UConn played 7 home games, 5 on the road last year...
* At home they were fairly competitive despite their 2-5 record, scoring an average of 25.5 points, with the defense allowing an average of 26.7 points.
* They really struggled in their 5 road games. They went 1-4 with their offense scoring at an 18.8 clip while their defense was hammered to the tune of 40.6 points per game.
The two games at home for UConn last season that give me pause as a Cougar fan are their competitive efforts in September against Maryland and Michigan, two quality opponents whom they played tough:
The Huskies gave Michigan (#15 at the time but finished the season 7-6) all they could handle, going up 21-7 in the early 3rd quarter before Michigan rallied with 17 unanswered points to escape 24-21. The game was a defensive battle, as the Huskies only produced 206 yards of offense but forced Michigan into 4 turnovers and only allowed the Wolverines 286 yards. This game definitely is a warning sign to the Cougars: they have to take care of the football. The Huskies made things interesting against Michigan because of the 4 Wolverine turnovers. The fact that UConn had a +3 TO margin in this game and still lost does speak a lot to their inability to score against a quality defense.
I believe that Friday night for the Cougars may very well turn out similar to UConn's game against Maryland last year. The Terps (a solid ACC team, finished season 7-6) were in a battle with the Huskies in the first half, up just 13-10. Maryland seized control of the game in the second half, eventually going up 31-13 in the 4th quarter until UConn scored a TD late to make the game probably look a little closer than it really was, final score 32-21 Terps. I think there is a very good chance that Friday night could find BYU in a similar game, where it's competitive early but BYU wears UConn down in the 2nd half.
Time will tell... can Friday just get here already???!! This work week has been brutal.