UConn football vs. Boston College Eagles: How to watch, by the numbers, what to watch for

KICKOFF: 12:00 p.m.

TV: CBS Sports Network

ANNOUNCERS: Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (color analyst), Sherree Burruss (sideline)

RADIO: UConn IMG Radio Network; Varsity Network App; 97.9 ESPN Hartford, WGCH 1490 AM, WAVZ 1300 AM, WATR 1320 AM, WILI 1400 AM and 95.3 FM, WICH 1310 AM and 94.5 FM

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

RECORDS: UConn (3-5), Boston College (2-5)

LAST WEEK: The Huskies were off last week; BC was crushed by No. 13 Wake Forest, 43-15

POINT SPREAD: BC -8

OVER/UNDER: 44.5 (odds via DraftKings)

SERIES HISTORY: The UConn Huskies and Boston College Eagles have met a total of 14 times on the gridiron. The Eagles hold a 12-0-2 advantage over the Huskies.

DEPTH CHART: UConn; Boston College

PREGAME PRESS CONFERENCE(S): BC head coach Jeff Hafley; UConn head coach Jim Mora

Q&A: BC Interruption with The UConn Blog; The UConn Blog with BC Interruption

WEATHER FORECAST: East Hartford, CT

Fun With Numbers

2,235: Number of days (as of game day) since UConn football has beaten a Power 5 opponent (Sept 16, 2016 vs Virginia)

11: Consecutive wins over UConn by BC

88: Total tackles by Jackson Mitchell which is second in the country.

11.0: Average tackles per game by Mitchell

13: The Huskies have now scored points on their last 13 trips in the red zone

4: Touchdowns over 50 yards by BC wide receiver Zay Flowers. He is only one of three players in FBS to achieve this in 2022. Three of those four have come against FBS opponents.

1: Wins by other UConn Athletics team over Boston College. Men’s Hockey beat BC 5-1 on Thursday night

What to Watch For

Can UConn match up against the big boys?

The level of play that UConn has been able to muster up vs. Power Five opponents has been starkly below standard compared to the rest of their schedule. The plain numbers speak for themselves: UConn has an average -41-point differential against Power Five opponents this year compared to a rosy +7.2 average point differential against all others. Their offense has earned 5.3 yards per play against non-Power opponents, which is tremendous when compared to their paltry 3.2 yards per play against Power 5 teams. Their defense hasn’t been much better, giving up 5.2 yards per play against non-Power teams vs. 6.3 against their Power 5 counterparts. Given their recent solid play on the offensive line, UConn might be able to out-execute their Boston College opponents, but will they be able to overcome the size deficit inherent in the different playing fields the two programs inhabit?

Will Charlton continue to open up the offense?

It would be very tempting for UConn offensive coordinator Nick Charlton to resort back to Old Reliable this week at home against Boston College. Against the Huskies’ other Power 5 opponents, Charlton came out with a game plan that assumed a heavy talent differential from the start. UConn rolled out an extremely screen and one-read-heavy offense in games against Syracuse, Michigan and NC State, which led to minimal success. But in recent games with Zion Turner’s development under center, he’s been able to open up the offense and develop rapport with players like Justin Joly, his tight end and a fellow freshman. After attempting just four passes beyond 10 yards against Power 5 opponents in weeks two through four, Turner has completed double that in the three games since. Will Charlton revert back to old habits against a more talented opponent (on the surface), or will he trust his young quarterback to go out and make the plays?

What role will Marion play?

After being an active participant in practice this week, sophomore receiver Keelan Marion could be ready to roll this weekend according to head coach Jim Mora. Marion should be a big boost for a UConn passing attack with a dearth of experience and explosiveness. In 2021, Marion was one of UConn’s few downfield threats, leading the team with 474 receiving yards and owning eight of the Huskies’ 20 receptions 20+ yards down the field in 2021, six more than every pass-catcher combined for the Huskies last year. How big of a role Marion will play remains to be seen, if at all, but his return would be a big boost to UConn’s passing offense.