UConn Coach Blocks Out Bowl Chatter Before BC Matchup
The UConn Huskies should ideally be celebrating their 4-2 overall record and bye week. After all, the Huskies are two wins away from bowl eligibility for the second straight season. And that means the bowl chatter has already begun.
There are progress reports, bowl projections and speculations that come with mid-October college football. In their last match against FIU, the Hukies won their third straight match, and this time with a 51-10 score.
With the defense forcing five turnovers and quarterback Joe Fagnano tossing four touchdowns, the bowl talks were inevitable. Despite all the noise, Coach Jim Mora is not buying into any hype. “We don’t look at records,” Mora said after a recent practice.
For a coach who’s built his tenure around discipline and consistency, it’s no distractions, just the next challenge. And that next challenge is a road trip to Boston College, where UConn is chasing its first regular-season win over a Power Five opponent since 2022.
As tempting as it is to peek ahead and think of bowl destinations, Mora has the Huskies focused inward.
“One of our goals is to try to win on the road,” he said. “We’ve been okay at it, but not good enough.”
Last season, the Huskies were 2-3 on the road, and this year they sit at a 1-2 record.
Perhaps that’s why the Huskies’ recent bye week ended up being less about celebrations and more about correction. Additionally, this weeks' matchup against Boston College carries some regional spice.
UConn’s only regular-season Power Five win in the Mora era came against the Eagles back in 2022, with Huskies winning 13-3. It was a home win that restored some faith in the program. However, the 2023 rematch didn’t go their way.
The Huskies fell 21-14 in Chestnut Hill after a late drive by BC chewed up the final six minutes of the clock. This time, Boston comes reeling. The Eagles sit at 1-5, struggling to find rhythm under their new head coach, Bill O’Brien. Yet Mora refuses to overlook them.
“They’re physical, hard-nosed, very well-coached...and it’ll be another hell of a challenge on the road,” Mora said. His NFL-hardened mindset keeps everything grounded in process, not prediction. In fact, the constant grind has shown on the field as well.
The Huskies have had tighter defense, steadier quarterback play, and sharper execution this season. Linebacker Donovan Branch summed it up best: “Coach Mora keeps that chip on us. Whatever we did before, it’s never good enough ”
That attitude has become the Huskies’ identity. So when they line up at Alumni Stadium this weekend, it won’t be about rankings or projections. It’ll be about execution. And if Mora’s mindset holds, the Huskies might just be on the road to a deep postseason run.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.