College football teams heading in opposite directions will face off on the East Coast this weekend when Air Force makes a trek to East Hartford, Connecticut, to face UConn on Saturday.
UConn (7-3) is bowl-eligible for the second straight year, and the Huskies’ three losses have been in overtime. They fell 27-20 in overtime against Syracuse and 44-41 to Delaware in OT earlier this season. They also came up short 37-34 in double overtime against Rice on Oct. 25, but they’ve since won two in a row, including a 37-34 upset of ACC program Duke last week.
The Huskies’ offense runs through quarterback Joe Fagnano, who has yet to throw an interception this season despite completing 68% of his passes and racking up 2,845 yards and 25 touchdowns. He completed 28 of 40 throws for 316 yards and three touchdowns against Duke.
UConn averages 36.9 points and 301 passing yards a game. The rushing attack is led by Cam Edwards, who has 866 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season. The Huskies rank No. 10 in the latest HERO Sports G5 Top 25 poll.
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Air Force (3-6, 2-4 Mountain West) went on the road and beat San Jose State 26-16 last weekend, but the Falcons are going to miss a bowl game for the second straight season unless they win their final three regular season games. They finished 5-7 last season after going 9-4 in 2023.
Quarterback Liam Szarka lifted the Falcons to a win last week. He found the end zone twice on the ground, adding to his Mountain West-leading 13 rushing touchdowns. He also threw his ninth touchdown pass against the Spartans, which is more than any Air Force quarterback has thrown in a season since Donald Hammond III threw 13 in 2019.
Air Force’s problem continues to be its defense, which is giving up the most points in the Mountain West (33 PPG). The Falcons are also last in the conference in total defense (457.7 yards per game) and passing defense (288.1 YPG), and they rank No. 9 in the 12-team league against the run (169.5 YPG).
Air Force vs. UConn Betting Odds
UConn is a seven-point college football betting odds favorite at BetMGM as of this writing, and the Over/Under is 63.5 points. The moneyline is at -250 for UConn and +200 for Air Force.
Air Force is 5-15 overall and 13-7 against the spread in its past 20 regular season games as an underdog on the road. UConn is 16-4 overall and 10-9-1 ATS in its past 20 regular season games as the favorite at home.
Air Force vs. UConn On TV
The non-conference game between UConn and Air Force at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut, will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on Saturday.
Air Force vs. UConn Prediction
I predict UConn wins 38-27.
Air Force’s offense has been clicking in recent weeks, and the Falcons have been in plenty of close games. Three of their six losses were by three points or less, and they knocked off Wyoming 24-21. I think Szarka isn’t going to be rattled and he’s going to get the ball to playmakers like Cade Harris and Quin Smith. The defense remains to be the problem.
I’m looking for Fagnano to air the ball out early and for UConn’s running game to punish the Falcons late. It will take a lot for Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun’s seat to get hot, but back-to-back years without a bowl game could start to make some in the athletic department begin to wonder what the future looks like.
