NC State football vs UConn odds, injuries, memory from last time two played in Raleigh
Jim Mora expected growing pains in his first year as head coach at Connecticut.
The pain has been there. The growing part is coming along very slowly.
The Huskies do have a victory over Central Connecticut. But games against Utah State, Syracuse and then Michigan on Saturday have all been losses as UConn has been outscored 138-34.
It was a long day for the Huskies in Ann Arbor, Michigan, trailing the No. 4 Wolverines 38-0 at the half and losing 59-0. Michigan converted all eight times in the red zone, seven for touchdowns.
The Huskies had one punt blocked and another returned for a TD. Quarterback Zion Turner completed four of 16 passes for 17 yards and UConn had 110 yards in total offense. Call it a long day on the road.
Next up for UConn: at N.C. State, now No. 12 in the AP poll.
The Huskies again will be a prohibitive underdog in the 7:30 p.m. game Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. They’ll again be facing a team with a lot of experience, offensive potential and defensive ferocity, one coming off a 27-14 win over Texas Tech that had some warts for the Pack but was solid enough overall.
Mora has been an NFL head coach and was the head coach at UCLA from 2012-17, twice winning 10 games in a season with the Bruins but being fired before the final game of the 2017 season.
At UConn, Mora said he has a “ton” of young players and intends to keep playing them, taking the pain with the hope of being able to grow from it.
“We’ve got to continue to work hard and believe we can make progress regardless of the score,” Mora said to reporters after last Saturday’s Michigan game.
Flashback: A dash to victory
The sight of UConn on the field at Carter-Finley Stadium could bring a nostalgic smile for Wolfpack assistant coach Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay.
Talk about a pleasant memory. In the Huskies’ only other trip to Raleigh, in October 2003, it was Aughtry-Lindsay’s 56-yard interception return for a score in the final seconds that won it for the Pack, 31-24.
“All I was thinking was, ‘Go, go, go.’ It was, ‘Run, run, run,’” Aughtry-Lindsay said after the 2003 game.
Aughtry-Lindsay, then a junior linebacker known as “Dash” to his teammates, also had a 48-yard fumble recovery for a TD and was named the national player of the week.
The Pack and Huskies have played only one other time, N.C. State winning 10-7 at UConn in September 2012.
Injury concerns
Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren did not have an update Monday on two players injured in the win over Texas Tech: running back Jordan Houston and nickel back Tyler Baker-Williams. He indicated one would come Thursday during his media availability.
Baker-Williams was seen wearing a walking boot after the game. Houston left the game in the second half after being hit in the head by a defender’s knee while being tackled after a run.
Cornerback Shyheim Battle also was held out of the Texas Tech game and Doeren was unsure Monday of his status for the UConn game. He said Battle would practice this week.
Vegas betting odds
The Wolfpack opened as a 38-point favorite. N.C. State was a 10-point pick against Texas Tech, winning by 13, and a 44.5-point pick against Charleston Southern in Week 2, winning by 52.
UConn was a 47-point underdog against Michigan, before its 59-point loss.
This story was originally published September 19, 2022 at 6:40 AM with the headline "NC State football vs UConn odds, injuries, memory from last time two played in Raleigh."
