Consider me impressed!
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I do think there might be something to be said for the fact that Cincy is the clear second-choice school in Ohio for recruits, while UH fluctuates anywhere between third (in a really good year) to sixth (now, probably) in Texas.
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I just think CDH should go back to the up tempo spread. The Coogs do not have the line to play the huddle type of spread like Oklahoma and Oklahoma St. Tune looks good when running the up tempo. Just like King looked good when running the up tempo spread last year. My two cents is that CDH is being stubborn and will not realize what he has. I will say I do like the players he is bringing in and I think they were better than MA and TH.
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Yep - Once the Big 10 And Norte Dame and ACC cherry picks its Ohio kids - Cincinnati is option 2
Option 2 in Texas is like being A&M or UT off a bad year or a Baylor on a great year
In Texas you gotta deal with A&M, UT, LSU, OU, Alabama etc for elite talent
After that you gotta deal with Baylor, TCU, Tech then the Kansas States, Oklahoma States, Iowa States or even an Arizona if thereās a staff with deep Texas ties.
Then you add Kansas which is normally the only Big 12 offer a top level AAC kid will get which makes it harder for us. Then we are in the mix with SMU
Letās go further - there are the UTSAās, Texas Stateās, La Tech, New Mexico, etc who could get involved with one of our recruits just to offer something different (more New Mexico since they are in Mountain West). You may run across a smart kid and Rice could be an issue.
The margin of error is thin for us
Ehā¦a lot of this is stretching it. Rice and New Mexico are about as credible of a threat to us as Toledo and Western Kentucky are to Cincinnati ā that is to say, not.
Elite talent gets recruited nationally. Neither UH nor Cincinnati is typically going to land those players, regardless of our pecking order in our respective states; Michigan, Michigan State, Kentucky, Louisville, West Virginia, and more all go after those guys in Ohio. Ohio is probably the most fertile recruiting ground in whatās traditionally considered āBig Tenā country; nearly all of the B1G schools are going to try to dip their toes in that water.
They have better opportunities than us in-state, but I donāt think the difference is particularly vast. Itās not like Alabama, where Nick Saban just kind of rolls out of bed and drops a four-star recruit in the toilet every morning.
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They are a tier below us but can have an impact every so often - Boise has came into Texas before and had some success when they were hot.
If Rice is winning and thereās a smart kid who can play that values what Rice has to offer they can get in the mix on occasion.
But letās be honest also - Texas kids defensively just arenāt the same like they used to be. That hurts
You say UH has it tougher than Cincinnati yet, counting the big and the Acc and notre dame makes Cincinnati 30th pick.
Obviously they can pick some up before Virginia, and others, but Cincinnati actually has a tougher time at it than we do. Cincinnati has to fly to get to better recruiting grounds, we donāt.
They just happen to have better coaches and recruiters who can seal the deal.
This thread started 21 days ago at the start of our two game losing streak to UCF and UC. After seeing yesterdayās game between UC and UCF, is it any wonder why we lost to them both?
They are bigger, more mature, have been winning big under the same coach for awhile now. We are in year 1.5 under a massive re-build with a huge investment in RS and transfer. No doubt we are improving, but we are not at the level of UC nor UCF at this time. Probably closer next year and most likely the year after. After UC losing their coach after this season, weāll see how they go. They are just 3 years removed from 4-8 when they made a coaching change.
UCF is operating under year 5 of a nice winning streak at a high level. Weāre trying to get back to that level.
As Dana says, it all starts up front. We have a ways to go. Weāll get their eventually.
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Cincinnati has an elite coach in Luke Fickell, who turned down an excellent opportunity at Michigan State to remain at Cincinnati.
Why? Only Fickell knows for sure, but according to the television football pundits, he recognized that UC was going to become a very good team after his third year and opted to remain with the program instead of jumping ship.
Now, UC has two consecutive 11 win seasons (2018, 2019) and is undefeated and ranked this season. Success breeds success. Success normally ensures good recruiting class. One good recruiting class, plus another, plus another, plus another equals a nationally ranked program.
My guess is that every year that UC has a 10+ win season, another new and good recruiting class will carry the program for at least two or three more years.
Now, Fickell may one day leave UC, but unlike Tom Herman, he will actually have a resume conducive to ensure future success. Wherever he goes, his winning experience and reputation will follow him. Also, heāll leave UC in much better shape than when he started and UC will attract another good HC because of the name recognition that UC has attained due to Fickellās tenure.
Does Fickell lack confidence when he turned down MSU? I donāt think so. Does he lack ambition? I donāt think so. Does he need the money? I donāt think so. Does he have a sense of loyalty? I donāt know.
Heās from Columbus and played for Ohio State, so he doesnāt necessarily have DNA tied to UC. I believe he enjoys winning. Heās making plenty of money At $3 million/year. OSU is not currently looking for a new HC. Currently, UC is positioned to be the #2 best program in Ohio.
Iām not sure the question should be why is Cincy good? Perhaps we should be asking ourselves why we struggle with keeping good a good HC and equally important, good assistants.
Weāre in the same conference with the same challenges that any G5 program faces. Cincy has as many pro sports distractions as we do.Why would Herman leave after a one good season and he emotionally absent for the second?
Is it our fan base? Clearly we have a fair weather fan base. To say the least, we suffer from fan apathy. Does UH lack culture? Does it lack a strong sense of university tradition that other universities have? I donāt know. The answer seems to complex for me to analyze properly.
I do know this, UH currently has a HC with experience, a resume of winning and he has a history with UH. I believe, and I could be wrong, but CDH wants to be here and that is a good place to start.
Weāve experienced the short term and a cloud of dust from previous HC at UH. I want to see something develop at UH that is more substantial than the temporary success weāve seen, then back to Zip Recruiter. For that reason, I believe we need to stick with CDH until he proves he canāt get the job done. Apparently, itāll take more time than we hoped and Iām fine with that as long as it ends well in the long term. If not, back to the drawing board.
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It starts with their QB. He is very athletic and has a good feel for the offense (i.e. he looks comfortable and the game appears slowed down to him).
I also like some of their play calling that provides almost 3 options on some plays. For example, they ran a great play where they faked hand off, then faked the QB run, and hit what appeared to be the blocker for the touchdown. Well designed play that had an option or two built in.
They have a very solid defense as well.
All of these things are likely why Fickell returned.
Excellent post.
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I think it starts with their defense.
Nailed it
Weāve been a job-hopping program for a while now. It appears we have finally found a P5 coach who wants to be here and in Houston. He has been around the country and pretty much all over it and he found a city he likes and want to be. Letās take advantage and support him and the plan and see where it takes us over a 5 year period because 95% of the good coaches are going to see us as a place they can make their mark and then jump to some bigger P5 program to double their income and set for life probability.
I am tired of the hot shots that come in here and find quick success and look elsewhere (e.g. the 2 Briles, Sumlin, Herman) from 2 to 4 years out and I am tired of the opportunity of a life time rookie HC that crashes and burn (i.e. Tony and Major). We have had enough of both kinds. Time to invest in a stock and ride it that appears that will be with us for some time.
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On our level hot shots means success - I hope the current coach has that same fire as what are his future plans if he wins big and we never crack the playoffs? Does he leave or just enjoy Houston cause itās a cool to live in?
UC Coach aināt crazy - a loaded G5 team is always better than a rebuilding Big 10 team. He seems like the type whoāll wait out for a Michigan or flagship type gig - not a second and third tier P5.
Outside of Briles, we lost our coaches to flagships