UConn Future Opponents: Week Two

The UConn Huskies’ upcoming opponents went 3-5 in the second weekend of college football. Here’s the rundown:

Virginia (1-1) L, 34-17 to Indiana

UVA was dominated at home by Indiana, who got a boost from sending in redshirt freshman Peyton Ramsey in place of (former UConn commit) Richard Lagow at quarterback. The Hoosiers put up 17 points in the 2nd quarter and never looked back.

Virginia struggled to move the ball, finishing with 55 rushing yards and 259 passing yards, most of which came with the game well in hand for the visitors. The Huskies will be in Charlottesville this weekend for what is now their second game of the season in a noon game which will be televised on ESPN2.

SMU (2-0) W, 54-32 over North Texas

Quarterback Ben Hicks threw four touchdowns, all to star receiver Courtland Sutton, as the Mustangs comfortably took care of North Texas. One week after demolishing an in-state FCS opponent, to do so again bodes well for SMU in the program’s third year with head coach Chad Morris at the helm. They will be at No. 16 TCU next week in a game which should tell us a bit more about how good this team will really be.

The Huskies will be playing SMU in Dallas on September 30th.

Memphis (1-0)

The AAC lost what would have been a marquee early-season matchup when this game was canceled due to Hurrican Irma. The Huskies have a Friday matchup with the Tigers at home on October 6th.

Temple (1-1) W, 16-13 over Villanova

After a huge, but understandable, loss to Notre Dame in its season opener, Temple barely made it past FCS Villanova at home. The Owls started the game with 13 straight points only to give up 13 unanswered to the Wildcats and then hit a 49-yard field goal with 1:00 remaining to get the go-ahead points for the win.

The Huskies will be in Philadephia to take on Temple on Saturday, October 14th.

Tulsa (1-1), W 66-42 over ULL

Offense offense offense. That’s going to be a recurring theme with the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa took down the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns 66-42 on the road and boy did they run wild. D’Angelo Brewster picked up 262 yards on 28 carries (6.9 YPC) and three touchdowns. In total, the Golden Hurricane scored nine touchdowns, eight of which came on the ground.

Shootouts might become pretty common for Tulsa. Its defense, which gave up 59 points in week one, allowed 498 yards and six touchdowns. Giving up an average of 50.5 points per game is not a recipe for success.

Tulsa’s high-flying attack heads to the Rent for the program’s first meeting as conference opponents on October 21.

Missouri (1-1), L 31-13 to South Carolina

After allowing 43 points to Missouri State followed up by 31 points to South Carolina in a loss, Missouri fired defensive coordinator DeMontie Cross. It’s a weird move just two weeks into the season (but apparently not uncommon), although Cross’ unit underperformed last season as well.

Mizzou’s offense looked unstoppable in week one after scoring 73 points but mustered just 13 against its first FBS opponent. The Huskies could steal this one if the defense continues to be so friendly. UConn will try to pull off the upset at home on October 28.

East Carolina (0-2), L 56-20 at West Virginia

I guess the ominous fear of facing Rhett Lashlee’s offense has really gotten to UConn’s opponents as East Carolina also changed its defensive coordinator. Head coach Scottie Montgomery reassigned Kenwick Thompson after his unit gave up 34 points to James Madison in the opener and 56 points to West Virginia this past week.

The Pirates were ranked last in the AAC Bloggers’ Poll after week one and don’t appear to be going anywhere soon. They will travel up to East Hartford to face the Huskies on November 4 in a game which UConn should be able to win.

UCF (1-0)

The Knights had their game with Memphis canceled due to Hurricane Irma. Stay safe, Florida. UConn will play UCF on November 11 in Orlando.

Boston College (1-1) L, 34-10 to Wake Forest

Wake Forest traveled to Chestnut Hill on Saturday and served the Eagles a 34-10 beatdown. The Demon Deacons forced their first of four turnovers late in the first quarter and used the good field position to score a touchdown. They led the rest of the game.

Boston College struggled mightily on offense, putting up only 305 yards, and the turnovers gave Wake Forest short fields to work with. Anthony Brown and Darius Wade combined to complete 18-for-41 of their passes.

Boston College and UConn play on November 18 at Fenway Park in Boston.

Cincinnati (1-1) L, 36-14 to Michigan

The Bearcats visited The Big House on Saturday to play No. 8 Michigan and were soundly defeated.

Michigan scored on their first drive of the game and intercepted Hayden Moore for a touchdown on Cincinnati’s second drive to go up 14-0 early as it cruised to a win. The Bearcats were able to force two Michigan fumbles, but the Wolverine defense proved too much, as they intercepted Moore for touchdowns twice and forced a safety.

Moore was 15-for-40 passing for 132 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. They rushed for only 66 yards, but had a minus 33-yard play on a botched snap on fourth down that led to the safety.

Cincinnati and UConn close out the Huskies’ season on November 25 in Ohio.