For the first time this season, UConn has a realistic shot at celebrating a victory on Saturday.

The Huskies' chances of winning the Mega Millions lottery were about as good as beating nationally-ranked Central Florida and Boise State the first two weeks ... and the results backed that up.

UConn was outscored 118-24.

Coming off two lopsided losses, the Huskies host Rhode Island (2-0), an improved Football Championship Subdivision program, on Saturday (noon, SNY) at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.

The series is the longest in UConn football history, dating back to 1897.

The Huskies (0-2) insist they won't take their New England neighbor lightly. They desperately need a morale-boosting win and definitely can't afford a confidence-crushing loss.

"You've got to respect them because they're 2-0," quarterback David Pindell said. "They're a pretty good team. But, then again, that's a team that we can beat. It's a winnable game. Everybody knows this is a winnable game, but you can't sleep on them."

Given its current state and recent history of struggles against FCS teams, UConn has no right to be over-confident.

In the last five seasons, the Huskies slipped past FCS foes in Stony Brook (19-16, 2014), Villanova (20-15, 2015), Maine (24-21, 2016) and Holy Cross (27-20, 2017). Their last loss came against Towson State (33-18, 2013), which went on to reach the national championship game that season.

Rhode Island, which has suffered through 16 straight losing seasons, is off to its best start since 2005. Fifth-year coach Jim Fleming guided the Rams to a win at nationally-ranked Delaware and then beat Colonial Athletic Association foe Albany.

An active URI defense ranks 12th in the FCS in turnover margin at plus-three and turnovers gained with five while quarterback JaJuan Lawson is among the CAA leaders in several categories, including first in touchdown passes (five) and second in completion percentage (71.4). He's thrown for 487 yards and only had one interception.

"Lawson is a really good player," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "He's slippery back there in the pocket."

Defensive coordinator Billy Crocker faced Rhode Island many times during his 12 years as an assistant coach at Villanova. He's impressed by the 2018 Rams.

"They're a good football team," Crocker said. "I know Jim really, really well and he's done a phenomenal job there. And they beat some real good teams last year. In terms of the skill that they have, they have some skill that could be comparable to what is in this league."

"... You can see it on film right now, those kids are playing as confident as any Rhode Island team I've ever seen. And I played against them a lot."

UConn has dominated the series, winning 13 of the last 17 meetings  and posting more overall victories (51) against any opponent in program history. URI last won in Edsall's second year in his first stint in Storrs, earning a 26-21 victory in 2000. It was the Huskies' first season as a Division I-A team while playing as an independent during the transition period from Division I-AA.

With a roster loaded with underclassmen, it feels like the Huskies are starting over again this season. Most players shouldn't be playing as much as they are, Edsall said.

"It's just something that we've got to continue to work through," Edsall said. "And the only way you do that is by going out there every day and working and getting better. ... Sometimes there's going to be a little bit of frustration. But you hope each week it gets less and less."

"This is a massive rebuild ... But these kids are working and they're trying."

g.keefe@theday.com