Huskies Open Conference Play Tonight
Photo credit: Kallie Elizabeth – THE BONEYARD BLOG
The second season is about to begin for the 2014 UConn football team as the Huskies (1-2) open conference play tonight at 8PM in Tampa, against South Florida (1-2) at Raymond James Stadium, in front of a national television audience on ESPN.
The game is a chance to build upon Saturday’s performance against Boise State, which, while a 38-21 loss, displayed the progress head coach Bob Diaco has made since game one. The Huskies had the ball twice in the 4th quarter, down just 24-21, with a chance to go ahead, before committing a couple of costly turnovers late.
Weather may be a factor tonight as strong storms are rolling through the area this afternoon and are expected through the evening. The game time forecast calls for a 40% chance of thunderstorms throughout the game. Should we see rain, there immediately becomes a greater emphasis on the running game, something Bob Diaco wanted to dial back on based on his remarks with the media, on Monday.
This will undoubtedly create more pressure on an offensive line, who has struggled in 2014, to put it nicely. However, USF gives up 170 yards a game on the ground (77th in the nation) and is 102nd against the pass. Therefore, one should expect the UConn offense will be able to move the ball tonight, in both areas.
The UConn defense, on the other hand, will be facing an experienced offensive line, who will be blocking for one of the nation’s elite freshmen running backs, Marlon Mack, who had quite the debut against Western Carolina, rushing for 275 yards and 4 TD’s.
Chandler Whitmer once again gets the start at quarterback, but expect to see Tim Boyle, as well. The offense moved quite nicely under Whitmer on Saturday, including 4-for-4 in the red zone and was probably a large reason why Boyle only saw two drives under center.
This will also be a test for Diaco himself, as he is coaching in his first road game as the man in charge.
Tonight will go a long way in determining how the rest of 2014 unfolds. Will the defense continue their improved play against a very athletic offense? Will the offense make even more strides to becoming the big play machine that Diaco regularly talks about?
We’ll find all of this out, tonight.
PREDICTION: Largely due to the weather, a defensive battle, once again ensues between two opponents whose last seven (7) meetings have been decided by seven (7) points or less. UConn wins 20-17
Recent History:
2013: 13-10 USF
2012: 13-6 USF
2011: 16-10 UConn
2010: 19-16 UConn
2009: 29-27 UConn
2008: 17-13 USF
2007: 22-15 UConn
2006: 38-16 USF
2005: 15-10 UConn
by 
