At 1-5 and 0-3 in the Amercian Athletic Conference, UConn is desperately searching for a victory.
Do the Huskies have another shot at a “W” on their schedule? A quick look says yes, but they better take advantage of the few opportunities they will have to get off of a one in the win column.
UConn has been playing pretty good defense this season but the offense has been turnover prone and unable to move the ball, a recipe for disaster and so far the Huskies’ lone win is against at FCS school (Stony Brook) at home.
The lone bright spot for UConn has been the defense which ranks 20th in the nation in total yards allowed. The Huskies are coming off a 12-3 loss at Tulane, the lowest scoring game for UConn since being shutout by Louisville at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in 2010.
Just about any coach in the country would sign up for allowing 12 points in a conference road game, but it still didn’t equal a victory for UConn. That’s because of an offense which ranks 123rd of 128 teams in total offense at 256.2 yards per game; the Huskies are also 123rd in points scored (12.8), 121st in rushing offense (77 yards) and 106th in passing (178.5).
The defense may be able to steal one, maybe two of UConn’s remaining games but at some point the offense will have to pull its weight if the Huskies want to put a crooked number in the win column. Who can UConn beat? Is there a win on the remaining schedule? We break it down below and anticipate a 2-10, possibly a 3-9 campaign.
REMAINING GAMES:
Oct. 23 at East Carolina (5-1, 2-0 AAC)—As good as UConn’s defense is, a win on the road in this spot just isn’t happening. The offense will make mistakes, Shane Carden and the Pirates offense will get some extra possessions and the Huskies just won’t be able to put up enough points to keep pace with the Pirates, who are a Top-20 team and playing for a nice bowl bid.
Nov. 1 vs. UCF (3-2, 1-0)—Homecoming Day for the Huskies but they will be hard pressed to send the UConn faithful home celebrating a win. The Knights have lost to Penn State in Ireland in a game they could have won, and Missouri, a ranked SEC team at the time. UCF has currently won three straight and has Tulane and Temple at home before heading to East Hartford so the Knights have a chance to be 3-0 in the conference and on track to set up a showdown with ECU in December.
Nov. 8 vs. Army (2-4)—The Huskies and Black Knights will meet at Yankee Stadium and UConn should have a shot in this one if it can contain the Army option attack. For a pair of teams that currently have three wins between them there should be a good atmosphere and likely it will be a competitive game. If the Huskies don’t win here, they probably only have one more shot at win all season.
Nov. 22 vs. Cincinnati (2-3, 0-1)—The Bearcats are the opposite of the Huskies, good offense and virtually non-existent defense. After a 2-0 start, Cincinnati currently is mired in a three-game losing streak having given up 146 points in that span. UConn’s defense should have its hands full with QB Gunner Kiel and the Bearcats offense but the Huskies will be going up against a defense that might actually make its offense look decent.
Nov. 29 at Memphis (3-3, 1-1)—Memphis has faced a ranked UCLA team and Ole Miss so UConn won’t be able to show anything that catches the Tigers by surprise. Memphis has alternated wins and losses in its six games to start the season and if that pattern continues it will lose its regular-season finale to UConn. That’s about the only hope the Huskies will have in this one.
Dec. 6 vs. SMU (0-5, 0-1)—A winnable game. The Mustangs are struggling and you never know about teams like this down the stretch. Will they check out and mail it in, will they play motivated to build on next season? And what about the Huskies? Will Bob Diaco have them up and ready to play a meaningless game with winter about to set in?
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