Huskies face the Buffalo Bulls on Saturday afternoon

Media coverage

Television: CBS Sports Network (pxp) Jordan Kent (analyst) Logan Ryan (sideline) Keina Martin

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UConn game notes Buffalo game notes

Quick hits

The UConn Huskies host the Buffalo Bulls on Saturday afternoon at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field looking to improve to 3-0 at home this season. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:02 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

Saturday’s game marks the 22nd all-time meeting between the Huskies and Bulls, but the first since the 2013 season, a 41-12 home win for Buffalo. This will be the Bulls’ fifth trip to Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field and first visit since the 2012 season. The Huskies are 4-0 against the Bulls at their home stadium in East Hartford. UConn and Buffalo also have postseason history, as they met in the 2009 International Bowl in Toronto and the Huskies won. Another notable series is when UConn began its transition to FBS status. Their 23-0 victory over the Bulls at Memorial Stadium in Storrs in 1999 marked the program’s first victory over a Division IA (FBS) team.

The Huskies improved to 2-0 at home thanks to a 48-12 record victory over Florida Atlantic last Saturday. The UConn offense ran wild, rushing for a school FBS record 421 yards from running backs Durell Robinson And Mel Brown Each passed for 156 yards in the win. The 421 yards were the second-most rushing totals in program history (437 – vs. UMass, 1956). quarterback Nick Evers finished his career with 78 yards rushing on 18 carries and two touchdowns and completed 9 of 14 for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Last meeting against Buffalo

September 28, 2013 – Buffalo 41 UConn 12 – UB Stadium

Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata was 10 of 19 through the air with three TD passes for 177 yards as the Bulls beat UConn 41-12 in front of 20,952 fans at UB Stadium. UConn turned the ball over five times while Buffalo scored through the air, on the ground and on defense to take a 28-12 halftime lead. They blocked a field goal and scored 17 points off UConn turnovers. Licata scored a career-best three touchdowns; In the first quarter, he hit tight end Mason Schreck for a five-yard touchdown, added a 22-yard touchdown to Alex Neutz and a 36-yard touchdown to Fred Lee. Bulls running back Branden Oliver had 110 total yards, including 90 rushing yards and a touchdown. Husky senior kicker Chad Christen made field goals of 33 and 37 yards, but a 48-yard attempt was blocked in the second quarter. UConn junior wide receiver Geremy Davis was a bright spot for the Huskies with five catches for 102 yards. The Huskies finished the game with 27 yards rushing on 39 attempts.

Scouting the Bulls…

The Buffalo Bulls return to Connecticut and Pratt & Whitney Stadium for the first time since 2012 and earned a 23-20 overtime win in their conference opener at 23rd-ranked Northern Illinois last weekend. The win was the second against a ranked opponent in program history. Linebacker Shaun Dolac had 19 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss and an interception in the win. Dolac was a tackling machine early in the season, leading the country with 62 total tackles (15.5 per game) and tackles for a loss (2.4 per game). Offensively, quarterback CJ Ogbonna played all the snaps and threw for 542 yards and four touchdowns. On the ground, back Jacqez Barksdale has a team-high 194 yards rushing with one score. Place-kicker Upton Bellenfant has hit all five of his field goal attempts this season, including the overtime winner at NIU.

UConn vs. the Mid-American Conference…

The Huskies are 20-11 all-time against teams in the MAC. The Huskies have faced Buffalo more times than any other team in the league and have a 10-2 mark against the Bulls since 1999, when they joined the MAC. UConn is 3-0 against Akron, 2-0 against Ohio, 1-0 against Toledo, 2-2 against Kent State, 1-1 against Eastern Michigan, 1-2 against Western Michigan and 0-4 against Ball State. The Huskies have never played Bowling Green, Central Michigan or Northern Illinois. UConn also faced Temple (2-1) and UMass (1-0) when both schools were members of the conference. The Huskies have a future schedule with Ball State in 2025 (home) and three games with Buffalo in 2025 (away), 2028 (home) and 2029 (away).

Offensive notes from FAU… With running backs Durell Robinson And Mel Brown Both ran for 156 yards, the first time since the 2019 season that two Huskies ran for more than 100 yards (vs. UMass Oct. 26, 2019)… For Robinson, it was his first 100-yard rushing game in his career, in which he carried the ball 16 times and reached the end zone twice…For Brown, he surpassed his career high as he needed 21 carries to reach 156 yards while marking his third career 100-yard attempt… Brown also caught his first touchdown for the Huskies, a five-yard score Nick Evers in the second quarter…quarterback Nick Evers ran 18 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs… wide receiver Skyler Bell brought one pass for 43 yards, giving him eight receptions of more than 20 yards and three catches of more than 40 yards this season… The UConn offense totaled 542 yards in 81 games and scored 32 first downs, the first Times since the 2018 season that there were 30 or more first downs (vs. SMU – 34) … The Huskies held the ball in the 41-57 win and had scored points on eight of 11 drives … UConn had scoring drives of 10, 12 , 12 and 14 plays and had the longest scoring drive of the season, a 91-yard trip in the second quarter capped by Robinson’s first touchdown of the night…backup quarterback Joe Fagnano came in in the fourth quarter and threw one pass, a 33-yard touchdown Shamar Porterhis second TD catch of the season… R-Freshman running back Daniel Shaban came into the game on the final UConn drive and got his first carries of his career, running twice for six yards.

FAU defense notes… The UConn defense gave up a season-low 250 total yards in the win, just 87 yards through the air…The Huskies held FAU to just 1 of 8 on third down and stopped their only fourth down attempt…linebacker Tui Faumuina-Brown Led the defense with nine tackles… Another linebacker made five tackles and picked up his second career interception, his first as a Husky… Defensive tackle Jayden Simon posted a season-high five tackles, also tying his career high when he recorded a sack twice at Tulsa…The Huskies didn’t record a sack in the win, but did score seven quarterback hurries against Cam Fancher, who completed just nine of 15 with one interception .

Information about FAU special teams… place kickers Chris Freeman ended an 0-for-3 streak on field goal attempts, tying his two game-winning attempts. Freeman scored the game’s first points with a 34-yard field goal in the first quarter, his first as a Husky. He backed that up with a 35-yarder in the third quarter. Freeman is 19 of 19 extra point attempts this season and is the team’s leading scorer with 25 points…Punter Connor Support had the evening off because the Huskies didn’t have to pick up the one-sided win. The last time UConn went without a punt in a game was a 2004 game at Syracuse.

Another record day… The UConn offense had another record-setting day at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. UConn’s rushing attack ran wild in a 48-14 win over Florida Atlantic last Saturday. The Huskies rushed their way to a school FBS record 421 yards rushing, which also marked the second-highest rushing total in program history (437 – vs. UMass, 1956). The Huskies ran the ball 66 times, also setting a new FBS record for rushing attempts in a game. It was the fourth most attempts in a game ever.

Husky ranking… The UConn offense has allowed just one sack in four games and ranks sixth nationally in sacks allowed per game (0.25). UConn ranked ninth last season allowing just 12 sacks all season (1.00 pg) and ranked 29th in 2022 (1.38 pg)… UConn ground game manages 241.5 Yards per game and ranks 13th nationally…The offense ranks 35th in total first downs (86), 37th in total offense per game (447.5) and 38th in scoring (34.8) …running back Durell Robinson is 42nd in rushing yards (296) and 49th in rushing touchdowns (3) as a teammate Mel Brown ranks 52nd in yards per carry (5.6)… Defensively, UConn ranks 26th nationally in third-down defense (30.5%). On special teams, UConn’s kick return ranks 24th with an average of 24.29 yards per return…RB Mel Brown is the leader, averaging 28.2 yards per return, ranking sixth among NCAA leaders… Punter Connor Support ranks 26th with a punting average of 43.1 yards.