KICKOFF: 3:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
ANNOUNCERS: Scott Klatzkin (play-by-play), Fritz Steuber (analyst)
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 386 (UConn)
ANNOUNCERS: Mike Crispino (play-by-play), Wayne Norman (color analyst), Adam Giardino (sideline)
RECORDS:
UConn (1-1), Delaware (1-1)LAST WEEK: UConn lost a heartbreaker to Syracuse, 27-20, in overtime; Delaware fell to Colorado,
31-7
POINT SPREAD: UConn – 10.5 (odds via FanDuel)
O/U: 52.5
SERIES HISTORY: This is the 28th time the two teams have met on the gridiron with the Fightin’ Blue Hens holding a 20-7 advantage. All 27 of the previous matchups came when both teams played in Division 1-AA (now FCS).
GAME NOTES WITH DEPTH CHART: UConn; Delaware
PREGAME PRESS CONFERENCE(S): UConn head coach Jim Mora; Delaware head coach Ryan Carty
WEATHER FORECAST: Newark, DE
Fun With Numbers
2: Delaware is the first of two C-USA opponents that UConn will face this season. They’ll also take on FIU at home on October 4. Two is also the number of times that Huskies quarterback Joe Fagnano has faced UD while he was at Maine.
1: UConn is 1-4 against C-USA teams, with the lone win coming against FIU
16: Oumar Diamonde had a career-high nine tackles last week vs Syracuse. He leads the Huskies with 16 tackles in the first two games.
9: UConn has nine former players representing the program in the NFL. Chase Lundt and Ryan Van Demark with the Buffalo Bills, Folorunso Fatukasi with the Houston Texans, Travis Jones with the Baltimore Ravens, Matt Peart with the Denver Broncos, and Nate Carter with the Atlanta Falcons. Christian Haynes of the Seattle Seahawks and Valentin Senn of the Arizona Cardinals opened the season on the IR list. Also, Eric Watts is a member of the New York Jets practice squad.
11: Skyler Bell had a career-high 11 catches against Syracuse last week.
312: Delaware quarterback Nick Minicucci passed for a career-high 312 yards vs Colorado last week.
3.5: The Fightin’ Blue Hens are averaging 3.5 sacks per game, which puts them 11th nationally.
83.7: According to PFF, UD center Fintan Brose is the highest graded pass blocking center in C-USA.
1989: The Fightin’ Blue Hens have not hosted an FBS program at Delaware Stadium since November 18, 1989, when Navy came to town.
12: 12 UD single-game records have come against UConn over their 27-game history.
3: The University of Delaware is one of just three institutions with an alumnus elected President (Joe Biden), a Super Bowl MVP (Joe Flacco), and an NFL MVP (Rich Gannon), along with Stanford and Michigan.
70: UConn dropped two spots in the SP+ rankings to 70 after being 68th the week before. Delaware comes in at 124th. The Huskies’ next opponent after this weekend, Ball State, is ranked last at 136th.
What to watch for
Four Quarters
Last week, the offense stalled and the defense gave up big plays as a two-score lead collapsed. This week, UConn has to avoid early mistakes and finish the game against an opponent in its first year of FBS competition. The Huskies have a talent edge in this one and shouldn’t come close to losing this one as long as they keep their composure on the road. They’re favored by two scores and need to take care of business.
UConn’s defense has a chance to redeem itself after a rough fourth quarter at Syracuse, even though it was still a respectable overall performance against an ACC opponent. Against Delaware, they should be able to replicate or exceed the havoc they created against the Orange (3 sacks and 7 TFL), and the Husky secondary should play tighter against Delaware’s receivers.
The Husky offense needs to redeem its no-show from the second half of last week’s game. It can’t afford drops and missed opportunities, and special teams need to stay clean after long-snap snafus in each of the first two weeks.
Second Receiving Threat
UConn is still looking for a secondary receiving threat after Skyler Bell (15 rec, 240 yards, 2 TDs). Nobody has shown the consistency or playmaking ability to stand out so far, though some candidates exist. Arizona transfer Reymello Murphy has nine receptions for 86 yards with one touchdown. The tight end by committee of Alex Honig, Louis Hansen, and Juice Vereen are doing well in the aggregate: eight receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. But they could all be doing a little bit better.
UConn’s passing attack needs to pick it up this week. The running backs should not have trouble finding room and setting up the passing game for success. Joe Fagnano and the pass catchers have a good opportunity to get something going in this Week 3 matchup.
Delaware’s Debut
This is UD’s first game hosting an FBS opponent as an FBS program. They played Colorado on the road last week, losing 31-7, but it was 10-7 late in the first half. To be fair, FCS Delaware State played them closer than the final score would suggest in Week 1, trailing just 14-10 in the third quarter.
Delaware has a strong fanbase, rich football history (Joe Flacco, Rich Gannon, the Wing-T!), a lengthy track record of beating UConn, and should offer an interesting gameday environment when these two teams meet. This is certainly not an opponent for UConn’s coaches, players, or fans to overlook.
