Connecticut Huskies:
After a surprising run to a bowl game in 2022, UConn came back down to Earth with a 3-9 record in 2023. Jim Mora is entering his third year as the head coach of the Huskies and will have a pair of new coordinators on his staff. OC Nick Charlton left for the Cleveland Browns after one season, but Mora stayed in-house, promoting OL coach and run game coordinator Gordon Sammis.
After calling the defensive plays the previous two seasons, Mora hired Matt Brock as DC. Brock spent the past four years on the Mississippi State staff and was promoted to DC prior to the 2023 season. UConn faced three ranked teams last year, but is unlikely to face any in 2024. Mora has a 9-16 record at UConn, but is 15-10 ATS with three wins as a double-digit underdog.
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Offense
Like most teams outside the top conferences, UConn was hit hard by the transfer portal. Starting QB Ta’Quan Roberson transferred to Kansas State, and TE Justin Joly and WR Cam Ross also transferred, taking over 1,100 total yards with them. Additionally, RG Christian Haynes was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks and C Yakiri Walker transferred.
The Huskies do return their top two rushers, Cam Edwards and Victor Rosa. Edwards and Rosa combined to rush for 1,168 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Joe Fagnano is expected to be the starting quarterback in 2024. Fagnano transferred to UConn from FCS Maine in 2023 and won the starting job out of camp last year, but only played two games before getting sidelined due to injury. The Huskies added a handful of wide receivers from the portal, including TJ Sheffield (Purdue), Skyler Bell (Wisconsin), and Jasaiah Gathings (Akron). Gathings led the Zips in receiving yards and was All-MAC second team last year.
Defense
In his first season not calling defensive plays, Mora hit a home run in his defensive coordinator hire. Brock has nine years of Power Five coaching experience.
The Huskies will have to replace LB and leading tackler Jackson Mitchell. Mitchell, who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Panthers, led UConn with 113 tackles. According to SP+, the Huskies return 58% of their defensive production from last season. DE Pryce Yates led UConn with 4.5 sacks last year and returns this year. The secondary returns three starters. In all, with an easier schedule, the defense could improve with eight starters returning and a number of additions from the transfer portal.
Outlook
The Huskies offense lost a lot of production from last year, but returned both starting running backs and Mora was busy in the portal to add more targets for Fagnano. The schedule softens up quite a bit from last year and includes a stretch of six straight home games. The addition of Brock to pair with a defensive-minded head coach should lead to success. The regular season finale at UMass could determine if the Huskies go Over their win total.
Pick: Over 4.5 Wins
