STORRS – UConn football coach Jim Mora called the team’s walk-off against Temple on Oct. 5 one of the most exciting wins of his career. After last week’s loss to Wake Forest, he described it to Athletic Director David Benedict as one of the most frustrating.
Because of the new iPads that allow coaches to view film on the sideline during games, the full game is available immediately after it ends. Mora will typically begin his review in the car as his wife, Kathy, drives them home.
But Saturday was different; Mora needed to gather himself before he could begin the process of moving on to the next game, against Rice.
His frustration couldn’t have been clearer when he addressed reporters in his quick but impassioned postgame press conference. He mixed in expletives as he rebuked the ACC officiating crew that missed an apparent pass interference call on the Huskies’ final offensive play, effectively ending the game. He couldn’t help but call out the conference affiliation of the referees and how UConn’s independent status may have had something to do with what he believed wasn’t a “level playing field.”
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By Tuesday, when he spoke with reporters again, a cooler-headed Mora had already met with his staff and his players and gotten started on the preparation for Saturday’s homecoming game against the Owls.
“The way I felt after that game, I haven’t felt that way in a long, long time,” he said. “And I think that is an indicator of where this program is going.”
UConn has been in two close games against ACC opponents, Duke and Wake Forest. Mora believes there were missed calls late in each of them, both of which the Huskies lost.
“But I want to get to a point as a team where that doesn’t even matter,” he said. “And I think we’re capable of doing that. I mean, we fight and we scratch and kick and our guys don’t give up and we’re in those games. We gotta find a way to win them. To win them without relying on an official – who’s doing the best he can – to make a call.”
The Huskies were in a much worse situation – winless at 0-5 – when they traveled to Houston and beat Rice as 9.5-point underdogs last season. That game came after a similarly devastating loss at home to Utah State, when UConn scored a potential game-tying touchdown late but had its extra point blocked and lost by one.
Now hosting the Owls, the 2024 Huskies (4-3 on the year) are looking to get to 5-1 at Rentschler Field, this time as 6.5-point favorites. The program is still trending upward.
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“That loss wasn’t something that any of us wanted to experience, especially how hard we worked for the past two weeks, but I think it just left a healthy chip on everybody’s shoulder and everybody’s hungry to get out there and just try to go 1-0 every single day,” said quarterback Nick Evers.
Evers had a rough first half against the Demon Deacons as he came back from a second head injury and a toe sprain, but showed positive signs in the second half leading the late comeback attempt.
Throwing against the Rice defense won’t exactly be a walk in the park, however, as Evers looks to take the next step in his development. Rice ranks 35th nationally in total defense (326.4 yards allowed per game) and 17th against the pass (169.3). The Owls have also done damage on the defensive line, where their 22 sacks on the year rank 11th in the FBS (3.14 per game).
“What impresses you the most about them is the way they’re playing as a team in all three phases, especially on defense,” Mora said. “They fly around, they’re stingy, they make things happen.”
UConn forced four turnovers and scored 28 unanswered points to come back from down 14-0 when the programs met for the first time last season. Rice has a new quarterback, former Temple QB EJ Warner, who has thrown for 1,573 yards and 10 touchdowns to nine interceptions on the year. He ranks 15th in the nation averaging 22.9 completions per game.
Running back Dean Connors is one of the most important players in Rice’s offense, both running the ball and catching it. He ranks No. 50 in the nation averaging 107.7 all-purpose yards per game, with 472 rushing yards on 74 carries in addition to 282 receiving yards on a team-high 41 catches this season. Connors also leads the team with seven total touchdowns.
“Rice does a lot of movement, tries to mess up your eyes and get you to think, really,” said UConn defensive back Cam Chadwick, who made an interception in the end zone just before halftime in the Wake Forest game. “If we just hammer down on our base rules, then I think we’ll put up a great fight.”
Key: Third-down conversions
Converting on third down will be a critical factor in deciding Saturday’s game as both UConn and Rice enter the matchup with only a 36.4% success rate in such situations, tied for 101st in the FBS.
“I look at 1st and 2nd down, first of all, like what situation have we created on 3rd down? Is it 3rd-and-short, 3rd-and-medium, 3rd-and-long? And why is it what it was?” Mora explained. “And then, when you’re making a call on 3rd down it’s based on a number of factors. Obviously, how are you playing? Are you struggling at a certain position? How are they playing you? What have you seen on film, what do their tendencies say? Who’s hot getting the ball?
“A whole lot of things. I think sometimes for people watching the game, when you run the ball on 3rd-and-long, it might not make sense. ‘Why did they run it on 3rd-and-8 there?’ Well, there could be a number of reasons. It could be that they’re playing a particular defense where, if we do get one block, we’re going to gash them. Or you might be setting yourself up for a field goal, you’re on the cusp of field goal range and you don’t want to take a sack… All of those factors go into every call.”
Much of UConn’s success – or failure – on 3rd down will be a result of its run game, which had been dominant until recently. The Huskies stable of running backs have combined for just 139 rushing yards on 66 carries – an inefficient 2.1 yards per carry – over the last two weeks.
Defensively, UConn has excelled in getting offenses off the field on 3rd down, allowing just a 27.4% success rate, the sixth-best in the country. Rice’s defense has allowed 3rd down conversions on 41.5% of its opportunities.
What to know
Site: Rentschler Field in East Hartford
Line: UConn by 6.5
Time: 3:30 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network – Jordan Kent, Logan Ryan, Keiana Martin
Radio: UConn Sports Network from Learfield, Fox Sports 97.9
Online: The Varsity Network App – Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman, Adam Giardino
2024 record: UConn: 4-3, Rice: 2-5
Series: UConn leads, 1-0.
Last meeting: Oct. 7, 2023 – UConn 38, Rice 31 at Rice Stadium in Houston
Pregame reading:
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