SNY's BYU Recap........

[the Blades]

........UConn football: A long way to go

We'll probably find out more about BYU next week vs. Texas than anything the Huskies tested them with.
Some of John Silver's recap:

* The Huskies, in the first five minutes of the game, had three penalties, a broken assignment that led to a touchdown, a
fumble( on their own 19 on the very 1st offensive play of the season), and then another blown coverage ( on the very next
play) that led to a touchdown. "You can't start a football game like that and ' win.. come on," Diaco said. ( Obi Melifonwu,
like last year, seemed to get beat for TD(s) looking into the backfield once again)

Also as was last year any QB pressure from the D-Line was non-existent and though the O-Line held up early for the most
part they started getting beat consistently at the end.( they gave up 4 total sacks) The trenches, it's all about the trenches !!!

Huskies going all in on PT for everybody and the youth movement:
* The Huskies played a bunch of players, 50 on offense and defense.

* Eight true freshmen saw action: Ron Johnson, Arkeel Newsome, Vontae Diggs, Luke Carrezola, Ryan Crozier,
Alex Bloom, Trey Rutherford and Jamar Summers.

* Diaco liked the 2 QB look. He said he was pleased with the play. There is a lot to clean up and I loathe pulling a
quarterback mid-drive. The Huskies were 2-5 in the red zone.


This post was edited on 9/3 9:34 AM by the Blades

 

[the Blades]

Re: SNY's Recap........

Follow up from the CT Post on the youth movement( which might be a Uconn record of already 8 true FR not being red-shirted, no Tr-FR played for Edsall in his last year -2010)
and the play everyone philosophy being integrated by Coach Diaco:
CT Post Uconn notebook: Diaco relies on youth in season opener"Eight true freshmen, 12 redshirt freshman and two redshirt sophomores- a total of 20 players - played in their very
first game action in that 35-10 loss to the Cougars at Rentschler Field. "

Sounds like he knew BYU was going to be a tough game to win and almost used it as an evaluation game (which
he said he would have liked 3 NFL type pre-season games on CPTV earlier in the week) Kind of goes along with
another HCBD quote this week:

Diaco says fewer players would see the field if this were a conference game, but he is believes the only way to determine
if someone can play is to give that player a chance. "We don't call it preseason, but the fact of the matter is that we've
got three weeks, three opponents and the opportunity to get better as a team," he said. Hope he doesn't lose half
the fan base running players in and out, while evaluating them OOC.

If nothing else a message to all Coach Diaco recruits: You will get more than a fair chance at PT as a True Freshman !!!
This post was edited on 9/3 9:40 AM by the Blades

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Re: SNY's Recap........

Originally posted by the Blades:
Hope he doesn't lose half
the fan base running players in and out, while evaluating them OOC.


This post was edited on 8/31 10:13 AM by the Blades

I was not sure what to expect but I was very disappointed. I talked to some other fans and they felt the same way. I did not see too many good things out there. I realize BYU is a good team but was hoping for a more competitive game than that. BYU should have won by more than they did. Game could have been 52-10 for how it played.

 

[the Blades]

Re: SNY's Recap........

Originally posted by KhalidShockedTheWorld:

Originally posted by the Blades:
Hope he doesn't lose half
the fan base running players in and out, while evaluating them OOC.


This post was edited on 8/31 10:13 AM by the Blades

I was not sure what to expect but I was very disappointed. I talked to some other fans and they felt the same way. I did not see too many good things out there. I realize BYU is a good team but was hoping for a more competitive game than that. BYU should have won by more than they did. Game could have been 52-10 for how it played.

I hear ya KSTW...sorry you didn't get to see a better game.. for the immediate gratification crowd it's was no
way to swoon the fanbase, which is most of these folks except the die-hards.

In general CT is fair weather fanbase ....they want lotsa wins and now ... even then.. they don't stick with their
teams unless it's constant or vs. the " good teams" ( no cupcakes allowed)....Uconn hoops has shown that
many times......College football in this country is a culture at the places that get it. But in CT, with no national
FB tradition since Yale 70-80 years ago...the winning is gonna have to come first. The urgency is that the clock
is ticking for the health of the AD on this because of Conf. Realignment and $$$.

As far the game the defense was porous and it was a brutal match-up vs. a Dual option QB they couldn't stop..
BYU is one the 3 toughest games on the schedule this year. I thought they could have made it a much closer
game when you consider they gifted BYU a 2 TD lead with mistakes in the first 5 minutes.

Then for those who stuck around Uconn had 3 red zone fails in the last quarter that only netted them 3 points...
they went for it twice on 4th down inside the BYU 10 and could have come up with 2 more TD's. They were
on the verge of covering the 15 point spread towards the end so I don't know about that 52-10 score. Especially
since they only allowed seven points in the entire second half and that was in the last 4 minutes. But it sure did
feel like they where never in it because of the terrible start.

The optimist in me is looking at Diaco like Calhoun who brought a much needed culture change even though
it took him a while to get it going. What was he 9-19 in his first year and it took him 4 years to get Uconn
into an NCAA's ?

And that is in hoops where 2 key recruits can change your whole program. Football is a whole other recruiting
animal based on sheer numbers......but I'm convinced Diaco has it as far as the culture required and will be
light years ahead of Calhoun as far as academics.... but then again that's the catch...balancing winning,
academics and a filling a stadium when your not a win at all cost FB factory( who can now make up their
own rules.)

Today's article from Uconn FB is Change Is Here (a crazy total of 57 players where used)
The players seem to be all in on the changes, but after 3 years of Pasqualoni and a demotion out of the BCS
...... the clock is ticking... so a good fan experience is a must !
This post was edited on 8/31 4:20 PM by the Blades

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Blades, I saw a lot of missed tackles on defense and most of them were critical MT's that could have prevented first downs from being made. On another occasion, Cochrane completed a pass for what should have been a 1st down, but the WR clearly did not know where the 1st down marker was and where he needed to be. I think UConn got the first down anyway on a generous call, but should not have, because the route was badly mis-run and the guy curled in before the 1st down line. This was a pure mental error. Finally, and you mentioned it, both lines were outplayed. On Cochrane's 1st INT, he had pressure coming from outside on both sides of the pocket, so not one, but two guys missed their assignments.

The team needs to show a lot of improvement. I am still hopeful that if Diaco is what you crack him up to be, we will see improvement. Newsome and Johnson have a lot of potential and I think Cochrane could be a good QB if he is better protected and his WRs play a little bit better.

 

[the Blades]

Speaking of Uconn's academic challenge vs. some of these FB factories here are the numbers for Uconn's last bowl team:
Boston Globe- Graduation gap bowl 2010When you consider all programs have players at least 3 years with many using 5 years to play 4 and graduate,
Uconn is up against it vs. more than talent when they play teams like OK in the Fiesta Bowl.

Diaco isn't even taking a chance on the great athlete vs. marginal student type from what he's said. Uconn has already
had problems in past with commits who can't get into Uconn but there they are admitted by teams like Louisville or Temple
... so the brains vs brawn & skill balance in his recruiting and development will be crucial.

Here's another report on Uconn from 2009: Derrick Jackson: The real BCS showdown

'Who will face Navy and its 93 percent graduation rate in the Bowl Championship Series showdown?
"Who will go to the other top bowl games? Will it be the University of Connecticut, which has an 88 percent
graduation success rate for its black players? Will it be the other service academies, with Air Force and Army
at 87 percent and 86 percent overall? While Alabama deserves to be in the actual national championship game
with a graduation rate of 63 percent for African American players and 77percent for white players, its opponent, Texas,
should be disqualified for a 37 percent African American graduation rate, 32 percentage points behind its white players.

So here's a cheer for Alabama, a boo for Texas, and a rousing roar for the Boston College Eagles and
University of Connecticut Huskies. BC and UConn are already champions, no matter what happens on
the field.
This post was edited on 9/3 10:17 AM by the Blades

 

[the Blades]

A little more from The Courant on what we talked about and Diaco using the 1st quarter of the schedule almost like NFL pre-season games:
Diaco May Have His Process, But It's Results That Matter

"Coming out of the gate, Diaco has danced a thin public line between honoring his process and making the games against
BYU, Stony Brook and Boise State sound like the exhibition season. Immediately after the game Friday night, he was quick
to point out he had played 50 players in the first half, not counting special teams. And when asked Tuesday how long
those massive substitution patterns will last, he answered: two more weeks. He said the first three games are a
"preparation phase."


"When you say the first three games are the "preparation phase," well, let's just say I don't remember it being marketed to the fans that way."