The bye week was about fine tuning for the UConn football team as it begins the second half of the season on Saturday, looking for the program’s second-ever win over Boston College.
Reaching the midpoint with a 4-2 record for the second year in a row, the Huskies believe they can be a better team than they were last year, and their first power conference win in the regular season since 2022 (13-3 at home against BC) can help prove it. The program has lost 15-straight road games against power conference opponents since beating Maryland, and former coach Randy Edsall, on Sept. 15, 2012.
“The goal is 1-0 every week, there’s a maximum importance to win every game, but there definitely is a little bit of a chip on our shoulder in terms of winning these games,” said senior tight end Louis Hansen, who grew up about 15 minutes away from the Boston College campus and estimates he’s been to around 100 BC games since he was in elementary school.
“I think that was a knock on last year’s team, we had a great season but we weren’t able to win some of these games (against power conference opponents) and I think that’s the difference that we need to make,” he said. “We’re absolutely ready, and every Saturday I feel like we’re poised to beat anybody, but it’s about executing and getting it done on Saturdays at the end of the day.”
Should UConn football be favored at Boston College? Plus, what Jim Mora focused on during bye week
Boston College, at 1-5 in its second year under head coach Bill O’Brien, has had an underwhelming start to the season. The Eagles have yet to collect an FBS win, losing three close games against Michigan State, Stanford and Cal before being on the wrong end of blowouts at Pittsburgh and at home against Clemson this month.
UConn, a slight underdog on the road, won’t overlook anybody.
“When you overlook somebody and then you get punched in the mouth, it’s really hard to come back from it,” senior linebacker Donovan Branch said.
The Eagles can be a challenge with their passing offense, which ranks just below UConn at No. 23 in the nation with 283.8 yards per game to this point. Quarterback Dylan Lonergan, an Alabama transfer, has completed 132 of 197 passes for 1,394 yards and nine touchdowns with fifth-year receiver Lewis Bond (45 receptions, 436 yards) as his top target. Lonergan has struggled in the Eagles’ last three games, however, averaging 134 passing yards per game with two interceptions, no passing touchdowns and six sacks.
Defensively, KP Price and Omar Thornton have had success as a tandem in the BC secondary, combining for 86 tackles, two forced fumbles and two interceptions.
“You turn on the film, you see talent everywhere,” coach Jim Mora said. “They’ve got a very good back, they’ve got a big, physical offensive line, they’ve always had good tight ends, their receivers are long guys who catch the ball well. Their defensive front is very good, their linebackers are very, very smart, intelligent, instinctive players, they’ve got athleticism all over their secondary, their kicker hasn’t missed a kick and their punter is good.
“It’s just a great challenge for us. We look at the film and that’s how we decide who our opponent is and how we need to prepare to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Player to watch: Javonte ‘Juice’ Vereen
Skyler Bell has drawn most of the attention as UConn’s top receiver – and rightfully so with his 562 receiving yards and six touchdowns (both No. 7 nationally) – but sophomore NC State transfer Juice Vereen has been an X-factor for the offense.
The receiving tight end has come through in big moments with eight catches for 115 yards, and has been a versatile addition carving out a role for himself in a deep positional group.
“He’s someone we can count on. He’s got good hands, he’s a willing blocker, he’s really smart. We put him in a lot of different spots, move him around, put him in motion, try to get good matchups for him. And then you have to decide how an opponent is going to treat him, whether they treat him as a wide-out or they treat him as a tight end, or are they just not going to worry about it. We’ve seen all three of those things,” Mora said. “We’re always trying to put our players in the best position to have a favorable matchup to do what they do best, and Juice is just one of those guys you can kind of play like a ‘Where’s Waldo?’ You can put him all over the place and make them decide how they want to treat him.”
The Boston College offense features running back Turbo Richard, who has rushed for 577 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He was a lone bright spot in a 41-10 loss to Clemson with 75 yards rushing and a TD. (Associated Press)
Battle on the ground: Cam Edwards vs. Turbo Richard
O’Brien has made an emphasis on getting the ball in the hands of running back Turbo Richard.
A sophomore with one of the best names in college football, Richard has 577 total yards and seven total touchdowns on 100 touches this season. He had 16 catches out of the backfield through the Eagles’ first four games of the season but has only had one in each of the last two games. Richard has also shown he can be explosive out of the backfield with a monster 171-yard rushing game at Cal and 75 yards on 18 carries last week against Clemson.
UConn’s rushing defense has improved since week three at Delaware, but the Huskies still rank No. 88 nationally with 155 yards allowed per game. BC’s rushing defense is slightly better at No. 79 nationally, allowing 149 yards per game, and faces a major test in stopping Cam Edwards.
Already top-10 in program history for career rushing yards, Edwards, a junior, is arguably the most important player on UConn’s offense with the way he’s been able to compliment the passing game. Edwards has 637 rushing yards on the year, good for No. 11 nationally. He can open up play-action opportunities, is a willing blocker and will have benefitted more than anyone from the bye week.
“He’s kind of the identity of our team with that toughness, that blue-collar attitude,” Mora said. “We draw energy from him when we see him out there running the football the way he does and catching it the way he does… Having a few days off last week to rest his body, he came back and looked like it was the first day of training camp again.”
What to know
Site: Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Line: Boston College by 1 1/2
Time: Noon
TV: ACC Network – Jorge Sedano, Rodney McLeod, Victoria Arlen
Radio: UConn Sports Network from Learfield, Fox Sports 97.9
Online: The Varsity Network App – Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman, Adam Giardino
Record: UConn: 4-2, Boston College: 1-5
Series: Boston College leads, 13-1-2
Last meeting: Oct. 28, 2023 – BC 21, UConn 14 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill
