American college football season
The 2021 UConn Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies competed as an independent, having left the American Athletic Conference following the 2019 season. They played their home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
On September 5, following the team's 38–28 loss to FCS-school Holy Cross, head coach Randy Edsall announced he would be retiring at the end of the season.[1] The following day, the school announced that Edsall had resigned effective immediately and defensive coordinator Lou Spanos was named the interim head coach.[2][3]
On November 11, former UCLA coach Jim L. Mora was named the school's 31st head coach beginning with the 2022 season. Shortly after the hire he helped serve as an offensive assistant for the remainder of the season.[4]
The team finished the season 1–11.
In June 2020, it was announced that UConn's other sports programs would be joining the Big East Conference. Since the Big East does not sponsor football and the American did not want to keep UConn as a football-only school, it was decided that the football program would compete as an independent.[5] The move to the Big East was primarily due to the university wanting to focus more on the men's and women's basketball programs, feeling the move to the American had hindered those programs.[6]
Schedule
Source [7]
Roster
Game summaries
At Fresno State
Holy Cross
Purdue
Purdue Boilermakers at UConn Huskies – Game summary
at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field • East Hartford, Connecticut
- Date: September 11
- Game time: 3:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Temperature: 80 °F (27 °C) • Wind: None • Weather: Sunny
- Game attendance: 14,187
- Referee: Stuart Mullins
- TV announcers (CBSSN): Ed Cohen (play-by-play), Randy Cross (color), and Josh Martin (sideline)
- Box Score
At Army
UConn Huskies at Army Black Knights – Game summary
at Michie Stadium • West Point, NY
- Date: September 18
- Game time: 12:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Temperature: 78 °F (26 °C) • Wind: NW 5 MPH • Weather: Mostly cloudy
- Game attendance: 25,030
- Referee: Jerry Magallena
- TV announcers (CBSSN): Jason Horowitz (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analyst) & Tina Cervasio (sideline)
- Box score
Wyoming
Wyoming Cowboys at UConn Huskies – Game summary
at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field • East Hartford, Connecticut
- Date: September 25
- Game time: 3:30 p.m.
- Game weather: Temperature: 73 °F (23 °C) • Weather: Sunny
- Game attendance: 12,538
- Referee: Timothy Hedgepeth
- TV announcers (CBSSN): Ed Cohen (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst) & Josh Martin (sideline)
- Box score
At Vanderbilt
At UMass
UConn Huskies at UMass Minutemen – Game summary
at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, Massachusetts
- Date: October 9
- Game time: 3:30 p.m.
- Game weather: Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Weather: Overcast • Wind: E 8 MPH
- Game attendance: 12,765
- Referee: Hank Johns
- TV announcers (NESN): Jay Burnham (play-by-play), Andy Gresh (analyst) and Matt Goldstein (sideline)
- Box score
The day before the game, interim head coach Lou Spanos, offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Frank Giufre, and tight ends coach Corey Edsall, along with offensive linemen Ryan Van Demark and Will Meyer, tested positive for COVID-19. Defensive line coach Dennis Dottin-Carter served as the Huskies' head coach for the game.[8]
Yale
Yale Bulldogs at UConn Huskies – Game summary
at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field • East Hartford, Connecticut
- Date: October 16
- Game time: 12:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 75 degrees Sunny
- Game attendance: 18,596
- Referee: Hans Wittelsberger
- TV announcers (CBSSN): Jason Knapp (play-by-play) & Ross Tucker (color)
- Box score
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at UConn Huskies – Game summary
at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field • East Hartford, Connecticut
- Date: October 22
- Game time: 6:02 p.m.
- Game weather: Sunny
- Game attendance: 10,698
- Referee: Mike Roche
- TV announcers (CBSSN): John Sadak (play-by-play) & Randy Cross (color analyst)
- Box score
At Clemson
UConn Huskies at Clemson Tigers – Game summary
at Memorial Stadium • Clemson, South Carolina
- Date: November 13
- Game time: 12:03 p.m.
- Game weather: Temperature: 59 °F (15 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: W 9 MPH
- Game attendance: 77,522
- Referee: Riley Johnson
- TV announcers (ACCN): Wes Durham (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (color analyst), and Taylor Davis (sideline)
- Box Score
At UCF
UConn Huskies at UCF Knights – Game summary
at Bounce House • Orlando, Florida
- Date: November 20
- Game time: 4:05 p.m.
- Game weather: Temperature: 73 °F (23 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: SW 14 MPH
- Game attendance: 37,454
- Referee: Tim Rich
- TV announcers (ESPN+): Conner Onion (play-by-play) & Leger Douzable (color analyst)
- Box Score
No. 24 Houston
Houston Cougars at UConn Huskies – Game summary
at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field • East Hartford, Connecticut
- Date: November 27
- Game time: 12:08 p.m.
- Game weather: 39 degrees Sunny
- Game attendance: 12,685
- Referee: Tom Omara
- TV announcers (CBSSN): Jason Knapp (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (color analyst), and Tina Cervasio (sideline)
- Box score
References
- ^ Scarborough, Alex (September 5, 2021). "UConn football coach Randy Edsall announces retirement, effective at season's end, after loss to FCS Holy Cross". ESPN. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ Kidwai, Aman (September 5, 2021). "Randy Edsall out as UConn head coach". The UConn Blog. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
- ^ Bonjour, Doug (September 7, 2021). "Day after Randy Edsall's departure, Uconn shifts focus to Purdue: 'Bit of a roller coaster'". CT Insider. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (November 11, 2021). "UConn hires former UCLA coach Jim Mora to lead football program". ESPB. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ Putterman, Alex (August 28, 2020). "A program in transition: As Huskies kick off season, independent future slowly snaps into focus". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ^ "Big-tome football not going over big for UConn". The Day. September 7, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ^ "2021 UConn Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ Wilson, Dave (October 9, 2021). "UConn Huskies interim football coach Lou Spanos tests positive for COVID-19, won't coach Saturday". ESPN. Retrieved October 10, 2021.