2025 Strategy Shift?

[OttoinGrotto]

I'm just not sure it works to hold back NIL for a future year.

It's not like cap space.

 

[cayugacuse]

I have my doubts that we came score next year as well as we did this year. Special teams gradually seemed to improve and room to improve even more. Defense is where we can make up a lot of ground next year. We have some solid young talent there imo but the coaches next to scheme better.

 

[shu 49]

Had this conversation with friends this weekend and it makes A TON of sense. I'll also caveat this with THERE IS NO INSIDE INFO HERE. This is purely opinion.

We currently have 33 commits for 2025, and are still recruiting a few others. Provided they all sign on signing day, there will be some guys getting "the talk" in the offseason. My guess is the majority of those will be junior and senior players.

I don't believe we are punting on the 2025 season, however, we are playing Tennessee, Clemson, @ND, @Miami, @GT, @SMU. The odds of us having a 8 win season are SLIGHT, but I think we should be able to make a bowl. A tough schedule will pressure test players and hopefully let the cream rise to the top.

In my mind, what the plan is for next year is
- Bank as much NIL money as possible for 2026/27, while bringing in as many HS players as possible. The more kids you bring in, the better chances you have of hitting on some legitimate stars.
- Bring in transfers that have AT LEAST two or three seasons of eligibility remaining
- Give kids that aren't good enough "the talk"
- Get enough game tape from Jakhari/Prospective Transfer to see if one of them is "the guy" at QB

Then, you can go into 2026 with playoff aspirations.

I believe Fran is too competitive to completely punt, but I think at a school with limited resources you have to be as resourceful as possible. Thoughts? Is this crazy?

I dont think its crazy but i do think he is way too competitive to stick with it.

 

[Crusty]

Had this conversation with friends this weekend and it makes A TON of sense. I'll also caveat this with THERE IS NO INSIDE INFO HERE. This is purely opinion.

We currently have 33 commits for 2025, and are still recruiting a few others. Provided they all sign on signing day, there will be some guys getting "the talk" in the offseason. My guess is the majority of those will be junior and senior players.

I don't believe we are punting on the 2025 season, however, we are playing Tennessee, Clemson, @ND, @Miami, @GT, @SMU. The odds of us having a 8 win season are SLIGHT, but I think we should be able to make a bowl. A tough schedule will pressure test players and hopefully let the cream rise to the top.

In my mind, what the plan is for next year is
- Bank as much NIL money as possible for 2026/27, while bringing in as many HS players as possible. The more kids you bring in, the better chances you have of hitting on some legitimate stars.
- Bring in transfers that have AT LEAST two or three seasons of eligibility remaining
- Give kids that aren't good enough "the talk"
- Get enough game tape from Jakhari/Prospective Transfer to see if one of them is "the guy" at QB

Then, you can go into 2026 with playoff aspirations.

I believe Fran is too competitive to completely punt, but I think at a school with limited resources you have to be as resourceful as possible. Thoughts? Is this crazy?

I think most out of it is crazy but what do I know?!
As I said previously, McCord was a one off that is not likely to happen again. How many 5 star QBs does Fran know since little league? Also, portal costs are getting nuts.
Certainly players will get the talk - nothing new here except the requisite level of talent.
I don’t think it is possible to know what teams will be strong and which won't. You play the best players you have.
Clemson is clearly a notch lower. If we have to play Tennessee better it's game one. SMU looses about 20 starters. Riley Leonard graduates from ND. Miami graduates Ward. Just can't tell beforehand.
Remember where FSU was ranked preseason?
The only strategy is play your best players whomever they are at the time.
But as I say, what do I know!!

 

[oldpinepoint]

I think most out of it is crazy but what do I know?!
As I said previously, McCord was a one off that is not likely to happen again. How many 5 star QBs does Fran know since little league? Also, portal costs are getting nuts.
Certainly players will get the talk - nothing new here except the requisite level of talent.
I don’t think it is possible to know what teams will be strong and which won't. You play the best players you have.
Clemson is clearly a notch lower. If we have to play Tennessee better it's game one. SMU looses about 20 starters. Riley Leonard graduates from ND. Miami graduates Ward. Just can't tell beforehand.
Remember where FSU was ranked preseason?
The only strategy is play your best players whomever they are at the time.
But as I say, what do I know!!

I think the strategy is unknown at the moment. I think Fran will wait and see who enters the portal and who reaches out with interest. Fran and Cuse are going to get some inquiries especially from QBs

 

[orangepassion]

What were Wildhack/Frazier thinking/smoking when putting together this schedule?

 

[DomeStranger]

God, I hope that's not the strategy, now is not the time to let off the gas and watch other teams lap us. I don't want to be 2-12 next year like FSU, that would kill every bit of momentum. We have two tough OOC games, big deal, winning the ACC should be the goal. We just beat Miami, which IMO was the best team in the ACC this year. We need save money because we don't think we can beat SMU, really? Bring on the challenge, take down some more top ranked teams, and become a football team that no one wants to play. That's how you turn around a program, and that should be the strategy next year and every year.

 

[OttosShoes]

Extreme strength of schedule? Sure, totally reasonable to see that as a chance to hunker down and weather it.

But I can only imagine Fran sees it as a chance to have a secure playoff bid even at 10-2 and I'm here for it.

 

[phil77]

I think they need to spend money to get the best replacement with a similar skillset to McCord. From what I have seen from Fran he isn't the type to "take a year off".

 

[kcsu]

Had this conversation with friends this weekend and it makes A TON of sense. I'll also caveat this with THERE IS NO INSIDE INFO HERE. This is purely opinion.

We currently have 33 commits for 2025, and are still recruiting a few others. Provided they all sign on signing day, there will be some guys getting "the talk" in the offseason. My guess is the majority of those will be junior and senior players.
No
I don't believe we are punting on the 2025 season, however, we are playing Tennessee, Clemson, @ND, @Miami, @GT, @SMU. The odds of us having a 8 win season are SLIGHT, but I think we should be able to make a bowl. A tough schedule will pressure test players and hopefully let the cream rise to the top.

In my mind, what the plan is for next year is
- Bank as much NIL money as possible for 2026/27, while bringing in as many HS players as possible. The more kids you bring in, the better chances you have of hitting on some legitimate stars.
- Bring in transfers that have AT LEAST two or three seasons of eligibility remaining
- Give kids that aren't good enough "the talk"
- Get enough game tape from Jakhari/Prospective Transfer to see if one of them is "the guy" at QB

Then, you can go into 2026 with playoff aspirations.

I believe Fran is too competitive to completely punt, but I think at a school with limited resources you have to be as resourceful as possible. Thoughts? Is this crazy?

No its smart unless you think you can win 9 against this schedule or get to the conference championship without worrying about the non.

 

[SUFan44]

A lot of schools are looking into a model that would actually decrease the number of scholarship student-athletes compared to increase, and utilize the money saved for revenue distribution/NIL.

Example: Let's say I am allotted 85 scholarships now and we are 100% whole. And my budget from the University is $20M (subsidized by TV/ACC revenue). I only use 70 scholarships, save the 15 ($80K per at SU), get that money ($1.2M) back in some way, shape or form, and use it to go towards revenue distribution.

There's a lot of shell game principles here, but it is something I know schools are looking at.

 

[bnoro]

What were Wildhack/Frazier thinking/smoking when putting together this schedule?

The only games they had a say in were Colgate, UConn, and Tennessee. And Tennessee in a national kickoff game isn't a game you say no to.

 

[orangemass]

Gotta move notre dame. Can that be done?

 

[HRE Otto IV]

What were Wildhack/Frazier thinking/smoking when putting together this schedule?

Really Tennessee was the only one they chose. I thought at the time it was a mistake given the Notre Dame game. That was before knowing we also have games at Clemson, GA Tech, Miami, and SMU too.

I suppose it is still possible we trade Notre Dame with another ACC school this year for their ND game in the future. Then we can add a G5 home game. Which makes 6 Ws possible.

 

[richmondcuse03]

Really Tennessee was the only one they chose. I thought at the time it was a mistake given the Notre Dame game. That was before knowing we also have games at Clemson, GA Tech, Miami, and SMU too.

I suppose it is still possible we trade Notre Dame with another ACC school this year for their ND game in the future. Then we can add a G5 home game. Which makes 6 Ws possible.

I'd love if we're able to swap the ND game. That would make the most sense. Plus, we have a lot of good road trips next year so wouldn't mind an ND road trip another year to break it up.

 

[Cuse12]

Gotta move notre dame. Can that be done?

For real, need to get them off the schedule ideally

 

[JRHEETER]

I'd love if we're able to swap the ND game. That would make the most sense. Plus, we have a lot of good road trips next year so wouldn't mind an ND road trip another year to break it up.

I feel this.

Trying to decide which ones to hit next season is tough!!

 

[upperdeck]

Is partial scholie a thing going forward ? It isnt now.

 

[orange79]

Is partial scholie a thing going forward ? It isnt now.

FCS teams can currently give partials. Going forward, when FBS teams can have rosters of 105, partials are allowed for those teams, if I understand the new "rules".

College Football Scholarships | D1 Football Scholarships

Learn how to get a football scholarship, how many football scholarships are available by division, and how to boost your chance of securing offers.

www.ncsasports.org

 

[NYCorange]

I'm just not sure it works to hold back NIL for a future year.

It's not like cap space.

Yeah, it'd also be a really stupid strategy. If anything NIL grows when you do well, and shrinks when you don't. If Brown has a 4-8 year, the recruiting, NIL, and general excitement will likely fade. If he maximizes his NIL and somehow goes 8-4 or better, the hype train will just keep on growing and the team will be so much better positioned for 2026.

 

[sutomcat]

I'd love if we're able to swap the ND game. That would make the most sense. Plus, we have a lot of good road trips next year so wouldn't mind an ND road trip another year to break it up.

Virginia did this for their 2026 game with ND, so SMU could play the Irish sooner.

It would be ideal for Syracuse to give this game to Cal so they can play ND sooner and Syracuse can schedule someone else.

We are playing them again in 2026 and 2029 and again in 2024 and 2037. We have plenty of games with them.

ACC adds SMU to Notre Dame’s 2026 schedule

In conjunction

www.onefootdown.com

 

[JRHEETER]

Virginia did this for their 2026 game with ND, so SMU could play the Irish sooner.

It would be ideal for Syracuse to give this game to Cal so they can play ND sooner and Syracuse can schedule someone else.

We are playing them again in 2026 and 2029 and again in 2024 and 2037. We have plenty of games with them.

ACC adds SMU to Notre Dame’s 2026 schedule

In conjunction

www.onefootdown.com

Too bad we suck at scheduling tho……

This would be a fantastic move by us but…..

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Virginia did this for their 2026 game with ND, so SMU could play the Irish sooner.

It would be ideal for Syracuse to give this game to Cal so they can play ND sooner and Syracuse can schedule someone else.

We are playing them again in 2026 and 2029 and again in 2024 and 2037. We have plenty of games with them.

ACC adds SMU to Notre Dame’s 2026 schedule

In conjunction

www.onefootdown.com

Cal is kind of loaded already for next year.

Looking at the schedules i see potential solutions...

-ND trades SU for at Stanford, either BC or Pitt get flipped to at ND, but that is a little rough for Stanford.

-ND trades SU for Wake, Wake trades Delaware to SU. But again that is rough for Wake.

-Since NBC owns our game, there is no harm in cancelling it all together. ND already has 8 other P4 games, Boise State, Navy. So having two G5 games will ease things for them. We can then try for Delaware (assuming they count as FBS).

 

[007]

In my mind, what the plan is for next year is
- Bank as much NIL money as possible for 2026/27, while bringing in as many HS players as possible. The more kids you bring in, the better chances you have of hitting on some legitimate stars.
- Bring in transfers that have AT LEAST two or three seasons of eligibility remaining
- Give kids that aren't good enough "the talk"
- Get enough game tape from Jakhari/Prospective Transfer to see if one of them is "the guy" at QB

Then, you can go into 2026 with playoff aspirations.

I believe Fran is too competitive to completely punt, but I think at a school with limited resources you have to be as resourceful as possible. Thoughts? Is this crazy?

FWIW, my understanding is that the plan is the opposite of banking NIL for next season. There is a big push underway to significantly bump NIL for THIS class (HS and portal).

 

[PhatOrange]

What were Wildhack/Frazier thinking/smoking when putting together this schedule?

It’s a crazy schedule but if youre in the SEC that’s what your schedule would look like.

Just for example

Tennessee plays Syracuse, @Alabama, @Florida, @Kentucky, @Miss State, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma

LSU plays Clemson, @Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M, @Oklahoma, @Ole Miss, @Vandy

Tennessee will be our Wisconsin kickoff classic game. Let’s go.