verandaman

Tickets bought; donation made....now let's just get the border open!

2 hours ago, promotherobot said:

Would have been better to say "exploit their weaknesses" instead of "hiding out weaknesses."

I had a chance to talk with Jimmy Conners once when he was in Toronto for the Players Tennis Challenge (which we had sponsored).  I asked what he thought was a key to his success (charm aside)?  He said, "I play to my strength, not my opponent's weakness".

So maybe you can't/don't need to hide your weakness...but you better be prepared for what your opponent is good at.

33 minutes ago, RecoveringHillbilly said:

It would be a hell of a shock if you were the last to know ☺️

Don't they say that the husband is always the last to know?

I'd have to go to UB and protest in such an eventuality (O'Neill leaving) ...but, I'm having a beggar of a time getting across the border...

2 minutes ago, BrooklynBull said:

Gill had one good year, that was close to being a horrible season if not for a few miracles.  Hail Mary, 20 point 4th quarter comeback at Bowling Green, OT win against Army.

It is not a football only field house.  It is also used by softball and track and field.

The field house, locker room and the fueling station were paid for in most part by private donations and pledging future pay games revenues.  Last year losing the Kansas State and Ohio State games will hurt short term on repaying the debt on the field house.

4OT win at Akron...

1 hour ago, BrooklynBull said:

One thing that hurt Patterson was the competition. The mindless prattle of filler that was ESPN yesterday included something that they said scouts review.  What did he do against others that are likely to be in the NFL.  Do not look at what a player does against a poor quality opponent, look at what they do against the cream of the crop.  Running for miles against Bowling Green is meaningless.  What would he have done against Ohio State last year or Nebraska in the fall.  All of his numbers are great, but what did he do against equal or better competition?

Does anyone think Khalil Mack would have gone fifth overall if not for the Ohio State game?  He did not play against Georgia in his junior year.

Well if he hadn't punched out Fred Lee, I'd have been able to see him Between the Hedges. 🙂

Just now, Jeseph said:

 

That will keep my OU barbeque apron clean......drat.

And now for something (new?) and different...

I am in deep admiration of all of those on this board whose ethics and character would have them turn down a likely tripling of income, perquisites and ancillary opportunity, all in the name of what a fan base would desire; or at age 56 (how many on the board are 56 or older?....I digress) turn down what,  as has been noted, could be the proverbial "last kick at the can...".  Some would say, Carpe Diem.

It seems to me that there is ample evidence that NCAA football (sports in general) is a business, rather than a hobby or passing interest.  Business can be cold sometimes.  I presume Lance made a business decision with/for his family and his own sense of opportunity.

Personally, I wish Lance and his family nothing but the best.  I hope he is a great success at Kansas.  Will he be successful?  Well I guess that depends who measures; what criteria they define; and how long he is given.  But in the meanwhile, the business of football (sports in general) will go on, and continue to make a great deal of money, and engage fans emotionally both up and down.

The timing sucks.  This too we will survive.  

Ah, the life of a mid-major fan..."Next Coach In"!

4 hours ago, RoughToughBulls15 said:

I would really like to see Alnutt come out and offer Lance close to what he deserves after all this (granted he stays). The fact he is only making 500k/year is ridiculous. We were shelling out close to 1M for Oats and we should do the same if not more for Lance if we are serious about becoming a consistent competitive program.

If we are only willing to pay our most successful football coach in D1 era 500k/year then we as fans have to temper our expectations on the ceiling and floor of this program.

So Lance, is that you masquerading as RoughToughBulls15?

Agree with you ('er, RTB15) anyway!

Sharp Analytics added....UB is rated slightly ahead of Nebraska; trail both Coastal and Ball

 2021 Beta_Rank Projections | Sharp CFB (sharpcollegefootball.com)

2021 College Football Power Index | ESPN

UB comes in at #64 in the FPI.  What's interesting is the projected wins total at 8.8; and a 98.6% chance of winning 6 or more games (Bowl Eligibility).  It also pegs UB as having a 61.5 % chance of winning the MAC East, and 29.4% chance of winning the MAC!

For all of the years I have been watching UB football, this years projections (yup, I know they are only projections) are the most encouraging yet.

I sent a note to ESPN asking what the Index was for the border between Canada and the United States being open by the end of August this year...still waiting for a reply! 

I was reading Stewart Mandel's article in The Athletic today...Top 25 FBS Coaches.  Guess who came in at #22?  Yup.  More love for Lance.

I hope Lance stays for another year or two. However, he is likely to leave rather than retire from UB.  So it is also likely a case of "when", not "if".  Wherever he might go, there will be no guarantee of success.

Now if he can get triple or more the money that he is currently making, and goes for three years at that level, it is the same as nine years at UB.  If he waits an additional year or two:

1) he is older which is not a plus (this from a guy older than Lance, so don't rip me for age discrimination);

2) he will have made $1.5 to $3.0 million or so less, plus opportunity cost;

3) he may stumbe at UB (I suspect not, but UB is not guaranteed future success any more than any other team) and lose more future attractiveness

If he goes to Kansas, for example

1) he immediately gets more $$$

2) he doesn't need to win a lot in 2021 or 2022 to sustain his value (although that would help)

3) if he turns Kansas around, he will get any job within reason that he might want; and/or materially more prestige, recognition and (yes) cash in future years.

I opened by saying I hope he stays.  That's because I want UB to continue to be successful and I think he can lead that; although as noted, that's not guaranteed.

But if he was offered and chose to go, I hope it is because the move would fit and feel right for him and his family; and that he wants one more challenge at doing what a lot of people want to say can't be done.  I remember the skepticism when Danny hired a D III coach; that worked out okay for Lance and family it appears.

I have a sense that he'll not be rash in jumping to any job; rather he appears to be a guy who will be thoughtful and deliberate.  In the meanwhile, Go Bulls!

I'm with you, Brook, on the "hopefully".  I like this schedule, and now just need to wait and see if UB will have fans attend the games; if so, how many; and (forgive the selfishness), whether or not the border is open between Canada and the United States.  Even if it is open, if the return criteria are overly strict (two week quarantine upon return, for example), then it may not be practical to attend more than one game this year.  I'm hoping for football and open borders!

I'd make five of the six home games; plus do a road trip to Miami (OH) in Oxford.  I'd miss the Bowling Green game, while galavanting around Oklahoma for games at Tulsa, and OU.

So, I am hoping hard!  Go Bulls!

3 hours ago, BrooklynBull said:

This typical for Kent State.

 

2021:

• 09/04 - at Texas A&M
• 09/11 - VMI
• 09/18 - at Iowa
• 09/25 - at Maryland

2019:

Arizona  State Auburn Wisconsin

2018:

Illinois Penn State Mississippi

This is how they pay for the overall athletic budget.

I guess I hadn't really paid much attention to their schedule before.  That, and playing OU and Georgia in the same year, caught my eye.  It's possible that all three road OOC opponents could be Top 10 in 2022...talk about Murderers Row!

I am know to grumble about teams only having one (of four) OOC games at home.  UB will have only one home OOC game in 2022, for example.  Yes, I inderstand the need for "pay day" games.  But Kent State may be taking it to new heights (?) next year.

I saw an announcement today that they will play Oklahoma (in Norman, OK) next year.  Add that to existing scheduled OOC games at Athens, Georgia versus Georgia Bulldogs and Seattle, Washington versus the Huskies.  I'm not sure I can remember any MAC team ever scheduling three Top 25 (?) P5 teams in the same season.

If you assume they schedule a home FCS team, and win, they will need to go 5-3 in the MAC to be bowl eligible...and we know that they won't beat UB.

They will make a pot full of money though.

A subtle example of the haves and havenots model at work. 

4 hours ago, BrooklynBull said:

@admin See comments on editing.  Also I think the ability to do things will vary from user to user.

Some can edit, some can post with a twitter link and have the tweet appear and some cannot react to a comment.

Sounds like "win some; lose some" to me       #UBhornsUP

17 hours ago, UBinMD said:

You also need to consider the league we are in. I would rather be a contender every year and keep getting really good recruits and dominating versus the rest of the league. Every team seems to be good for 2 year then complete crap for several years. Ball State hadn't won the championship since 1996! That's typical MAC. We need to dominate for a few more years and move on ala Marshall when they left the MAC. It would have been great to have a championship this year, but honestly, the player choked. They got punched and didn't react well. As for play calling, maybe a few suspect calls, but if Marks makes the catch, it's an easy TD. That was 100% the right play call, but coaches can't catch balls. Hold players accountable as much as the coaches. Did the OL underperform or was Ball State that much better than what Patterson played so far? VanTrease played out of his mind and should be commended. Nunn had two really bad drops that would have been potential game changers. Shit happens, I was as pissed off as anyone, just ask my wife. Let's hope everyone learns from this and brings their A game to the Bowl game and beat Marshall. That will be a solid program win. That's my opinion on the subject.

I saw on Twitter where marks manned-up and said he should have caught it, but lost it in the lights.  I'm guessing he isn't the first to have that experience.  He also ran for almost 100 and a TD.  I'm thinking he gets a pass for the drop.  Play calling was indeed suspect.  So is hitting your head against a wall.  Just ask Patterson.

18 hours ago, promotherobot said:

We're never going to get into the CFP so if Leipold can keep us bowl eligible most years, I can live with that. Maybe he'll eventually learn how to win a postseason game.

Bahamas Bowl excepted.  I agree with your opener about bowl eligibility (plus a few MAC Championships thrown in for good measure!).

I like this class a lot.  I am a big fan of OL recruits (no pun intended).  The game is hinged on the quality of the guys in the trenches.  If we can get these tall kids to add about 20-30 good pounds each, we will be in fantastic shape moving forward.

The balance of this class is also very impressive.

Nicely done UB!

2 hours ago, myBuffalo said:

and struggled in Lawrence too.

Lawrence is a tough town for football.  Kansas is a basketball school, by and large; little in-state football recruits of high ranking (and a good number of those head to Oklahoma to play); not much of a draw (other than Kansas City?); etc..  The exception in the last 20 years or so was the Mark Mangino (The Fat Man) era.  He took them to the Orange Bowl and victory, but then got chased from town for bullying players (?) or something like that.

Illinois should be a good school, with in-state, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio recruits by the truckload.  Not sure why Lovie didn't have better results.  Dick Butkus and Red Grange know better.

I hope Lance stays at UB, but I believe he could make Illinois work if they had patience.  A quick-fix guy he is not (or so it would appear).

On 12/10/2020 at 8:04 AM, UBinMD said:

I guess that assumes they want them back. I suppose it could just be a bad fit. Seems odd that a freshman wants out, unless he's buried in the 2-Deep and isn't confident they can beat out the guys in front anytime soon. Plus, as a WR, you have to be able to have certain mentality to be a contributor, if not, you are SOL. Our WRs block very well, someone who has not had to do that in HS may not want that for their career. There are plenty of teams that air it out and throw 50 times again, so maybe that is more appealing.

Some kids just get homesick....talk that Arik Gilbert at LSU may transfer closer to home, and he has been a great fit.

I'm rooting for the International Bowl...oh wait.  I'm rooting for a Bowl game versus any ranked opponent.

Yup

saw the message from the MAC.....covid at Ohio U

I saw on twitter a comment that the issues were with Kent....I'm not saying that is correct; but it was stated as such.  I'm with Chubby on this one....keeping an eye on the UB sick bay for the next couple of days in particular.