their QB if you look at his stats he is not a passing threat at all. The only bright spot for Buffalo was their LB Murdock who is a very good player. There is a spot for him at UConn if he wants to hit the portal after this season.

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Shout out to all of these coaches. I can tell you guys who were at the game that Matt Brock was extremely intense on the sidelines throughout the game and the CBSSN was showcasing that intensity. Their cameraman is still getting faked out constantly, however.

Zanetto did a live podcast post-game and was praising OC Gordon Sammis, DC Matt Brock and RB Coach Antonio Wilcox. He demanded an immediate raise for Wilcox and I would tend to agree. At age 28 Antonio has suddenly unleashed a stable of UConn RBs who all look great. This is a completely new development. 5.6 yards per carry today is getting it done! OL is great and that's a big reason why. 1 sack allowed all year are you kidding me?

Zanetto's comp on Skylar Bell is Jamarr Chase because of his ability to run after the catch. Funny but Logan Ryan on CBSSN said Bell reminds him of Stephon Diggs. Regardless of which comp we go with, Bell is going to be an NFL draft pick. Chase Lundt I have heard is a top 10 tackle in the country and the NFL is looking at him seriously.

Of course Zanetto is still souping up the Big 12 and saying Brett Yorrmark is sending updates on UConn to all the Big 12 ADs skeptical of UConn. LOL. I think he should let that go.

Regardless of whether Fagnano is more advanced passing, Evers isn't instilling me with confidence that he will be able to stay on the field. He is an excellent RPO QB, and threw a couple of awesome pitches to Robinson and Edwards, but when he runs he takes lots of hits. He also multiple times took hits after giving himself up and Buffalo's defense was borderline dirty on several plays. One play he got hurt with the guy using his hands and not his head which is legal. All of this falls under the "this shit is going to happen in college football" category. Anyway Fagnano has to stay ready!!!! And QB #3!

Skyler Bell 3rd TD Clinches UConn Player of the Game:
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Skyler Bell 2nd TD:
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Skyler Bell 1st TD:
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Logan Ryan (ex Patriots CBSSN analyst) thinks UConn's offense is better with Fagnano at QB.

23-3 UConn at half after out gaining Buffalo 233 to 82 in total yards. Looked pretty good but I think some adjustments are coming. Also looks like Evers is out again after being hit which may be a recurring problem.

Zanetto, in his 1st practice Podcast Friday, said he believes we will be seeing a lot of Diarra and Nowell playing together. That remains to be seen, but that is their best defensive backcourt against smaller and quicker backcourts.

Yeah but these are so called "Group of 5" schools and I was talking about the so called Power 4 conferences. Which might be a Power 3 soon. The Rent is clearly undersized as compared to the average stadium of the Power conferences schools.

Ball is a lot bigger than Mahaney. That 6'3" listing for Mahaney is questionable. He might be closer to 6'1". I also like the idea of starting Ball and using Mahaney and Nowell as the bench guards.

Zanetto was talking about this tweet on his preview Podcasf. It just means the NIL and transfer portal can make a big difference. But don't sip too much Kool Aid.

NCAA President Demands That Congress Act:

As I posted elsewhere I was not all that impressed with Mahaney in the August 2 Open practice. But the other guards defended the hell out of him. I was extremely impressed with Isaiah Abraham who didn't play like a freshman either offensively or defensively. He looked ready to contribute and so did Ahmad Nowell. Nowell was a flat out Dawg. I am looking forward to seeing these guys in the Rhode Island game October 14.

What I liked about Mahaney on tape is he seemed to use both hands really well in the mixtapes that I saw. That's what I am hoping to see in games.

the Blades said:

PS. here's the Tom Herman quotes that I caught & posted on the Uconn Report football board early yesterday.

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I am not surprised by this. I think the UConn-FAU result came as a severe shock to the FAU fan base, media and coaches. I listened to Zanetto's preview last week in which he has some 14 year old kid wannabe football analyst talking about FAU. The kid really sounded like he knew what he was talking about and portrayed a huge uphill battle for UConn to score on FAU's defense. I think he was going off the Michigan State game and holding MSU to 16 points and probably thinking UConn will be lucky to get a single TD. Obviously that was not how the game played out. Buffalo this week will be a good test because they seem to have a good team and a defense that might be a tad more legit than FAU.

the Blades said:

it's a pipedream without a P-4 membership, about $400-$500 Mil in construction costs and a super highway to Storrs falling out of the sky. The RENT is presently perfect as is....for opponents and their fans too, being in E. Hartford and close to BDL.

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True that- theoretically you could build a highway connector from I-84 for the 7-8 miles south to campus, but we are talking huge amounts of money to do any of this. And that's assuming you found some real estate on which to build it. The Rent is fine, if not itself somewhat undersized by high D-1 standards.

the Blades said:

Also Zanetto asked about an on campus FB stadium. DB says he has a more rational take, I agree as I posted on D'amelio's thoughts in this thread- post #156.

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At one time UConn had an on campus football stadium and it was called Memorial Stadium. It would not have been worthy of D-1 football but was located behind where Gampel is now. In my years at UConn that is where the games were played. There was no Rent, just that field.

There is land for the stadium adjacent to East Campus where I used to live, problem is it's occupied by cows who supply the milk for the Dairy Bar. Since there has never been any expansion in that direction, I am assuming there are legal roadblocks to using that land.

Now that's a big score for Zanetto. Haven't listened to it yet, but Benedict likely knows Zanetto was the start of that very bad CR leak and: (1) wanted to set the record straight, and (2) probably wanted to have a private chat with Zanetto and told him STFU on CR unless you hear it from me.

Paying exit fees to one conference to join another that may or may not be viable long term is an interesting business decision, especially when TV revenue streams for the PAC 2 6, or 8 are unknown. Ultimately though the exit fee money is just an unearned bonus and found money for these schools who long term will have to find sources for funding their own NIL.

Am I silly to believe that in the modern era of NIL schools that are weaker financially aren't going to be able compete and we will see the weak being asked to leave conferences? This is sort of predictable with schools that are in P5 conferences now.

I thought UNLV Coach Barry Odom handled this about as well as any coach could have in his post-Sluka presser:
He might be privately pissed, but obviously his job is to coach, not to pay up on the promises of money made by others. Kind of feel sorry for him as he seems like a good, no-nonsense coach.

It should be noted that the NIL Collective has vigorously denied the claim and all but accused Sluka and his agent of a shakedown.
Blueprint Sports and Entertainment, which supports UNLV’s NIL program, issued a statement denying that claim.

“There were no formal NIL offers made during Mr. Sluka’s recruitment process,” the statement said. “Additionally, Friends of UNILV did not finalize or agree to any NIL offers while he was part of the team, aside from a completed community engagement event over the summer.”

Sluka was paid $3,000 for the summer obligation, a source close to Blueprint said.

"At Blueprint Sports and Friends of UNILV, we take our commitments very seriously. We would like to emphasize that we have upheld all Friends of UNILV contracts this season, and have not defaulted on any agreements with Mr. Sluka,” Blueprint Sports said. “Our commitment to supporting Rebel student-athletes remains unwavering, and we are dedicated to maintaining the integrity of our programs. We wish Mr. Sluka all the best in his future endeavors.”

UNLV released a statement that described concerns surrounding Cromartie’s communications with the program.

“Football player Matthew Sluka’s representative made financial demands upon the university and its NIL collective in order to continue playing. UNLV athletics interpreted these demands as a violation of the NCAA pay-for-play rules, as well as Nevada state law,” the statement said. “UNLV does not engage in such activity, nor does it respond to implied threats. UNLV has honored all previously agreed-upon scholarships for Matthew Sluka.

“UNLV has conducted its due diligence and will continue to operate its programs within the framework of NCAA rules and regulations, as well as Nevada state laws.”