Villanova @ Connecticut preview

With the first 10-loss season in school history safely in the rear-view mirror, Connecticut hopes to gets its program moving in the right direction this year, starting with Thursday's home clash against Villanova. The game offers an interesting matchup of quarterbacks between Huskies sophomore Bryant Shirreffs and Wildcats senior John Robertson.

Shirreffs sat out last season after transferring from North Carolina State and was just named the Week 1 starter over the weekend. "We're not going to heap too much pressure or praise on him at this point," UConn coach Bob Diaco said. "We're just going to let him be him. ... We're looking forward to turning the keys to the car over to him to let him drive and we're hopeful and optimistic and more than that an estimation that it's going to be done properly." Villanova, on the other hand, has an experienced and proven star under center in Robertson, who won the Walter Payton Award as the best player in the FCS a season ago. The Wildcats are ranked third in the FCS preseason coaches poll and should provide a solid test for a Huskies team that suffered nine of its 10 losses in 2014 by at least seven points.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3

ABOUT VILLANOVA (2014: 11-3) The Wildcats boast a star on both sides of the ball with senior linebacker Don Cherry captaining the defense, but coach Andy Talley is aiming to keep expectations low for his bunch, which has made the FCS postseason in five of the last seven years. "I think with two All-Americans, we've been a little overrated," Talley told reporters this week. "(A top-five ranking) is something we aspire to, but I'm not sure we have that kind of firepower. ... I think the only way to know is to get in a game and see how we do." Villanova returns 14 starters from a team that reached the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, where Robertson (concussion) could only watch from the sideline as the Wildcats' season ended with a three-point loss to Sam Houston.

ABOUT CONNECTICUT (2014: 2-10): Only a three-point home win against FCS member Stony Brook and a huge upset over UCF kept UConn from going winless in Diaco's first year at the helm. The Huskies knew from the start of 2014 that it was a rebuilding year, but hopes are a bit higher this time around. On offense, one player that the Huskies can count on is junior tackle Andreas Knappe, who will need to anchor the line with standout center Ryan Crozier (lower-body injury) out for the season. The defense features two capable linebackers in Marquise Vann and Graham Stewart, each of whom is on the Watch List for the Lombardi Award.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Villanova is 3-16 all-time against FBS teams with the most recent win coming in 2009 versus Temple.

2. Connecticut has not played in a bowl game since the 2010 season and has not posted more than five wins in any of the last four campaigns.

3. The Huskies' top returning receiver is Noel Thomas (26 catches, 305 yards, four touchdowns), while Max DeLorenzo is the team's leading returning rusher after posting 343 yards on the ground in 2014.

PREDICTION: Villanova 29, Connecticut 26