Copyright Hartford Courant
Dan Hurley is used to playing in arenas where empty seats are few and far between. He called on UConn fans to give the football team the full-house experience on Saturday. UConn (6-3) plays Duke (5-3) at Rentschler Field at 3:30 p.m., possibly the most impactful game of the football season. “Public service announcement, calling all UConn fans,” Hurley began in a 60-second video posted on the UConn men’s basketball social media accounts Thursday. “Guys, I mean, this is exactly what you wanted in a football program here at UConn, right? Last year, Coach (Jim) Mora and the boys, they deliver a bowl win, in the Fenway Bowl, in Boston, incredible moment for the university, for the athletic department, vs. the (North Carolina) Tar Heels. They knock ’em around, in Fenway Park, an incredible moment in our sports history. “Now we’ve got one of the best coaches in the country, one of the best quarterbacks in the country, showing up on Heisman things, having an historic year, one of the best wide receivers in the country, potential draft picks, potential NFL players, bowl eligible again, at home and we’ve got the Dookies coming in here for football. What else could you ask for?” Dom Amore: UConn football gets back in the bowl business, but this time it’s business as usual Hurley, who has won two national championships since coming to UConn, which bills itself the “Basketball Capital of the World,” was referencing quarterback Joe Fagnano, whose impressive numbers include 2,529 yards and 22 touchdown passes without an interception, and his favorite target, Skyler Bell, who has 74 catches for 994 yards and 11 TDS. Yet UConn is 9 1/2-point underdogs at home against Duke, sixth in the ACC, coming off a 46-45 win over Clemson. All three Huskies losses have been in overtime on the road. They are 1-1 against teams in the ACC, a power conference, an OT loss at Syracuse and a road win at Boston College. UConn clinched bowl eligibility last week with a win at home over Alabama Birmingham. A win over Duke, with Air Force at home and Florida Atlantic on the road to finish the season, could position UConn for a more its most prestigious bowl invitation since the Fiesta Bowl bid following in 2010 season. As of Thursday, UConn had distributed roughly 28.000 tickets for the game vs. Duke, so there are 10-12,000 still available. Last week, for a noon start vs. UAB, 23,170 tickets were sold; the student section, the morning after Halloween, was deserted. Why UConn vs. Duke will feature a showdown between two of the nation’s top QBs The biggest crowd of the year, in tickets distributed, was 37,594 for the season opener vs. CCSU. Often, those numbers are not reflected by the number of fans in their seats at Rentschler as games begin. The weather is expected to be favorable Saturday afternoon, rain ending in the morning, temperatures reaching the 60s. “This Saturday at 3:30, Rentschler better be sold out and it better be rocking,” Hurley said. “This is exactly what you wanted in a football program, these men are delivering, you better be there and it better be rocking. Let’s go.” Hurley spoke from his office at the Werth Center. The UConn men, who defeated New Haven in their season opener and are ranked fourth in the AP Poll, were schedule to play UMass Lowell at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford Friday night. .
