STORRS — There have been a number of times the night before a game where UConn football head coach Jim Mora, a skilled speaker, would ask Gordon Sammis to address the team.
“He has a really good way about him that draws the players in and captures their attention,” Mora said.
Sammis came to UConn as an offensive line coach in Mora’s first year and quickly established a mindset and a culture within his group that was evident to the entire team. When he speaks, he talks of “mindset points” to focus on each week, tells stories that stick and often makes analogies to boxing, tight end Alex Honig said.
“He just always impressed me. He’s very intelligent,” said Mora, who promoted Sammis to offensive coordinator ahead of this season. “You watch him and how his group played – the offensive line, when I came here, that was supposed to be one of the weaknesses and it’s turned into one of our strengths. It’s obviously because of the players but it’s also because of the way he’s coached the players and the way they’ve responded to his coaching. So you think: ‘Wow, he can do that with that group, can he do it with the entire group?’”
So far, the answer to that question has shown itself on the field.
UConn’s offense under Sammis is clicking in a way that it hasn’t the last decade and a half.
The Huskies enter Week Five against Temple (ranked No. 102 in the FBS in total defense) with three monster wins and a 158-34 scoring margin at home. The offense, with two very different quarterbacks involved because of injury, is 26th in the country in total yards per game (465.4) with 244.6 coming on the ground (11th in the FBS) and 220.8 through the air (No. 77).
Overall, the offensive unit under Sammis is 24th in scoring at 37.2 points per game. The last time UConn averaged over 30 points for a season was in 2009, when the 8-5 Huskies beat South Carolina in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.
“He’s awesome,” Honig said. “I love playing for (Coach Sammis) because you know what you’re gonna get from him. He’s really direct with you, but he’s also really fun during meetings. You know that when it’s time to go to work, he’ll be there and he will not cut you short. Especially during practices, we do what we need to do and he’s not worried about repeating plays, we want to be perfect as an offense and he gets us, we strive for excellence.
“He’s really a guy that makes it easy to play for (him) just because he’s so passionate about it.”
Temple’s road woes
Temple, ranked No. 126 of 134 FBS programs by CBS Sports and a 17-point underdog on Saturday, has not won a game on the road since Sept. 11, 2021 against Akron.
The Owls played their first two games of this season on the road at Oklahoma and Navy and neither loss was close. They beat Utah State 45-29 in the middle of a three-game homestand that was bookended by losses to Coastal Carolina and Army.
Keep an eye on…
UConn QB Joe Fagnano: If Nick Evers is healthy and ready to go, he will start. If not, which seems like the more likely option despite him getting back to practice this week after the head injury, Fagnano has shown he will be ready to go. The Huskies’ backup has thrown for 727 yards and 10 touchdowns, only one interception, while completing 57.9% of his passes.
Temple LB Tyquan King: A West Haven native, King has been one of the most impactful players on Temple’s defensive unit. He is second on the team in total tackles with 38, 17 solo, and leads the Owls with two sacks on the year. King went to Dillon High in South Carolina and spent two years at North Carolina A&T and one at East Carolina before joining the Owls.
Temple’s QB situation: Coach Stan Drayton began the season with R-Jr. Forrest Brock at QB, but Brock injured his wrist in Week Two at Navy. Classmate Evan Simon started the next three games and threw five touchdowns in the win over Utah State, but injured his shoulder after being sacked seven times last week against Army. Both QBs are reportedly not 100%, but it seems Brock (59.2%, 405 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT) might be the healthiest option to start Saturday.
Temple and the run: While any game against Army or Navy’s triple-option skews the statistics (Temple allowed 714 rushing yards in those games combined), the Owls’ defense has allowed at least 180 yards on the ground in each one of their games thus far. Offensively, Temple is ranked No. 123 in rushing offense behind an O-line that has allowed 17 sacks and 30 tackles for loss on the season.
What to know
Site: Rentschler Field in East Hartford
Line: UConn by 17
Time: 3:30 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network – Jordan Kent, Adam Breneman, Keiana Martin
Radio: UConn Sports Network from Learfield, Fox Sports 97.9
Online: The Varsity Network App – Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman, Adam Giardino
2024 record: UConn: 3-2, Temple: 1-4
Series: Temple leads, 14-6.
Last meeting: Nov. 30, 2019 – Temple 49, UConn 17 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
Pregame reading:
