FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
Avoid road trap
1A meaningless nonconference game. Against a 1-10 opponent. Favored by 32.5 points. What could go wrong?
The Cougars have done a good job of not looking ahead since booking a spot in the AAC championship game and are 60 minutes away from being able to shift the focus to fourthranked Cincinnati. The last time UH had this much at stake heading into a road game against UConn in 2015, the Cougars played most of the game without injured quarterback Greg Ward Jr. and lost leading tackler Elandon Roberts to a targeting penalty in a 20-17 loss that ruined a chance at unbeaten season.
Once in the AAC but now an independent, UConn is among the worst teams in college football. The Huskies have not beat an FBS opponent since winning at UMass in 2019.
Stay healthy
2
The best thing for the Cougars
will be to get out to a comfortable lead, which would allow Holgorsen to pull most of his starters to avoid any risk of injuries.
Among key players, wide receiver KeSean Carter (foot) is out for the season and linebacker Donavan Mutin (concussion protocol) will not play. Several other regulars are dealing with nagging injuries: wide receiver Nathaniel Dell has played with a hurt shoulder for most of the second half of the season, quarterback Clayton Tune is close to 100 percent from a hamstring injury and running back Alton McCaskill should be available after he suffered a stinger in the Memphis game.
Chilly reception
3
Kickoff temperature is expected
to be in the mid-30s, which would be the coldest for a UH game in the last 20 years. UH played in 36-degree conditions against Cincinnati (2002) and Pittsburgh in the Armed Forces Bowl (2015).
Why play a nonconference game against UConn on the final weekend of the regular season, you ask? Upon
Holgorsen’s arrival in 2019, he and athletic officials sat down and made changes to this season’s nonconference schedule, replacing Boise State and Vanderbilt with Grambling State, an FCS member, and UConn. This is just the fifth time since 1990 — and first since Texas Tech in 2010 — that the Cougars have played a nonconference opponent on the final weekend.
Milestone within reach
4
Nathaniel Dell needs 35 yards to
join elite company as 1,000-yard receivers. There have been 21 players who reached that mark in school historym but none since Marquez Stevenson (1,019) in 2018.
Dell is having an all-conference season, ranking second in yards (965), touchdown catches (nine) and average yards per game (87.7) and fourth in receptions (65).
“It’s a testament to him and how hard he worked all offseason and
season,” Tune said. “It would be awesome for him to hit that mark. He’s maybe mentioned it once or twice. I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen for him.”
UH offense vs. UConn defense
5
The Cougars average 416.1 yards
and are tied for 12th nationally in scoring (38.2). UConn is 123rd out of 130 FBS schools in scoring defense, allowing 37.9 points.
UConn’s best defensive player is linebacker Jackson Mitchell, who has 111 tackles this season, tied for ninthbest in the country.
With three games left, UH is on pace to have a 3,000-yard passer (Tune), 1,000-yard receiver (Dell) and 1,000-yard rusher (McCaskill) for the first time since Andre WareManny Hazard-Chuck Weatherspoon in 1989.