UConn football vs. Vanderbilt Commodores: How to watch, by the numbers, what to watch for

KICKOFF: 7:30 P.M. ET

TV: ESPNU

ANNOUNCERS: Brian Custer (play-by-play), Kelly Stauffer (color analyst)

RADIO: UConn IMG Radio Network; Varsity Network App; 97.9 ESPN Hartford, WINE 940 AM, WGCH 1490 AM, WICC 600 AM, WAVZ 1300 AM, WATR 1320 AM WILI 1400 AM and 95.3 FM

ANNOUNCERS: Mike Crispino (play-by-play), Wayne Norman (color analyst), Adam Giardino (sideline), Bob Joyce (pregame host)

RECORDS: UConn (0-5), Vanderbilt (1-3)

LAST WEEK: UConn fell just short in a 24-22 loss to Wyoming; Vanderbilt got spanked by Georgia, 62-0

POINT SPREAD: Vanderbilt - 14.5

OVER/UNDER: 52

SERIES HISTORY: The UConn Huskies and Vanderbilt Commodores have met three times on the gridiron. The Commodores hold a 2-1 advantage with UConn winning back in 2010.

DEPTH CHART: UConn; Vanderbilt

OPPONENT PREVIEW: Vanderbilt

WEATHER FORECAST: Nashville, TN

Fun With Numbers

708 - The number of days between UConn football wins (as of game day)

54 - Total tackles by linebacker Jackson Mitchell which leads the country. His 10.8 tackles per game is good for seventh best

34.40 - Yards per game in penalties by the young Huskies which is 12th best in the country

2-3 - UConn’s record against the spread

35 - Career starts by offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark

34 - Career starts by the rest of the offensive line

44.13 - Average yards per punt by Vanderbilt’s Harrison Smith which puts him second in the SEC

1 - Number of players on UConn from Tennessee (DB Stan Cross)

1 - Number of players on Vanderbilt from Connecticut (TE Thomas Smith)

What to watch for

The official Sickos game of the week?

UConn football has covered the spread each of the past two weeks, and came as close as ever to winning an FBS game last weekend against Wyoming, but the fact that they’re mere two-score underdogs to an honest-to-goodness SEC team this Saturday seems like a miracle.

But Vanderbilt is a special kind of bad this year, and according to SP+, only four places ahead of UConn as of week four. Their only win this year came against Colorado State, eking out a 24-21 victory on September 11. They were battered 65-0 against Georgia, trailing by 30 after just one quarter, and got throttled by FCS Eastern Tennessee State (23-3) and Stanford (41-23). Vanderbilt is in the mother of all rebuilding years, and UConn might have the chance to capture an SEC win by the end of the weekend.

You can be forgiven if watching a game between a botton-feeder SEC program and a boggom feeder FBS program isn’t appealing to you.