Connecticut Football Season Preview For 2024

The main focus for Connecticut sports fans may not always be football, but when it is, the UConn Huskies are front and center as far as college football. Yale may have a certain panache with some fans, but Ivy League football has slipped considerably in the past few decades.

Connecticut Huskies Football

That support for Connecticut may have waned in 2014 after they won just two of 12 games, but second-year head coach Bob Diaco is hoping to triple that number during the previous football season in order to at least be bowl-worthy come December. The Connecticut Huskies won't be in contention for the American Athletic Conference (AAC) title in 2024, primarily due to the fact that their offense is coming off a woeful year that saw them average less than 16 points per game. The hope is that new offensive coordinator Frank Verducci can find a way to inject some juice into this unit.

The quarterback role is expected to be handled by Bryant Shirrieffs, after the former North Carolina State recruit had to sit out last year after transferring. Shirrieffs has the arm to throw deep and the mobility to move in and out of the pocket. That athletic ability may be a necessity if the offensive line has another bad year like 2014. Connecticut does return both tackles from that area, including gigantic Andreas Knappe.

The duo of Ron Johnson and Arkeel Newsome figure to handle most of the running back duties, with Johnson being the team's leading rusher last year. However, the fact that the yardage in question amounted to just 429 yards on the campaign is indicative of just how offensive the offense was last year.

Despite losing their top two receivers from 2014, the Huskies stand a good chance of improving, since have potential standouts in Noel Thomas, Thomas Lucan and Dhameer Bradley. The Connecticut defense of 2014 was forced to try and win games on their own due to the offense's impotence, but there is talent on this side of the ball. The team's top four tacklers and three other starters return.

That group of seven is led by linebackers Marquise Vann and Graham Stewart, who combined for 199 tackles, while Stewart paced the team with 10.5 tackles-for-loss on the year.

Up front, the group available shows to potential to improve, while the secondary has the safety duo of Obi Melinfonwu and Andrew Adams to protect against the pass. Joined by corners Jhavon Williams and sophomore Jamar Summers, the latter unit could rise to the level of importance with the team's linebackers. Regardless of exactly how much improvement is achieved during the course of the season, the best UConn fans can hope for in the next football season is a minor bowl bid that could have them home in time for Christmas.

Connecticut's NFL Fan Base: New England Patriots and New York Giants

NFL fans in the state can look north to New York or south to Massachusetts to form an allegiance, but the predominant choice for Connecticut sports betting players is with the New England Patriots. That's been especially true during the Bill Belichick era, and should be especially true with the team coming off a Super Bowl victory.

Prior to the birth of the Boston Patriots in 1960, the New York Giants had exclusive domination of the Connecticut fan base, as well as those in Massachusetts. Some areas, like New Haven and Fairfield still lean toward the Giants, but the remainder of the state is solidly behind the Pats. Part of the reason for New Haven's support is not only the pre-1960 connection, but also the fact that for most of two seasons, the Giants played their home games at the Yale Bowl. The temporary shift was due to the rehab of Yankee Stadium that began in 1973 and the construction of the first Giants Stadium.

Back in 1998, the Nutmeg State nearly became the new home of the Patriots, when the team's owner Robert Kraft actually signed a deal to move the team to Hartford in time for the 2001 season. Kraft's brief romance with relocation came after the Massachusetts legislature rejected new stadium funding. However, once the supposed move was announced in November 1998, it only took six months for Kraft to get the necessary funding to build Gillette Stadium and then back out of the deal, with the excuse being cited as construction delays.