TIME: 3:00 PM
TV: ESPN+
ANNOUNCERS: Todd Emrich (play-by-play), Charles Arbuckle (analyst), Smacker Miles (sideline)
RADIO: UConn Sports Network; Varsity Network App; 97.9 Fox Sports, WGCH 1490 AM, WAVZ 1300
AM, WILI 1400 AM and 95.3 FM, WICH 1310 AM and 94.5 FM; Sirius/XM online streaming, XM 384 (UConn)
ANNOUNCERS: Mike Crispino (play-by-play), Wayne Norman (color analyst), Adam Giardino (sideline)
RECORDS: UConn (5-2), Rice (3-4, 1-3 AAC)
LAST WEEK: UConn won at Boston College, 38-23; Rice was on a bye last weekend.
POINT SPREAD: UConn -10.5 (odds via FanDuel)
O/U: 48.5
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the third straight season of these two teams playing; the Huskies hold a 2-0 series advantage.
GAME NOTES WITH DEPTH CHART: UConn; Rice
PREGAME PRESS CONFERENCE(S): UConn head coach Jim Mora; Rice head coach Scott Abell
WEATHER FORECAST: Houston, TX
Fun With Numbers
6: With a win on Saturday, UConn would have six wins and be bowl-eligible for the second straight season and third time in the Jim Mora era.
1: Mora’s first career win as a college coach came against Rice in 2012 when he coached UCLA.
3: Rice is the first of three American Athletic Conference opponents the Huskies will face. They’ll play UAB on November 1st and FAU on November 22nd. The Huskies are 5-3 against the AAC since leaving the conference to become an independent in the 2021 season.
58: UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell is seventh in the country in catches with 58. He is second in receptions per game (8.29), and fourth in receiving yards (687), fifth in yards per game (98.1), and fourth in receiving TDs (7). He is 37th in total TDs (7).
136: Rice wide receiver Aaron Turner, who played at UConn in 2021 and 2022, has 136 receiving yards and 116 rushing yards.
70: The Huskies rank 70th in ESPN’s FPI (College Football Power Index) this week. Rice comes in at 125.
56: In ESPN’s SP+ rankings, UConn comes in at 56 while the Owls are ranked 113th.
1918: Huskies quarterback Joe Fagnano has passed for 1,918 yards, which ranks 11th among FBS quarterbacks. He is also 13th in pass yards per game (274.0), 18th in passing efficiency (161.3), 18th in passing TDs (15), 20th in total offense (287.4), 22nd in completions per game (22.0), 25th in completion percentage (.681), and 27th in points responsible for (102).
0: Fagnano has also not thrown an interception all season. He has the most pass attempts (226) and passing yards (1918) without an interception among all quarterbacks in the NCAA. He is the only QB with 200 or more pass attempts without an interception this season.
487: Rice’s Quinton Jackson leads the team in rushing with 487 yards
26: UConn’s defense has 26 sacks on the season, which ties them for third best in FBS with Indiana and Tennessee.
8.5: Huskies linebacker Bryun Parham has 8.5 sacks on the season, which puts him in a tie for fourth best in FBS with Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker. Parham also leads the team in tackles with 6,1 which puts him at 24th in FBS.
53: Owls linebacker Andrew Awe leads the team with 53 tackles.
What to watch for
Streaking, Bowling, and Momentum
UConn heads to Rice on a four-game winning streak with the chance to secure bowl eligibility. The Huskies have not lost in regulation and have been explosive offensively over their last two games. Momentum is a phrase often overused to the point of being meaningless, but Jim Mora’s squad has some and needs to keep it going with a solid win on Saturday.
Rice is not a team in good shape. They have three wins on the season, but those came against Charlotte, Louisiana, and FCS Prairie View. After losing a close one to future UConn opponent FAU, they were mopped by UTSA 61-13, but have had a bye week to recover before hosting the Huskies on Saturday.
Interesting Clash of Styles
Rice is one of the most run-first teams around, toting the rock 348 times this season compared to just 110 pass attempts. They have two running backs over 300 yards and three touchdowns each, while QB Chase Jenkins has 275 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Jenkins has fewer passing yards on the season than UConn’s Joe Fagnano has in just his last two games. They are not a highly-rated team defensively overall, but do perform solidly on a play-to-play basis. With a struggling offense, the Owls have struggled to put up points.
UConn has not been the strongest defensively, while offensive prowess has been a key to victory lately. The Huskies are vulnerable against the run, as previous games, including the win at Boston College, have shown. The Owls are likely eager to exploit this weakness with their strength as a team.
The Husky defense will need to step up to win this game.
John, Juice, and the Freak
The Huskies have seen an emergence of pass-catching talent behind Skyler Bell, with Juice Vereen and John Neider grabbing their first career touchdowns and setting career highs in receiving yards. Alex Honig, famously honored on FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman’s preseason Freaks List, caught a 40-yard pass to set up a field goal.
We’ve been talking about this all season, but it was important for the team and seems to be happening, albeit a little slowly. After the BC game, Mora shared how Vereen presents a matchup nightmare in the ways he can be used out of the backfield and on the line. Mora and teammates say Neider has been starring in practice for years, and they’re excited to see him break through in games. Honig came to the US from Germany as a quarterback and began his career at TCU before transferring to UConn. He has a 36-inch vertical jump and, according to Feldman, 14 percent body fat at 6-foot-7, 270 pounds.
It’s possible that multiple pass-catchers are making breakthroughs this season. These guys have more upside from what they’ve already shown, and transfer Reymello Murphy has been solid as well, sitting third on the team in receiving yards behind Neider.
