UConn, Army Set to Play at Yankee Stadium
Photo credit: UConn Football/UConn Athletics
There is no better stage to play on, no better setting to gain some attention, than a game at Yankee Stadium. Today, UConn and Army will kickoff at 3:30PM in front of what is expected to be a very good crowd, in a city that knows the Huskies all too well.
UConn (2-6. 1-4 AAC) enters after games against East Carolina (31-21 loss) and UCF (37-29 win), two of the top teams in the AAC. Heading into that stretch, while there was some improvement, winning games this season was all, but unexpected from everyone outside of that locker room.
Now?
The Huskies offense has woken up, averaging 25 points the last two games, after an abysmal stretch of nine a game over the previous three.
“I was itching to get back out there after last week [East Carolina],” QB Chandler Whitmer said on Tuesday. “It feels good after a win. You want to get back on the field after a loss too, but after a win you just want to carry that momentum, keep getting better and we are looking forward to it.”
Army (2-6) comes in off a 23-6 loss to Air Force. The Black Knights and their option, wishbone offense, is difficult to adjust to, something head coach Bob Diaco touched on, during media availability earlier in the week.
“They average around 400 yards of offense, most of it is runs,” Diaco said. “At least in the games that we’ve broken down, there’s only a handful of passes. Overall I think there’s been something like 85 passes on the year, so that’s just a couple handful a game. They run the ball well, proficient with talented runners. It’s an unbelievable system to try to defend. It’s an absolute defensive nightmare, I mean a complete and utter nightmare.”
Despite the Black Knights emphasis on the run, Diaco knows they can still burn teams with the pass.
“The passes are typically point producers or set-up scores because it’s always about a bust, a player on defense loses his eyes and takes him away from his responsibility that one time,” Diaco stressed. “They will find him because they know who’s going to lose their eyes, they have you checkmated at every turn. They don’t have a lot of plays, they don’t have a lot of formations, what they do, they do well. They know what you are going to do [defensively], they know what your answer is, they have an answer, they always have the pen last. They’ve seen it, they’ve done it, they know what you’re thinking about doing and they are prepared to attack you with their own complimentary plays. It’s a challenge.”
Safety Andrew Adams knows that his approach will be different this week and attention to detail will play a big part in the success of the Huskies defense.
“It’s definitely run first, but they will run, run, run and then take a shot with a pass and if you’re not ready for that, that could lead to points,” Adams said. “Eye discipline will be key this week, having your eyes in the right spot and doing your job and if everybody does that, we should be okay.”
The Huskies are once again on the big stage, we’ll know in a matter of hours, if they are up for the opportunity.
PREDICTION: UConn 27 Army 13
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