LIne: UConn -3 (O/U 51)

Opening kickoff: The Crusaders will look to start their season with a bang when they visit the Huskies in their season opener. UConn opened last week and got blown out, but Holy Cross hasn’t beaten an FBS team since winning against Army in 2002.

The Crusaders are favored to win the Patriot League for a third straight year while expectations are still low in Connecticut.

Three offensive keys:

1. Quarterback distribution: Both Matt Sluka and Marco Siderman are listed on the depth chart and Chesney has repeatedly said both will play. No better time than the the first game to see if either guy pulls ahead of the other. Keeping UConn off balance no matter who is under center shouldn’t be all that difficult.

2. Running game: With both Peter Oliver and Jonathan Abrams back the Crusaders need to pound the rock and let their guys in the backfield chew up clock. Clearly, Vegas thinks HC has a chance in this one, so minimize the time UConn’s offense is on the field.

3. Red Zone: If there’s anything that’s going to stop Holy Cross from pulling the upset today it’ll be an inability to score touchdowns instead of field goals. Need 7’s instead of 3’s today.


Three defensive keys:

1. Get off on third down: If Red Zone inefficiency will stop Holy Cross on offense, defensively it’ll be third down. Gotta get off the field early to minimize any confidence the Huskies’ offense might build on early downs.

2. Linebackers: The Crusaders have Liam Doran and Liam Anderson back which brings a boatload of leadership to the unit. That position group in particular may be the most important for Chesney and his team this season.

3. Don’t give UConn any life: This is sort of the same as the third down thing, but that program has been down for a while now and if Holy Cross can force turnovers, get off the field on third down and quiet whatever crowd may be there, they should have a real chance to win.

Final prediction: Holy Cross 31, UConn 25