UConn football future opponents: Week 6

In a ballyhooed matchup of two winless teams, UConn and UMass met this past Saturday for a game we’ll be seeing a lot of in the future. Despite leading the game in the third quarter, the visiting Huskies lost by two touchdowns.

UConn heads into an in-state battle with Yale this coming Saturday. Here’s how the Bulldogs and the other four teams on the Huskies’ schedule did over the weekend.

Yale (2-2) - Oct. 16

Yale and Dartmouth put on a gem in Ivy League play Saturday. The Bulldogs went ahead with 2:34 to go, then the Big Green drove 68 yards in 2:16 to kick a game-tying field goal with just 13 seconds left to force overtime. It was pretty close all afternoon, but Dartmouth got the win 24-17.

Griffin O’Connor returned after being hurt in Yale’s last game and threw the ball 42 times, completing 28 of them for 194 yards and a touchdown. Nolan Grooms also had a score through the air, going 2-of-2 passing for 37 yards. Zane Dudek was the Bulldogs’ leading rusher, grabbing 41 yards on 15 attempts.

MTSU (2-4) - Oct. 22

MTSU traveled to Lynchburg, Virginia to play Liberty and the Flames boat-raced the Blue Raiders, 41-13. The home side led 21-0 in the middle stages of the second quarter and 26-7 early in the third after recording a safety in a game in which the result was never in doubt.

MTSU was held to just 265 yards of offense and 12 first downs, compared to 449 yards and 21 first downs for Liberty. Chase Cunningham was 22-of-42 passing for 230 yards, adding a pair of touchdowns and an interception.

Meanwhile, the Blue Raiders could not get the rushing game going, gaining just 35 yards on 21 attempts, for 1.7 yards per carry. Cunningham had the team’s longest rush, at 12 yards, but since he was sacked three times, they did not have a player gain more than 10 yards on the ground.

Clemson (3-2) - Nov. 13

Clemson is taking the week off to regroup before traveling to Syracuse on Friday night.

UCF (3-2) - Nov. 20

It was a thriller in Greenville, as the Knights scored a one-yard touchdown run with 23 seconds remaining to take a 20-16 lead on ECU and hold on to win. It was a defensive battle, the first quarter was scoreless and nobody found the end zone until midway through the third quarter. UCF also forced three Pirate turnovers, including on the final play of the game to seal the win.

Mikey Keene was 23-of-35 passing, but gained just 194 yards, for 5.5 yards per attempt, and had an interception. Johnny Richardson ran for 104 yards on 16 carries, adding a touchdown. Mark-Antony Richards ran for the game-winning score, he finished with 58 yards on just six attempts.

Houston (4-1) - Nov. 27

Tulane took the lead at home early in the third quarter Thursday night, but Houston bounced back and even covered as 6.5-point favorites, with a 40-22 victory. The road side was up 14-0 after 15 minutes, but coughed up the lead as the Green Wave got three touchdowns over the next 17 minutes of game time, while the Cougars added just a field goal in that time. Houston scored 23 unanswered points to finish the game.

Clayton Tune was 23-of-36 for 288 yards and a trio of touchdowns under center for Houston, while Alton McCaskill rushed 18 yards for 93 yards and a touchdown. The Cougar defense also allowed just 2.5 yards per rush attempt, though this was aided by eight sacks of Michael Pratt, who led his team in rushing attempts and was dinged for -48 yards.