The UConn Huskies face a massive challenge in Provo, UT tonight against the BYU Cougars, looking for their first win on the road since the 2013 road win in Philadelphia over the Temple Owls 28-21. The Huskies are a much improved squad from the previous years, especially from last year when BYU came into East Hartford in week 1 and throttled the Huskies from the opening kick off. There are a few keys to the game that I believe UConn can and should implement in order to give themselves a good chance to win this game as a 14 point underdog:


Keep Arkeel Newsome as the primary back: Newsome was one of the main reasons the UConn offense looked more explosive from the beginning of Saturday's game vs Navy. Newsome is threat in multiple ways on offense, as his versatility is his strong point. Lining him up in the slot, in the backfield, or even using him in the screen game allows for UConn to show multiple looks to the Cougars while still getting the ball in their best threat from the backfield's hands.

Take shots down the field to Noel Thomas: If Noel Thomas is given single man coverage, you take that shot 100% of the time. Time after time Thomas has proven himself to be a reliable deep threat, and I often wondered during the Missouri game why UConn seemed to go away from this after successfully completing a deep pass to Thomas in the first quarter. While a majority of the offense will be generated on the ground and from the screen/quick pass game for the Huskies, large gathers keep the defense honest, which is needed to keep those screens and quick passes open. 

Coming off a tough home loss to Fordham, what can Army most improve on in week 2 in order to defeat UConn for a second year in a row? 

Army's defense and special teams must improve. The defense couldn't get off the field in the first half against Fordham last week. The Black Knights allowed Fordham to score on five straight possessions (three touchdowns and two field goals). Special teams blunders (high snap on punt, allowing Fordham holder/punter to score on two-point conversion) directly resulted in four Fordham points and possibly cost Army the game. 

What did Ahmad Bradshaw show in week 1 that made him the choice over senior QB A.J. Schurr? 

Bradshaw was an elusive runner against Fordham, breaking tackles and making a number of defenders miss. 

What about UConn’s offense makes Army most nervous heading into this game?

Probably, the versatility of quarterback Bryant Shirreffs.

What is the strength of this Army defense? Should UConn fans expect a lot of passes or more of a grind it out running style from the Huskies?

Inside linebacker Andrew King and Jeremy Timpf are returning starters and the strength of Army's defense. King and Timpf were asked to play beyond their assignments in Fordham game. Fordham had success running and throwing the football against Army. So, UConn could use that same balanced attack.

Who is the biggest Army threat on offense? 

Bradshaw was close to breaking off huge runs a few times against Fordham. He brings athleticism that the quarterback position hasn't been seen in Army's triple-option offense for a while. Bradshaw also showed an element of passing that has been missing from the offense.  

Who on the UConn defense do you see causing havoc for the Army offense? 

Don't know about havoc. But, defensive tackles Julian Campenni and Mikal Myers could be a handful for Army's offensive line. 

Player comparison time. What college player does Ahmad Bradshaw remind you of and why?

Some might say Navy's Keenan Reynolds because both are triple-option quarterbacks. Bradshaw's played only one game and has a long way to reach the level of Reynolds. But, Bradshaw showed some of the poise and confidence that Reynolds has in his college debut. 

Finally, make your pick. Who do you see winning and why?

Going to stick with my early-week prediction. Army traditionally hasn't been a good road team. The Black Knights have dropped 20 straight games at an opponent's home stadium. UConn 31, Army 27.

Recently I was lucky enough to have VU Hoops' editor and writer, Brian Ewart, agreed to help us dissect the 2015 Villanova Wildcats. The bolded questions below are the questions I asked Brian, and his answers can be found below the questions. This format will be common weekly with UConn opponent writers chiming in with their current take of the next Husky victim. Enjoy!

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While Villanova returns a potential Walter Payton Award winner in John Robertson, there are other significant losses on the offense (RB, WR, OL). Who do you see filling those spots, and which of these three units do you feel most comfortable with heading into September 3?

 The biggest question-mark on offense heading into the season is going to be the offensive line. The ‘Cats lost Kevin Monangai (who got a couple of carries for the Eagles this weekend) from the backfield, and there have been a couple key receivers who have moved on as well. I think despite those losses, the skill position players are less of a concern for me than the offensive line.

There’s really no doubt that the offense lost a lot with the graduation of slot receiver Poppy Livers (987 yards, 9TD), running back Monangai (1138 yards, 12TD), and tight end Earnest Pettway. Two of those guys were signed by NFL teams as free agents, and the third performed the rare (for Villanova) feat of returning two punts for touchdowns.

That said, the guys moving into those spots are relatively proven commodities for Villanova. Senior Aaron Wells will likely step into Livers’ shoes in the slot and as a former speed demon running back in high school, he should make the transition well. Likely to start at running back is Gary Underwood, who shared carried the last two seasons, initially distinguishing himself as a receiver out of the backfield, but managed to average 7.5 yards per carry last season on the ground before his injury. At tight end, the ‘Cats have Purdue-transfer Ryan Morris stepping up to give Robertson a big target.

The offensive line, however, has the most change. Ross Hall, who had been the only center Robertson played with at Villanova and right tackle Vince Kowalski (who was signed by the Packers) both graduated. That shifted Kyle Wallace from guard to center, shifted guard Jake Prus to right tackle, and upgraded Nico D’Angelo and Jonathan Green to the starting line-up. This is a unit that has talent, and certainly has size (they average 295, but really, if someone would just get Wallace a hoagie, we could bump them up over 300…), the question is whether they will gel in time for the opener.

To end the dissertation and get right to the answer: I’m most confident in the running backs. I think the wideouts will be very good as well, though, but none of it matters if the OL doesn’t do a decent job.


Coach Andy Talley is a legend ad Villanova, having coached at the school for over 30 years. Do you see him continuing his coaching career for the foreseeable future, or is his tenure nearing the end?

I’d like to say he’ll coach forever. I think he has a few more years in him, and if that FBS thing had happened, maybe he would have had a few more. As it is, I think he plans to be a part of the program at least a little longer, but we are definitely in the latter part of his run at Villanova. Talley will be remembered as a legend on the Main Line and is likely one of the greatest coaches in Villanova’s history, and hopefully he’ll get a statue someday next to Jumbo Elliot in the stadium.


The strength of this UConn defense is the front 7, who do you see amongst these players that could potentially cause issues for the Villanova offense?


All of them.

The UConn defense is built to stop the thing Villanova most wants to do on offense: run. The Huskies have some big bodies on the defensive line in particular, and that is where I think they can do the most damage; if they can get into the backfield, it will force Robertson to scramble, or get out of bounds – Robertson is good on the run, but he still needs time for his receivers to get open; and stopping the run at the line of scrimmage will take away a lot of options in the running game, forcing Nova to pass.

 
What makes John Robertson so special? If you had to make a comparison to him with another college QB, who would you pick and why?


The easy comparison is Johnny Manziel, but without the ego or off-the-field issues. He also has one very important thing in common with last year’s Heisman winner Marcus Mariota: they were #1 and #2 in all of NCAA Football in passing efficiency last year, and #3 wasn’t even close.

What Robertson can do with his legs is impressive. He’s one of the most elusive runner’s I’ve seen at Villanova and he rarely comes up short when he takes off. When he passes the ball though, he makes great reads and keeps the ball out of the wrong hands (he had just 3 picks in 13 games last year).


What is the major strength of the defense? Will Bryant Shirreffs need to air it out in order for UConn to get a W, or is this going to be more of a ground and pound effort from the Huskies?
 

Villanova’s strength has traditionally been run-stopping. They lost the massive nose guard Pat Williams to graduation and could struggle to replace him – two years ago the ‘Cats had to switch to a 4-2-5 defense in order to deal with issues along the defensive line, but last season Williams helped the ‘Cats to manage the running game nicely.

If Ricky Young and Eric Drains can step in and fill those shoes, however, the ‘Cats will look good along the defensive line again this season. They also return all of their key players at linebacker, which includes Connecticut-native Don Cherry, who was runner-up for best defensive player in FCS last season and enters 2015 as the favorite for that honor.

As Sam Houston State proved last year, airing it out against Villanova is a good strategy. Villanova has some talented defensive backs, but big FBS receivers will have an advantage against that unit. If UConn can find the mismatches downfield, it might be a good strategy.
 

Who on the UConn offense scares you the most?
 

Based on what I said above, I should say “Noel Thomas,” but I’ll go with Bryant Shirreffs. If Shirreffs is as good as advertised, he could give the Villanova defense nightmares. It sounds like he has a strong arm and is an explosive runner, and I’m not sure how the ‘Cats will handle him, but it seems like handling him will be one of the keys to the game.


Villanova is ranked fourth in the 2015 FCS initial Pre-Season poll. What does this ranking say about the overall talent on the team?
 

Hold up: They were THIRD in the coaches poll! Lets make sure they get credit for that…

This is a team with potentially the best offensive player and the best defensive player in FCS football. The supporting cast is good as well, and with a lot of returning players, they are expected to be the team to beat in the CAA Football conference once again.


The ranking, however, doesn’t mean a damned thing. In 2010, Villanova was ranked first in the preseason polls. They lost a squeaker to Temple in the opener that year, and lost star Matt Szczur a week or two later to an injury. It ended up being a pretty mediocre season where they just barely made it to the playoffs (and yes, they went on a ridiculous run to the semifinals, smoking App State along the way). The FCS preseason poll is fun to talk about, but I don’t put much stock in it at all.




With Villanova being a relatively short distance from UConn and the fact that these two have a major history on the basketball court, do you see a good contingent of Villanova fans making the trip to East Hartford for the game?
 

Well, the usual characters from the Villanova football club are basically a sure thing to make it to the game. The ‘Cats also have a good number of alumni who live in that area or nearby, and hopefully many of them will attend as well.

I wouldn’t expect to see half your stadium in Villanova shirts, however.


Finally, predict the game. Winner, final score, and anything else you feel is relevant to the prediction you are making.
 

I don’t do predictions anymore. Sorry! If Villanova’s offensive line plays as well as last year, then I think the ‘Cats will keep it close. I believe Gary Underwood and Javon White are due for a breakout season, and I think Robertson will make good use of a stable of possession receivers as well as big-play threat Kevin Gulyas. If Steve Weyler can overcome the yips he had last year, maybe Villanova won’t have a repeat of last year’s Syracuse game.

 

 

The Huskies finished a disappointing 2-10 (1-7) in the first year of the Bob Diaco era. In this piece we take a peek at the games the Huskies must win in order to get to the 6 win mark- and a chance at a bowl game.

The University of Connecticut has not achieved the six win mark necessary to obtain bowl eligibility since the 2010-2011 season in which they lost to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl. Despite finishing last in the American Athletic Conference last year (losing the tie-breaker to SMU, thanks to a December loss to the Mustangs at home) there is remarkable optimism radiating from the football program in Storrs. I have grouped the games into different categories and outlined UConn’s path to bowl eligibility this season based off of the most winnable and least winnable games. Another item worth noting is that a 6-6 UConn team is remarkably more attractive to a bowl than say a 6-6 Temple, who last year was left out of a bowl despite being eligible. 

2015 Schedule

Must Win Games

9/3: Villanova (7:30, SNY)- Villanova is one of the most talented FCS teams in the country. It has been written about time and time again by those who cover UConn Football. The Wildcats are led by Walter Payton Award candidate John Robertson, and the team has actually been very solid at producing FCS All-American type talent in recent years. Led by veteran coach Andy Talley, who has been at the head of the Wildcat program for over 30 years, Villanova is about as tough of an out as you can ask for from a FCS opponent. The comparison I will make for this 2015 Villanova team is the 2013 Towson Team that walked into East Hartford and manhandled the Huskies. Despite that comparison, I believe the Huskies are much more equipped to handle Villanova this year than they would have been last season. Another offseason of incredible weight gains and body transformations led by Strength Coach Matt Balis makes UConn the favorite (despite what Vegas thinks) in this game. This is a game UConn absolutely needs to win in order to not only have a chance at making a bowl, but to rally fans around the team and provide the support it will need throughout the season.

9/12: Army (12:00, CBS Sports Network)- The Army game is a lot more intriguing to me than it is to most UConn fans. A lot of UConn fans are chalking this up to an automatic win, despite Army defeating UConn by 2 scores last November in Yankee Stadium and returning QB A.J. Schurr, who along with graduated QB Angel Santiago, helped lead a powerful Army offense that wore down the Huskies throughout the game last season. Again though I do believe that UConn will be VASTLY improved in the 2 critical areas it must improve in this season, the offensive line and quarterback play. The upgrades to these personnel groups, along with a defense that will be playing faster and will rally to the ball quicker, should lead to UConn defeating Army soundly on their home turf at Pratt and Whitney Stadium. 

10/17: USF (TBA,TBA)- Ah Homecoming. What a great time of year and especially a great time of year for football in the state of Connecticut. Mid-October brings ideal football weather to this matchup against the other Florida school in the American. The Bulls have been really struggling to get off the ground under Coach Willie Taggart, and I don’t see this season being much different for South Florida. This is a game UConn should, and will, win.

11/7: @ Tulane (TBA,TBA)- Another must win on the schedule. Despite this being one of the worst football games in terms of quality last year, UConn again was right there against the Green Wave, as the defense played superbly. The Huskies will have an extra day to prepare for this one, coming off of a Friday night contest against ECU. This game will be big for UConn and while it could be a trap game sandwiched between two bigger name teams in ECU and Houston, I believe Coach Diaco will have the team focused and ready to play against a Tulane team that UConn should have defeated last season at Yulman Stadium.

Toss Up Games

9/26: Navy (TBA,TBA)- UConn should actually be pretty prepared to face the Naval Academy, having faced Army two weeks prior. This game is a toss up to me because of how well the Huskies usually play in Rentschler, and the fact that if the Huskies are 2-1 coming into this game, there should be a pretty sizable crowd at this game. Navy is better at the option game than Army is, however UConn should not be overmatched physically against a Navy team that many will expect to win this game with ease. This game should be, to quote the famous Lee Corso, “closer than the experts think”. This is a definite toss-up game for the Huskies early in the 2015 season, which is much more winnable than many outside the program may believe.

10/10: @ UCF (TBA,TBA)- CIVIL CONFLICT BABY!!! UConn looks to stretch the all-time series lead in Civil Conflict games to 2-0 (the all-time series between these two programs is 1-1, however Diaco started the trophy with a UConn win last season- power moves only Bob) when it travels to Orlando to take on the Knights in another game in which I actually believe the Huskies have a fairly good shot at winning. The Knights have lost 1 American Athletic Conference game since the league has formed- last season to UConn in a rainy Homecoming victory for the Huskies. The Knights will be jazzed to play this game, however the Huskies will come out with a ferociousness that I do not believe the Knights will be able to match. Coach Diaco has been extremely vocal with his praise for Coach O’Leary and the work he has done at UCF, and the student will again best the master in this game to bring the Civil Conflict trophy back to Storrs for another year.

10/30: East Carolina (7:00, ESPNU)- This game could be a sneaky win for the Huskies. The Pirates lost a ton of talent from last season, including QB Shane Carden and star WR Justin Hardy to the NFL. While the Pirates have done a great job at reloading their talent level the past few seasons, UConn was right there last season in Greenville, before falling by a touchdown to the Pirates. A win here would be a program changing win- at least perception wise- for the Huskies under Diaco. This is a game that not a lot of casual fans would believe the Huskies could win, but those who are closer to the program believe could really be a pivotal moment in the rebuild that Diaco is executing in Storrs.

11/28: @ Temple (TBA,TBA)- You can buy tickets at the 50 yard line behind the UConn bench for $3 to this game.UConn and Temple actually have played some fairly competitive games lately, and while Temple stands to be much improved and a sleeper pick by many to win the East Division of the American Athletic Conference, this is a team that UConn is very familiar with. Led by QB PJ Walker, this game might be fairly difficult for the Huskies to win, however with it being the last game of the season and potential bowl eligibility on the line, I think we will see an outstanding effort from the Huskies here, and a win is most definitely within reach in this game.  

Long Shot Games

9/19: @ Missouri (12:00, ESPN/2/U)- This game is going to be a loss. If you look at some sports books, UConn is as large as a 35 point underdog in this game (which by the way- I believe the Huskies cover that spread every day of the week). This is the beginning of a brutal stretch for the Huskies, in which fans are looking for the team to be competitive and not lose anyone to a catastrophic injury.

10/2: @ BYU (10:15, ESPN/2)- Another definite loss. BYU absolutely pounded the Huskies to open the Bob Diaco era last fall in Connecticut, and the team should be rolling by this point. While the Cougars will have to deal with suspensions from their brawl with Memphis in the Miami Beach Bowl last winter in their season opener at Nebraska, the Cougars should have their team back to full strength by this point in the year. This is another game in which fans of UConn want the team to look competitive, and not completely inept on offense. Keeping this game within 10 points would be absolutely remarkable for the Huskies, and very promising to the fans of the program.

10/24: @ Cincinnati (TBA,TBA)- The final game in which I chalk up as almost a sure loss for the Huskies. The Bearcats are led by former 5* QB Gunner Kiel, and are the league favorites in almost every publication you can find. Despite last year’s absolute drubbing at Rentschler Field, I can see UConn staying somewhat competitive in this game and eventually losing around 14-17 points. The Bearcats are probably too good for the Huskies this season, but this is another program that has Coach Diaco’s upmost respect, and a great program for the Huskies to try to emulate as they move forward under Diaco in the American.

11/21: Houston (TBA,TBA)- Tom Herman brings his highly touted Houston Cougars to town to face off in a late season game vs. Bob Diaco’s Connecticut Huskies. This has all the makings of a classic UConn upset. Late November game, Houston could be potentially overlooking the Huskies, UConn has a bye week the week before, and the long distance of travel for the Cougars all provide the ingredients for a potential UCF type upset from UConn against Houston. Herman has the Cougars rolling in terms of off-season momentum, being the only Group of 5 team in ESPN’s top 40 recruiting rankings while challenging the city of Houston to rally around the team. If the weather limits this to a ground and pound type of game, that plays directly into UConn’s strengths. While I think that in 2 years Houston may be absolutely rolling in the American, I believe the hype surrounding their program is unwarranted and I need to see more from the Cougars on the field before truly believing this is an elite level program in the American. This is a game UConn absolutely could wind up winning. 

So which games do I think the Huskies will ultimately win in order to get to 6-6? The team absolutely must take all four against Villanova, Army, USF, and Tulane. They then need 2 of the 'Toss Up' games, which I believe are most likely to be ECU at home, and Temple on the road. Winning these games gets the team to 6 wins and puts themselves in the hands of the conference and the bowl selection personnel to slot the Huskies in whatever bowl they see fit. This is a good mix of the Huskies playing well against some of the better teams in the league, while also being realistic about where the Huskies are in terms of their place in the American. The Huskies should be much improved this season, especially in the trenches and at QB. Should these predictions hold true, I believe the Huskies are primed for a breakout season in 2016, the third season under Bob Diaco.