UConn football future opponents: Week 9

UConn football has played nine games on the season and is in the midst of a two-week hiatus, as they had the week off after a tough loss to MTSU and will also spend next week on the bye.

Clemson (5-3) - Nov. 13

The spread for the Tigers’ contest with Florida State on Saturday closed at Clemson -9.5 and the over/under was 48. On the final play of the game, Florida State was on its own 34-yard line and needed to go the length of the field to overcome a four-point deficit, with the total sitting at 44. Florida State and under bettors had a brutal four seconds of game time. Go ahead and put this one in the bad beats hall of fame, Scott Van Pelt.

Clemson’s offense has continued to sputter, gaining 377 yards and turning the ball over three times. Meanwhile, the defense performed admirably, surrendering fewer than 300 yards and grabbing a pair of turnovers, including on the final play.

D.J. Uiagalelei had 189 yards on 19-31 passing, with a touchdown and an interception. Will Shipley performed well out of the backfield, rushing 25 times for 128 yards and a pair of scores, with another four receptions for 24 yards.

UCF (5-3) - Nov. 20

UCF, which comes north to East Hartford in late November, got its first taste of a northern fall on Saturday as they faced Temple in Philadelphia. The 58-degree high didn’t seem to bother the Knights that much, as they headed back to Orlando with a dominant 49-7 win. Temple’s touchdown came with just 28 seconds to play.

The Owls gained just 297 yards with 15 first downs and turned the ball over thrice, while UCF had 428 total yards and 22 first downs, though they did cough the ball up twice.

Temple tried to be aggressive early, going for it on fourth-and-two from the UCF 29 on the first drive of the game, but they were stuffed. Though they held the visitors to a punt on the ensuing possession, UCF scored on six of its next eight drives.

Mikey Keene was as efficient as can be under center, completing 15 of his 21 passes for 229 yards, five touchdowns and an interception mixed in. Isaiah Bowser was the team’s leading rusher, going for 89 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

No. 20 Houston (4-1) - Nov. 27

The Cougars popped into the AP Top 25 this week after winning at home in a 44-37 thriller against then-No. 19 SMU. The Mustangs were down 17-0 in the first quarter, but were able to come back and the two teams exchanged the lead throughout the second half. The visitors drilled a 45-yard field goal to tie the proceedings with 30 seconds to go, but on the ensuing kickoff, Marcus Jones went 100 yards to score the game-winning touchdown.

It was a game with plenty of offensive fireworks, as the Cougars and Mustangs combined to find the end zone on five of six possessions, with the sixth being a field goal. Houston had the edge in yards, at 489 to SMU’s 355, as well as first downs, 23-to-18.

Clayton Tune found the end zone four times through the air, going 27-for-37 with 412 yards, scrambling for nine rushing yards, as well. However, the Cougars were not as strong on the ground, grabbing just 77 yards on 38 attempts. Ta’Zhawn Henry got the lion’s share of the carries, running 21 times for 49 yards.