UConn football looks for positive end to first half of season vs. FIU, familiar QB: How to watch
The UConn football team can get through the first half of its season with a 4-2 record if it can flip the result from two years ago against Florida International (FIU) in a homecoming matchup on Saturday.
When the teams last met, in the early part of a disappointing second year under coach Jim Mora in 2023, then-freshman FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns to build a 24-3 halftime lead the Huskies couldn’t overcome at The Rent. A Miami native and a dual-threat behind center, Jenkins stuck with the Panthers as they brought in new head coach Willie Simmons and hasn’t had a breakout game yet in his junior season.
The Huskies hope it doesn’t come Saturday.
“You know what he’s really good at is in the drop-back game, finding the crease and then when guys have their back to him, going and making big plays that way. And he can run the ball on the designed quarterback runs obviously, but his big, big plays have come when you’re in coverage, maybe you’re in man coverage or we’re in zone and someone gets out of position and then he turns what looks like pretty good pressure rush into a big gain,” Mora said.
“Guys like that, you always have to keep your eyes up when you’re rushing the passer, you have to be disciplined in your pass rush lanes. You have to understand where your help is and where the pressure is coming from, where he might flush, how he might flush. Downfield you have to get your drop, be disciplined in your zones, not drift so that if he does scramble, we’re in position to try to run him down. But guys like that are a problem. He’s a problem. We faced him before and now it’s two years later, he’s a much better player now than he ever was then and certainly that makes sense having the experience that he has. So it’ll be a real challenge for us.”
Why UConn football will play with extra purpose against FIU on Saturday
Jenkins has run 28 times for 123 yards and four touchdowns this season although his actual numbers are actually half of that because he’s been sacked eight times, which counts in college for a loss of 59 yards.
UConn has experienced playing against mobile quarterbacks this season in Delaware’s Nick Minicucci, who chipped away with short gains and caused problems especially in the red zone. Then there was Ball State’s Kiael Kelly, who they kept in check for 50 yards on 12 rushing attempts, aside from one long 27-yard gain. The Huskies sacked Minicucci five times in the shootout, 44-41, loss in Delaware, and Kelly four times in a home win two weeks ago.
Before its bye, FIU suffered its own loss to Delaware (3-1) at home, 38-16, and Jenkins threw a pair of interceptions.
“We don’t ever make those comparisons, like look at the score and things like that, we just look at the film and see what they do against who they’re playing against,” Mora said. “They’re an impressive team. All you have to do is really look at the Penn State game, the score was 34-0 but it was not a 34-0 type of game. It was 10-0 through the first half and they were holding their own, they were playing really well and they were playing really hard. Their defense was doing a really nice job against what’s a pretty darn powerful Penn State offense.
“We just have to worry about preparing for them this week and then going out and playing up to our standard – which we haven’t done yet, and we never will because we just reset the standard every time we reach it.”
The Panthers’ defense is ranked a few spots below the Huskies averaging 397.8 yards allowed per game – 250.5 through the air and 147.3 on the ground. Expect UConn’s offense to continue to lean on Skyler Bell in the receiving game and Cam Edwards as a workhorse out of the backfield.
UConn working on four-minute offense, playing complimentary football
The Huskies have yet to put a complete game of complimentary football together, but once they do, they feel like they have a group as good, if not better, than last year.
The 9-4 Fenway Bowl champions were 4-2 at the midpoint of last season.
“This team is a very athletic, this is a very good team. I think this is a better team than last year, in my opinion. Overall, we’ve just got to put some of the little pieces together. It’s the little things. This team could go really far as long as we keep working,” Edwards said. “(FIU has) a solid group, they’re gonna play hard. They’re good, they’re gonna give us a challenge and we just have to come out and play our style of football.”
“We walk into this with the same mindset: Respect everyone, fear no one,” said UConn defensive lineman Vincent Carroll-Jackson. “They’re gonna have their guys and we’re gonna have our guys, so we’re just gonna go out there and get after them.”
What to know
Site: Rentschler Field in East Hartford
Line: UConn by 7 1/2
Time: 3:30 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network – Alex Del Barrio, Logan Ryan, Hailey Sutton
Radio: UConn Sports Network from Learfield, Fox Sports 97.9
Online: The Varsity Network App – Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman, Adam Giardino
Record: UConn: 3-2, FIU: 2-2
Series: UConn leads, 17-5