Following a nail-biter last week, the UConn football team (3-2) looks for smoother sailing at home against Florida International (2-2, 0-1 CUSA) on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies escaped Buffalo, N.Y., with a win thanks to a game-winning field goal by kicker Chris Freeman. It was the first game-clinching field goal for Connecticut since Bobby Puyol put one through the uprights in a win over Maine during the 2016 season.
FIU is the second member of Conference USA that the Huskies will face this season. They are 0-1 against the league this season, with a heartbreaking overtime loss at Delaware on Sept. 13. That is one thing that both UConn and Florida International have in common: they both lost to Delaware.
Their last meeting did not go as planned. On Sept. 16, 2023, UConn was upset by the Panthers, 24-17, at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. It was the team’s third consecutive loss in as many games to open the season.
FIU is coming off its bye week after a conference-opening loss to Delaware, 38-16.
The Huskies’ run defense will need to be sharp to contain the Panthers. Led by running back Kejon Owens (396 yards and four touchdowns on 60 carries), FIU averages 187 yards per game on the ground. Owens is not the only Panther who could become a threat in the run game. Running back Anthony Carrie has a pair of touchdowns to add to 143 yards on 29 carries. Quarterback Keyone Jenkins is tied with Owens for most rushing touchdowns with four.
Despite only two passing touchdowns and three interceptions, it is entirely possible that Owens can give Florida International scoring opportunities with his arm. The junior from Miami, Fla., has passed for 701 yards with a completion rate of 62.9%. So far, his passer rating ranks the lowest out of his three years at FIU.
Those numbers do not impress anyone, but the Huskies’ defense has not been sharp overall. UConn allows 392.6 yards per game, good for 97th in the country. They have forced just three turnovers in five games. The fourth quarter and overtime have especially been weak for the defense, getting outscored 52-30 according to CT Insider’s Roger Cleaveland.
“We had them fourth-and-goal to win the game, and we let them get in,” UConn head coach Jim Mora said on the final minutes of the Huskies’ road win at Buffalo. “That was disappointing.”
Connecticut’s offense did not impress until the game-winning drive. Quarterback Joe Fagnano only passed for 155 yards; wide receiver Skyler Bell only had 54 receiving yards and running back Cam Edwards rushed for 57 yards. Overall, the offense finished with a season-low 320 total yards.
Edwards only having 57 yards can be blamed on a hip injury suffered in the first half. He returned to the game and scored his sixth touchdown of the season, a team high.
“He is a tough dude,” Mora said about Edwards. “He cares about this team. He loves to compete. It is going to be tough to keep that dude down. He is going to play through things.”
Edwards leads a running game that helps the Huskies become one of the top 25 in the country in total yards per game (459).
Fagnano, who has 1,201 passing yards to go with 65 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns (seven of which are passing), will look back at FIU’s loss to Delaware, where the secondary was shredded by Delaware’s passing offense. The former Maine Black Bear has zero interceptions this season, in addition to the offense turning the ball over zero times.
He led the Huskies in rushing yards with 64 yards last week, something that was praised by Edwards.
“That’s RBI, man,” Mora said on Tuesday. “I mean, Joe is Joe. You never know what you’re really gonna get out of Joe…But that boy’s got some wheels.”
However, FIU lost to Delaware without the help of defensive back Brian Blades II, who, according to the Miami Herald, is their top defensive player. He is expected to return to the gridiron on Saturday, along with linebacker Percy Courtney Jr.
The Huskies will have their annual Crucial Catch game, where they have only lost once since starting the tradition in 2022. For Mora, the theme becomes personal year after year.
“My grandmother died of breast cancer,” Mora said on what the theme means to him. “My mom — a two-time breast cancer survivor. There’s also people in my family that I’ve lost and suffered from cancer — cousin died of pancreatic cancer — so it’s a lot of people. It means something, and it should mean something.”
For the players, Saturday’s game is more than just a game. They will sport ribbon decals on their helmets with different colors based on what kind of cancer they or their loved ones have been affected by.
“I don’t think there is a player in our locker room or a person in our organization who has not been affected by cancer,” Mora said. “You play this game certainly for yourself and for your teammates, but you also play for the respect of those who have supported you your whole life. The people who used to drive you to practice or who took two jobs so you could do what you loved as a kid.”
UConn and FIU have each won a game, but Saturday will be a tie-breaking third game in the all-time series.
Kickoff from East Hartford, Conn., is set for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.