STORRS — Swarmed by his team in the Rentschler Field locker room last Saturday, UConn football coach Jim Mora commended his players for the way they responded in the days after a season-opening drubbing at Maryland. He was quick to turn the page on a 63-17 win over Merrimack, a lower-level, FCS opponent, and pointed ahead at Duke – another power conference team the independent Huskies have to meet on the road.
UConn hasn’t won at a power conference opponent since 2012, when the Huskies held off former – and, at the time, future – coach Randy Edsall’s Maryland team in College Park, 24-21.
“Enjoy this one, and then get your mind on what it’s gonna take to break a 12-year streak,” Mora said in the locker room after the first win of the year. “Because, why not us?”
Duke, the next of three opportunities to break the streak this season, is a much different team from the one that beat up the Huskies 41-7 in East Hartford last fall. Those Blue Devils, coached by Mike Elko and quarterbacked by Riley Leonard, came into the game ranked No. 18 in the country but saw their season take a tumble when Leonard hurt his ankle the next week against Notre Dame.
Elko left for Texas A&M, Leonard for the Fighting Irish, where he beat his former coach in the first game of the year but came up on the wrong side of a historic loss to Northern Illinois last week.
Mora chooses not to use other games around the country as motivation, but it would be natural for players to find some sort of inspiration in an upset like that.
This year’s Duke team, coached by Manny Diaz and quarterbacked by Texas transfer Maalik Murphy, hasn’t been as high-scoring through the first two weeks. The Blue Devils beat Elon in their season-opener, 26-3, and outlasted Northwestern in double overtime, 26-20, last week.
Murphy, not the threat to take off running with the ball as Leonard was, started his sophomore season 50-for-79 passing for 534 yards, throwing five touchdowns and two interceptions, one in each game.
UConn ranks 113th in the nation in passing yards allowed per game with 268 after giving up 381 through the air at Maryland.
The Blue Devils’ offense features Jordan Moore, an All-ACC receiver last year who leads the team with 18 catches for 233 yards and a TD, and running back Star Thomas, who’s carried most of the load out of the backfield with 30 carries for 81 yards. Much more reliant on the passing game, Duke averages 270 yards per game through the air and just 76 on the ground.
Diaz, a defensive-minded coach, has the Blue Devils ranked 14th in the nation in total defense (214 yards allowed per game) and 28th in both passing (133) and rushing yards (81) allowed per game.
“We try to be consistent in our preparation because I just try to avoid an up-and-down mentality about where we’re playing and who we’re playing because those are things we don’t control. But when you’re playing a power conference team, I just think it’s kind of human nature that there’s just a little bit more excitement,” Mora said in his Tuesday press conference.
“It’s about the preparation every week – we hope we’re consistent in that – and then it’s being able to go out onto the field and handle a different environment on the road against usually a pretty big, fast, physical, talented team (…) Not be affected by the aura of playing a power conference team and just going out and trusting your preparation, trust in your teammates, trust in your abilities, have confidence to cut it loose. That’s what we’ll try to do, recognizing that it’s a heck of a challenge. But what would this all be if we weren’t challenged every week? That’s why these guys play these games. They love it. They love the challenge.”
Keep an eye on…
Nick Evers. The Week One starter, Evers was knocked out of the season-opener after taking a hit to the back of his helmet and missed last week’s game against Merrimack. Joe Fagnano starred in that one, tying a program record for passing touchdowns, but Evers won the job in camp and it is his if he is ready to go.
UConn’s offensive line. The Huskies are one of 15 teams at the FBS level to have not allowed a sack entering Week Three, despite having to replace all three interior positions on the offensive line. Duke’s defense has made eight sacks so far this season.
Skyler Bell. After the Merrimack game, when Bell became the first UConn receiver to reach the 100-yard mark in back-to-back games since 2017, he said he felt like he was starting to prove to be one of the best receivers in the nation. The Huskies will be counting on Bell to help manipulate Duke’s stout defense.
Cam Edwards. After a two-touchdown game on Saturday, Norwalk native Cam Edwards will continue to carry most of UConn’s rushing load, especially with Bristol native Victor Rosa missing this game after having surgery on a broken finger.
Pryce Yates, Malik Dixon-Williams. Mora hopes these two veterans on the defensive side of the ball can make their season debut this week. Yates (concussion) should provide a boost on the defensive line and Dixon-Williams will boost depth in the secondary when he steps into the “dog” safety role.
What to know
Site: Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, NC
Line: Duke by 16.5
Time: 6 p.m.
TV: ESPN+, ACCNX – Clay Matvick, Steve Addazio, Marilyn Payne
Radio: UConn Sports Network from Learfield, Fox Sports 97.9
Online: The Varsity Network App – Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman, Adam Giardino
2024 record: UConn: 1-1, Duke: 2-0
Series: UConn leads, 2-1.
Last meeting: Sept. 23, 2023 – Duke 41, UConn 7 at Rentschler Field.
Pregame reading:
