Connecticut Huskies vs Vanderbilt Commodores Game Preview and Prediction - 10/02/2021

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 2, 2021

Venue:  Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, TN 

Where to Watch:  ESPNU

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UConn +14.5, Vandy -14.5; Over/Under:  51 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UConn +14.5, Vandy -14.5; Over/Under:  51 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UConn +14.5, Vandy -14.5; Over/Under:  52 points

 

Connecticut Huskies:  0-5 (7th place, FBS Independents)

Vanderbilt Commodores:  1-3 (6th place, SEC East)

 

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Connecticut Huskies:  lost at home on Sep. 25 against the Wyoming Cowboys 24-22.

Vanderbilt Commodores:  lost at home on Sep. 25 against the Georgia Bulldogs 62-0.

 

 

 

UConn is coming into this game with a 0-5 record overall and they are 0-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. Their 5 losses came against the Fresno State Bulldogs, the Holy Cross Crusaders, the Purdue Boilermakers, the Army Black Knights, and against Wyoming in their last game. Tyler Phommachanh really struggled in that last game as he completed 19/39 passes for 171 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Nathan Carter led the team in rushing with 65 yards and 1 touchdown on 10 carries but, other than him they did not have much of a ground game. The receiving corps also had a quiet day as Aaron Turner led the receivers with 49 yards on 6 receptions. Jeremy Lucien led the defense with 7 solo tackles, 2 assisted ones, and 1 interception while Jackson Mitchell was right behind him with 6 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. Myles Bell also came away with 1 interception in that game but no one on the defense was able to get to the quarterback for a sack in that one. They have scored 71 points in their first 5 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 208 points against them. Their offense is averaging 219.8 YPG while their defense is allowing 465 YPG.

 

 

Vandy is coming into this game with a 1-3 record overall and they are 0-3 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. Their 1 win came against the Colorado State Rams while their 3 losses came against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, the Stanford Cardinals, and against Georgia in their last game. Their offense did absolutely nothing in their last game as they were shutout 62-0 by UGA. Mike Wright had an awful game as he completed 3/9 passes for 16 yards and 1 interception. Ken Seals also played in that game and completed 2/9 passes for 8 yards and 1 interception. Wright also led the team in rushing with 41 yards on 8 carries but they did not really have a ground game in that one. Their receiving corps had a very quiet day as Cam Johnson led the receivers with 10 yards on 1 reception. Max Worship led the defense with 8 solo tackles and 1 assisted one. Ethan Barr managed to come up with 1 interception in that game but no one on the defense was able to record a sack in the game. They have scored 50 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 147 points against them. Their offense is averaging 284.5 YPG while their defense is allowing 429 YPG.

 

Vanderbilt is coming into this game as a large favorite by about 2 TDs with the current betting odds. Both of these teams have been awful on both offense and defense but, Vandy is still a much better team than UConn. They have actually won a game this season and it was on the road whereas UConn is riding a 5 game losing streak this year, one that includes a loss to a team from the FCS, and also went winless in their last season so a lot of work needs to be done by them. This is finally Vanderbilt's chance to get a big win in front of their fans and crush a team after getting crushed themselves time after time by team after team. The best bet to make in this game is on Vanderbilt to cover this spread here at home.

 

Connecticut Vanderbilt Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 2, 2021 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Vanderbilt 42 UConn 7.

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Connecticut Huskies: 109-121 ATS in all games. 38-50 ATS as a road underdog. 22-32 ATS off a home loss.

Vanderbilt Commodores: 88-117 O/U in all games. 24-32 O/U as a favorite. 47-64 O/U in home games. 60-69 O/U after playing a conference game.

 

 

Connecticut Huskies:  M. Drayton (WR) out for season - Knee injury. C. Ross (WR) Out indefinitely - Foot injury.

Vanderbilt Commodores:  B. Bresnahan (TE) Ques Sat - Lower Body injury. R. Davis (RB) out for season - Toe injury.

 

 

Connecticut Huskies: Tyler Phommachanh is one player to watch in this game. He leads his team in passing and in touchdowns. UConn does not have a strong offense or even a strong team so he will have to step up and carry them in this game if they want to give themselves a chance at winning here. Look for him to see if he can answer the call.

 

Vanderbilt Commodores: Chris Pierce Jr. is one player to watch here. He leads his team in receiving yards this season. He will be able to find holes in this defense and have a big game so look for him to make some big catches down field to help his team score in this one.

 

“I have gotten to know Lou over the last two years and have great respect for him as a person and for his football acumen. There is no doubt that Lou has the respect of the players, and I look forward to supporting him and the team for the remainder of the 2021 season.” - David Benedict on Lou Spanos taking over for Randy Edsall as head coach.

 

 

"We came out flat, we turned the ball over, we made mistakes especially in the special teams area. And look. It doesn't matter who you play against. You're setting yourself up for disappointment. For me, this isn't about them. It's about us. It's about how we perform." - Clark Lea on the way his team played in their loss to Georgia.

 

 

 

WR Clercius, Kevens 

WR Turner, Aaron 

WR Marion, Keelan 

TE Rose, Jay 

QB Phommachanh, Tyler 

RB Carter, Nathan 

 

WR Sheppard, Will 

WR Pierce Jr., Chris 

WR Johnson, Cam 

TE Bresnahan, Ben  

QB Seals, Ken 

RB Griffin, Rocko  

 

Passing: T. Phommachanh (280)

Rushing: N. Carter (141)

Receiving: A. Turner (102)

Touchdowns: T. Phommachanh (2)

Sacks: T. Jones (2)

Tackles: J. Mitchell (19)

 

Passing: K. Seals (561)

Rushing: R. Davis (211)

Receiving: C. Pierce Jr. (187)

Touchdowns: C. Johnson (2)

Sacks: D. Davis (0.5)

Tackles: A. Orji (20)

 

Coaches:

Connecticut Huskies: Lou Spanos (Interim)

Vanderbilt Commodores: Clark Lea (1st season)

 

85 degrees F partly cloudy, 66% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 9 mph wind speeds S.