UNH Game Thread

[Keepthefaith]

unh has 46 freshman or redshirt freshman on their roster. Cut the "young" bs and stop compalining about the refs. Really? One or two bad calls cost us the game? The 4 ints were ok?

UNH is starting their backup QB.

We will not beat Richmond or JMU.

[phoenix2008]

How many of those freshman saw meaningful playing time for UNH? Both our QBs, the majority of our most targeted receivers, half our offensive line and our best running back are freshman...it's not BS, its reality...we are young.

4 Ints is not OK, but 250 yards passing is pretty encouraging for the kid's first real opportunity to show what he can do. If he throws multiple INTs again next week, then sure its a trend and a concern, but let's see how he adjusts...

the bad calls did not cost us the game, but it definitely impacted the final score...and when you are going against an elite FCS program ,at their place, where they've lost 1 time in the past 5 years, the refs don't need to be giving them any more help.

Just trying to keep the faith...

[homer]

Oct 4, 2015 22:08:01 GMT -5 phoenix2008 said:

How many of those freshman saw meaningful playing time for UNH? Both our QBs, the majority of our most targeted receivers, half our offensive line and our best running back are freshman...it's not BS, its reality...we are young.

4 Ints is not OK, but 250 yards passing is pretty encouraging for the kid's first real opportunity to show what he can do. If he throws multiple INTs again next week, then sure its a trend and a concern, but let's see how he adjusts...

the bad calls did not cost us the game, but it definitely impacted the final score...and when you are going against an elite FCS program ,at their place, where they've lost 1 time in the past 5 years, the refs don't need to be giving them any more help.

Just trying to keep the faith...

Accurate assessment. And keep in mind that the passing yards are way up because of the number of pass attempts (41 attempts in 3 quarters). In the second half, the run was completely abandoned. The same holds true for the number of interceptions.

This does bring to mind an interesting thought. It seems to me that the attempted runs stifle the offense. No gains. And they always leave us with 2nd and 3rd and long -- a horrible situation for an inexperienced offense. Once the run was discarded, and the frickin bubble screen flushed down the toilet, things seemed to work significantly better. But then again, by that time UNH had called off the big dogs and were playing in maintenance mode, so I'm not sure what we can learn from that game. Other than this: UNH showed what it means to start a game with incredible intensity. Very impressive.

[elonpride]

UNH came in with fire on their homecoming. They had some short field situations, like the blocked punt, and took full advantage of it. They looked pretty impressive.

I will though say, there was a point in the 3rd quarter when the team was again driving and were in Wildcat territory. This was after a couple 3 and outs the D forced. I said to myself, "Man, if they can get a score on this drive, they're back in business." They looked to have a little momentum going, and a score would cut the lead to 34-21. It would have been a manageable deficit with still over a quarter to go. BUT.....there was a turnover.

I like CC a lot at QB. He's lead the team to a couple wins this season, and has strong leadership qualities. But I believe the team only had about 4 yards of offense when he was in the game.

Next week I think they need to start Thompson. He'll have another week under his belt after coming back from injury, and there were points in the UNH game when he looked locked in and sharp.

[elonpride]

and BTW.....anyone know the status of Corey Mitchell?

[Keepthefaith]

Remember skrosky decided to go young. No one forced him. He told a number of players not to return.

He is playing the hand he dealt for himself and he needs to prepare them to play. The stuff we see can be fixed like the play calling.

No excuses (travel, refs or when it snows in Maine!)

[elonfirefighter]

Advantage to playing young, is we will have an experienced team in two years. Bad side is the way some players were treated that gave it there all for 4 years to be crapped on for their senior year. Again we all didn't expect much last year or this year. Next year is the year we need to see real progress. Then again if we keep starting over we will never get anywhere

[homer]

Best thing about the UNH game is that I learned face guarding is not a penalty. Apparently you can do that as long as there is no contact. Have lived in ignorance all these years..,

[elonpride]

Oct 5, 2015 20:54:02 GMT -5 homer said:

Best thing about the UNH game is that I learned face guarding is not a penalty. Apparently you can do that as long as there is no contact. Have lived in ignorance all these years..,

Same here.

The targeting ejection though....different ball game. Without replay though, I can see where that at full speed got the flag. Turns out though, it was a good, clean (and legal) hit.

[Frustrated Fan]

Face Guarding? We had the ball in our hands and the DB took it away. There was no contact until after the ball was in our receivers hands and it was ripped right from it giving UNH an INT. Need to stop splitting hairs. The targeting / ejection was truly terrible. There were some poor or missed calls, but that didn't cause the slow start and predictable play calling. Too many times we ran it up the middle on second and long only to put ourselves into 3rd and long which is hard to convert let alone with a young team. If we want to blame the refs for putting us in the hole, then we need to thank the refs for giving us the win against Towson with some of the Pass Interference calls on the drive and kept us alive more than once allowing us to score the go ahead TD.

Too many times we continue to blame the previous staff(s). And too many are willing to give this staff a pass for last year and now this year saying next year we need to see improvement because we are young. Go back and look at the previous comments from two years ago, said the same thing. Improvement can come year to year, you don't need to wait two years. If we are to believe that there is no talent from the previous staff(s), and we have to start the younger players, I am not buying it. The defense is a solid mix of young and vets and they have played very well for the most part. Our coach is a previous Offensive Coordinator at a higher level. We need the staff to put our offensive players (and I mean all) in a position to succeed. Each offensive player should be challenged to make a play and that starts with the line and QB and moves to the backs and receivers and then we will see improvement. If anything, the UNH game showed us how far we have yet to go, but maybe, just maybe showed the staff the WR screen is used too much, the runs up the middle are just putting us in bigger holes and that the passes over the middle to the TEs and WRs mixed with deep balls can assist but they have to be used on earlier downs and not on third and long. I think the staff is slowly getting it, as they are moving kids in and out trying to find the right mix. This had to continue along with coaching the fundamentals (QB's - not staring down your intended target, WR and TE - use your hands to get separation and stop allowing the DBs to grab you 10+ yards downfield, and RB's - run hard though the line - ala Gentry and when given the opportunity, Phan!) We have the players now to compete, we don't have to wait. We need coaching to be held accountable first and foremost and then as well the players to make the plays when presented. Stop the nonsense that we need to let another staff have two years to see improvement. Successful programs see improvement within a year of coaching changes otherwise its always a wait...we should see more offense and competitive games this year...and I would expect that in the games to come. I am not expecting to win out, but I would like to see improvement with play calling and the offense being successful - ala our defense which has improved from last year.

[homer]

Frustrated,

I wasn't blaming the refs for the game, just noting that I always thought face guarding was illegal. And that interception was, as you noted, a reception that the DB stole.

I think there's a balance between giving the staff a pass on the offensive production and crucifying them. Few of us on here exhibit that balance.

As for improvement, we are 2-3. That's an improvement on 1-11 already. And I think we have a couple more wins coming. Finishing with 4 wins would be a dramatic improvement, wouldn't you say? Especially since that would mean 3 wins in the CAA. Yes, at this point the defense gets most of the credit for the wins, if you feel you have to give credit.

I still think the offense will come together in a big way. But you're absolutely right. The runs up the middle for -2 yards on second down are killers. It was clear UNH was ready for that and the bubble screens. That's virtually all we did in the first quarter. I did like the first play going deep -- but the receiver and DB hit the ground as the ball went in the air. Incidental contact, I guess. But then we have a penally. 2nd and 15. A run that doesn't work and we're staring at 3rd and 15 or so. That's not a recipe for success.

Hopefully, hopefully we saw that the recipe for success is completely forsaking the run. Be a crazy passing team until the defense backs up and gives us the run. Heck, CC is still our leading rusher. Let him do his thing. And if DT is in the game, he's capable of using his feet, too, although not nearly as well. Still...

Bottom line, pass the friction ball all the time. Then, start mixing in the run.

[trianglephan]

Oct 6, 2015 8:00:46 GMT -5 Frustrated Fan said:

Face Guarding? We had the ball in our hands and the DB took it away. There was no contact until after the ball was in our receivers hands and it was ripped right from it giving UNH an INT. Need to stop splitting hairs. The targeting / ejection was truly terrible. There were some poor or missed calls, but that didn't cause the slow start and predictable play calling. Too many times we ran it up the middle on second and long only to put ourselves into 3rd and long which is hard to convert let alone with a young team. If we want to blame the refs for putting us in the hole, then we need to thank the refs for giving us the win against Towson with some of the Pass Interference calls on the drive and kept us alive more than once allowing us to score the go ahead TD.

Too many times we continue to blame the previous staff(s). And too many are willing to give this staff a pass for last year and now this year saying next year we need to see improvement because we are young. Go back and look at the previous comments from two years ago, said the same thing. Improvement can come year to year, you don't need to wait two years. If we are to believe that there is no talent from the previous staff(s), and we have to start the younger players, I am not buying it. The defense is a solid mix of young and vets and they have played very well for the most part. Our coach is a previous Offensive Coordinator at a higher level. We need the staff to put our offensive players (and I mean all) in a position to succeed. Each offensive player should be challenged to make a play and that starts with the line and QB and moves to the backs and receivers and then we will see improvement. If anything, the UNH game showed us how far we have yet to go, but maybe, just maybe showed the staff the WR screen is used too much, the runs up the middle are just putting us in bigger holes and that the passes over the middle to the TEs and WRs mixed with deep balls can assist but they have to be used on earlier downs and not on third and long. I think the staff is slowly getting it, as they are moving kids in and out trying to find the right mix. This had to continue along with coaching the fundamentals (QB's - not staring down your intended target, WR and TE - use your hands to get separation and stop allowing the DBs to grab you 10+ yards downfield, and RB's - run hard though the line - ala Gentry and when given the opportunity, Phan!) We have the players now to compete, we don't have to wait. We need coaching to be held accountable first and foremost and then as well the players to make the plays when presented. Stop the nonsense that we need to let another staff have two years to see improvement. Successful programs see improvement within a year of coaching changes otherwise its always a wait...we should see more offense and competitive games this year...and I would expect that in the games to come. I am not expecting to win out, but I would like to see improvement with play calling and the offense being successful - ala our defense which has improved from last year.

Couldn't agree more. BTW - for those blaming refs, overall penalty calls favored Elon in last game. ELON 8-68 UNH 14-115

[unhaluminct]

The devices behind the ears are sensors used in a concussion studies project. Here's more, it's long and info about the sensors is near the end.

mmqb.si.com/2014/12/04/helmetless-football-practice-university-of-new-hampshire

I thought there was a video on the CAA website last year but I didn't find it.

[elonpride]

Oct 6, 2015 8:16:12 GMT -5 homer said:

Frustrated,

I wasn't blaming the refs for the game, just noting that I always thought face guarding was illegal. And that interception was, as you noted, a reception that the DB stole.

I think there's a balance between giving the staff a pass on the offensive production and crucifying them. Few of us on here exhibit that balance.

As for improvement, we are 2-3. That's an improvement on 1-11 already. And I think we have a couple more wins coming. Finishing with 4 wins would be a dramatic improvement, wouldn't you say? Especially since that would mean 3 wins in the CAA. Yes, at this point the defense gets most of the credit for the wins, if you feel you have to give credit.

I still think the offense will come together in a big way. But you're absolutely right. The runs up the middle for -2 yards on second down are killers. It was clear UNH was ready for that and the bubble screens. That's virtually all we did in the first quarter. I did like the first play going deep -- but the receiver and DB hit the ground as the ball went in the air. Incidental contact, I guess. But then we have a penally. 2nd and 15. A run that doesn't work and we're staring at 3rd and 15 or so. That's not a recipe for success.

Hopefully, hopefully we saw that the recipe for success is completely forsaking the run. Be a crazy passing team until the defense backs up and gives us the run. Heck, CC is still our leading rusher. Let him do his thing. And if DT is in the game, he's capable of using his feet, too, although not nearly as well. Still...

Bottom line, pass the friction ball all the time. Then, start mixing in the run.

I'm right here with you homer. Improvement, that's what I'm really looking for this year. Skrosky came in and cleaned up a huge mess left by the previous coach, and I'm going to give him more than a season and half. There's already been improvement with the win total, but it's hard to fall off the floor. There will be 3 more wins this season, and I agree this offense will come to life in a big way before the end of the season.

[unhaluminct]

Oct 4, 2015 18:16:45 GMT -5 fc4life said:

I'm going to blow off some steam... I just read Coach's email. There is something in this email that makes my blood boil.

"The program that Coach McDonnell has established at UNH is one that we can learn a great deal from."

This just makes me mad. We have been in FCS football for 15 years. We have been to the playoffs once. We have superior facilities to UNH. Superior campus and academics to UNH. A superior recruiting base to UNH. And what do we have to show for it. Two straight butt whippings. We should not be in a learning phase this far into our program. Our administration is to blame. One poor hire set this program back to the stone ages. We have an admin that is far too arrogant for their own good. We have a laughing stock of a program. Students don't care. Most alums don't care. We try to socially engineer everything on campus. Make everything sanitary and not fun for anyone.

I may be rambling. However, it's embarrassing to watch this team each week. Our players look like high schoolers compared to our opposition. Not to mention we run a very average scheme on offense. It is the same package we ran in 2009 with no updates. No progression. Maybe the staff should learn to get with the times. All they have to do is watch film from 2009. That's a joke.

Maybe we should go to the option. Works for Woffy.

UNH has been in FCS Football since its inception in 1978 and has had winning records most of those years. Since 1972 we've had two head coaches. They went to the D-II playoffs in 1975 (semi-finalist) and 1976 (lost by one point to eventual champion Montana State in the quarterfinals on their field). UNH has been a good football program since back in the 70's.

Going to beg to differ about the campuses. I've been to Elon twice, attended the UNH game last year. While I thought the Elon campus was nice, but no means is it "superior" to the Durham campus of UNH. Have you ever visited UNH and walked or ridden a bike on the many sidewalks and paths on campus? UNH was my first campus visit and once I completed the tour, it was my first choice. Coming in from CT on a beautiful Summer day and seeing the rivers, estuaries and tidal creeks on the way in from Portsmouth made a favorable impression. Walking through towering pines and over a creek between sections of campus, seeing the broad lawns along Main Street and the architecture of the buildings made a huge impression.

Not going to get in a pissing match about the quality of education, two different schools with different missions. Many terrific programs at UNH with a good variety of majors offered. In terms of football, UNH has an outstanding graduation rate for its athletes including the football team. More than one parent of a player has told me that the graduation rate was a strong selling point during recruiting.

I'll give you better facilities for now, but that won't be the case next year when our new grandstand is completed! But there is more to successful programs than facilities. Does JMU win the CAA every year? Lots of programs in the CAA have better facilities and more resources than UNH. But UNH has build a good football culture, attracts good kids who want to work hard who are more interested in winning than having the best facilities. We never get many "blue chippers", but kids know if they do the work, they'll have the opportunity to play. Many walk-ons earn scholarships over time. Our head coach is an alum and former player who understands and sells the attributes of UNH, has built a great family atmosphere and is a great motivator.

Back in the late 90's and early 00's, I wondered if UNH could be successful in CAA Football because we couldn't match resources, facilities, recruiting bases, etc. with many of the CAA schools but with a lot of hard work, it's been done. And I'd like to think any CAA school could do the same.