Huskies Take on Pass-Happy Cincinnati at The Rent

@MattSchonvisky

UConn football (2-7, 1-4 AAC) returns to action tonight against the Cincinnati Bearcats (6-3, 4-1) at Rentschler Field, with kickoff set for 8PM (CBS Sports Network). 

Once again, the Huskies will face a pass-happy offensive attack, led by QB Gunner Kiel, who has the Bearcats ranked 9th in the nation in passing, with 322.7 yards per game. Cincy comes in winners of four straight, by an average margin of 42-20.

The Huskies return to the field following their 3rd and final bye week of the season, after a 35-21 loss to Army at Yankee Stadium, that saw at least 16,000 UConn fans make the trip to New York City. A last minute interception thrown by QB Chandler Whitmer for a touchdown, ended any hopes for the Huskies to get on a winning streak for the first time since they won three straight to close out 2013.

This week, Whitmer, who’s hand was wrapped in ice following the loss to Army, knows he needs to continue to lead, even after the play that occurred to end the game against the Black Knights.

“That one hurt me pretty good for twenty-four hours,” Whitmer said on Tuesday. “I took a lot of responsibility for that and it was a stupid decision that just happened to be in a very crucial moment, which made it even more of a gigantic error.”

The senior QB showed maturity, noting that he has already left that behind him.

“Whether it was a touchdown that was going to tie the game, or the pick that it was, after twenty-four hours you move on and take the bye week to continue to improve,” he added.

Although head coach Bob Diaco said nothing changes heading into this week, the first game after the Huskies were eliminated from postseason play, it’s expected that sophomore QB Tim Boyle will see more snaps than the one drive he has seen through each game since Casey Cochran went down with a career-ending concussion. Whitmer definitely hinted at that on Tuesday.

“We’ve been close since he got here,” Whitmer said on his relationship with Boyle. “I think he’s respectful of what I have to say and I respect him as a player. He’s like a sponge trying to soak everything up and that’s everything you can ask for from a younger guy. I’ve enjoyed working with him and hopefully he gets some more time here in the next couple games to get ready for next year.”

The Huskies will see a familiar face in longtime defensive assistant Hank Hughes on Saturday, returning to Rentschler Field, where he spent thirteen seasons as a member of the UConn staff, beginning under Randy Edsall.

Junior defensive co-captain and LB Marquise Vann, who was recruited by Hughes, knows the defense is going to have to perform well, to keep the Huskies competitive tonight.

“Just looking at them on film, very explosive and very talented,” Vann said. “They can beat you deep. We need to stay focused and that will give us the best opportunity to win.”

Although UConn has been eliminated from a bowl, Vann wants to finish the season strong for his seniors.

“I’m really focused on sending the seniors out, the guys I’ve been here with for so long, that I’ve always had a great fellowship with, sending them out the best way,” Vann said. “Getting them wins, get them to have fun, rather than focusing on the future. I can’t really look into the future, I can only do what I can do right now and that’s my best outlook over the final three games.”

Freshman RB Ron Johnson, echoed those sentiments.

“Our entire mentality is we want to win out,” Johnson said. “We want to go 5-7 and we just keep working towards it, until we get it. We are trying to win out for the seniors. We look up to them, they’re our role models. The best thing we can do for them is to just win out the rest of this season and show them that we love them and we haven’t forgotten about them.”

For the football fans attending the hockey game at the XL Center at 3:30PM and do not have tickets yet for tonight’s game, you can bring your ticket stub to the Rentschler Field box office to purchase $5 tickets.

PREDICTION: Cincinnati 37 UConn 20

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