Coming off a difficult loss to Vanderbilt, the Connecticut Huskies return home to host the Iowa State Hawkeyes in a non-conference battle at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Friday night at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut (TV/Radio: ESPN2/WTIC1080-AM).
UConn (1-1) fought back from multiple deficits to take a late 21-14 lead over the Commodores in the fourth quarter, but Vandy responded with 10 unanswered points to capture its second win of the season while sending UConn to .500. Johnny McEntee was very erratic for the Huskies, tossing three interceptions while throwing for 99 yards. Lyle McCombs continued his strong play, rushing for 118 yards on 27 carries and Ryan Griffin had 47 yards on four catches.
Iowa State (2-0) has won its first two games of the 2011 campaign against in-state foes Northern Iowa (20-19 on Sept. 3) and Iowa (44-41 in 3OT on Sept. 10). In its last game, a triple-overtime thriller, quarterback Steele Jantz completed 25-of-37 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns and running back James White rushed for 35 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning four-yard score in the third overtime. Shontrelle Johnson ran for 108 yards on 18 carries and Aaron Horne reeled in four catches for 94 yards for Iowa State.
Through two weeks, Connecticut ranks 22nd in the nation in points against (13.5 PPG), 66th in both rushing yards (147.5 YPG) and points for (28.0 PPG) while ranking 98th in passing yards (166 YPG). Iowa State ranks 47th in team rushing yards (167.5 YPG), 52nd in passing yards (233.0 YPG), 57th in points for (32.0 PPG) and 86th in points against (30.0 PPG).
Friday's meeting between the Huskies and Cyclones is the second all-time, with UConn beating Iowa State, 37-20, in Ames on November 23, 2002. The win gave UConn a 6-6 record for the season, marking the first time in four seasons as an FBS team that it finished with a non-losing season.
UConn heads north to face Buffalo in its next game on Saturday, September 24th.
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