KICKOFF: 12:00 PM
TV: ESPNU, WatchESPN
ANNOUNCERS: Mike Couzens (play-by-play), John Congemi (color analyst)
RADIO: UConn IMG Radio Network (WTIC 1080 AM, WILI 1400 AM, WAVZ 1300 AM, WGCH 1490 AM); TuneIn; Sirius 93, XM 202
ANNOUNCERS: Joe D'Ambrosio (play-by-play), Wayne Norman (color analyst), Ken Sweitzer (sideline)
POINT SPREAD: UCF -40.5
SERIES HISTORY: The UConn Huskies and UCF Knights have met four times previously on the gridiron with the series being even at 2-2.
UCONN DEPTH CHART FOR UCF
By the Numbers:
29 - This is the 29th time the UConn football team has faced a ranked opponent in the AP Poll.
5 - While UCF was ranked 18th in the first college football playoff poll this week, advanced metrics are much higher on the Knights. According to the S&P, UCF is the fifth best team in the country.
37- After entering the season as the starter, UConn quarterback David Pindell replaced Bryant Shirreffs in the Huskies’ loss to USF last week as Shirreffs left the game due to a concussion. In Shirreffs’ absence, Pindell threw for 37 yards on 3-4 passing.
3 - The number of times the UConn football team has beaten a ranked opponent from the AP Poll.
20 - UCF sophomore quarterback McKenzie Milton has 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions on the season, throwing for over 2,400 yards. Milton could take advantage of a porous UConn passing defense on Saturday to put up some gaudy numbers.
What to Watch For
The Old/New QB
Bryant Shirreffs has looked great under center after winning the starting job back. Unfortunately, he’s out with a concussion. David Pindell’s season-opening performance against Holy Cross left a lot to be desired, but hopefully he has developed within the system in the nine weeks since. This will be a preview of what UConn fans can expect from the leading candidate for the starting job next year.
RBs Are Back
Both Nate Hopkins and Arkeel Newsome are expected to return to the field this week, which is a real boon for the Husky offense. With bowl eligibility almost completely out of the question, we just need to hope for continued offensive improvement. These two are key to the equation. Newsome is an important home-run hitter and Hopkins is a bruising back who can pick up tough yards. It’ll be good to have these two back.
Scoreboard
Currently undefeated and fighting the battle for AAC relevance, UCF is looking to gain credibility with the poll voters and selection committee and that means they have to stomp out UConn if they want to make a statement this week. What this means is that a UCF team ranked 5th in S&P+ overall efficiency is not going to take its foot off the gas. This could mean a really gruesome final score for Husky fans.