UConn looks to head into the bye week with a win.
KICKOFF: 3:30 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
ANNOUNCERS: Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Adam Breneman (color analyst), Keiana Martin (sideline)
RADIO: UConn IMG Radio Network; Varsity Network App; 97.9 Fox Sports, WGCH 1490 AM, WAVZ 1300 AM, WILI 1400 AM and 95.3 FM, WICH 1310 AM and 94.5 FM; Sirius/XM online streaming, XM 382 (UConn)
ANNOUNCERS: Mike Crispino (play-by-play), Wayne Norman (color analyst), Adam Giardino (sideline)
RECORDS: UConn (3-2), Temple Owls (1-4)
LAST WEEK: UConn trampled the Buffalo Bulls, 47-3; Army ran over the Owls, 42-14
POINT SPREAD: UConn -17 (odds via DraftKings)
O/U: 50
SERIES HISTORY: This is the 21st time the Huskies and Owls will meet on the gridiron. Temple holds a 14-6 advantage and is 3-3 at the Rent.
PREGAME PRESS CONFERENCE(S): UConn head coach Jim Mora; Temple coach Stan Drayton
WEATHER FORECAST: East Hartford, CT
Fun With Numbers
4: Including Saturday’s game, UConn will play its next four games at the friendly confines of Rentschler Field.
10+: Temple linebacker D.J. Woodbury Sr. has had 10+ tackles in four consecutive games.
244.6: The Huskies are rushing for 244.6 yards a game which is 11th best in FBS.
260.2: The Owls allow 260.2 rushing yards per game. One note though, they have played Navy and Army, which are primarily run first offenses.
37.2: UConn is averaging 37.2 points per game which is 24th best in FBS.
147.6: Temple has allowed just 147.6 passing yards which is good for 12th in FBS.
2009: The last time the Huskies started a season 4-2 was in 2009 when they beat the Louisville Cardinals.
3: Temple has three players from the state of Connecticut on its roster (Tyquan King, West Haven; Andrew McIlquham, Groton; Antwone Santiago, Meriden).
67: UConn ranks 67th in ESPN’s College Football Power Index (FPI).
3: Skyler Bell had a UConn FBS record three touchdown catches in the win over Buffalo
What to Watch For
Who starts at QB?
Nick Evers left the game for the second time this season last week, dealing with a head injury both times. Head coach Jim Mora has said Evers is participating in practice, but his official status is unknown.
If Evers is not available, UConn should have plenty of confidence with Joe Fagnano in this matchup. The former Maine transfer played well in his start at Merrimack and the rest of the Buffalo game after Evers’s injury. And Temple is not very good.
Keep it going
UConn has not had a run like this in a while, perhaps ever. The 95 points scored over the last two games are the most in a two-game span since 2009 and allowing 17 points in that span is really impressive as well. Against Temple, which might be one of the five worst teams in all of FBS, down there with UMass, the Huskies should continue to flourish.
UConn should dominate in very much the same way it has against FAU and Buffalo. In fact it should look slightly better.
Attendance
We try not to be attendance-watchers or scolders but at this point, UConn football should not have to be begging for this much support. There is lots of ground to make up after the suckiness of the last decade, but if they’re scoring and stopping like this the prospects for this season are incredible. The Huskies could set a lot of high water marks for the program since the glory years of the end of the Randy Edsall era. They need to take care of business on Saturday, but after that they have a bye week and nothing too challenging the rest of the way aside from a road date with Syracuse. The home games with Rice and Georgia State and visits to UAB and UMass should all be games where the Huskies are heavily favored.
Welcome to the new world of competent (or even slightly better) UConn football.