Week 0: Utah State vs UConn 8/27/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Utah State Aggies and UConn Huskies do battle Saturday afternoon in week 0 of college football action at Maverik Stadium. The UConn Huskies haven’t won more than 3 games since 2015 and will begin the Jim Mora era. The Utah State Aggies won 11 games last year and enter the second season under coach Blake Anderson. 

The UConn Huskies averaged 15.6 points and 263.8 yards per game last season. UConn allowed an average of 38.5 points and 451.8 yards per game last season. Steven Krajewski returns at quarterback after throwing for 1,200 yards, 7 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Keelan Marion and Kevens Clercius is a returning receiving duo that combined 700 yards and 8 touchdowns, while Nathan Carter led the Huskies with almost 600 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively, Jackson Mitchell returns after leading UConn with 120 tackles, Kevon Jones had 2 sacks and Tre Wortham had 2 interceptions. The UConn Huskies have a lot of returning production on both sides of the ball and are led by a proven, respectable coach. It’s hard to take UConn serious with the lack of success over the last decade or so, but there’s potential here for the Huskies to push for more wins than they’re used to.

The Utah State Aggies averaged 32.6 points and 449.1 yards per game last season. Utah State allowed an average of 24.4 points and 392.1 yards per game last season. Logan Bonner returns at quarterback after throwing for 3,600 yards, 36 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Utah State says goodbye to its top-three receivers but does return Justin McGriff who had 400 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. Calvin Tyler Jr. returns after leading the Aggies with 900 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. Defensively, Hunter Reynolds returns after 83 tackles, Byron Vaughns had 4 sacks and Ajani Carter led Utah State with 3 interceptions. Utah State has offensive playmakers it needs to replace and some key guys on defense, but the Aggies have their coach and quarterback who led the way to a surprise season. Utah State should once again be taken seriously in the MWC, as this is easily one of the more talented teams in the conference.

The Huskies are 16-36-2 ATS in their last 54 road games and 27-56-2 ATS in their last 85 games overall. The Aggies are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games and 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The over is 3-0-1 in Huskies last 4 games overall. The under is 4-1 in Aggies last 5 non-conference games.

The Utah State Aggies could easily blow the doors off UConn, as there’s a decent sized talent gap, and they have the quarterback to put up points in a hurry. UConn has a respectable coach who could help in recruiting and the future of the program, but this team has proven time and time again it’s not capable of hanging around with good programs. With all that said, this is a bit of a look ahead spot for Utah State, with Alabama on deck next week. We could easily see the Aggies get up by a comfortable margin and then take their foot off the gas. Kind of a win and get out situation. This is a lot of points. I’m leaning toward UConn and the free touchdowns.