How did UConn's Opponents Fare in Week 5?
Temple: Lost to Army 42-14 (Thu)
The UConn RB must have been salivating watching the Black Knights run up and down the field against the Owls, similarly to how Army performed against FAU earlier in the year. Temple actually had some punch in this one for a bit, despite the score. It was only 14-0 at the half, and Temple had a 51 yard TD pass called back due to holding on the Owls’ opening drive. Unfortunately, Temple wouldn’t get on the board until it was already 28-0, but they were able to cut the lead to 14 before Army put the foot back on the gas. QB Evan Simon threw for 224 yards and two TDs on 19-30 passing, and the Temple running game went nowhere, rushing for -5 yards on 22 carries, including sacks. Without QB carries/sacks, the Owls rushed seven times for 15 yards. Meanwhile, Army held the ball for 35 minutes, as they do, and rushed for 417 yards, as they do.
Up Next: at UConn 3:30 CBSSN
Wake Forest: Lost to Louisiana 41-38
It was a tough loss for the Demon Deacons, and not just because they paid the Ragin’ Cajuns $800K for this game. A 41 yard FG doinked off the upright as time expired, but the story here was the defensive struggles. Louisana QB Ben Wooldridge threw for 257 yards and three TDs on 20-29 passing, and The Ragin’ Cajuns as a team rushed for 209 yards on 33 carries, an average yards per carry of 6.3. Wake still managed to outgain Louisiana 471-466. QB Hank Bachmeier threw for 248 yards on 27-33 passing with a TD and INT, and Demond Claiborne, who was struggling with a knee injury, rushed for 94 yards on 12 carries, buoyed by a 60 yarder. His backup, Tate Carney, rushed for 59 yards on 17 carries. Wake has now lost its last three games, and plays at NC State and at home against Clemson before heading to East Hartford.
Up Next: at NC State 12:00 The CW
Rice: Lost to Charlotte 21-20
It was a wild finish in Houston, a scene where Rice ultimately fell short. Charlotte got down to the goal line late in the game, but on 4th and 5, the Deshawn Purdie fell incomplete. A flag was thrown, however, for pass interference, and the Niners would punch it in a few plays later to take a 21-20 lead with :47 remaining. Rice QB EJ Warner led a drive downfield, throwing for 47 yards, and rushing for 16 yards to get down to the Charlotte 22, overcoming an illegal blindside block penalty. The 39 yard FG attempt missed, and Charlotte had their first AAC victory of the year. Rice fell to 1-4, having only defeated Texas Southern thus far in 2024. Warner threw for 254 yards on 21-39 passing, with two TDs and no INTs, and RB Dean Connors finally had a breakout game, rushing for 121 yards on 14 carries. Rice rushed for 209 yards on 21 carries as a team, an average of 6.7 yards per carry. They outgained Charlotte 463-304, but ultimately couldn’t points on the board when they needed.
Up Next: Bye Week
Georgia State: Lost to Georgia Southern 38-21
The newly christened “Georgia Grown Bowl’s” inaugural victory would go to Georgia Southern, despite a season high 356 passing yards from Georgia State QB Christian Veilleux. Despite the yardage, Veilleux threw three INTs, and as a team, rushed for 29 yards on 15 carries. Georgia Southern held posssession for over 38 minutes, and outgained the Panthers 518-385, averaging 5.8 yards per carry on the ground. After jumping out to a 24-7 halftime lead, Georgia Southern allowed two TDs to open the second half, but pulled away after that.
Up Next: Bye Week
UAB: Lost to Navy 41-18
Navy QB Blake Horvath threw for 225 yards on just 9-11 passing, and added 84 rushing yards to go with, as Navy blew out the Blazers in Birmingham. UAB QB Jacob Zeno threw for 202 yards on 14-22 passing, while throwing two INTs, not looking like the QB he was last season when he threw for over 3,000 yards. RB Lee Beebe Jr rushed for 82 yards, and as a team, the Blazers rushed for 193 yards on 43 carries, a respectable 4.5 yards per carry. UAB was penalized 11 times for 99 yards, while being outgained 452-395. Things don’t get easier, as they take on Tulane next weekend.
Up Next: Tulane 1:00 ESPN+
Syracuse: Defeated Holy Cross 42-14
After scoring the first 21 points of this game, Syracuse allowed the next 14, but then turned on the jets in a win over FCS Holy Cross. QB Kyle McCord threw for 385 yards on 28-50 passing, and four TDs, all of which came in the first half, but also two INTs. LeQuint Allen rushed for 81 yards on 16 carries, but as a team, the Orange averaged 3.2 yards per carry. TE Oronde Gadsden was held to just one catch despite being targeted seven times, after catching just two passes last week against Stanford. Jackson Meeks took advantage of the attention given to Gadsden, catching ten passes for 161 yards. Syracuse allowed just 203 yards, and just nine rushing yards.
Up Next: at UNLV (Fri) 9:00 FS1
UMass: Lost to Miami (OH) 23-20 (OT)
A week after squeaking by CCSU, UMass was in position to win its second straight game, and their first FBS win of the year. Sadly, it was not to be, as Miami (OH) marched downfield in the final minute to kick a game-tying FG, then UMass missed a FG in OT, leading to the Redhawk victory. UMass had taken the lead with just :40 seconds to go but Miami QB Brett Gabbert led the tying drive. UMass had a TD called back due to an illegal man downfield in OT, and the defense allowed no yards in the OT period, but the difference came down to the kickers. Taisun Phommachanh threw for 173 yards on 9-22 passing, 150 of those yards went to WR Jakobie Keeney-James. Phommachanh also led the Minutemen in rushing with 80 yards. Miami (OH) outgained UMass 353-344. Gabbert threw for 181 yards on 16-25 passing and were led in rushing by Keyon Mozee, and his 114 yards on just nine carries. UMass, who will be joining the MAC next season, is now 0-3 against their future conference mates.
Up Next: at Northern Illinois 12:00 CBSSN
Past Opponents:
Maryland: The Terps have not looked at all like the team that beat UConn 50-7 in week one, losing to Indiana 42-28. QB Billy Edwards Jr threw for 289 yards on 26-41 passing, and Roman Hemby rushed for 117 yards on ten carries, but allowed over 500 yards to the 5-0 Hoosiers, the first time they’ve reached that mark since 1967. Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke threw for 359 yards on 22-33 passing, and Elijah Sarratt caught seven of those passes for 128 yards. After beating UConn, Maryland lost to Michigan State, beat UVA by 14, and Villanova by 18. If you’re looking to feel better about the UConn loss, there’s not much to see.
Up Next: Bye Week
Merrimack: Lost to Dartmouth 16-14
Big Green kicker Owen Zalc booted a 32 yard FG with seven seconds left to help Dartmouth improve to 2-0. Merrimack RB Jermaine Corbett, known to UConn fans as the guy who somersaulted into the end zone while losing by a hundred (28), rushed for 137 yards and two TDs on 21 carries to lead the way, but the Warriors would fall to 1-4, having only defeated Bucknell.
Up Next: Bye Week
Duke: Defeated North Carolina 21-20
If you’re looking to feel better about losing to Duke, this may not help either, as the Blue Devils improved to 5-0, but could very well be 4-1 if UConn had protected their 4th quarter lead. They could very well be 3-2, as UNC jumped out to a 20-0 lead about midway through the 3rd quarter. Maalik Murphy would lead Duke to a TD, a 13 play 90 yard drive that took 9:11, capped off with a 29 yard TD pass to RB Star Thomas. Thomas would hit paydirt again to start the 4th, and finally Duke would take the lead with 5:43 to go, after a Payton Jones 20 yard TD rush. After taking the 20-0 lead, UNC would punt on their next three drives, then throw an interception with just :25 left to seal it. Thomas rushed for 166 yards on 30 carries, while Murphy struggled a bit, throwing for 209 yards on 15-34 passing.
Up Next: at Georgia Tech 8:00 ACCN
FAU: Defeated Wagner 41-10
It wasn’t the prettiest at times, but FAU took care of FCS Wagner to get their second win of the season. It was just 17-10 at the half, but the Owls would shut the Seahawks out the rest of the way, holding their QB Jake Cady to just 112 yards on 11-30 passing. After allowing an FBS era record 421 yards to UConn last week, FAU held Wagner to just 20 yards on 26 carries. FAU split QB time, with Cam Fancher throwing for 150 yards on 9-12 passing and an INT, while freshman Kasen Weisman threw for 98 on 7-13 also with an INT. CJ Campbell Jr, who was responsible for much of FAU’s rushing production late last week, rushed for 145 yards on 15 carries. As a team, the Owls rushed 46 times for 315 yards. It was a big bounceback win, in front of the Costco Guys, the ones who say “Boom!” or something, I’m not really sure.
Up Next: Bye Week