First of all, who scheduled Connecticut as Rutgers’ Homecoming football opponent? A solid UConn team from your own league as the opponent on Homecoming? What happened to the days of Norfolk State, Ohio, Navy and Temple? Is R-U just looking for more trouble scheduling a rival on Homecoming? Like the Huskies needed any more incentive coming to Piscataway this Saturday? Homecoming is a day when you schedule a patsie to guarantee a win for all the alums coming back for a festive weekend. Now, UConn can spin this into…as football teams are famous for doing…”What a slap in the face. We are being dissed!!!” It doesn’t bode well for a Rutgers Scarlet Knight squad that desparately needs a win to keep alive a season that mathematically is hanging by a thread. Do the math. In order for Rutgers to finish with a winning season, the Knights have to run the table in the final six games in order to go 7-5…and that includes Big East games at nationally-ranked Pittsburgh and South Florida. One more loss gives R-U…at best…a 6-6 season and, although that would be enough to qualify for a bowl bid, there will be no post-season for the Knights in that scenario…just ask last season’s Louisville team.
Alright, with all that said, let’s tee it up for Saturday’s Connecticut game. The Huskies come in off a bye week at 5-1 with the only loss at North Carolina two weeks ago by the count of 38-12…the same Tar Heel team that won at Rutgers in Week-Two 44-12. The Huskies are 1-0 in the Big East, having won at Louisville 26-21. UConn also has solid non-conference home wins over Virginia and Baylor. So, it’s no suprise that the Huskies come into the Rutgers’ game as a one-point road favorite. In fact, I’m surprised it isn’t a wider spread…but let’s chalk that up to the Homecoming factor. UConn beat R-U last season up in West Hartford 38-19. Huskies’ star running back Donald Brown had a big game in that one…24 carries for 154 yards including a 33-yard touchdown run. Brown currently is the NCAA rushing leader, averaging 177.8 yards a game…and should have another big game this Saturday. Filling in at quarterback for Tyler Lorenzen, who’s out with a foot injury, is Zach Frazer who made his first start in the North Carolina loss. He’s adequate at best. Defensively, UConn ranks 33rd in total defense including nine interceptions…so it will be tough for Rutgers to roll up the points. So, I’m looking for Brown and the Huskies to spoil R-U’s Homecoming and win it 21-17…putting the Scarlet Knights’ season on life support heading into Pittsburgh the following Saturday.
