It is week four of the college football season and conference play begins for many teams around the country. Six Big Ten teams are playing head-to-head matchups this week, while Indiana finishes up their non-conference slate with a home contest against the UConn Huskies. After a disappointing performance against Ohio St. last week, the Hoosiers have one more chance to improve against a smaller opponent before they face the onslaught of the Big Ten the rest of the season.

Indiana has won 16 of their last 17 non-conference games, winning eight straight. The Huskies have lost 17 straight games against FBS opponents but hold a 2-0 series edge against the Hoosiers with a 34-10 victory in Stoors in 2003 and a 14-7 win in Bloomington in 2006.

How to Watch: Indiana Hoosiers versus UConn Huskies

WhoWeek 4: Indiana Hoosiers versus UConn Huskies
WhenNoon ET / Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019
WhereMemorial Stadium – Bloomington, Ind.
TicketsFind the Lowest Ticket Prices on SeatGeek
WatchBig Ten Network
StatsLive Stats
ListenIU Radio Network
SpreadIU -27, O/U 58

You can find the latest 2019 Indiana Football schedule (printable) here.

Meet the UConn Huskies

UConn is an FBS team that plays in the American Athletic Conference. Entering their matchup with Indiana, the Huskies sit at (1-1, 0-0) on the season with a 24-21 win against FCS opponent Wagner College and a 31-23 loss to Big Ten foe Illinois.

The team is led by Head Coach Randy Edsall who is (79-91) over two stints with the team from 1999 to 2010 and 2017 to now. Edsall previously coached for five seasons with Maryland from 2011 to 2015 and has an overall coaching record of (101-125)

Coach Edsall is a great football coach and he has a lot of pride in what he built there before he left and now that he’s back.

Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen on UConn

Offensively, the Huskies averaged 23.5 points and 338.5 yards per game with 47 total points and five touchdowns in their first two games of play. Taking care of the ball has been a trouble for Edsall’s team as they have given up the ball five times with three interceptions and two fumbles lost this season. On the defensive side of the ball, UConn allowed an average of 271.0 yards while giving up 27.5 points per game. Their defense has taken the ball away three times on the season with an interception and two fumble recoveries.

2019 AAC East Division Standings Entering Week 4

Source: ESPN.com

Get to Know the UConn Huskies

Key Offensive Players

The Huskie’s leading passer on the season is true freshman quarterback Jack Zergiotis out of Montreal, Quebec. He did not play in UConn’s first game as graduate student Michael Beaudry got the starting job but got hurt. Zergiotis received the job for the Illinois game and went 21-for-31 with 275 yards and two interceptions. The freshman held a completion percentage of 67.7 percent and a quarterback rating of 129.4.

According to Edsall, Zergiotis has won the starting job even with Beaudry being available.

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He’s got a little bit of the `it’ factor.

UConn Head Coach Randy Edsall on Jack Zergiotis

Junior running back Kevin Mensah rushed 50 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns the first two weeks of the season. He is carrying an average of 3.4 yards per carry with his longest being a 24 yard carry against Wagner. In the game against Illinois, Mensah could not provide large numbers to aid his team as he ran for just 27 yards on 14 attempts. He did provide one touchdown for the Huskie’s but it was not enough.

Zergioti’s leading receiver is in the form of freshman wide-out Cameron Ross. In his only appearance this season, Ross tallied in four receptions for 85 yards for a 21.3 average. Senior Ardell Brown and freshman Matt Drayton give Zergioti additional targets to move the ball downfield as both receivers combined for 13 receptions for 151 yards in two games. The Huskie passing attack stats show they are capable of moving the ball but have not conjured up points for the offense.

Key Defensive Players

Defensively, UConn has experience in the linebacker core. Senior D.J. Morgan leads the team in total tackles with 19 on the season. Along with those tackles, Morgan has 1.5 sacks, a pass deflection and a forced fumble with a recovery for the Huskie defense. Junior linebacker Ryan Gilmartin is second on the team with 14 total tackles and junior Omar Fortt is third with 13 and a pass deflection.

Sophomore Travis Jones leads the defensive line with six total tackles while sophomore Kevon Jones and sophomore Lwal Uguak each have five total tackles. UConn has six sacks on the season with 2.5 coming from Uguak.

The defensive secondary recorded one interception on the season for a 52 yard return from junior defensive back Tyler Cole who leads the secondary with 11 total tackles.

UConn’s defense has given up an average of 154.5 passing and 116.5 rushing yards per game during their first two matchups.