Without question, the UConn football program has come a long way under Jim Mora.
When he came to Storrs with his NFL and Power Five credentials in 2022, the bar was creating a watchable product with exciting games and a team that had a chance to compete. After reaching two bowls in three years and winning nine games in 2024, Year Four has gotten off to a thrilling start with a blowout victory to open the season followed by a heartbreaking overtime loss on the road against an ACC opponent in Syracuse.
It was the fifth game UConn played against an ACC foe in the last 12 months and yet another, outside of the 27-14 Fenway Bowl win over North Carolina in December, decided by a touchdown or less.
“Disappointment, obviously, but I am not only encouraged but I would just remind people where we were at prior to bringing in Coach Mora and the job that he and his staff have done since they arrived,” UConn Director of Athletics David Benedict said from the defensive backs meeting room on Tuesday.
Dom Amore: UConn has a new tool to navigate trickier college athletics landscape
UConn went six years without winning more than three games in a season and was a statistical basement-dweller before Mora arrived.
“We are at a place where this program is extremely competitive and the best thing about it is we have expectations. Our fans have expectations, our student-athletes have expectations, our coaches have expectations. And obviously there is disappointment when we don’t meet those expectations,” Benedict said. “I’m confident in everything Coach Mora is doing and how this weekend is going to transpire.”
Leading into another road trip in Week 3 at Delaware, which is in its first year as an FBS program competing in Conference USA, UConn is ranked 80th of 136 FBS programs by ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) metric and No. 70 in SP+.
FPI measures team strength (personnel, coaching, past performance) and projects future team performance, while SP+ is a metric created by ESPN’s Bill Connelly to be what he describes as “a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency.”
Of the Huskies’ 10 remaining opponents, only Boston College (No. 52 FPI, No. 56 SP+) and Duke (No. 64 FPI, No. 62 SP+) – coincidentally the only two power conference opponents left on the slate – are ranked better than UConn through two weeks.
UConn football notes: ‘Consistency’ is the buzz word as Huskies learn, move on from OT loss
How the rest of the numbers stack up:
Offense helped by record-breaking first week
Coming off a season with the third-most total yards (5,169) and the second-most rushing yards (2,590) in program history, UConn topped last year’s single-game record for offensive yards with 683 in its season-opener against Central Connecticut. The Huskies’ offense slowed down against a tougher defense in Syracuse but the team still ranks No. 17 in the nation in total offense with 527 yards per game.
UConn’s passing offense ranks 14th in the FBS (331 yards per game) and its ground game is 44th with 196 yards per game.
While they struggled, going 4-for-17 on third down at Syracuse, the Huskies have converted on 51.5% of such opportunities through two weeks, which ranks 27th nationally. They are the 89th-best red zone offense in the nation, scoring on nine of their 11 opportunities with seven touchdowns and two field goals.
Skyler Bell ranks as the sixth-most productive pass-catcher with 120 receiving yards per game and lead back Cam Edwards ranks 29th in the nation with his 95 rushing yards per game.
“The message has been to finish,” said running back Mel Brown, a speedy compliment to Edwards. “Finishing on the ball carrier, finishing in the end zone, just being relentless… We know we’re gonna be able to drive down the field and put points on the board, it’s just about being able to do that every time.”
UConn coach Jim Mora, left grabs the helmet of UConn linebacker Oumar Diomande. (Jessica Hill/Special to the Courant)
Despite secondary struggles, defense improved in Week 2
Syracuse more than doubled its offensive output in the fourth quarter alone on Saturday, capitalizing on mistakes in the secondary for chunk plays that ultimately stole the game. The 461 total yards for the Orange moved the Huskies down to No. 88 in total defense, allowing 359 yards per game.
UConn made two stops on 4th-and-short in the first half on Saturday and ranks No. 16 in fourth-down-conversion defense. The Huskies have also allowed 10 conversions in 31 third down attempts, which ranks No. 60 nationally, and sit at No. 50 in red zone defense after allowing seven scores in nine attempts.
The defense has been much better against the run than it has the pass, averaging 86.5 yards per game on the ground (No. 31) to 272.5 per game through the air (No. 117), and is No. 62 in creating two turnovers, both against the Orange. The Huskies had seven tackles for loss in each of their first two games, good for No. 33 in the nation.
“We’ve got to capitalize on all our opportunities,” said defensive back Tyrece Mills, a Penn State transfer who forced a fumble with a strip sack on Syracuse QB Steve Angeli. “We dropped interceptions last game, so basically we just come into this game trying to stay focused and finish so we can come out with a ‘W’ next time.”
