You going to any roadies this season?
One of the most glorious aspects of the college football fan experience is the chance to take in the majesty of a gameday on the road. You can visit a new town, take in a new tailgate scene, see a different school’s traditions, and even exchange words in person with opposing fans.
Despite all the potential fun, UConn football has not been the most entertaining road show over the last decade or so, largely due to the Huskies’ on-field struggles. Why travel to see a team that has won just four road games since the start of the 2016 season?
The last two road wins, over FIU (2022) and Rice (2023), were games that few Husky fans were likely to travel for. The other two were at UMass in 2019 and Temple in 2017, two contests where the Huskies’ record going into the matchup was 1-6 and 1-4, respectively.
The AAC years did not have many interesting road trip opportunities either, particularly for someone based in the northeast — though I can share that visits to Greenville, NC for the East Carolina game and Annapolis, MD for the Navy game were definitely worthwhile, even if the games ended poorly (I lived in DC at the time). The closest conference rival was Temple, which hosts its games at an NFL stadium that’s mostly empty on gameday.
This year, there’s a few solid candidates, and luckily nothing is too far away.
Here’s a ranking of the most travel-worthy games on the UConn football schedule.
1. University of Maryland – SECU Stadium (College Park, MD) – Aug. 31
With this being the season opener, during Labor Day Weekend, and an opportunity to visit the DMV area, the Maryland game ranks highest for me. It’s the first game of the season, so anything is still possible and hope springs eternal. It’s a holiday weekend as well, so you don’t need to rush your travel around the game, and the locale (DC, Baltimore, and the adjacent Maryland and Virginia suburbs) has plenty to offer. This is the one folks, do it.
The Terps are currently ~20-point favorites, but in Week 1 we’re still allowed to believe anything is possible.
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
2. Syracuse – JMA Wireless Dome (Syracuse, NY) – Nov. 23
Central New York in November is not ideal, but this is the opponent UConn fans love to hate the most, no matter what sport. This is also a gettable Syracuse team, rebuilding with a new head coach, and perhaps the game will have some stakes for the Huskies as well. If so, this one would be worth it, even if the venue is terrible.
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
3. UMass – McGuirk Alumni Stadium (Amherst, MA) – Nov. 30
If you want a short trip and a likely win, go to the UMass game. The stadium isn’t nice or well-liked, but hey this is UConn’s chief rival as of late. Connecticut native Taisun Phommachanh, older brother of former UConn QB Tyler, has ended up in Amherst after starting his career as a four-star recruit at Clemson. After a stop at Georgia Tech, Phommachanh is now penciled in as the starter for the Minutemen, who could present more of a challenge for the Huskies than they did last season.
I’ve been to over 100 college football stadiums
I say with full confidence this is the worst one in the country pic.twitter.com/G9EQDcGn2v
— GFed (@GfedGoCrazy) July 5, 2024
4. UAB – Protective Stadium (Birmingham, AL) – Nov. 9
This is less about the city of Birmingham, which I’m sure is fine, and more about a UAB program that is generally interesting. The Alabama state government shut down the program in 2014 under curious circumstances before bringing it back in three years later. The Blazers didn’t miss a beat, winning eight games in 2017 and 11 in 2018 while also making a bowl for five straight seasons before moving up to the AAC in 2023. Their stadium opened in 2021 and they also have former Super Bowl-winning QB Trent Dilfer as their head coach. He’s not doing a great job and this isn’t the most interesting matchup on its own, but the game is somewhat winnable for UConn.
Also, as an added benefit, you can pay homage to UConn’s 2010 Papajohns.com Bowl victory.
Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
5. Duke
There is nothing special about Duke’s football team, its stadium, or the town of Durham. On top of that, UConn is likely to be a big underdog in this one, making it the least attractive road trip this season, to me. Plus, physical proximity to that many Dukies may be harmful to your health.