UConn football’s schedule offers hope for a better record in 2024

The schedule is much friendlier this year than it was last season.

There are many reasons for optimism for UConn football in 2024. The Huskies added a new, highly-touted QB, addressed their glaring needs at WR, and recruited a slew of experienced transfers at all three levels on defense while also bringing in a new DC and personnel staff.

The schedule is also a lot more forgiving.

After a promising 6-7 campaign in 2022, UConn’s 2023 season quickly fell flat following an 0-5 start en route to a disappointing 3-9 finish. There are many reasons why they failed to build on the previous season, but it would also be fair to acknowledge that the schedule was quite tough.

They opened it up by hosting NC State, an ACC contender that finished with a 9-4 record. They then visited a Georgia State team that started last season 6-1, including a 35-14 drubbing of the Huskies.

After losing to an FIU team they should have beat, the Huskies hosted a Duke side that defeated Clemson and also got its head coach hired at Texas A&M and its QB promoted to Notre Dame. The next week, they hosted a Utah State squad that has long been dangerous, making its sixth straight bowl game (not counting 2020) in 2023.

Trips to Rice and Boston College were no walk in the park. Those road games sandwiched a date with former conference rival USF. The Bulls turned out to be much better than expected under first-year head coach Alex Golesh.

After Boston College, they were on the road for two more weeks, at Tennessee and James Madison, two games where the Huskies were clearly overmatched.

That’s four solid-to-strong power conference opponents, four G5 bowl teams, and one of the nation’s best G5 teams in James Madison—nine bowl teams in total.

Hope for a brighter future

This year, the schedule is much friendlier. It has four power conference opponents, but the slate is not as tough as the combination of NC State, Duke, Tennessee, and Boston College was last year.

Duke is back on the schedule but won’t be as good after the regime change. The Huskies open the season at Maryland, host Wake Forest (4-8 last year) in October, and have a November road date with Syracuse under first-year coach Fran Brown.

Even if UConn doesn’t win any of its P4 matchups, the results shouldn’t be as lopsided as the 2023 meetings with Duke or Tennessee (NC State and Boston College weren’t particularly close either), and the games are spread out around the schedule in 2024.

Georgia State is another repeat opponent, but this game will be at the Rent and the Panthers have a new head coach and lots of departed talent to replace. Rice is also back on the schedule. The Owls are expected to be as good or better than they were last year, but that game is at home for UConn.

In 2024, UConn also gets its FCS matchup at a much more appropriate time, when Merrimack visits in Week 2. Last year, the Huskies played Sacred Heart in November in a game that had exhibition vibes at the Rent.

In the “expected FBS wins” category, UConn fans only had one game they could feel good about in 2023, against UMass, and one more that felt solid in FIU. Whoops.

The Minutemen are back on the schedule in 2024 and up to their same old tricks (not being good). They’re joined on the schedule by two more downtrodden longtime regional rivals: Temple and Buffalo.

Temple is expected to be among the worst teams in the country, with a 6-18 record after two seasons of Stan Drayton at the helm. Buffalo has a new head coach after going 3-9 last year. The Huskies face those two at home in consecutive weeks after kicking off a six-game home stand with Florida Atlantic in Week 4.

In total, there are four games that should be wins (Merrimack, UMass, Temple, Buffalo), four games that should be close (FAU, Rice, GSU, UAB), and four power-conference opponents (Maryland, Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse). But no major powers, all four P4s are from the ACC’s cul-de-sac. None of the G5 opponents are at the level of James Madison or even Georgia State last year.

Are we having fun yet?

At the very least, UConn won’t start 0-5 this season. The Huskies should be 1-1 at worst after Week 2 and could even put a winning streak together with the FAU-Buffalo-Temple stretch. After that, they have a bye week and three more winnable home games against Wake Forest, Rice, and Georgia State.

UConn ends the season facing two old rivals, Syracuse and UMass, in games that could decide bowl eligibility or secure a winning season for the Huskies for the first time since 2011.

College football optimism typically rides highest in August, but UConn’s 2024 schedule offers lots of interesting games, familiar foes, and the potential for big stakes in November against schools fans love to hate. Considering how out-of-place the Huskies were in the AAC and the funkiness of the first few independent slates, this is the most enticing schedule UConn has had in years.