After a week of controversy and an unideal performance against Wake Forest, the UConn football team is back and ready to make some noise at home against Rice.
Unfortunately for Connecticut fans a week ago, there wasn’t much to cheer for. The game exhibited both offensive and defensive flaws that have not been seen from this team much all season long, and it was why that contest came down to the final drive, with the Huskies losing 23-20. While the team was the victim of an egregious no-call pass interference on the final play of the game, they did not play their best brand of football, and the team acknowledged that. While some Connecticut fans might be ready to set off all the alarm bells, they’re still 4-3 and have an excellent chance at adding another W to the win column this weekend. However, to do so, some things need to go right for UConn.
To come out on top this week, perhaps the biggest thing that the program needs to get back to is its strong outside run game. The trio, comprised of Cam Edwards, Durell Robinson and Mel Brown, has been running defenses in circles on the gridiron all season. As a result, this has opened up Connecticut’s passing game, led by Nick Evers. While the team’s success throwing the rock isn’t attributed to the rushing game alone, it plays a big part and keeps opposing teams on their feet.
Of course, the Huskies will need another big game from Skyler Bell, who struggled to get it going a week ago. However, there is no reason to believe that the Bronx, N.Y. native can’t break out of his funk this week for several reasons. Not only is Bell immensely talented and quick, as evident by him finishing with over 100 yards receiving in three weeks, but the Huskies have had a rotating cast at quarterback. Evers and Joe Fagnano have both started at numerous points this season. Not to mention, Evers missed the Temple game two weeks ago after leaving early the week before that with an injury. Now that Bell is complimented by stable quarterback play for the second week in a row, the chance of yet another breakout performance is massive.
Of course, another area for improvement from Jim Mora’s squad is on the defensive end. The defensive line, linebackers and secondary have all played excellently all season long. A week ago, each of these position groups had their shining moments, but they also had moments where they struggled. The Huskies struggled to defend against one of the oddest delay options in all of football, which was on par with the Wake Forest offense. While this play was an anomaly for schemes UConn will see, the defensive line struggled to get good penetration, which allowed the Demon Deacons critical time to run this offense. Not to mention, the linebackers were caught up in no man’s land with this, too, as they could not rush up and give up a four to five-yard slant, and they also wanted to help on the run. However, they got the stops they needed; in fact, they forced several crucial stops. Yet, Mora and the program are not content with this performance alone, as the desire to be better was all on their minds.
The program has a chance to let this be just one hiccup in an otherwise perfect home series, although to do so, the program will need to lookout for one player on Rice in particular, who can do it all offensively.
The Owls’ running game will play a major factor this Saturday, as halfback Dean Connors plays a significant role for this squad. The senior has the talent to rush for over 100 yards with ease and find the endzone on some monster runs, so look for Rice to get him started early. Connors is not only averaging over six yards per carry, but is also a threat in the receiving game. The Rice offense causes serious damage in the check down game, as Connors will take what should be losses for positive gains sometimes for significant yardage.
Saturday is a massive day for UConn football. The squad has only two games left at home before a short road trip, and possibly a bowl game. This is expected to be a close game, and the Huskies have a solid chance at emerging victorious, but how they establish their offense early will be a telltale sign of how Saturday afternoon will go. However, with how dedicated and driven everyone on UConn football is, the shortcomings of last week will not bog them down. In fact, it serves as motivation for a program that desires to bring football glory back to the state of Connecticut.