This week:
The UConn Huskies are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they’ll host the Boise State Broncos at Rentschler Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.
The Line:
According to Rivals.com odds, Boise State is favored by 16 points. The over/under is 49 points.
Tickets:
According to UConn Huskies ticket office, there are still tickets available to Saturday’s game.
Getting To The Game:
Here is link for the weather report. Here is all the parking info you will need for the game, this link includes directions to Rentschler Field. Here is a Rentschler Field seating chart and here is some general information for Rentschler Field.
The parking lots will open up 4 hours before kickoff. Here is a list of the tailgating rules at the Rent.
There is a new route for the Husky Walk as the team arrives for games at Rentschler Field this year and fans get a chance to greet the team as they get off their buses and make their way to the stadium. The Husky walk, which takes place approximately, two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff, will now start in the Gray Parking Lots and the team will makes its way to the large tunnel near Gate B.
The UConn team will now do its pregame warmup in front of the UConn student section on the South End of the stadium – a change from previous seasons. The Huskies will enter the stadium for pregame warmups on the concourse of Rentschler Field and go through the student section.
Once again, FanFest takes place starting four hours before kickoff up until 30 minutes before the game between Gates A and B outside the stadium gates. The offerings change each game, but activities typically include inflatable games for children, live bands, promotional vehicles and UConn student-athletes from various teams signing autographs.
The break between the third and fourth quarter will feature “Coach D’s Playlist” as fans during the game will get to select a song to play based on a list they saw earlier in the game.
Once again this season at the end of home games, the UConn team will sing the “UConn Husky” fight song in front of the student section at Rentschler Field.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:
Saturday’s game will be televised regionally by ABC with the remainder of the country seeing the game on ESPN2. Beth Mowins is on play-by-play with Joey Galloway on color and Paul Carcaterra on the sidelines.
Here is the coverage map from ESPN for the game as to whether you’ll need to watch on ABC or ESPN2.
Radio:
The UConn IMG Sports Network is the home of Husky football on the radio. WTIC NewsTalk 1080 in Hartford serves as the flagship station and is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada.
Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Kevin Nathan on the sidelines.
UConn football on home Saturday dates gets going early with “Breakfast At The Rent” with Ray Dunaway and Scott Gray beginning at 6:00 a.m. For noon games, the UConn Tailgate Show airs from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m with Bob Joyce and Nathan. The pregame show begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the game and then postgame “Husky Talk” with Nathan.
The Boise State game will also be available on Sirius Radio Channel 108 and XM Channel 201.
Here is a full list of stations on the UConn IMG Radio Network.
Boise State Broncos Radio:
Stony Brook fans can listen to game online at PackNetwork.com/StonyBrook as Andy Towne (PBP) and Curt Hylton (color) will have the call.
Last Week:
UConn beat Stony Brook 19-16 while Boise State beat Colorado State 37-24.
History:
Saturday’s game is the first-ever meeting between UConn and Boise State, a member of the Mountain West Conference.
Connections:
UConn does not have any players from the state of Idaho on its roster, nor does Boise State have any players from Connecticut.
UConn Notes:
Here is the video from UConn head coach Bob Diaco’s press conference. Here is a transcript of some his remarks from the press conference.
UConn head coach Bob Diaco made his UConn and collegiate head coaching debut on August 29th vs. BYU. Diaco served on the Notre Dame coaching staff as the defensive coordinator for the past four years and the assistant head coach for the past two. He was the 2012 winner of the Frank Broyles Award, given to the top assistant college football coach in the country and was the first Irish assistant to receive the prestigious award.
Here is UConn’s roster and 2014 schedule.
Here is UConn’s depth chart for the game.
The captains of the 2014 UConn Huskies football team are Geremy Davis, Byron Jones, Alex Mateas and Marquise Vann.
Despite UConn having virtually an entire new staff this year, seven of the Huskies’ full-time coaches have previously worked games at Rentschler Field. Head coach Bob Diaco, defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter and assistant coach Wayne Lineburg were on the Virginia staff for a 45-10 Husky win on Sept. 13, 2008; Assistant head coach Don Patterson was on the Buffalo staff for a 24-17 UConn win on Sept. 29, 2012; Offensive coordinator Mike Cummings was on the Western Michigan staff for a 41-27 UConn win on Nov. 1, 2003; Assistant coach Kevin Wolthausen was on the Louisville staff for a 30-20 UConn loss on Dec. 3, 2005. UConn assistant coach Mike Foley is the lone holdover on the staff and is entering his ninth season.
Connecticut boasts a 46-27 record against non-conference opponents in the regular season since making the move to the FBS in 2002. The Huskies have won 21 of their last 34 regular season non-league games overall. UConn has posted the following records in non-conference regular season games: 6-6 (2002), 9-3 (2003), 4-1 (2004), 3-1 (2005), 3-2 (2006), 4-1 (2007), 4-1 (2008), 4-1 (2009), 3-2 (2010), 2-3 (2011), 3-2 (2012) and 0-4 (2013), 1-1 (2014).
UConn is now 9-4 in season openers since making the jump to then-Division I-A in 2002. UConn has won nine of its 12 season openers at Rentschler Field (2003-Indiana, 2004-Murray State, 2005-Buffalo, 2006-Rhode Island, 2008-Hofstra, 2010-Texas Southern, 2011-Fordham, 2012-UMass) and also downed Duke, 45-14, in Durham, to open the 2007 season and Ohio University, 23-16 in Athens, to open 2009.
UConn has an all-time record of 49-25 at Rentschler Field and a 27-12 mark in non-conference games.
The Huskies were picked to finish 9th in the American in 2014.
Boise is the third-straight opponent for UConn this season that the Huskies have never played, joining BYU and Stony Brook. The Huskies have upcoming games this season against first-time opponents Tulane (Oct. 11) and East Carolina (Oct. 23) – for a total of five first-time opponents this season.
The Huskies played a total of 57 players against BYU and 20 of them (35.1%) where making their first collegiate appearance. Among the highlights were redshirt freshman Joshua Marriner (Chesapeake, Va.) rushing for UConn’s lone touchdown of the night; freshman Arkeel Newsome (Ansonia, Conn.) making an 18-yard reception the first quarter; redshirt sophomore punter Justin Wain (Wilmington, N.C.) averaging 35.8 yards on four punts; redshirt freshman Tommy Myers (Coventry, Conn.) making his first career reception in the third quarter; redshirt freshman linebacker Cameron Stapleton (Staten Island, N.Y.) combining on a second-quarter sack; freshman tight end Alec Bloom (Ligonier, Pa.) having two receptions for 24 yards.
Other Huskies making their collegiate debuts: redshirt sophomore C Kyle Bockeloh (Houston, Texas), freshman LB Luke Carrezola (Langhorne, Pa.), freshman OL Ryan Crozier (Plantation, Fla.), senior DB Chris DeBerry (Torrington, Conn.), freshman LB Vontae Diggs (Downers Grove, Ill.), redshirt freshman H Blake Feagles (Ridgewood, N.J.), redshirt freshman DL Foley Fatukasi (Far Rockaway, N.Y.), redshirt freshman OL Tommy Hopkins (Hawthorne, N.Y.), redshirt freshman LB Junior Joseph (Sinking Springs, Pa.), freshman TB Ron Johnson (Naples, Fla.), redshirt freshman LB Cole Ormsby (Windsor, Conn.), freshman OL Trey Rutherford (Markham, Ontario) and freshman CB Jamar Summers (East Orange, N.J.).
As we learned earlier this week, Casey Cochran has retired from football due to concussions. Chandler Whitmer is now the starter with Tim Boyle as his backup.
Senior Deshon Foxx was named the American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday for his performance in UConn’s win over Stony Brook on Sept. 6.
Foxx’s punt return for a TD against Stony Brook was the first for UConn since Nick Williams had an 80-yarder vs. Pittsburgh on Nov. 9, 2012 at Rentschler Field.
UConn senior wide receiver Geremy Davis has 13 receptions for 209 yards this season with seven receptions for 96 yards vs. BYU and six receptions for 113 yards against Stony Brook. He has made a reception in 28-straight games, dating back to the 2011 season, the ninth-longest such streak in the country.
Davis is tied for third in the American Athletic Conference in receptions per game with 6.5 and third in reception yards per game at 104.5 – which is 23rd nationally.
Preseason Award Watch Lists:
Notes from this week’s opponent Boise State:
Here is video from Boise State head coach Brian Harsin’s weekly pregame press conference.
Brian Harsin is in his first season as the head coach at Boise State after spending the 2013 season as the head coach at Arkansas State. He led Arkansas State to a 7-5 regular season record and the team played in the GoDaddy Bowl against Ball State.
Here is Boise State’s depth chart for the game.
Here are Boise State’s 2014 roster and 2014 schedule.
Boise State is 8-1 all-time against teams currently in the American Athletic Conference, the only loss coming to East Carolina in the 2007 Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (41-38; Dec. 23). Boise State is also 6-0 against Tulsa and 2-0 against SMU.
For the first time since 2008, Boise State opened a season unranked in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches Polls.
Boise State offense ranks 18th nationally in total offense, averaging 537.5 yards per game. The mark also leads the MW. A balanced attack, the Broncos rank 30th in passing offense (308.0) and 33rd in rushing offense (229.5). Boise State also ranks 13th nationally in time of possession (33:48).
Three of the nation’s top 26 reception marks belong to Boise State: Shane Williams-Rhodes is averaging 9.0 catches per game, which ranks seventh nationally; Jay Ajayi ranks 12th with 8.0 per game; and Matt Miller ranks 26th with 5.0 per game.
The Broncos have gained six turnovers (five interceptions and a fumble), the ninth-most in the country. Additionally, the Bronco defense is averaging 9.0 tackles-for-loss per game, a mark that ranks eighth nationally and leads the Mountain West. Sophomore linebacker Tanner Vallejo ranks 16th nationally and leads the MW averaging 2.0 TFLs per game.
Boise State ranks fifth nationally in rush defense, allowing an average of 49.5 yards per game. The Bronco defense has allowed an opponent score just four times in seven red zone trips, ranking 15th nationally in red zone defense (.571).
Boise State awards The Hammer to the individual who makes the best special teams play the previous week, and that player leads the team out onto the field the following game. Blake Renaud won it after their first game and Jay Ajayi won it last week.
Entering 2014, Boise State is riding a streak of 16-consecutive winning seasons.
Per a vote of their teammates, Corey Bell and Matt Miller have been named captains for the entire 2014 season. Two additional captains are selected each week by the coaching staff .
Preseason Watch Lists:
Jay Ajayi:
- Maxwell Award
- Doak Walker Award
- Walter Camp Player of the Year
- Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award
- Jim Thorpe Award
- Lou Groza Award
- Davey O’Brien Award
- Jim Thorpe Award
- Polynesian Player of the Year
Matt Miller:
- Biletnikoff Award
Shane Williams-Rhodes:
- Paul Hornung Award
- Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award
Thursday UConn Football Links:
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Breaking Bread with Bob – 9/9/14 [sox & dawgs]
Boise State OC on UConn’s defense: “It’s like watching the Notre Dame defense already” [jim fuller – new haven register]
UConn players happy to hear of tribute plan for Jasper Howard [jim fuller – new haven register]
UConn football: On Boyle, concussions and second chances [john silver – sny uconn]
CB Byron Jones Knows He Must Step Up Against Boise State [hartford courant]
Boise State coach Mike Sanford, formerly at Yale, returning to Connecticut [new haven register]
Next Week:
UConn heads out on the road for the first time this season next Friday night as they’ll be in Tampa, FL to take on the South Florida Bulls in an American Athletic Conference Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
