(09-15-2015 05:07 PM)jskwrite Wrote: (09-15-2015 02:20 PM)Eagle78 Wrote: (09-15-2015 11:56 AM)jskwrite Wrote: (09-15-2015 10:32 AM)connecticutguy Wrote: It's clear the Big 10 should have taken UConn instead of Rutgers. They can still add UConn so if Rutgers has to drop out of the Big because of scandals, the Big has a solid university as a member.
I still say they should have taken another P5 or waited... couple Maryland with another ACC school or a Big 12 school.
I could go on and on about Rutgers vs. UConn. Rutgers fans seem to be a bit delusional about their program and its interest (especially in NYC). UConn football is pretty low now... (throw Syracuse in there as there's more Syracuse interest in NYC than there is Rutgers interest) but Syracuse has proven they can win a Big East and UConn has proven they can rise to the level of their league.
here it is .. one more time. I have posed this question many times and never even gotten a response.
Going to put it in bold.
Rutgers had over a decade in the best recruiting area in the country to become competitive in basketball in a league comparable to the Big 10 (in basketball) and they were the second worst team in the Big East over that period against a lot of catholic/non-public schools with a lot fewer resources. No NCAA appearances. Only one season in the top half of the league. Why am I to think that Rutgers is ever going to be good at football (when it's harder to build a football program than a basketball one) in a great football league like the Big 10 when they never were competitive in basketball in the Big East?
I don't know. I think this is a it of an unfair commentary. As much as I find it hard to defend RU - as their fans would never do the same for my alma mater - fair is fair.
Right now, the RU AD is going through some turmoil. But to infer that this will be the permanent state of things is unfair...IMO. Just as it would be unfair to say, for example, that Uconn FB will never be any good based on a limited sample (5 winning seasons in 11 seasons in an FBS conference). It's just not fair.
As far as RU fans being delusional. Yup, they probably are. So aren't BC, SU, Uconn, Pitt, UL, fans...etc...etc. It's the nature of being fans. It's what we do. (If you doubt me, just look at your own Uconn board and see the reaction of many fans to 5-point wins at home over an FCS team and an historically weak Service Academy team.). Again, WE ALL are guilty of this!
Finally, to conflate the current spate of bad news coming out of the RU AD with a general argument that they should not have been invited to the BiG smacks of agenda-driven self interest, IMO. EVERY school at one time or another has had its share of embarrassing incidents, a fact which we like to conveniently forget when another school's ox is being gored. We trip all over ourselves to voice various rationales when these things happen to our schools, but we become a virtual "hanging judge Landis" when it happens to some other school - especially if it fits our narrow agendas.
Just my 2 cents.
Every answer (even from a BC fan!) about this I've ever seen has included UConn. Why? I'm on record here saying the Big 10 should have waited for a Big 12 or ACC team rather than add Rutgers or UConn.
This is about Rutgers, not UConn, not Syracuse or BC. Rutgers was not a top football team in the Big East. West Virginia, Louisville and Cincinnati were the teams winning Big East titles, not Rutgers, in those final years and pre-Schiano Rutgers was horrible (just throwing that in there because I always hear the "they had one good coach" line... who's Rutgers other good coach since the 70s?)
As far as UConn fans being delusional.... and all fans.. you are right of course. I think UConn fans have pretty lofty expectations. Can you blame them? They went from I-AA to competitive in a P6, even winning the conference once - in less than a decade. And then there is basketball. They've won 4 out of the last 20 basketball titles. There are a slew of Huskies in the NBA, MLB and NFL... UConn fans who are under the age of 40 have never seen UConn go through years and years of struggles in any sport. So they have high expectations. Every UConn fan will look at their program, think "we went from nothing to NCAA titles in basketball in the Big East when it was the best league in college basketball".. "went from I-AA to playing in bowl games 4 of 5 years, including winning the league"... UConn fans have seen UConn programs grow very successfully. There is no reason to think you wouldn't get a good UConn football team in 5 years if they were in the Big 10. I'd rather play for Diaco than Flood. I'd rather be in Storrs than Piscataway. UConn and Rutgers weren't that different when they were in the Big East. Rutgers had a better recruiter in Schiano and Edsall was good at winning with lesser talent.
But like I said, the Big 10 shouldn't be bringing in a team to be win in 5 years.. they should be winning right away. Rutgers is in major trouble this year. They'll likely have a new coach next year and new coaches in the Big 10 not named "Urban" tend to struggle immensely.
I am not sure you completely got what I was trying to say. I wasn't singling out Uconn. I took great pains to say we as fans are ALL guilty of the same hubris at various times. Yes, I used two specific Uconn examples, but only because I was replying to you - a Uconn fan - so the examples would have more relevance to you. Had you been an SU, Pitt, or yes, even a BC fan, I would have used examples from those schools. Lord knows, we all have the same hubris!!
My issue with your OP were your comments in red. Specifically, your statement that Rutgers will likely not be successful in FB based on their past. You asked for a response and I am giving you one. :)
Frankly, if you look at RU, their FB on-the-field success, while not spectacular, has been as good, if not better, than Uconn's - especially the last few years. As I said, ALL of our opinions are driven by agendas. With all due respect, I think here is an example of yours:
RU was on a definite rise when GS was coaching them, including having a ranked team one year. They have stumbled a bit with the coaching change - and for this you proclaim that they don't have a bright future in FB. Interestingly, at roughly the same time, Uconn had a coaching change that has resulted in Uconn descending far below Rutgers - yet, in Uconn's situation, you guys chalk it up to a blip due to a coaching change, that will be rectified with this new coach, or maybe the next. As a fan, that's certainly a good expectation, and might very well be accurate, but you gotta be consistent to be fair - Rutgers can also improve the same way.
Look, this is one of those times that as a partisan fan, I DON'T have an agenda. I am only saying that all of us apply differing standards to very similar situations based on our biases and agendas. ALL OF US! (Rutgers fans themselves are currently doing this, IMO. Just look at the responses on their board to the most recent arrest. Many of their fans are contorting themselves all over the place to "put into context", or give the accused every benefit of the doubt. However, when similar things happen involving athletes at other schools, their responses are typically FAR less charitable! This happens with every other fanbase, IMO.)
(I understand that you might counter by saying that because Uconn has been elite in BB in a talent rich region, that this will ultimately translate to FB success in a far less talent rich region. Maybe it will. But it's far from certain. There are plenty of elite BB programs that have never risen to be anything but pedestrian FB programs - Duke and UNC are but two examples, IMO.)
All I am doing is shining a light on all of our collective hypocrisies. That's all. Nothing else. Again, I am responding to your OP because, well, you asked for a response. :)
Just my 2 cents.