Holy Cross Crusaders (0-0) vs. UCONN Huskies (0-1)
September 4, 2021 12:00 pm EDT
The Line: UCONN Huskies -2.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The UConn Huskies meet the Holy Cross Crusaders Saturday in week 1 college football action from Rentschler Field. This will be Holy Cross’ first on-field activity of the 2021 campaign. Last season the Crusaders took the Patriot League championship. As for the Huskies, they already played Fresno State in their first game. In that one, UConn lost big in a shutout. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Holy Cross managed to get in four games during the spring, going 3-1 overall and 2-0 in Patriot League play. That finish left the Crusaders in first place in the North Division. Holy Cross took the Patriot League Championship with a 33-10 win over Bucknell on April 17.
The Crusaders didn’t fare so well in the FCS Playoffs First Round game, however. They matched up against South Dakota State and couldn’t get anything going in a 31-3 blowout loss that capped the season on a sour note.
Over on the UConn side, they’re just now getting a taste of life as an independent. The Huskies’ last year in the American Athletic Conference was 2019, where the school skidded to a 2-10 finish. UConn didn’t get to play in the 2020 season due to the pandemic.
The Huskies got their first action of the 2021 season in this past weekend versus Fresno State. In that one, UConn was down 31-0 at the break and couldn’t score in an eventual 45-0 defeat. QB Jack Zergiotis went 12-of-24 for 61 yards, and Kevin Mensah had 11 carries for 31 yards.
Check back for the current trends in this matchup once they’re released.
PICK: I’m likely going to take a stab on Holy Cross. The Crusaders had a great ground game in 2020, posting a 178.8 yard average. As far as passing offense, it was there when it needed to be and helped balance out the running attack. Holy Cross retains a good core group of key players and should put up good numbers again.
As for UConn, they couldn’t get anything going in their opening game, notching just 107 total yards and 1.8 yards per play. The Huskies gave up a whopping 538 yards and 25 first downs to Fresno State as well. There’s really nowhere for UConn to go but up; however the first game was anything but encouraging.
