Oct. 1—STORRS — Owning a winning record through five games is hardly cause for celebration.
Even for a UConn football program that’s suffered its share of losing seasons.
The Huskies are taking what coach Jim Mora calls their “limited success” in stride.
“We haven’t earned anything yet,” senior linebacker Jelani Stafford said Tuesday. “Everyone is excited. The media is excited. The fans are excited. But at the same time, we’re only 3-2. So we’ve got a lot of work to do moving forward and we’re just going to keep pushing and keep working every day.”
UConn can surpass last year’s victory total with a win over Temple (1-4) on Saturday afternoon (3:30) at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. It will be third in a stretch of six straight home games.
Winners of three of their last four games, the Huskies have built up some momentum. Their average margin of victory is a convincing 41.3 points.
The UConn players remain focused on the task at hand. They’re blocking out any positive buzz around the program, just like they did with the negative noise.
“Something that we’ve been focused on this week is don’t listen to the noise,” senior defensive back Rante Jones said. “Guys who have been here, we know not to listen to the noise because the noise was like trash talk before and now it’s a pat on the butt.
“We can’t listen to that noise. … It might seem positive, but those are the same people who were talking bad about us, so we can’t buy into the noise.”
There are encouraging signs on both sides of the football.
A potent offense is averaging 465.4 yards and 37.2 points per game compared to 326.8 yards and 19.08 points last season.
Defensively, they’re allowing 298.6 yards and 22 points per game compared to 408.5 yards and 29.87 points last season.
Mora has been in the coaching business far too long to be satisfied with their impressive start.
“We practiced well today, and that’s what we have to continue to do,” Mora said. “Some of the success we’ve had — and I think it is pretty limited success, quite frankly — has been rooted in the work that we’ve been doing and the attitude that we have and the attention to detail and creating the right mindset.
“So we just have to stay on that path.”
As Mora points out, the Huskies have yet to reach their potential.
Take the offense, for example.
UConn starting quarterback Nick Evers has been in and out of the lineup due to injuries. He left last week’s Buffalo game after suffering a head injury. Backup Joe Fagnano, who leads the team in passing yards (727) and touchdowns (10), has played fairly well when called upon to fill in.
Evers practiced with the team on Tuesday.
“He looks good,” Mora said. “He’s in great spirits.”
But Mora declined to say whether Evers will play on Saturday.
The Huskies have a balanced attack, averaging 244.6 yards on the ground and 220.8 in the air. They’re deep at running back, with Durell Robinson, Mel Brown and Cam Edwards all rushing for at least 280 yards. They also have playmakers like wide receiver Skyler Bell, who’s averaging 23.8 yards per catch and 100 yards per game.
Mora believes the Huskies are capable of doing so much more.
“Statistically, it looks pretty good, but when you break it down and look at the finer points and the details, we’re not close to where we need to be yet, to be more consistent,” Mora said. “I think there’s some lulls in our intensity. We’re up and down a little bit too much.
“And so it’s a constant quest to get better every week, every practice and every play of every practice, and that’s what we’re trying to focus on.”
