Friday Night Lights at The Rent
The Story: The football team will take its modest one-game winning streak into action tonight against Middle Tennesee State University at 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Huskies have Clemson, UCF and Houston to close the season and we are sure if the Huskies want that elusive FBS win, this is their best shot. Middle Tennessee State is 2-4 and is favored by 15 points. All we know is that the Huskies have two home games left on the season and are looking for their first FBS win since they beat UMass in 2019. UConn’s defense, which has had its shares of struggles this season, has come on as of late. The secondary has eight interceptions, good for 30th in the nation.
WHAT IF? … : We are into all things Marvel and there is a great animated series out there called “What If?” that essentially asks what if the Black Panther was really Star-Lord in some alternate universe. Yes, it is high-brow peak TV we watch here at offices of the Daily. So let’s get even crazier:
• What if UConn beat Holy Cross, Wyoming and Vanderbilt, as well as UMass — games that UConn could have easily won?
•What if quarterback Tyler Phommachanh never got hurt?
•What if wide receivers Matt Drayton and Cam Ross joined Keelan Marion out wide?
All those games were winnable and UConn went belly-up. Could UConn be 5-3 and playing for a .500 season against Middle Tennessee State tonight? It isn’t that far off, but it is also an exercise in futility and a ridiculous fantasy. The Huskies are 1-7 and earned it the old-fashioned way by making big mistakes at the worst time. Why do we bring up this silly scenario? Because the difference between winning and losing isn’t very much, and incremental improvement year over year and can translate quickly into wins.
WHY MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE? How is UConn playing MTSU in October in Storrs? This is a one-off that the Huskies essentially paid their way into. MTSU was supposed to play at Ole Miss last year and UConn incentivized MTSU to break that game up and come to Storrs to visit this year instead for a hefty price — essentially any guarantee the Huskies got from Ole Miss. UConn’s game at Ole Miss last year was canceled due to COVID-19. UConn does have Ole Miss on the schedule in future years as it is coming to Pratt & Whitney Stadium in 2027. UConn makes its trip to The Grove in 2028. Now that’s the beginning of a decent schedule.
ABOUT MTSU: The MTSU offense plays two quarterbacks. Chase Cunningham is completing 60 percent of his passes for 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. Bailey Hockman is completing 62 percent of his passes for 154 yards per game. The Huskies’ secondary will have its work cut out tonight.
• “Blue Raiders” is a cool nickname for a team, but we aren’t sure what Blue Raiders are. Upon further research, some player named Charles Saver in 1934 coined the term and the mascot stuck. Before that? There was no name and they were called the Normalites, Teachers and Pedagogues. Middle Tennessee State Pedagogues does have a ring to it.
Morning Reads
• Azzi Fudd story alert! Here is a scoop from someone in the know on freshman sharpshooter — “she’s really, really good.” Brilliant analysis and exactly what we come here for. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
• The AAC added six teams and now has 14 football schools and 16 basketball schools. Rice, Florida Atlantic and some others are now in the AAC. My goodness, UConn got out just in time. (CBS Sports)
