The season that wouldn’t end felt like it ended too soon. That 0-9 start turned into a three-game winning streak and just as it seemed like the Huskies had some momentum, Senior Day had come and gone.
But with only a few weeks left until kickoff vs. BYU, here’s a look ahead at UConn’s road through the American and (hopefully) back to the postseason.
The Start: It all starts with a marquee non-conference showdown against BYU on Aug. 29. The Cougars ranked 10th in the nation last year in rushing yards, led by then-sophomores Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams. At quarterback, Hill struggled at times throwing the ball, but his performance last year has still caused some to take notice, including Hall of Famer Steve Young.
A week later, the Huskies face token FCS opponent Stony Brook. The Seawolves went 5-6 last year and shouldn’t put up much of a challenge.
/fights to force Towson nightmare from memory
The Powerhouse: Our field isn’t blue. Our state is 1/15 the size of Idaho and has almost twice the electoral votes. Our quarterback wasn’t barred from a bowl game for allegedly urinating off a hotel balcony. The Huskies get a chance to welcome Boise State into civilization on Sept. 13. The Broncos failed to win 10 games last year for the first time since the iPod Nano was launched and haven’t missed a bowl game since Dan Orlovsky was a Husky. But in their illustrious history, the Broncos have not faced the Huskies. Boise State returns many of its big guns, including wide receiver Shane Williams-Rhodes (77 rec. 702 yds) and running back Jay Ajayi (1,425 yds, 18 TD). Grant Hedrick took most of the snaps at QB in the second half of last year (while Joe Southwick was apparently peeing in public) and he returns following a strong performance against Oregon State in the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl.
The Statement: The East Regional at Madison Square Garden just wasn’t enough. The Husky presence during the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight was overwhelming, but here’s a chance to make an even bigger statement. Head down to Yankee Stadium on Nov. 8 as UConn takes on Army. Marvel at the scarlet-clad denizens of Julie Hermann’s Rutgers empire (who will no doubt fill the streets of New York, as they always do), then buckle up as UConn faces a team that has endured three straight woeful years.
Oh, and check out the garlic fries on the main level. Everything in that stadium is overpriced, but those are worth it.
The Conference: UConn opens play in the American against USF, Temple and Tulane, and beating at least two of those teams is pretty much essential. After that, the Huskies are pelted with the American’s heavy hitters, visiting ECU and hosting Central Florida and Cincinnati, with that game against Army thrown in the middle. It’s a tough stretch, so keep that in mind if things get rough. UConn played the Bearcats and Knights back-to-back last year and were outscored 103-33 in that span. It’s hard to call any win an easy one after 2013, but they’ll be especially tough to come by before the final two games of the season when UConn visits Memphis and hosts SMU. Two wins to close out the season would be great and they just might be necessary to become bowl-eligible.
The Road to Six Wins: So how does six happen? Tough to say, but that’s never stopped me from wild and useless speculation. Here’s a possibility: The Huskies win the games they should: Stony Brook, Army, Temple and Memphis. They beat South Florida as well, who will be picked somewhere near the Huskies in the preseason standings. After that, they need one more to qualify for the postseason, two more if there’s a slip-up at some point. Tulane is going to be a good team, but that’s an opportunity. If not, it might happen on Senior Day against SMU. The Mustangs beat the Huskies by 17 in Dallas last year as they passed for 353 yards to account for all four of their touchdowns. But that was right before UConn turned it around. Over their final three games, they yielded just 16 points per game with one passing touchdown each time out.
The full schedule below:
Aug. 29 vs. BYU, 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 vs. Stony Brook, Noon
Sept. 13 vs. Boise State, Noon
Sept. 19 @ South Florida, 8 p.m.
Sept. 27 vs. Temple, TBA
Oct. 11 @ Tulane, TBA
Oct. 23 @ East Carolina, 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 vs. Central Florida, TBA
Nov. 8 vs. Army (Yankee Stadium), 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 22 vs. Cincinnati, TBA
Nov. 29 @ Memphis, TBA
Dec. 6 vs. SMU, TBA
