The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL CAPSULES
WESLEYAN at MIDDLEBURY
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium, Middlebury (VT)
Records: Middlebury, 50; Wesleyan, 50
Last week: Middlebury, 2726 win over Colby; Wesleyan, 2013 win over Tufts
History: Wesleyan, 25222
Last meeting: Wesleyan, 5221 on Sept. 15, 2018
Notable: Middlebury’s Will Jernigan is averaging 227.4 passing yards per game, secondmost in the NESCAC … Four of the Panthers’ wins have come by a total of 13 points … Wesleyan is coming off a 2013 win over Tufts, in which Matthew Simco caught a goahead, 29yard touchdown pass with six seconds remaining … Freshman Mason Von Jess made field goals of 37 and 27 yards and was 2 for 2 on extrapoint attempts to win NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week … Linebacker Nick Livingston leads the conference with five sacks … The Cardinals are off to their best start since 2013, when they won their first seven games.
HOUSTON at UCONN
When: Saturday, noon
Where: Rentschler Field, East Hartford
Records: Houston, 24; UConn, 15
TV: ESPNU
Radio: 97.9 ESPN, WINE940, WAVZ1300; WATR1320, WGCH1490, WILI1400 (simulcast on 95.3 FM).
Last week: Houston, 3823 loss to Cincinnati; UConn, 497 loss to Tulane
History: 11
Last meeting: Houston, 4212 on Sep. 29,2016
Notable: UConn is coming off another blowout loss, allowing 634 yards to Tulane. The Huskies gained just 234 yards and did not score until late in the game. … The Huskies have lost 21 consecutive games against FCS opponents and are winless in their last 14 American Athletic Conference games. … Graduate transfer Mike Beaudry, who was pulled late against Tulane, will be back starting at quarterback. … UConn has five touchdown passes in the past three games after not completing a TD pass in the first three games. … Freshman Jackson Mitchell of Ridgefield will start at linebacker Saturday. … Houston’s victories have come against Prairie View A&M and North Texas, with losses to Oklahoma, Washington State, Tulane and Cincinnati. … The Cougars have been a mess this season. After losing three of the first four games, coach Dana Holgorsen announced senior quarterback D’Eriq King and senior receive Keith Corbin would redshirt despite both being healthy, allowing each to return next season. Were the Cougars tanking? Senior offensive lineman Justin Murphy, who left the team last week, thinks so. In a long tweet storm on Oct. 10, Murphy was critical of Holgorsen and the administration, saying they were “actively tanking.” … Houston used three quarterbacks against Cincinnati, yet the Cougar were within five points with 9 minutes left. … The Cougars produced 424 yards, with running back Kyle Porter tallying 107 yards on 16 carries. … Houston averages 32 points per game, UConn has allows 40.5 points. … UConn’s 2015 win over No. 13 Houston was the program’s last victory over a ranked team.
NEW HAVEN AT SCSU
When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Jess Dow Field, New Haven
Records: New Haven, 33 (22 Northeast10); Southern Connecticut, 24 (22)
On air: NE10NOW
Last week: New Haven, 3731 loss to Saint Anselm; Southern Connecticut, 3117 win over Bentley
History: New Haven, 2361
Last meeting: New Haven, 3718 on Sept. 15, 2018
Notable: The game features some defensive playmakers. New Haven is led by former Notre DameWest Haven star Zach Cofrancesco who is tied for second in the Northeast10 with 31 solo tackles and is the only player in the conference with at least two interceptions and two forced fumbles, while teammate Shawn Tafe leads the NE10 with four interceptions. Southern Connecticut lineman Matthew Weiss has four sacks, all in the last two games. ... Four of the nine NE10 players with at least 300 receiving yards will be on the field. The Owls have three of them in Julian Chung, Izaiah Sanders and Brandon SwainPrice who have combined for five100yard receiving games in the last three games, with true freshman Jackson Ostrowsky starting at quarterback. Ju’An Williams leads the Chargers with 30 receptions and 406 receiving yards and is also the top kickoff and punt returner. ... Both teams struggle in the red zone as Chargers have scored touchdowns on 57 percent of the trips to the red zone and the Owls are only at 53 percent ... UNH quarterback Christian Lupoli, a Branford native and Notre DameWest Haven graduate, has five touchdown passes and no interceptions over the past two games. Shamar Logan has back to back 100yard rushing games and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry in the last three games and also has four straight games with at least two receptions. ... SCSU is averaging 43 points in last two games after averaging 14.5 in the first four. ... New Haven has won the last 10 games in the series. ... It is homecoming weekend at Southern Connecticut. Tickets are $10 for adults, children 12andunder and seniors tickets are $7. SCSU’s Football Alumni Network will be hosting its annual tailgate with a tent open to former SCSU football players at Jess Dow Field.
YALE at RICHMOND
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Where: Robins Stadium Richmond, VA
Records: Yale, 31 (11 Ivy League); Richmond, 33 (21 Colonial)
On air: NBC Sports Washington+, WELI960
Last week: Yale, 4210 loss to Dartmouth; Richmond, 2417 win over Maine
History: First meeting
Notable: Yale’s secondary struggled with its assignments in the Dartmouth loss, coming up to try to slow down running quarterbacks and giving up huge pass plays as a result. It just so happens that two of Richmond’s top three rushers are quarterbacks Joe Mancuso and Beau English, although English did not play against Maine. ... Safety Rodney Thomas II, Yale’s top tackler, was injured in the first half against Dartmouth and his status for the game is to be determined. Receiver JP Shohfi and backup quarterback Griffin O’Connor were also knocked out of the game. ... Senior receiver Reed Klubnik needs 86 yards to become the fourth Yale player with at least 2,000 career receiving yards, while senior quarterback Kurt Rawlings needs 26 yards to become the third Bulldog with 6,000 yards of total offense. ... Starting cornerback Melvin Rouse led the Bulldogs with catches and receiving yards last week and he could see action on both sides of the ball as well as being the punt returner for Yale. ... This is Yale’s longest road trip since a 2013 win at Cal Poly. The Bulldogs have won seven of their last eight games when traveling at least 300 miles. ... Richmond gave up an 87yard touchdown pass but surrendered just 103 yards on Maine’s other 23 passing attempts to pull off the upset.
BRYANT at CCSU
When: Saturday, 1 p.m. Where: Arite Field, New Britain
Records: Bryant, 25; CCSU, 51
Last week: Bryant, 2722 win over Long Island; CCSU, 2414 win over Columbia
History: CCSU, 74
Last meeting: CCSU, 4814 on Oct. 14, 2018
Notable: Off to its best start since 2009, Central lifted the interim tag from coach Ryan McCarthy Wednesday and the school named him head coach. … McCarthy’s team is ranked 25th in the country after winning at Columbia last week, making its first appearance in the national polls since 2006. … The Blue Devils are 50 against FCS opponents and have four road wins. The only loss came to FBSlevel Eastern Michigan on Sept. 21. … Central quarterback Aaron Winchester has been named Northeast Conference Offensive Player of the Week the past two weeks. Winchester passed for 299 yards against Columbia.