UConn Football vs. Merrimack: TV info, numbers and what to watch

START: 12 o'clock

TV: WFSB, WWAX, UConn+

ANNOUNCER: Randy Brochu (commentary), Marc Robbins (color commentary), Joe Zone (sideline)

RADIO: UConn IMG Radio Network; Varsity Network App; 97.9 Fox Sports, WGCH 1490 AM, WAVZ 1300 AM, WILI 1400 AM and 95.3 FM, WICH 1310 AM and 94.5 FM; Sirius/XM Online Streaming, XM 382 (UConn)

ANNOUNCER: Mike Crispino (live commentary), Wayne Norman (color commentator), Adam Giardino (sideline)

RECORDS: UConn (0-1), Merrimack (0-1)

LAST WEEK: UConn lost at Maryland 50-7; Merrimack kept up with Air Force for a while before falling 21-6.

POINT DISTRIBUTION: UConn -15.5

Over/Under: 45.5

SERIES HISTORY: This is the first meeting between UConn and Merrimack on the football field.

DEPTH CHART: UConn

PRE-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE(S): UConn head coach Jim Mora

WEATHER FORECAST: East Hartford, Connecticut

Fun with numbers

3: UConn will be only the third FBS opponent Merrimack has ever played. They lost to Air Force last week and fell to UMass in 2023.

20: The Huskies have a 20-2 record against FCS opponents since joining the FBS in 2002.

14: The Huskies have a 14-6 record in their home openers at Rentschler Field.

237: Merrimack allowed Air Force only 237 total yards, including 166 yards on the ground.

141: Skyler Bell caught five passes for 141 yards in the season opener against Maryland.

8: Amir Renwick recorded a career-high eight tackles in his very first start for the Huskies.

51: Since the end of the 2023 season, UConn has added 51 new faces to the roster.

What you should pay attention to

Getting the ship back on course

Every single aspect of UConn's football performance needs to look better. Offensively, the Huskies need to establish the run and utilize all of their passing options. Defensively, they need to prove they can dominate the line of scrimmage against an inferior opponent and consistently get stops. Allowing multiple touchdown drives would be bad.

UConn should never overlook an opponent, but Merrimack is a particularly weak team. After moving up from Division II to the FCS level in 2019, the Warriors aren't far from playing in the NE-10 with teams like SCSU, Post, Bentley and Assumption.

After four years in the NEC, including a league-record 6-1 mark in 2022, Merrimack is playing as an FCS independent this season before joining the MAAC next year. Last year they went 5-6 (4-3 NEC) with losses to UMass, St. Francis, Wagner, Lehigh, Duquesne and No. 5 Holy Cross. Merrimack edged Sacred Heart, which beat UConn 31-3 last season, 17-7.

In his two seasons at the helm of Storrs, Jim Mora's Huskies have easily dispatched FCS opponents, beat CCSU 28-3 in his first year and defeated Sacred Heart last season. Mora needs to do it again, and perhaps even more forcefully this third time around.

Who starts as QB?

Head coach Jim Mora has reiterated that there is no quarterback controversy, but we still don't know the status of starting quarterback Nick Evers after he left the game against Maryland due to a blow to the head. If he's out, the starter will likely be Joe Fagnano, who was solid in the cleanup against Maryland.

Tackling

I'm not sure how much better a team can get if they weren't good at tackling from the start and struggled all last season, but against an FCS opponent that is obviously smaller, slower, and has fewer scholarship players, UConn should be able to hold its own physically. Maybe it was a bit much to ask to cleanly hit Maryland's offense, but the Huskies' defenders shouldn't have as much trouble getting into better positions against this opponent. The tackling should look a lot better, if only for a week.