The Duke Blue Devils and Connecticut Huskies are set to go at it on the football field this Saturday.
While it may not be the blockbuster matchup it would be if this took place on the hardwood, the game should still provide plenty of entertainment to both fanbases and serve as an appetizer of sorts before the two fanbases spend basketball season jockeying for position as one of the nation’s best teams.
We’ll see Jim Mora oppose first-year Duke coach Manny Diaz on the football field. Duke comes in on the road after winning an overtime thriller against Northwestern. The 26-20 win was made possible by an inspired performance from starting quarterback Maalik Murphy in the second half.
The Huskies, 1-1 on the season, lost to Maryland 50-7 in Week 1 but handled Merrimack 63-17 this past weekend, so they should enter Durham with some confidence.
UConn won’t be a cakewalk for Duke, but the game is more than winnable for Manny Diaz’s program. The Huskies have some talented players they’ll depend on, and we’ll look at what some offer below.
Joe Fagnano, QB
Jim Mora is set to let senior Joe Fagnano hold things down at the quarterback spot. Fagnano enters off the best performance of his Huskies career, in which he went 13/19 for 328 yards and tossed five touchdowns. He was at the controls as the offense put together a 35-point first quarter.
As a sixth-year senior, Fagnano isn’t lacking in experience. He’s less of a creator in the pocket as much as he is a distributor who gets the ball out quickly to his playmakers, allowing them to operate with the ball in their hands. Look for Duke to try to speed things up for him and force him to make plays out of structure.
Skyler Bell, WR
The Huskies’ most dangerous playmaker is Skyler Bell, a junior wideout from the Bronx, New York. He already has seven catches for 246 yards and a touchdown on the young season, and he’s led the Huskies in receiving yards for both of their first two games.
He transferred to UConn after three years with the Wisconsin Badgers. With the Huskies, he’s been able to showcase himself a little more. He is dangerous with the ball in his hands, has some burst, and is a capable route runner. Duke has the secondary options to neutralize him, but it will take a coordinated effort.
Jayden McDonald, LB
The most impactful Huskies defender is another transfer, Jayden McDonald. McDonald spent the majority of his college career at Troy and spent the spring with Indiana before ultimately landing at Connecticut.
He led Troy with 75 total tackles last season. He’s a smaller linebacker, standing just six feet tall, but he’s unfazed and uses his speed to make plays sideline to sideline. With Duke struggling to get its run game going, seeing a veteran linebacker like McDonald certainly won’t make things easier.