CONNECTICUT COLLEGE FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

⏩ Kevin Mensah, UConn and Kurt Rawlings, Yale: Mensah ran for 164 yards and five touchdowns in 5635 win at UMass giving him 19 career touchdowns. He now has eight 100yard rushing games in his career. Rawlings completed 21 of 31 passes for 388 yards and two touchdowns and had 67 rushing yards and two more touchdowns. He set Yale’s career marks for touchdown passes and total offense and his 455 yards of total offense was the third highest total in program history.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

⏩ Central Connecticut State: When a team posts a shutout and gives up less than 100 yards of total offense in a conference game, the entire defensive unit deserves to be honored. Three different LIU drives resulted in negative yardage. Tre Jones and Aiden Rosa had seven tackles each to tie for the team lead as LIU was limited to 84 yards on 52 offensive plays and just four of those were run on CCSU’s side of the field.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

⏩ Dane Borges, Sacred Heart: Was 3 for 3 on field goals, made all three extra points and had one touchback on seven kickoffs in the Pioneers’ 3633 overtime win over Saint Francis. He had made his last five field goals since missing on his first attempt of the season.

HOMETOWN FOCUS

⏩ Lucas Niang, TCU: Senior from New Canaan started at right offensive tackle as Horned Frogs had 435 yards of total offense in 3727 upset of No. 15 Texas. Niang has made 27 starts over the last three seasons and he helped TCU record its first win over a ranked team since beating Stanford, also ranked 15th, 3937 in the 2017 Alamo Bowl. Niang has been projected as a possible firstround pick in the upcoming draft.

BY THE NUMBERS

2: Touchdown catches by Wesleyan’s Matthew Simco in win over Amherst. Simco finished with 147 yards on five receptions to earn NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

2: Receptions of at least 70 yards by Sacred Heart’s Kezio Snelling this season including 71 yarder in overtime win over Saint Francis.

2: Interceptions by Wesleyan’s Danny Banks, the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week, in win over Marist.

2: UConn players listed on Pro Football Focus’ Team of the Week as Mensah and offensive tackle Matt Peart were both named to the second team after the win over UMass.

3: Consecutive 100yard receiving games for Coast Guard’s Justin Moffatt after having 116 yards against MIT.

3:: Touchdown receptions by Southern Connecticut’s Brandon SwainPrice against Saint Anselm. SwainPrice caught 11 passes for 192 yards.

8: Catches by WestConn’s Will Daniels who had 149 receiving yards in loss to Framingham State.

8: Central Connecticut players with at least one interception this season. Dexter Lawson and Kendall Coles lead the way with three interceptions each as the Blue Devils have 12 picks in eight games.

11: Tackles by Will Kearney and Chase Pratt in Wesleyan’s win over Amherst.

12: Tackles by Chris Outterbridge in Sacred Heart’s win over Saint Francis.

13: Tackles by Coast Guard’s Eugene Bizer in loss to MIT.

18: Consecutive losses by UConn football team with a true freshman starting at quarterback before Jack Zergiotis threw for 198 yards and a touchdown in a 5635 win over UMass to snap that streak. Before Saturday the last time UConn won with a true freshman starting at QB came when Dan Orlovsky threw for 180 yards with a TD pass in a win over Eastern Michigan in 2001.

35: Tackles by Connecticut natives in UConn’s first win over FBS opponent since 2017 led by Ridgefield’s Jackson Mitchell’s 13 stops and three tackles for loss by New Haven’s Travis Jones.

71: Yards on three special teams returns for Trinity’s Devante Reid in loss to Williams.

104: Passes that Yale’s Kurt Rawlings has completed to Reed Klubnik, the most of the 30 players who have caught at least one of Rawlings’ passes over the last four season. JP Shohfi is next at 94. Klubnik and Shohfi combined for 20 catches in win over Penn.

411: Yards passing by Southern Connecticut’s Jackson Ostrowsky in loss to Saint Anselm.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES FRIDAY

Navy (61) at UConn (26), 8 p.m.

SATURDAY

Central Connecticut (71) at Wagner (17), noon; Columbia (24) at Yale (51), noon; Franklin Pierce (17) at New Haven (43), 1 p.m.; Sacred Heart (44) at Bryant (27), 1 p.m.; Southern Connecticut (26) at Stonehill (43), 1 p.m.; Trinity (43) at Amherst (43), 1 p.m.; Williams (61) at Wesleyan (61), 1 p.m.; UMassDartmouth (42) at Western Connecticut (61), 6 p.m.