Sports: UConn men open exhibition season with 96-64 victory over SCSU
Someone will pick up win No. 2 on the season: Huskies or Hurricane
The American Athletic Conference's two cellar dwellers meet tonight.
UConn resides in last place in the East Division and Tulsa in the same place in the West Division. Both teams own identical records of 1-7 overall, 0-4 in the conference.
One team will earn a desperately needed win at H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
The Huskies will be shooting to end two losing streaks. They've dropped five straight overall and lost six in a row on the road. Dating back to 2016, their road record is 1-13, with the only win coming at Temple in October 2017.
Despite their dismal record, they're keeping their spirits and work ethic up.
"We definitely haven't become numb to losing," said sophomore safety Tyler Coyle, the team's leading tackler with 73. "I hate losing. We've definitely got to be better. We're fighting every day to get better. That's our No. 1 goal right now."
Coach Randy Edsall hasn't seen any signs of the Huskies giving up during practice. They continue to
work hard. But the long season is beginning to take its toll on the freshmen.
"Some of them," Edsall said when asked if the younger players have hit a wall. "That's why we're trying to play as many as we can . ... Physically, they're not ready for all of this. Look at the rosters of the people that we're going against. You don't see many freshmen or redshirt freshmen on rosters. That's who we are.
"But we'll be OK . ... There weren't guys out there not trying or giving up (at practice). You didn't see that. There's a process that we've got to go through to get to where we need to get it. It doesn't help matters that you're playing your third road game at 6 or 7 clock on the road."
By the way, Edsall would like to see the conference limit night road games per team in the future.
"So when they talk about student-athlete welfare, I'm hoping the next TV contract that the conference would put in teams that should only have to do it only one time. We've had to do it three times now. Is that fair to these kids? Then people complain kids shouldn't get money. Talk about taking advantage of kids."
While the Huskies are experiencing some wear and tear, they're relatively healthy overall.
Consider it a good sign that senior quarterback David Pindell, who was slowed by a knee issue a few weeks ago, is back to being a dangerous running threat. In last week's 22-17 loss to UMass, he rushed for over 100 yards (120) for the fourth time this season, a program record for a quarterback.
The Huskies have shown some improvement in recent weeks, especially on defense. They've allowed an average of 30 points in the last two games after giving up at least 49 points in each of their first six games.
Unlike UConn, which has suffered its share of blow-out defeats but been more competitive lately, Tulsa could easily have a few more victories.
Four of the Golden Hurricane's defeats are by nine points or fewer, including losing at Texas by just seven.
They're a strong defensive team, ranking fourth in total defense (390.2) and second in pass defense (165.9 yards per game) in the conference. They've allowed 28.5 points per game but struggle on offense, ranking last in scoring offense at 20.4 points per game in the AAC, just ahead of UConn (21.1).
"We know they've been in a couple of close games," Coyle said. "They fight to the end and we've got to do the same."