East Carolina wide receiver Jimmy Williams runs in a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Cincinnati, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, in Cincinnati. Cincinnati won 31-19. (John Minchillo/AP)
After a disappointing loss to UCF in the Civil Conflict, UConn (3-5) looks to get back in the winning column starting with the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday, Oct. 29.
Luckily for the Huskies, who have lost four out of their last five games, ECU logged their fifth straight loss on Saturday and moved to 2-5.
The Pirates registered 504 yards of offense in Saturday’s game against Cincinnati, but could only put together 19 points. ECU was plagued by untimely turnovers and a poor defensive effort in their 31-19 loss.
Behind center for the Pirates is senior quarterback Phillip Nelson. Nelson has had an impressive year so far, despite his team’s struggles, posting 2,124 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. Nelson’s quarterback efficiency rating is a notable 144.
James Summers leads the ECU ground game at running back. The senior averages 65 yards per game on the year, and has amassed three touchdowns.
A number of receivers could cause problems for the UConn defense on Saturday as well. Senior Zay Jones has caught 95 passes this year for 909 yards and three touchdowns. He’s averaging 125 yards per game. Fellow senior Jimmy Williams looks like Nelson’s favorite end zone target. Williams has caught just 27 passes for the Pirates, but leads the team with 5 touchdowns and is second in terms of receiving yards with 599.
On the other side of the ball, senior defensive back Terrell Richardson leads the team with 43 total tackles. This isn’t a team that puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback. Through seven games, the Pirates have just one sack. That translates to more time for the opposing quarterback, which makes it a lot tougher for the Pirates defense to come up with an interception. They have just three of those on the season.
Senior Davis Plowman handles the kicking game for ECU. He’s 11-16 on the season, but strong from deep, hitting 6-8 from 40 to 49 yards.
Connor Donahue is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at connor.f.donahue@uconn.edu. He tweets @conn_donahue.