Clemson plays host to the University of Connecticut this Saturday and it’s Military Appreciation Day. No offense to UConn but they are just what the doctor ordered. How so? This game will give the TIgers a chance to “recover”.
The 2020 football season has not gone the way everyone thought it would. The offense was not supposed to skip a beat when Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne left for the NFL. WRU lost Cornell Powell and Amari Rodgers to the next level, but Justyn Ross was coming back. Everything was going to be fine. The defense was returning a ton of starters and the 2021 recruiting class was going to add more firepower. As we all know, the offense has struggled but there are flashes. Wins have not come as easy as in the past, but like Dabo Swinney has said more than once “Winning is not easy in college football.”
The Tigers will host Wake Forest November 20th in a big game, but first, the UConn Huskies will pay Death Valley a visit.
The Huskies do not have a Travis Jordan, or a Malik Cunningham for Brent Venables to lose sleep over. QB Steven Krajewski will lead the Huskies onto the field Saturday for the first time in 3 weeks. UConn’s last game was October 22nd, a loss to Middle Tennessee State 44-13. The Huskies are 1-8 as an FBS Independent. Krajewski actually replaced Tyler Phommachanh as the starter in early October due to a leg injury. The name should sound familiar, he is the little brother of current Clemson quarterback Taisun Phommachanh. The freshman is not scheduled to see any action.
Krajewski has completed 56% of his passes for 938 yards in six games to go along with six TD passes and seven interceptions. HIs last outing against MTSU, he completed 21 of 37 for 237 yards and 2 interceptions. As a team, UConn rushed for a grand total of 67 yards. The leading rusher is freshman Nathan Carter, 5-9 194, who has rushed for 469 yards and one touchdown. The leading receiver is freshman Keelan Weaver, 6-0 197, with 23 catches for 420 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Needless to say, this is a game where most defensive starters will be out by halftime, turning the game over to the backups for valuable playing time. The term “We Too Deep” has been tested this year due to injuries, transfers and NFL departures. This game will provide an opportunity to get more players on the field.
The UConn defense should be well rested with three weeks off, but even that won’t be enough to make a difference. In 9 games, the Husky defense is giving up over 400 yards a game and is allowing 33 points a game. This game should get ugly fast and finally give the Clemson faithful a stress-free game before tackling Wake Forest.
This would be a great game to sit QB DJ Uiagalelei and let Phommachanh and reserve Hunter Helms run the ship but Dabo has said he won’t do that. Uiagalelei is still looking for that big game. He had a season high 220 yards against Louisville. He should have that by halftime. It will be a good time to heal nagging injuries, especially to the running back room. It will be interesting to see who actually plays this Saturday in the backfield. This will be a game where the “young stars” will shine when given the opportunity.
