It’s week 0 of the 2022 college football season and that brings us a non-conference slate between one of the nation’s lone remaining independent programs and one from the Mountain West out in the Beehive State. The UConn Huskies are on the road as they try to start the year off right when they take on the Utah State Aggies Saturday afternoon. UConn finished the 2021 campaign 1-11 and clearly out of bowl contention. Utah State closed the season 11-3 and beat Oregon State 24-13 in the LA Bowl. That helped propel the Aggies to 24th in the final rankings for the 2021 season. These teams have met just once before as Division I opponents with Utah State picking up a 38-31 victory on the road on November 10, 2001.
UConn finished 2021 with a dismal 1-11 record with their lone triumph coming over FCS program Yale by six. The team saw Randy Edsall resign after just two games and then went 1-9 under interim coach Lou Spanos. This season, it will be former UCLA coach Jim Mora Jr. running the program in an effort to create some optimism for the Huskies. Already though, there are questions about the coaching staff as Spanos, who was the defensive coordinator for Mora at UCLA and remained with the team after last season, announced last week that he was stepping away for personal reasons. The program has not named a replacement for him. Mora Jr. has his work cut out for him as the Huskies were dismal on both sides of the ball this season and there is work to be done to even be considered relevant on the college football landscape.
The Huskies finished last season 116th in the FBS in passing offense with 164 .2 yards per game while they were 122nd in rushing offense with 100.8 yards per game on the ground. UConn was 129th in the FBS in scoring offense with 15.6 points per game while they were 123rd in scoring defense by allowing 38.5 points per contest. Tyler Phommachanh was 35 of 72 for 321 yards with one touchdown against two interceptions while getting sacked five times last season. He is the top returning QB from a season ago. Penn State transfer Ta’Quan Roberson (11 of 28, 85 yards, TD, two INT, 24 rush yards) entered via the transfer portal and is expected to be the starter here. Nathan Carter led the team on the ground last season with 125 carries for 578 yards plus a pair of scores. Robert Burns (12 carries, 45 yards) is likely the next back in line. Aaron Turner led the team last year with 33 receptions for 232 yards this season. Keelan Marion (28 receptions, 474 yards, team-high five TD), Cameron Ross (eight grabs, 60 yards), tight end B randon Niemenski (12 catches, 122 yards, TD) and Kevens Clercius (20 grabs, 260 yards, three TD) should also be factors in the passing game. Joe McFadden hit all 19 extra point attempts and 12 of 17 field goal attempts with a long of 47 last season.