GREENVILLE, N.C. – Holton Ahlers has a great chance to pick up his first win as a starting quarterback Saturday when East Carolina battles visiting Connecticut in an American Athletic Conference game. Ahlers has aired it out with the best of them over the last three games but hasn't been able to end the Pirates' losing streak, which sits at five straight games as they prepare to play the Huskies.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network. LINE: East Carolina -17
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The freshman from Greenville, N.C., has attempted 182 passes in the last three games and while his completion percentage is low (46.2), he has racked up 1,215 yards and six touchdown passes. "You see the incompletions and people think maybe he took a step back. He actually took a step forward, in taking care of his body and taking care of the ball," coach Scottie Montgomery told the media. "He's grown so much." Ahlers also runs the ball quite a bit, gaining 193 yards in the last three games and a team-best 441 yards on the season, which ranks second among freshman quarterbacks in the FBS to Nebraska's Adrian Martinez. David Pindell has thrown for 15 touchdowns and rushed for 10 more for the Huskies, losers of seven straight contests after a 62-50 setback to SMU last week.
ABOUT UCONN (1-9, 0-6 AAC)
Kevin Mensah has five 100-yard games in his two seasons with the Huskies, but he has yet to run for 100 yards in back-to-back games. The sophomore from Worcester, Mass., will have a chance this week after logging a career-high 184 yards last week against SMU as the Huskies scored 50 points for the first time since 2010. Mensah will face an East Carolina defense that is middle of the road in the FBS in terms of rushing yards allowed per game (162.8) and one that has permitted three 100-yard rushers this season.
ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (2-7, 0-6 AAC)
Trevon Brown, Blake Proehl and the rest of the receivers should have a field day against the Connecticut pass defense, which ranks 126th out of 129 FBS schools with 292.4 yards allowed per game. Brown has posted four straight 100-yard receiving games while averaging 10.3 receptions and 163 yards over that span. The senior from Wilmington, N.C., had nine catches for 92 yards in last season's 41-38 victory over UConn.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Pindell and Mensah have rushed for 100 yards in the same game three times this season for UConn, one of five teams in the FBS to accomplish the feat.
2. East Carolina and Connecticut have met four times - all as AAC foes - with the Pirates winning three of the four games.
3. Brown, who has 23 career touchdown receptions, sits one receiving yard shy of his second straight 1,000-yard season for the Pirates.
PREDICTION: East Carolina 41, Connecticut 23