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Post by hcpride on May 17, 2022 11:05:03 GMT -5
Agreed. Given our recruiting (a particular strength of Bob Chesney) and player development (another strength of our program lately) we’ve widened the talent gap with the rest of the Patriot League. Of course, smacking around the PL and smacking around teams in the playoffs are two different things entirely - as we saw last year. Felt like this game was a coin flip early on in the 4th quarter. Our experience and talent ended up prevailing, but Lehigh seemed to click in the final five games of the season -- close loss to Fordham (should have beat them), very competitive game against HC, and then wins against Bucknell, Georgetown, Lafayette. To be fair, those last three teams were horrendous. Even worse than their combined 6-25 might suggest since they played each other and somebody mathematically had to win. Lehigh’s only (!) wins last year were against those three juggernauts. PL was awful last year (minus us).
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Post by longsuffering on May 17, 2022 11:25:29 GMT -5
Somebody had to win. But those last three games weren't toss ups. Lehigh has a head of steam to start the season.
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Post by hcpride on May 17, 2022 11:57:19 GMT -5
Somebody had to win. But those last three games weren't toss ups. Lehigh has a head of steam to start the season. Bring back Tom Gilmore?
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Post by longsuffering on May 17, 2022 13:22:05 GMT -5
🤕 No, been there done that, got the purple hat.🙂
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Post by hc87 on May 17, 2022 16:25:15 GMT -5
They were on the schedule nearly annually from the mid '70s through the early/mid '80s...a result of both our dabbling in joining the Yankee conference then, as well as us downgrading and joining 1-AA and dropping teams like Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple etc from the schedule during that era. When we joined the PL, it left the amount of OOC games at a minimum for historic Ivy rivals, UMass, BU etc...sort of squeezing URI off the schedule.I think it's more the other way around. While the PL schedule "only" allows for 5 OOC games per year, URI has been a member of the CAA (which was previously the A-10 and Yankee prior to that) with just 3 OOC opportunities available per season. URI plays 8 CAA games, an annual FBS guarantee game as well as the Governor's Cup against Brown every year. That leaves one game remaining, and with in-state Bryant having moved up I believed they've played them a handful of times. URI played a four-game series with Harvard that ended in 2019. When I was at Holy Cross, they had what I believe was a four-year "Rams v. Rams" series against Fordham. True today but I don't think Rhody was playing 8 Yankee/A-10 games in much of the mid/late '80s and 90s or playing FBS teams in that era either. Good game for us imo...local, solid level etc
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Post by longsuffering on May 17, 2022 16:47:52 GMT -5
All good. A higher level FCS league in our back yard. We can play them and still have access to the playoffs through the PL that URI can only dream of.
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Post by bfoley82 on May 17, 2022 17:38:41 GMT -5
All good. A higher level FCS league in our back yard. We can play them and still have access to the playoffs through the PL that URI can only dream of. URI was right on the bubble last year heading into the last weekend. They didn't need to dream. After losing to Elon in the season finale to finish 7-4 and 4-4 in the CAA, they put this in the press release. What's Next Rhode Island will wait to see its fate. The FCS playoff field will be announced Sunday on ESPNU at 12:30 p.m. gorhody.com/news/2021/11/20/football-rams-fall-to-elon-in-regular-season-finale-43-28.aspx
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Post by longsuffering on May 17, 2022 18:42:04 GMT -5
All good. A higher level FCS league in our back yard. We can play them and still have access to the playoffs through the PL that URI can only dream of. URI was right on the bubble last year heading into the last weekend. They didn't need to dream. After losing to Elon in the season finale to finish 7-4 and 4-4 in the CAA, they put this in the press release. What's Next Rhode Island will wait to see its fate. The FCS playoff field will be announced Sunday on ESPNU at 12:30 p.m. gorhody.com/news/2021/11/20/football-rams-fall-to-elon-in-regular-season-finale-43-28.aspxWe may not be communicating in sync. The URI playoff dreams died on the field at coincidentally named Rhodes Stadium in Elon, NC. last season while HC took the PL auto bid for an exciting two game post season run. URI at 7-4, (4-4 CAA) beat an FCS team (UMass) like HC beat UConn, and like HC they did not get an at large bid but their CAA membership didn't help them make the FCS tournament like HC's PL membership helped them. That's what I meant by URI can only dream of HC's playoff access. Being on the bubble out of the CAA is great until the bubble bursts.
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Post by bfoley82 on May 17, 2022 18:46:49 GMT -5
We may not be communicating in sync. The URI playoff dreams died on the field at coincidentally named Rhodes Stadium in Elon, NC. last season while HC took the PL auto bid for an exciting two game post season run. URI at 7-4, (4-4 CAA) beat an FCS team (UMass) like HC beat UConn, and like HC they did not get an at large bid but their CAA membership didn't help them make the FCS tournament like HC's PL membership helped them. That's what I meant by URI can only dream of HC's playoff access. Being on the bubble out of the CAA is great until the bubble bursts. Well, they don't have one path to the NCAA tournament like HC does. To be on the bubble with a .500 conference record is incredible. HC would dream the many ways CAA schools have to get in the tourney.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on May 17, 2022 19:44:39 GMT -5
There you go again
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Post by longsuffering on May 17, 2022 21:15:52 GMT -5
We may not be communicating in sync. The URI playoff dreams died on the field at coincidentally named Rhodes Stadium in Elon, NC. last season while HC took the PL auto bid for an exciting two game post season run. URI at 7-4, (4-4 CAA) beat an FCS team (UMass) like HC beat UConn, and like HC they did not get an at large bid but their CAA membership didn't help them make the FCS tournament like HC's PL membership helped them. That's what I meant by URI can only dream of HC's playoff access. Being on the bubble out of the CAA is great until the bubble bursts. Well, they don't have one path to the NCAA tournament like HC does. To be on the bubble with a .500 conference record is incredible. HC would dream the many ways CAA schools have to get in the tourney. I don't follow your logic. HC has the same two avenues as the CAA teams, but a much better chance of getting in by the avenue a team has the most control over, the auto bid. URI lost to Villanova by 44-0 last year, HC did much better. That loss may have burst the Rams bubble. HC didn't have to worry about their Harvard or Merrimack losses bursting their bubble. They took care of business in the league.
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Post by DFW HOYA on May 17, 2022 21:20:12 GMT -5
Felt like this game was a coin flip early on in the 4th quarter. Our experience and talent ended up prevailing, but Lehigh seemed to click in the final five games of the season -- close loss to Fordham (should have beat them), very competitive game against HC, and then wins against Bucknell, Georgetown, Lafayette. To be fair, those last three teams were horrendous. Even worse than their combined 6-25 might suggest since they played each other and somebody mathematically had to win. Lehigh’s only (!) wins last year were against those three juggernauts. PL was awful last year (minus us). When four out of seven teams in this league are in the bottom 30 in the subdivision, it makes it even more difficult for the one at the top to make a case for its national stature.
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Post by longsuffering on May 17, 2022 21:48:57 GMT -5
To be fair, those last three teams were horrendous. Even worse than their combined 6-25 might suggest since they played each other and somebody mathematically had to win. Lehigh’s only (!) wins last year were against those three juggernauts. PL was awful last year (minus us). When four out of seven teams in this league are in the bottom 30 in the subdivision, it makes it even more difficult for the one at the top to make a case for its national stature. You are in a tough spot as a GU FB fan, but shouldn't Lehigh, Lafayette and Bucknell respond to some degree with greater resources to try to keep up with HC, FU and CU? If so, Chesney is helping lift the league as a whole.
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Post by bfoley82 on May 17, 2022 22:39:07 GMT -5
Well, they don't have one path to the NCAA tournament like HC does. To be on the bubble with a .500 conference record is incredible. HC would dream the many ways CAA schools have to get in the tourney. I don't follow your logic. HC has the same two avenues as the CAA teams, but a much better chance of getting in by the avenue a team has the most control over, the auto bid. URI lost to Villanova by 44-0 last year, HC did much better. That loss may have burst the Rams bubble. HC didn't have to worry about their Harvard or Merrimack losses bursting their bubble. They took care of business in the league. The Patriot League is 8-14 in the last 12 years of NCAA play. So that would be only 14 bids in 12 years so got a second bid on only two occasions. The CAA since 2010 has sent multiple teams to the tournament including six teams in 2018, five teams in 2011, four teams in 2010 and 2014-17 seasons, and three teams in 2012, 2013, and 2019. In 2020 and 2021 postseasons, they sent two. They actually have a REAL chance to get an at-large out of that conference while it is VERY rare for a PL team.
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Post by longsuffering on May 17, 2022 23:19:11 GMT -5
I don't follow your logic. HC has the same two avenues as the CAA teams, but a much better chance of getting in by the avenue a team has the most control over, the auto bid. URI lost to Villanova by 44-0 last year, HC did much better. That loss may have burst the Rams bubble. HC didn't have to worry about their Harvard or Merrimack losses bursting their bubble. They took care of business in the league. The Patriot League is 8-14 in the last 12 years of NCAA play. So that would be only 14 bids in 12 years so got a second bid on only two occasions. The CAA since 2010 has sent multiple teams to the tournament including six teams in 2018, five teams in 2011, four teams in 2010 and 2014-17 seasons, and three teams in 2012, 2013, and 2019. In 2020 and 2021 postseasons, they sent two. They actually have a REAL chance to get an at-large out of that conference while it is VERY rare for a PL team. Yes, but a poor chance for a team like URI to get the auto bid. A case could be made that HC and URI were fairly evenly matched last year yet URI went home early. The CAA is a higher level football league than the PL. But a team at the current level of HC or URI has much easier access to the post season out of the PL. And you can't make moise in the post season if you can't get in.
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Post by longsuffering on May 17, 2022 23:38:06 GMT -5
I went back twenty years. URI hasn't had a sniff of the FCS playoffs out of the CAA in the past two decades. Their record has been dreadful. All bad losing seasons except for one 6-5 year and in 2001 they were 8-3, but being in the CAA didn't help them get into the post season just like last year when they were 7-4 and shut out.
The Rams haven't made the playoffs since 1985. The CAA is absolutely killing URI.
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Post by bfoley82 on May 18, 2022 1:55:48 GMT -5
I went back twenty years. URI hasn't had a sniff of the FCS playoffs out of the CAA in the past two decades. Their record has been dreadful. All bad losing seasons except for one 6-5 year and in 2001 they were 8-3, but being in the CAA didn't help them get into the post season just like last year when they were 7-4 and shut out. The Rams haven't made the playoffs since 1985. The CAA is absolutely killing URI. Then you haven’t followed what has been going on with URI football with the funding being pulled, then given back, etc over those 20 years… Here is one article from 2010 patch.com/rhode-island/narragansett/uri-football-switches-to-northeast-conferenceURI still has more NCAA football playoff wins than HC.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on May 18, 2022 7:11:13 GMT -5
I understand that URI and UNH are looking to join the ACC or the Big 10, relying on the Foley analysis of the great strength of the two programs. This should be a great boost for college football in New England. Stay tuned!!!
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Post by football44 on May 18, 2022 7:27:19 GMT -5
I understand that URI and UNH are looking to join the ACC or the Big 10, relying on the Foley analysis of the great strength of the two programs. This should be a great boost for college football in New England. Stay tuned!!! Good luck!! (See U Mass).
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Post by rgs318 on May 18, 2022 7:30:26 GMT -5
KY, I admire your dual use of humor and sarcasm.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on May 18, 2022 8:27:52 GMT -5
URI football, as foley posted, at one point planned to leave the CAA and join the NEC in football to become more competitive. However, they ended up staying on board, which may have helped save CAA Football as we know it today. In the wake of UMass announcing it's move to the MAC and Northeastern and Hofstra dropping football, a URI exit would've left Maine and UNH on an island, with Villanova being next closest opponent. There was brief talk at the time that UNH and Maine would go PL in football. Of course, URI stayed, and the CAA quickly brought on Albany and Stony Brook as affiliate football schools.
The Rams have definitely showed some signs of life the past few years. Last year, they needed one more win to get an at-large berth. They also looked strong in spring 2020 but their season was shortened by repeat COVID outbreaks. Don't know their final record in '18 and '19 but they did beat Harvard both those years after losing the first two games in the series by 40+ points. I would expect our upcoming games with URI to be competitive. And it wouldn't surprise me if we see them in the postseason this year. A Holy Cross-URI matchup last year would probably have been a coin flip.
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Post by HC92 on May 18, 2022 9:14:09 GMT -5
Foley’s got to dig deep in the bag of tricks to criticize HC football. The only way HC doesn’t get the auto-bid is if we suffer an upset in PL play. If that happens and costs us the auto-bid, we’ll have a much better chance of an at-large bid that your average second place PL team. A 9-2 HC team with one bad PL loss would still be in a good spot for an at-large this year.
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Post by HC92 on May 18, 2022 11:36:59 GMT -5
HERO Sports is out with their preseason top 25. Names of interest:
9. Villanova 17. HC 22. Harvard 23. Dartmouth
Inadvertently omitted: UNH, URI
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Post by hc87 on May 18, 2022 12:18:16 GMT -5
A sneaky (as in a mostly unheralded) good win in the Carter/Duffner era was the 1984 19-0 shutout of a URI team that ultimately made the 1-AA semifinals.
They had a great QB in Tom Erhardt...just a magnificient job by the Sader D that day.
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Post by HC92 on May 18, 2022 12:29:00 GMT -5
A sneaky (as in a mostly unheralded) good win in the Carter/Duffner era was the 1984 19-0 shutout of a URI team that ultimately made the 1-AA semifinals. They had a great QB in Tom Erhardt...just a magnificient job by the Sader D that day. This kind of thing could make some angry that we didn’t let our best teams compete for a national championship. I’m sure Jeff Wiley would be digging ditches right now instead of being a surgeon if he had missed those precious classes in the mid-late 80s.
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