GAME PREVIEW: Central Connecticut at UConn
Quotes courtesy of Rob Gullo with the New Britain Herald.
“We're gonna go take our shot and see what happens.”
Coach Adam Lechtenberg was just being realistic. FCS vs. FBS games are always a challenge for the lower-division team to win; that’s why the FBS teams schedule them in the first place. But there’s something fun about an in-state rivalry match between divisions. But this isn’t the UConn team we’ve seen far too much of since the Big East imploded. These Huskies can play, and they present a far bigger challenge to the Blue Devils than the last time they met in 2022, a 28-3 UConn win. The Blue Devils face as tough of a challenge as they will all season when they travel to The Rent.
We were able to speak with Bobby Wilson of the T’N’T’ College Football Podcast, a Lambert Trophy voter and noted UConn specialist.
Offensively, Wilson wasn’t holding back in his praise for the Huskies. “Joe Fagnano is a poised signal caller who doesn't make mistakes. The RB room is four deep with Cam Edwards, Mel Brown, Victor Rosa, and MJ Flowers. WR Skyler Bell is a future pro and Raymello Murphy and Shamar Porter will be known soon enough.”
While the Blue Devils can punch back offensively with Elijah Howard, who should hit 4th place all time in rushing yards for CCSU this season, they’ll face challenges, too. All-NEC Blitz second teamer AlecZander McCoy is expected to be out, along with projected right tackle Eric Nunez. This is on top of the loss of 2024’s offensive line coach to the P4 and most of the rest of their offensive line, easily the NEC’s best unit last season. They’ll have to rebuild and have some emerging talent here to slow down UConn’s pass rush.
The plus side is that it’s also a rebuilding position for UConn, although there’s still strength in the defense. According to Wilson, “Defensively, our front six will see a lot of new faces. We got bigger and stronger up front and the LBs have talent in Tyquan King, among others. However, all those new faces could lead to a hiccup or two in the 3-3-5 set. The secondary is extremely deep and talented, led by Cam Chadwick.”
The strong secondary may mean CCSU will have to be creative to get WR Donovan Wadley the ball. The 2023 NEC Offensive Player of the Year returned to the league this season and will be expected to be a difference maker for the offense, a weapon on the outside that Quarterback Brady Olsen hasn’t had previously. Coach Lechtenberg likes the way Olsen’s developed, saying of his signal caller “Brady's leadership has continued to evolve. I asked him, you know, one time in the off season, is how are quarterbacks evaluated, and it's on championships. He's done that. We want him to continue to improve. He's got all the skill set, and he's tough, he's smart, and he's a leader.”
The real test for the Blue Devils will be if they can continue to create turnover opportunities. They were an incredibly opportunistic defense last season. It gave them, for lack of a better word, a mystique that turnovers would happen when Hard Hittin’ New Britain stepped on the field. Things just seemed to go their way at times last year. There’s a luck component to that, but there’s a skill component, too.
Week 1 is always ripe for upsets. With this strong Huskies team coming off of a Fenway Bowl victory over UNC, it’s a tall order. But CCSU is coming off of a championship season and shouldn’t lack confidence. We can’t wait for this one.
