Will the Huskies Go Bowling?

The Story: The football team picked up its biggest win in more than a decade by knocking off No. 19 Liberty on Saturday afternoon, winning 36-33 to gain bowl eligibility for the first time since 2015.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Zion Turner‘s beautiful 30-yard touchdown pass to Kevens Clercius late in the fourth quarter lifted UConn to a 6-5 record, making it eligible to play in a bowl game for the first time since 2015, Bob Diaco‘s second year.

• Robert Burns led the Huskies with 106 yards rushing and a touchdown while Victor Rosa added 62 yards and scored two touchdowns. Rosa leads the team with eight touchdowns.

• Turner was shaky at times and was 15 of 21 for only 103 yards with two turnovers, but he made the winning throw late.

• The win was only UConn’s fourth over a ranked opponent. The Huskies beat USF in 2007, Louisville in 2011 and Houston in 2015 and are 1-3 against ranked teams this year.

WHAT DID MORA SAY? “You’ve got to understand where I come from. I’ve played in NFC championship games, Pac 12 championship games. I got fired when I won six games the last time I coached. So, I don’t look at it how you look at it. Last time I won six games, I got a call the next morning that said come in and my ass got fired. It’s an accomplishment for this program and we’re moving in the right direction, but it’s nothing, and hell, I’m not going to get excited about it. It’s just a job I’m trying to do. I have much larger goals in mind for this program and myself than winning six games.”

WHAT ABOUT A BOWL GAME? The Huskies are eligible to be selected but aren’t guaranteed a bowl invitation. There are 41 bowl games and 82 teams needed, and the Huskies do not have a bowl affiliation lined up. That means they must go for one of the at-large slots for bowl games.

• At-large spots are for bowl games that don’t have conference agreements, or if there are not enough teams that will fill a conference’s bowl lineup. That is likely to happen to the SEC this year.

• The Hartford Courant examined possible bowl landing spots, given which conferences might not have enough eligible teams for their tie-ins:

• Cure: Dec. 16, Orlando, Fla.
• LendingTree: Dec. 17, Mobile, Ala.
• Frisco: Dec. 17, Frisco, Texas
• Myrtle Beach: Dec. 19, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• Boca Raton: Dec. 20, Boca Raton, Fla.
• Armed Forces: Dec. 22, Fort Worth, Texas
• Gasparilla: Dec. 23, Tampa, Fla.
• Camellia: Dec. 27, Montgomery, Ala.
• First Responder: Dec. 27, Dallas
• Birmingham: Dec. 27, Birmingham, Ala.

BEST BETS FOR HUSKIES? The Huskies could slide into Army’s slot in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 22 in Fort Worth, Texas, against a team from the American. Army, which has a tie-in with the game, is not going to be eligible this season. The Huskies play at Army on Saturday and could bolster their resume with a win and a 7-5 record.

• ESPN thinks UConn will be in the New Mexico Bowl against San Diego State or the LendingTree Bowl against Appalachian State. Sports Illustrated projects the Huskies facing East Carolina in the Armed Forces Bowl, and CBS Sports has UConn facing Southern Miss in the LendingTree Bowl.

• Are there other options? The AAC has seven bowl affiliations, and right now, only six of its teams are eligible with Memphis at 5-5. The AAC also has the top-ranked Group of 5 team in UCF. Even if Memphis becomes its seventh bowl-eligible team, that potentially opens a slot for the Huskies.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT: Athletic director Dave Benedict has asked fans to show their interest in attending a bowl game by filling out a form to show bowl committees that the fans support the program.

DOES SATURDAY MATTER? Of course it does. UConn finishing the season by winning six of seven games makes it much more attractive than limping in after a loss on the road to a non-bowl team. Also, for at-large berths, an FBS team finishing 7-5 must be chosen by a bowl game before a 6-6 team.

• UConn can clinch its first winning season since 2010, when the Huskies went to the Fiesta Bowl. That was a lifetime ago.

Texas’ Tough Test Awaits Huskies

The Story: The No. 6-ranked women’s basketball team has a nonconference schedule filled with difficult opponents, and the first one is on deck tonight with No. 3 Texas awaiting at Gampel Pavilion (6:30 p.m., FS1).

IT’S NOT HOW YOU START: UConn looked magnificent in its season-opening win over Northeastern last week, but things will be significantly different when the Huskies face a team as physically demanding as the Longhorns.

• The Huskies, already down to just 10 players this season following injuries to junior Paige Bueckers and freshman Ice Brady, were without sophomore Caroline Ducharme because of neck stiffness. It’s uncertain whether Ducharme will be able to play tonight, but if she is, she’ll be useful..

• Sophomore Azzi Fudd and junior Aaliyah Edwards looked spectacular in the opener, particularly because both players showed a more well-rounded game than we’re used to seeing and were able to carry the load offensively. Edwards was also a force on the glass, though she was able to pick apart an overmatched opponent.

PUTTING THE LONG IN LONGHORNS: Texas has six players who are 6-foot-2 or taller, including 6-foot-4 senior forward Taylor Jones, who scored a team-high 21 points and six rebounds in her first game since transferring from Oregon State — a 68-45 win over Louisiana on Friday.

• The Longhorns also have 6-foot-2 junior guard DeYona Gaston and a pair of highly regarded freshmen in 6-foot-4 forward Amina Muhammad and 6-foot-2 guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda. Their length and ability will challenge the Huskies inside and on the perimeter.

• Still uncertain is the status of sophomore point guard Rori Harmon, who wore a walking boot on the bench during the opener because of a toe injury. Harmon was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season and averaged 11.4 points, five assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.

• Texas is coached by Vic Schaefer, who was coaching Mississippi State in 2018 when the Bulldogs knocked UConn out of the Final Four. His team is always defense-oriented and will provide a stern test for UConn, which doesn’t yet know where its offense will come from.

CASH TO BE HONORED: Legend Swin Cash will have her No. 32 retired by UConn tonight after she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame earlier this year. Cash will join Rebecca Lobo (No. 50) and Ray Allen (No. 34) as the only players with that honor.

Morning Reads

• Take a bow, Adama Sanogo. The junior center made his first two 3-pointers and had 27 points and 15 rebounds in the men’s basketball team’s 86-57 win over Boston University on Friday. (Hearst Connecticut Media)

• The No. 7-ranked men’s hockey team tied No. 9 Providence twice over the weekend: a 1-1 duel on Friday on the road followed by an epic 6-6 contest Saturday at the XL Center in which they scored twice in the third period with the goalie pulled. (The UConn Blog)

• Meanwhile, the No. 14-ranked women’s hockey team swept No. 10 Providence in its home-and-home series, with junior forward Jada Habisch scoring her fifth and team-leading sixth goals. (UConnHuskies.com)

• Although the volleyball team swept DePaul on Saturday, it lost to Marquette in three sets yesterday afternoon at home. (UConnHuskies.com)

• Former UConn striker Cyle Larin, who has scored more goals for the Canada national team, was formally selected to represent his country in the World Cup yesterday afternoon. (TSN.ca)

• Kemba Walker was a guest on ESPN basketball reporter Adrian Wojnarowski‘s “The Woj Pod” on Friday and said he understood that the reason the Celtics traded him to the Thunder before last season was because of concerns about his injured knee. (‘The Woj Pod’ on Apple Podcasts)

Top photo: Quarterback Zion Turner has helped UConn become bowl eligible for the first time in seven years. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)