Earlier this week, the Connecticut Huskies released their 2016 football schedule; the non-conference portion includes Maine, Virginia, Syracuse and Boston College, while American Athletic Conference play features Navy, Houston, Cincinnati, USF, UCF, East Carolina, Temple and Tulane.
Presenting the 2016 schedule….get your season tickets at https://t.co/TbvXnkdTRK #GetReady #UConnNation pic.twitter.com/zqDAShgCr4
— UConn Football (@UConnFootball) February 9, 2016
Looking at how UConn’s schedule is set up in 2016, it gives the program a chance to make it back-to-back bowl games for the first time since 2009-10.
The Huskies will likely open with a win over FCS Maine, since it is in Storrs. After taking on Maine, UConn will travel to Annapolis, Maryland, to take on Navy in the first AAC game of the season.
Looking at what each team brings back, it feels like the Huskies will be capable of beating the Midshipmen on the road. Although Navy was the one of the top teams in the AAC last season, the loss of all-world quarterback Keenan Reynolds will prove to be too much for them. And with UConn bringing back most of its offense and defense, it should walk out with a win over Navy.
After jumping into AAC play, the Huskies will jump back into nonconference play. In games three and four of the 2016 football year, UConn will be taking on the rebuilding programs, Virginia and Syracuse, at home.
The Cavaliers and Orange will have new coaches at the helm in 2016. Considering that head coach Bob Diaco will be in his third year in Storrs, it looks like the Huskies could start 4-0.
However in the fifth game, UConn will surely feel defeat as it travels down to Houston to face defending AAC champions, the Houston Cougars. Last year, the Huskies upset the Cougars, 20-17. Considering that, Houston will have revenge on its’ mind when it takes on UConn in 2016.
Once done taking on the Cougars, the Huskies will hit the halfway mark against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Last season, UConn lost 37-13 against Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium. However, this year it’s at Rentschler Field.
Despite not having the home-field advantage, Cincinnati returns a few key players, including quarterback Gunner Kiel. So it seems like UConn will suffer back-to-back losses heading into the second half of the season.
That two-game losing streak could be stretched to three as UConn could very well begin the second half of the season with yet another loss against the South Florida Bulls.
USF is on the up and up with Willie Taggart as the head coach and the game is at Raymond James Stadium.
After taking on USF, UConn will have two relatively winnable games against UCF and East Carolina. Those two games should get the Huskies back on the winning track, barring anything crazy.
The next two games after East Carolina are the two toss up games on the UConn’s schedule.
Diaco and the Huskies will have Temple and Boston College back-to-back on the road.
The reason for these two games being the toss-up games on UConn’s schedule is that for Temple, they lost a lot of key pieces on that impressive 2015 defense, and Boston College is so up and down, you don’t know what Golden Eagle team you will get that Saturday.
To wrap up the season, the Huskies take on the Tulane Green Wave.
UConn should finish the 2016 season with a win against the downward spiral that is the Tulane football program.
So after dissecting and looking at the schedule, the Huskies should finish with a record between 7-5 to 9-3 with this schedule. If they do, it will be the first time since the Randy Edsall era that UConn has gone to back-to-back bowl games.
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