UConn football future opponents: Week 8

It was an up-and-down Saturday in East Hartford on Saturday and the gloomy weather didn’t help. UConn held an 11-point advantage with 12:45 to go but fumbled twice on its final three drives, while USF came back to win, 24-21.

Some of UConn’s future opponents had much better days, while others were close to on par.

Boston College (4-3) - Oct. 28

The Eagles will enter their matchup with UConn on a three-game winning streak after a 38-23 victory on the road against Georgia Tech. They’ve come a long way from nearly losing to Holy Cross early in the season. The Yellow Jackets were up 23-17 heading into the fourth quarter, but three Boston College touchdowns in a seven-minute span made it a convincing BC win.

The Eagles amassed 563 total yards, while Georgia Tech had 452 yards of offense, as well. One of the big differences in the game came in the turnover battle, which the visitors won 3-to-1, including a pick-six.

Thomas Castellanos was 17-of-29 passing for 255 yards and an interception, also scoring twice on the ground on 13 times for 128 yards. Kye Robichaux also got into the end zone twice and had the bulk of the carries, with 21 attempts for 165 yards.

No. 17 Tennessee (5-2) - Nov. 4

Tennessee had a 13-point lead at the half, but starting with a 41-second touchdown drive to begin the third quarter, Alabama scored 27 points over the final 30 minutes and shut out the Volunteers to secure a 34-20 win and keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Tennessee had 404 yards of offense, but just 109 in the second half, turning the ball over on downs twice and also losing a fumble in the process. The defense held Alabama to 358 yards of total offense.

Joe Milton III had a strong passing day, as he was 28-of-41 passing for 271 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a highlight reel pass to Squirrel White to open the scoring. He also added 59 yards on the ground over 15 carries. Tennessee didn’t call many other numbers for production, as three other runners carried a combined 23 times for 74 yards.

James Madison (7-0) - Nov. 11

Another week, another win for the Dukes, as James Madison secured a 20-9 win over Marshall in Sun Belt play on Thursday night. The scoring was delightfully unconventional, as it was just 3-0 James Madison at the half, with a Marshall safety followed by another JMU field goal making it look more like a baseball score until deep into the third quarter, when Jordan McCloud got into the end zone for what would prove to be the game-winning points.

James Madison had 405 yards to Marshall’s 169, while also winning the turnover battle.

McCloud had a strong game, as he was 21-of-31 passing for 264 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also gained 69 yards on six rushes. The rest of the team netted 62 yards on 30 rushes, though that includes two kneel-downs at the end of the game.

Sacred Heart (1-7) - Nov. 18

Sacred Heart went on the road to face Stonehill, going into double overtime before falling, 22-19. The Pioneers led from late in the first quarter until midway through the fourth, but a 41-yard touchdown by the Skyhawks helped force overtime.

The visitors had just 306 yards of offense and 14 first downs and forced two turnovers, but weren’t able to secure the win. Stonehill gained 349 yards on offense.

Cade Pribula was 7-of-18 for 87 yards, adding 34 yards on the ground. Malik Grant had 21 carries for 61 yards and got into the end zone, while he was beaten out in yardage by Jalen Madison, who reached 110 yards on 20 rushes.

UMass (1-7) - Nov. 25

After playing eight straight weeks to start the year, the Minutemen finally got a rest. They’ll be back against Army on Saturday.