TIME: 12:00 PM
TV: ACC Network, ESPN+
ANNOUNCERS: Jorge Sedano (play-by-play), Rodney McLeod (analyst), Victoria Arlen (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 380 (UConn)
ANNOUNCERS:
Mike Crispino (play-by-play), Wayne Norman (color analyst), Adam Giardino (sideline)RECORDS: UConn (4-2), Boston College (1-5, 0-4 ACC)
LAST WEEK: UConn was off last week; BC
got spanked at home by Clemson, 41-10
POINT SPREAD: Boston College -1.5 (odds via FanDuel)
O/U: 58.5
SERIES HISTORY: This will the 17th time the two New England rivals have played each other on the gridiron with the Eagles holding a 13-1-2 advantage. UConn’s only win came in Jim Mora’s first season in 2022, 13-3
GAME NOTES WITH DEPTH CHART: UConn; Boston College
PREGAME PRESS CONFERENCE(S): UConn head coach Jim Mora; BC head coach Bill O’Brien
WEATHER FORECAST: Chestnut Hill, MA
Fun With Numbers
100: UConn football coach Jim Mora picked up his 100th career win between the NFL and college when they beat FIU, 51-10.
8: The Huskies are 0-8 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, MA.
3: This is the third ACC opponent the Huskies will face this year. They previously fell to Syracuse, 27-20 in overtime, and will take on Duke on November 8 at home.
355: Joe Fagnano passed for 355 yards, his UConn career high, with four touchdowns.
0: Fagnano has not thrown an interception this year. His 1,556 passing yards is the most by a quarterback who hasn’t thrown an interception
21.83: Fagnano is 23rd in completions per game, 25th in yards per game (259.3), 27th in passing yards (1556), 30th in completion percentage (.627), 34th in passing TDs (11) and passing efficiency (152.8), and 38th in total offense (270.8).
283.8: The Eagles have passed for 283.8 yards per game, which ranks 23rd in the nation and fifth in the ACC.
637: UConn’s Cam Edwards has run for 637 yards this season, which ranks him 10th overall. Edwards ranks ninth in the country in rushing yards per game (106.2), 25th in yards per carry (6.31), and 28th in all-purpose yards (115.50). He scored his seventh TD of the season in the win over FIU, his fourth-straight game with a touchdown. He ranks 17th in rushing touchdowns (7) and 25th in total touchdowns (7).
7: Eagles running back Turbo Richard is tied with Edwards for 25th overall in total touchdowns with seven.
48: Huskies wide receiver Skyler Bell has 48 catches this season, which ranks him third overall in FBS. He also ranks third in receptions per game (8.00), and seventh in receiving yards (562), yards per game (93.7), and receiving TDs (6).
7.5: BC’s Lewis Bond is averaging 7.5 receptions per game, which ranks him fifth in FBS and first in the ACC. He is also 31 receptions away from the Eagles record of 200 by now Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers.
10: UConn kicker Chris Freeman has made 10 straight field goals, which is one off his career-best mark of 11 set last season.
19: The Husky defense has 19 sacks on the season, which ranks 10th nationally.
6.5: Bryun Parham has 6.5 sacks in six games which ranks sixth in FBS in total sacks. He also leads the team in tackles with 47.
2-0: The UConn basketball teams went 2-0 against the Eagles this week in exhibition play. UConn women’s basketball beat BC, 84-67 ($), and UConn men’s basketball beat BC, 71-52.
What to watch for
New Identity Huskies
This season, UConn has been more pass-balanced than last year, and the defense hasn’t been as stout. The Huskies will maintain a solid rushing attack given Cam Edwards’ talents, but this year they’re passing more than running after posting a 5-4 run-pass ratio last year.
With the Huskies’ run blocking not performing as well as the pass blocking or previous years’ O-lines, and Mel Brown out injured for a while, the passing game will need to rise to the challenge. If UConn wants to win this game, it needs to channel more of the FIU game, where Joe Fagnano threw for FBS career highs with 355 yards, 12.7 yards per attempt, and a 79 percent completion rate.
UConn fans need to hope this is a breakthrough for the passing attack. In addition to the stable contributions of Skyler Bell, it would be nice to see John Neider, Shamar Porter, Reymello Murphy, or a tight end make a difference on Saturday. UConn will need it then and across the season.
Defensive Improvement
UConn also turned in its best defensive performance against an FBS opponent in the FIU game, allowing a season-low 304 yards and 4.2 yards per carry while forcing five turnovers. The five turnovers are not super replicable, but perhaps the defense has turned a corner after less good outings against Syracuse, Delaware, and Ball State.
UConn kept Buffalo and its backup QB in check, but still had some slip-ups, like allowing a long touchdown run and two fourth-down conversions on a touchdown drive that tied the game late. They let the Ball State game get too close, but looked miles better against FIU.
Defensive coordinator Matt Brock had a good first season last year, and he has the pieces to have a good Year Two, but the absence of guys like Jelani Stafford, Dal’Mont Gourdine, Tui Brown, Jayden McDonald, and Malik Dixon-Williams looms large. The defense may be scrappy this year, but it may not be as consistent.
Boston College hasn’t been great, but it has put up numbers offensively against the likes of Michigan State, Stanford, and Cal. Those may not be superpowers, but neither is UConn. The Eagles had weak outings in their last two games, but one of those was against Clemson; the other was at Pitt. We’ll see who they run at quarterback. There have been suggestions that opening-day starter Dylan Lonergan may be benched, but either way, they present a challenge for UConn.
Look out for running back Turbo Richard and receiver Lewis Bond. Richard has seven total touchdowns, while Bond has 436 receiving yards. Wideout Reed Harris is tied with Richard for the team lead in receiving touchdowns with two. UConn has had a propensity for allowing big plays and needs to avoid that on Saturday. BC’s yards per play has been in decline across the season, but its talent level is not dissimilar from Syracuse’s so expect a similar matchup on that side of the ball.
This game might be a shootout unless the defense holds up a little better.
Don’t Mess This Up
This is the biggest game left in the regular season for UConn. They’re coming off a bye and their best performance of the season in the week before that, while their opponent, who would be very meaningful for the Husky program to beat, has lost five in a row. This is as good an opportunity as one could hope for in the circumstances leading up to this matchup.
UConn needs to play a clean game, keeping penalties and turnovers to a minimum, and the coaching staff needs to put the players in the best possible position to win. They should be aggressive in opposing territory and locked in on third and fourth down defensively.
We’ve seen the Huskies handle some adversity. Despite the two overtime losses, they scored 38 in regulation at Delaware and built an early lead at Syracuse before mounting a game-tying drive to force OT. At Buffalo, they shook off a late, game-tying touchdown by the Bulls to convert two third downs on their way to a game-winning field goal.
The Huskies simply must win. BC is down bad and UConn’s vibes are better at 4-2 after three straight wins, albeit against some of the weakest competition in FBS. Losing to the Eagles at their worst would not be a good look.
