Jeff: Unfortunately, Randy Edsall is not big enough yet to make that happen. Too many other people said ridiculous things when BC left the Big East and I would say it'll still be a few more years before a deal is signed. But what it should be is that BC-UConn play every year in Foxsboro and seats are split between the two schools.
Jeff: ESPN did a mock draft last night and I don't care nearly enough to watch it but as I flipped by I saw they were on pick #16 and Matt Ryan had not been taken yet. Is Kiper serious?
Brian: #12 will be fine tomorrow. If he slips down the draft board, I know he'll represent Boston College well and handle the situation with class and dignity. Not like this bozo.
Brian: Kevin Challenger decided to forgo possible becoming Mr. Irrelevant on draft day and signed with the CFL's Calgary Stampeders. Good move?
Jeff: Great move! Was he even going to be drafted anyway? And he is from Canada.
Brian: Challenger most likely would have gone undrafted and would have had to sign as a free agent. I'm happy for Challenger that he can go play close to home (Montreal native).
Jeff: Spring game on ACC Select for free, Saturday 1pm. You gonna watch?
Brian: I'll either try to watch some of it on Saturday or check it out on Sunday. Excited to see Crane and Haden lead the offense.
Brian: Last one, word association. Team that will draft Matt Ryan tomorrow:
Jeff: Baltimore Ravens
10 comments:
At first glance UCONN might sound like a decent matchup (regional allure, Big East traditon, etc.), but I'm strongly against scheduling CT at all.
At the end of the day, it would be a step down for the program: we would gain nothing by playing them, and be subjected to a scrappy game each time with much more to lose than gain.
I'm of the mindset our out of conference schedule should entail either cakewalks (to work out the kinks early in the season) or value games (ie. classy teams with which we have some tradition- Service Academies, Syracuse, ND, Penn St., etc.- and stretches- TN, Alabamas, USC's etc.).
In my mind, UCONN's no better than playing Rutgers. I'll pass.
/nods
I couldn't disagree more. UCONN is nothing like playing Rutgers. If they don't play at a neutral site (Foxboro) it is only a 2 hour drive between stadiums. I believe it was 2003 when BC played at UCONN and UCONN was starting to be decent and it was impossible to get a ticket there. It would be a great annual matchup and I would rather play UCONN in football than basketball.
I agree with Eagle in Brighton in this sense - it is a lose lose for BC. I agree with Jeff that it could be a good rivalry and would get fans, but the problem is this - if BC loses, everyone notices, the Big East says the ACC is awful, and BC is embarrassed. If BC wins, no one will notice because, well, BC football is established and should beat UConn. It is a little bit like the games we have played in recent years against Bowling Green and Central Michigan - we won but no one cared, or even said how bad we looked in winning. It doesn't do anything to help us. We need more prestige games (Penn State, Syracuse, ND) not games where people expect us to win and jump all over us if we don't
I think there are several issues at play: local interest and long term perceptions.
If UCONN could develop into a top flight program (meaning not BCS, but annually a contender for the Big East title- akin to WV perhaps), an annual BC/UCONN matchup would be tremendous in terms of attenedence, but more so in grabbing the attention and imagination of the local sports fan too caught up on MLB/NFL etc. It will take a regional game like that to really drum up local fervor/rabid support from casual fans to elleviate BC's travel image (ie to go from 5,000 to 15-20k at a bowl game).
With that said, UCONN isn't there yet. Thet're a growing program (so scrappy, tough matchup), but don't have the tradition or name recongition of a legit football school. And like it our not, college football has and always will be a popularity contest of sorts in terms of bowl berths/exposure/ranking etc. I just don't want to be that team through which a developing program measures themselves.
We win; we're supposed to. We lose; we lose ground locally in recruitng and take a hit nationally (as perception lags reality).
UCONN looks like a tough-ish game with fleeting upside in the short run. 7-10 yrs. from now's a different matter entirely.
1) Connecticut isn't a football recruiting hotbed (to my knowledge), so we don't really need the game to boost recruiting and a presence in the state.
2) Is the UConn lawsuit over? No, seriously. Why would we want to contribute financially by scheduling a football series with a school that was/is suing us over leaving the Big East.
3) A UConn game is lose lose in my opinion. If we lose, we get embarrassed and "legitimize" their program. If we win, so what.
4) The annual MAC series, although it seems like a lose lose, probably had something to do with TOB's infatuation with recruiting in Ohio (and specifically Cincinnati). If we want to continue to focus on Midwest recruiting, I don't think the MAC series is all that bad.
I have no desire to ever play UConn in football. when we left the Big East, Calhoun openly said he would NEVER play BC again. Ok, fine. But now Edsall is basically begging to play us. Why? because if he wins its a HUGE coup for them. Don't forget this, if the officials do not blatantly cheat for UConn last year (see Louisville & Temple) they go 6-6 and still do not matter to anyone. All playing them can do is hurt us. I would much rather play a MAC team or Conf USA team, which could help out exposure to other areas and help recruiting.
PS.On another note, I met Matt Ryan at an NFL draft forum last night, and he and his parents are as nice as has always been advertised. I never really doubted that, but its great to see in person. When I told them I was a fellow BC grad, they all thought that was awesome and chatted for a few minutes before the NFL people rushed them out the door.
always great to hear that about matt and his fam. our buddy is at some NFL draft luncheon with the projected top 5 picks right now.
his text to me ... "Matt ryan is well dressed"
You stay classy, #12.
Lets say BC and UConn sign a contract tommorrow to play in football. They wouldn't actually play each other until 2012 or there abouts.
Meanwhile UConn has already been ranked in the top 25 the last two years, gone to several bowl games, and last year they played West Virginia in a game to determine the Big East champion and a BCS bowl berth. So UConn is no MAC team already and by the time we would play them in 2012 or later UConn will have more football history. Losing to them would not ruin BC.
Jeff, I never knew you were such a huge UConn fan. We should not play the Huskies...ever. With the Cuse game and the DIAA game, there's no room for another Big East team.
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