Connecticut (2-4) won their first in-conference game in over a year last Saturday against Temple. This Saturday, they play host to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (2-5) at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. Game time is set for noon EST, with the game being shown on ESPNU.
Connecticut finally got back in the AAC conference win column with a 28-24 victory last weekend. It was the best defensive performance they had had since their opening week win over Holy Cross. Even with that, they find themselves ranked as the 123rd scoring defense.
Luckily for the Huskies, they’ve had a bit of an awakening offensively with a faster offense in place. QB Bryant Sherreffs is mobile enough at QB and can make most of the throws to lead an AAC offense. He’s got plenty of wide receivers to pitch in when needed.
Tulsa has had two of the most polar opposite weeks any team could have. They got shellacked on the road against Tulane, then fired back with a 45-17 win over a pretty good Houston team. Their offense continues to be impressive, all though the full force of it seems to come and go. Still, they rank 31st in the country in scoring.
The other side of the ball is another story, ranking just one spot ahead of UConn in scoring defense. They come in as 6-point favorites on the Vegas lines.
We can all agree that both defenses are atrocious. But it comes down to who has the most firepower, and who’s made the most adjustments defensively. And the answer to that is Tulsa, even if it isn’t much of an answer.
Their performance against Houston showed they have the ability to shut down their opponents every now and then. UConn holding Temple to 24 is a job well done, until you see the Owls are ranked 117th in scoring.
The Huskies will score their own share of points, something they couldn’t even imagine doing last year. But Tulsa will likely impose their will from start to finish on this opposing D. They rely solely on their run game, and boy is it good.
D’Angelo Brewer is one of the best RBs in the conference, flashing a 5.0 YPC average and over 800 yards on the ground. His backup, Shamari Brooks, is not even a hint of a drop-off (6.1 YPC, 504 yards). That running game will give the Huskies fits, who’ve given up 170-plus yards on the ground in four games this year. Between these two, this could be the best running backs they’ve played all year.
Tulsa has not played well on the road this season, but they’ve also played highly-ranked Oklahoma State and 5-1 Toledo in the midst of that. UConn hasn’t covered their last five games against below-.500 teams at home, and has just one spread win this year.
Compare that to the fact the Golden Hurricane has covered its last six road games against below-.500 programs. Look for them to tack on to that streak this weekend.