The Huskies head out on the road for the first time since September 14th.
KICKOFF: 2:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
ANNOUNCERS: James Westling (play-by-play), Leger Douzable (color analyst), Maria Trivelpiece (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 386 (UConn)
ANNOUNCERS: Mike Crispino (play-by-play), Wayne Norman (color analyst), Adam Giardino (sideline)
RECORDS: UConn (6-3), UAB (2-6, 1-4 American)
LAST WEEK: UConn beat Georgia State, 34-27, to become bowl eligible; UAB crushed Tulsa, 59-21
POINT SPREAD: UConn -6.5 (odds via DraftKings)
O/U: 55.5
SERIES HISTORY: This is the first time that the Huskies and Blazers have met on the gridiron.
PREGAME PRESS CONFERENCE(S): UConn head coach Jim Mora; UAB head coach Trent Dilfer
WEATHER FORECAST: Birmingham, AL
Fun With Numbers
3: After six straight home games, UConn hits the road for their final three games
4: This is the fourth team the Huskies have played from their former conference, the American Athletic Conference, this season. They are 3-0 having beat FAU, Temple and Rice.
70.2: The Husky defense has a stop rate (the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers, or a turnover on downs) of 70.2%, allowing just 1.47 points per opponent drive. This ranks them 21st out of 134 teams.
45.6: By contrast, UAB’s defense has a stop rate of 45.6%, allowing 3.12 points per opponent drive. This puts them near the bottom at 127th out of 134.
311: UAB redshirt freshman Kam Shanks had 311 all purpose yards in their win over Tulsa, an FBS best this season.
25.6: Shanks leads the country in punt return average with 25.6 yards per punt return. He also leads the country in punt return touchdowns with two.
404: UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna threw for 404 yards in last week’s win over Tulsa. He also had an FBS school record six touchdown passes in the game.
What to Watch For
First road game since September?
This is the first road game UConn has played since the 26-21 loss to Duke on September 14th. UConn went 5-1 on the six game homestand and finished 6-1 at the Rent. They’ve won just three road games in the Jim Mora era. However, this year’s team is better than any of the last two seasons.
Special teams play
If the Huskies offense gets stopped and is forced to punt, punter Connor Stutz becomes a very important player in the game of field position. With UAB having one of the nation’s best, if not the best, punt return men in Kam Shanks, it will be absolutely vital that Stutz gets a lot of hangtime on his punts to give his guys a chance to make a play orforce a fair catch. As stated above, Shanks is averaging 25.6 yards per punt return and also has two punt return touchdowns. We all know field position can determine the outcome of a game and this is one area UConn definitely needs to win.
Starting fast
UConn needs to get off to a fast start. That means the run game needs to get going early to set up the pass game, which has not been making as many big plays lately. Getting the three-headed monster running back trio of Cam Edwards, Durell Robinson and Mel Brown is essential.