The North Carolina Tar Heels are coming to East Hartford on Saturday, and UConn gets them in a familiar place: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. It’s the first of three straight home games for the Huskies, with kickoff set for 12:02 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
This one brings a few layers with it. It’s the fifth all-time meeting between UConn and UNC, and the first since the Huskies knocked off the Tar Heels 27-14 in the 2024 Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
North Carolina still owns the series, 3-1, and this will be its first trip back to the Rent since a 12-10 win in the 2009 season. It’s also UConn’s second game against an ACC opponent this year after the Huskies fell 42-41 in overtime to Syracuse.
UNC arrives with Bill Belichick in his second season as head coach, and Saturday will mark his first time coaching back in New England after his long NFL run with the Patriots. The game also brings former UConn head coach Bob Diaco back to the Rent. Diaco is in his second season as UNC’s defensive line coach and led the Huskies from 2014-16, going 11-26.
UConn is trying to shake off a 35-26 loss at Air Force last week. The Huskies were in a hole early, trailing 14-0 after the first quarter, and couldn’t finish the comeback after the Falcons put together a pair of second-half scoring drives that each lasted more than 10 minutes.
Kalieb Osborne threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Ryder Treadway and Alex Godavitarne for the first scores of the season for both players. Kenji Christian continued to give UConn a spark on the ground and through the air, finishing with 68 rushing yards and a touchdown on just five carries while also adding an 18-yard catch.
The last time these teams met, UConn left no doubt. On Dec. 28, 2024, the Huskies closed out the season with a 27-14 win over North Carolina in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park.
UConn ran for 210 yards that day, with Mel Brown leading the way at 96 yards and Cam Edwards adding 74 yards and a score. Joe Fagnano earned Offensive MVP honors after going 16-of-23 for 151 yards and two touchdowns, while Pryce Yates took Defensive MVP after posting six solo tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.
The Huskies held UNC to 206 total yards, just 96 on the ground, and only 10 first downs, while the Tar Heels went 0-for-9 on third down.
North Carolina comes in at 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC after a 38-35 home loss to No. 1 Miami last weekend.
The Tar Heels have dropped two straight heading into Saturday. Billy Edwards Jr. is steering the offense, completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,872 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions.
His top targets are Jordan Ship and Jelani Thurman. Ship leads the team with 45 catches for 587 yards and three touchdowns, and his touchdown total ranks 22nd nationally.
Thurman has 38 receptions for 461 yards and six scores, with his catch total ranking sixth among all tight ends in the NCAA.
On the other side of the ball, Derek McDonald leads UNC with 83 tackles, which ranks fourth nationally at 10.4 per game. Xavier Lewis has been a force up front, sitting ninth in the country with 7.0 sacks. The Tar Heels also stand out for discipline, ranking fourth nationally in fewest penalty yards per game at 32.4 and eighth in fewest penalties per game at 4.3.
UConn’s history against the ACC is a mixed bag, and the numbers show it. The Huskies are 10-30 all-time against the conference and are 0-1 this season after the overtime loss to Syracuse.
Last year, they went 2-1 against ACC teams, with that Syracuse loss, a 38-23 road win at Boston College and a 37-34 home win over Duke. UConn also snapped a six-game skid against the league with its bowl win over North Carolina.
The Huskies are 3-2 against Duke, 2-2 against Virginia and 1-3 against Wake Forrest, while also going 2-4 against Boston College since the Eagles joined the conference in 2005 and 0-6 against Syracuse since 2013. UConn has also played Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and NC State, and has faced Maryland, Louisville, Miami, Pitt, SMU and Virginia Tech in other stretches of those programs’ conference histories.
The Huskies have never faced Cal, Florida State or Stanford.
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