5 things SMU fans need to know about UConn, like the Huskies' historically bad defense

Connecticut players stay warm in the rain on a heated bench during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Massachusetts, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in East Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Jessica Hill/AP


Here are five things SMU fans need to know about the Mustangs' Week 11 opponent, UConn:


In case you've forgotten...

SMU head coach Sonny Dykes hired SMU offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee away from UConn, where he had spent one season with the Huskies. In his only season in Storrs, Lashlee improved the Huskies' offense by leaps and bounds, as UConn jumped from 122nd to 49th in total offense and from 94th to 34th in passing offense.

Lashlee was the offensive coordinator of Auburn's national championship team in 2013. And that's good enough reason to hire him. But Dykes also cited Lashlee's familiarity with the American Athletic Conference, UConn included, as a bonus.

Just one season removed from that program, we must wonder how much of a leg up SMU will have thanks to Lashlee. Even if the Huskies have made significant changes, players' tendencies rarely change in less than 12 months.

They're (almost) winless

UConn, politely speaking, isn't having a good season. They're not great at football. Kevin Ollie was recently axed in basketball, and a similar fate might be approaching for Randy Edsall.

The Huskies' season has been so bad that the Connecticut Post has postulated blowing up the program. Not dropping from FBS to FCS, not becoming an independent school -- straight up ending the program.

UConn enters the week at 1-8. Granted, some of those losses (UCF, Boise State, South Florida, Houston, Syracuse) are forgivable. Losses to UMass and Tulsa (who are a combined 6-13) are less so.

UConn's lone win over FCS Rhode Island looms large.

History in the making

This article is quickly starting to sound like a UConn hate piece... not our intention.

UConn's defense is horrible. Historically horrible. And quite possibly on-pace to be the worst defense in Division-I football all-time. No, we're serious.

Let's break that down...

Despite upset win over Houston, latest bowl projections have little confidence in SMU

For starters, UConn has the worst scoring defense in FBS play. Through six weeks, the Huskies allowed 53.7 points per game. The last time any scoring defense was that putrid was in 1997 (UL Lafayette, 50.3). And while recent outings against South Florida, UMass and Tulsa have helped improved that number, the improvement is barely noticeable. UConn currently allows opponents 47.9 points per game, which ranks dead last in FBS. In fact, it's so bad that some FCS teams (including a few one-win FCS teams) are better in that department.

UConn ranks 125th in the nation (5th worst) in passing yards allowed per game (293.9), dead last in yards per completion (15.3) and passing efficiency defense. To make matters worse, UConn allows 330 rushing yards per game -- again, dead last in FBS play.

Statistically speaking, UConn's Week 2 loss against Boise State was the worst loss of any FBS team since 2000 in terms of yards differential. The Broncos out-gained the Huskies by 625 yards. Five freshmen and zero upperclassmen started that game defensively.

In UConn's season opener vs. UCF, the Huskies started 8 freshmen on defense.

We'll stop there. The more you learn about UConn's defense, the worse your opinion gets.

The Huskies are young defensively and a challenging schedule certainly didn't help matters. Both have contributed to the historically bad numbers.

And if we're being honest, SMU's defensive numbers in 2014 -- a season in which the Mustangs' only win came against UConn -- weren't much better. So, if you're having trouble imagining how bad the Huskies' defense currently is, think back to that 2014 season in Dallas... and then imagine that SMU allowed its opponents 200 more yards per game.

The Young and the Restless

UConn's underclassmen have eaten up lots of playing time this season. The Huskies have played 39 underclassmen in 9 games, the sixth most in the nation.

When a team plays that many young guns, it normally means they're doing pretty well or pretty poorly.

For example, No. 5 Georgia has played the most underclassmen in the nation this season (55). No. 2 Clemson ranks a few spots lower (41). No. 24 Auburn has played 40.

And then there's 2-7 Navy (30), 2-6 East Carolina (30) and 4-5 Tennessee (30) hovering in the top 20 of most underclassmen played.

Ground and pound

Now let's say something positive about the Huskies.

UConn is one of only 13 FBS teams to have multiple games with a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same contest. Running back Kevin Mensah and quarterback David Pindell rushed for 144 yards and 137 yards respectively against Rhode Island. Pindell out-rushed Mensah 197-120 a few weeks later against South Florida.

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