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Post by sader1970 on Jun 25, 2021 12:05:31 GMT -5
I can't address this one way or the other but as far as this comment:
My hope is that Coach Chesney is of like mind when it comes to playing BC, Syracuse, Navy, etc. But a number of our posters seem to want us to shy away from these games for fear our guys will get hurt.
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Post by timholycross on Jun 25, 2021 13:27:56 GMT -5
I think in that era I'd be as much afraid of playing on some of those green parking lots as I'd be as who was on the other side of the hits.
Thank goodness that type of field does not exist any more.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jun 25, 2021 13:40:57 GMT -5
We've discussed this issue of the physical dangers of facing higher level teams. Not having been a player I can't offer any personal experience, but maybe our ex-players can weigh in again. A player running a 4.7 40 runs it at 17.4 MPH while a much slower player running a 5.2 40 runs at 15.7 MPH. So the faster guy is only 11% faster. Even if the Power 5 players are also, on average, 10% bigger it just doesn't seem to me that the P5 player is generating that much more force. After all, don't 180 pound running backs regularly get tackled in the open field by 230 pound linebackers and jump up ready for the next play?
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Post by hc87 on Jun 25, 2021 14:02:35 GMT -5
It's more about the speed/athleticism from what I've seen ovah the years in games between FBS-FCS schools. FBS guys are bigger in general but not appreciably so aside from the occasional monster on one of those teams.
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Post by sader1970 on Jun 25, 2021 14:41:34 GMT -5
My unscientific observation at the last game against BC that the biggest differential was their running back who was both huge and fast and broke multiple tackles rather than the linemen, linebackers or other positions.
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Post by efg72 on Jun 25, 2021 15:23:26 GMT -5
It's more about the speed/athleticism from what I've seen ovah the years in games between FBS-FCS schools. FBS guys are bigger in general but not appreciably so aside from the occasional monster on one of those teams. THat plus roster depth
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Post by HC92 on Jun 25, 2021 16:14:21 GMT -5
My unscientific observation at the last game against BC that the biggest differential was their running back who was both huge and fast and broke multiple tackles rather than the linemen, linebackers or other positions. AJ Dillon averaged 5.3 ypc this year for the Packers so I don’t feel too badly that we couldn’t stop him in Chesney’s first season. We’re a lot better now but guys like Dillon will always be a tough matchup for an FCS team.
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Jun 25, 2021 23:05:49 GMT -5
I can't address this one way or the other but as far as this comment: My hope is that Coach Chesney is of like mind when it comes to playing BC, Syracuse, Navy, etc. But a number of our posters seem to want us to shy away from these games for fear our guys will get hurt. As I've noted previously, Ches wants nothing to do with 1A games. Fact, not opinion.
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Post by sader1970 on Jun 26, 2021 6:16:16 GMT -5
Note that all you want and while that may be true based on some conversation that you've had with him, as long as he's at Holy Cross he's going to have to play one or two a year in order to get the revenue to pay for the football program. And he knows that and either accepts that or moves on. Pretty sure that he's not unhappy enough to move on unless it's to one of those 1-A programs that are on the buying end of those games. He won't like it on the other end either, I'm sure. Nothing worse for a 1-A team than paying a team to play you and then losing.
I can tell you that Tom Gilmore didn't like them either with the exception of games like UConn because not only would we get paid but because we had a decent chance of beating them and a more than probable chance of at least being competitive. He also liked the proximity. Believe he also said he would be fine with playing UMass. He was also not against playing BC because of the tradition. Army as well. I'm sure he would have been against playing Syracuse (or Nebraska or Notre Dame or . . . . )
So, 1-A games are a fact of life at our level.
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Post by timholycross on Jun 26, 2021 8:32:48 GMT -5
W/o one (or two in an unusual year) BCS opponent, it makes HC dependent on a non-leaguer (Harvard or Yale or, maybe UNH) for a game with a decent gate. Our league doesn't travel well except in rare circumstances.
Maybe a good FCS school would draw a good crowd, but there's no guarantee of that. Only people like us seem to know that those are good teams worth watching. The general public isn't impressed.
The program's more or less going to operate on a loss, but the loss has to be within certain parameters or the program's viability is in peril.
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Post by rgs318 on Jun 26, 2021 10:28:02 GMT -5
Well said, Tim. The financial loss has to be offset by the non-monetary contributions of the sports to the entire HC community. Unless there is some balance (not necessarily a "profit') the future of a sport at HC may be in jeopardy.
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Post by beaven302 on Jun 30, 2021 14:52:16 GMT -5
Apart from other considerations, the games against major teams can result in real achievements for individual HC players. I recall Brian Kavanaugh telling me how he blew up All-American Floyd Little on a kick-return play, causing him to fumble near the Syracuse goal line, a play that led to HC's only TD in what was a lopsided game. In 1966, those of us who lived on the same floor as second-string lineman Ray Weaver enjoyed the sight of him sacking the Syracuse quarterback.
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Post by beaven302 on Jun 30, 2021 15:00:01 GMT -5
Was in attendance at the BC-HC game in '83. HC was undefeated & pumped up. The team stormed onto the field , music blasting. Then the game started. The game was a disaster, an absolute nightmare. The players did their best but were clearly totally overmatched, physically outmanned in every phase of this game. It was brutal. I had always held out hope that the rivalry could continue but not after witnessing this massacre of a great HC team. The game was not a one off loss. BC had been clobbering HC for many consecutive years. Some games were closer but the result was the same. BC wins. This game brought me to the realization that HC could no longer compete against BC.It was clear. HC did not belong on the same field with BC and hadn't belonged for a number of years. Left the stadium on that day extremely demoralized. Very sad and a bit angry for some reason. It was obvious. The annual rivalry game against BC had to end. It was a great loss for many of us. Football has never been quite the same for me & others. I recall going to that game and it was truly a debacle. I didn't expect HC to win, but given the closeness of recent BC games, I didn't expect the rout. Adding to the dismal nature of the event was that it was freezing cold and the Foxboro stadium had no ambiance whatever. It's too bad that this HC team couldn't have played against a team like the winless '78 BC squad or some of the decidedly mediocre teams that BC fielded after the Flutie-inspired glory days were over.
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