The Opponent: The University of Connecticut was founded in 1881 as Storrs Agricultural School. With over 30,000 total students, UConn is the largest public university in the state. The University ditched its original nickname, the Aggies, in exchange for the Huskies in 1933. UConn started playing football in 1896. In the modern era they competed at the Division I-AA (FCS) level until 1999. The Huskies are currently independent in football since leaving the AAC after the 2019 season. UConn is 111-164 since joining the FBS ranks in 1999. The Huskies are coached by Jim Mora, former coach of both the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks. Mora is 7-14 thus far in Storrs.
Are they any Good?: No, this is not a very good football team. The Huskies currently sit at 1-7, with their lone win coming against Rice. To be fair, UConn has been competitive against both NC State and Boston College. They played Alex Golesh and South Florida to within 3 points. They also got smoked 41-7 against Duke. Simply put, UConn is a very appropriate homecoming opponent.
What does Vegas have to say?: This game opened at Tennessee -34.5 and currently sits at -35.5. UConn is 4-4 ATS this season. They are 2-1 ATS when the spread has been over 14 points. Tennessee improved to 5-3 ATS after their cover in Lexington last weekend. The Over/Under is currently 55.5. As always, please gamble within your means. This should probably be a stay away game regardless, unless you are a real sicko.
Matchup to watch on Offense: Continue to grow confidence in the passing game. Joe Milton is 45 for 61 (74%) in his last two games against Alabama and Kentucky, two pretty good defenses. Just as important, Milton did not throw an interception in either road game. Tennessee needs to use Saturday as an opportunity to continue to grow confidence in the passing game. The Vols will likely need that against their next two opponents. The reality is Tennessee can probably line up and run the ball 50 times on Saturday if they would like. UConn’s run defense is giving up over 200 yards per game, and over 5.0 yards per carry, on the road this season. This is a pretty pedestrian-run defense. I still expect at least 60% of Tennessee’s offensive snaps to be run calls. The Vols need to keep working the passing game though. It was great to see Dont’e Thornton finally get involved in Lexington. The Oregon transfer looked much more natural playing on the outside. Saturday is a good chance to get #1 a few more targets, maybe allowing him to be a legitimate weapon down the stretch. It is also a chance to continue getting reps for Chas Nimrod and Kaleb Webb. Most importantly, Saturday should be about keeping the good vibes going with Joe Milton. I don’t expect nearly as many designed runs for Milton, and ideally, he only plays around a half of football. Hopefully, Tennessee can use Saturday as a chance to fine-tune its passing game before a critical two-game stretch.
More from RTI: Tennessee Football Announces Uniforms For UConn Game
Matchup to watch on Defense: Get back to pressuring the quarterback. Much has been made of Tennessee playing two straight games where their opponent has not been called for a single live-ball penalty. It is a pretty wild fact, one that understandably has frustrated Josh Heupel. A lot of Heupel’s frustration seems to stem from his pass rush’s lack of success the last six quarters. Just a few weeks ago, the Volunteers led the SEC in sacks per game with over 4.0. However, since halftime in Tuscaloosa that stat has fallen off. One might think that UConn is an easy team to get on track against, but no so fast my friend. The Huskies have allowed just nine sacks through eight games this season, one of the best rates in America. While quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson is not necessarily a dual-threat athlete, he has proven to be elusive when the pocket breaks down. Tennessee needs to stop making excuses though, and find a way to get to the quarterback. It is no coincidence that once the pass rush dried up this defense looked pretty average. We are seeing just how much better, or worse, a secondary can look when paired with an effective pass rush. Missouri and Georgia have been two of the best teams in America at protecting their quarterback. Tennessee needs to use Saturday as an opportunity to rediscover its pass rush, and allow its defense to make impact plays.
Fun Fact: UConn is coached by Jim Mora, not Jim Mora Jr. Yes, Mora’s famous father also was Jim Mora, but the Huskie coach is not a junior. They have different middle names, and nowhere does the younger Mora ever refer to himself as a junior. Obviously, this is all a ploy to bring up one of the most famous rants in football history. Everyone knows the elder Mora’s “Playoffs?!” rant at this point. The expanded backstory and context is well laid out in this YouTube clip though. A lot of Mora’s ire that day was really directed at rookie QB Peyton Manning. Manning did not appreciate the public criticism. While the two mostly made amends, Mora publicly snubbed his invitation to attend Manning’s statue unveiling in 2017 despite a personal invitation from Peyton. Mora cited his frosty relationship with Bill Pollian as the reason for declining the invite. Regardless, there does not appear to be much love lost between the older Jim Mora and Tennessee’s most famous Volunteer.
So What Happens?: Tennessee has announced a sellout for the game. It is Homecoming, and this should be a Name Your Score type of game. However, that was also the case earlier this season against Austin Peay, an FCS opponent who Tennessee struggled to decisively put away. We see that lack of focus at times in games like these, and it is easy to understand why. That being said, I think this Tennessee team is preparing itself for a crucial finishing stretch. I am not sure if that means they will be 100% locked in for 60 minutes on Saturday, but I would expect a pretty focused effort. Offensively the Vols keep a pretty balanced attack to score 28+ points in the first half. I expect Tennessee’s defense to mostly stifle a Huskie offense that ranks 116th nationally in yards per game. Look for at least one first-half turnover from a UConn offense that’s had 11 on the season. The crowd should start to thin out in the second half as Tennessee empties its bench. Nico Iamaleava throws his first touchdown pass as a Volunteer, and Dee Williams adds another to his collection. UConn scores late against Tennessee’s back ups to narrowly cover the spread. Vols 48, Huskies 17
