Location: McGuirk Alumni Stadium, Amherst, Mass.

Kickoff: 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Records: UConn 7-4, UMass 2-9

Last game: UConn lost at Syracuse, 31-24, Saturday; UMass lost to Georgia, 59-21, Saturday.

Series: UConn trails the series, 38-37-2. The Huskies won the last meeting, 31-18, Nov. 2023 in Amherst.

Players to watch: UConn, r-jr. WR Skyler Bell (45 catches, 759 yards, 4 TDs), r-so. QB Nick Evers (97 for 179, 918 yards, 5 TDs, 5 ints), sr. QB Joe Fagnano (89 for 158, 1,299 yards, 15 TDs, 3 ints), r-sr. WR TJ Sheffield (46 catches, 443 yards, 3 TDs), r-fr. RB Durell Robinson (96 carries, 648 yards, 7 TDs), r-so. RB Cam Edwards (111 carries, 614 yards, 6 TDs), jr. RB Mel Brown (99 carries, 551 yards, 2 TDs), r-jr. WR Jasaiah Gathings (27 catches, 254 yards, 2 TDs), r-sr. LB Jayden McDonald (99 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 int.), r-sr. CB Jordan Wright (44 tackles, 1 sack), sr. DB Rante Jones (52 tackles, 1 int.), jr. DB D’Mon Brinson (43 tackles, 1 int.), Sr. LB Tui Faumuina-Brown (87 tackles, 4.5 sacks), r-so. LB Langston Hardy (37 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 int.), r-sr. DB Malik Dixon-Williams (54 tackles, 3 ints.)

UMass, r-sr. QB Taisun Phommachanh (132 for 234, 1,590 yards, 8 TDs, 6 ints, 107 carries, 317 yards), fr. QB A.J. Hairston (27 for 52, 346 yards, 2 TDs), r-jr. RB Jalen John (93 carries 505 yards, 4 TDs), so. RB CJ Hester (106 carries, 474 yards, 3 TDs), grad WR Jakobie Keeney-James (45 catches, 771 yards, 5 TDs), grad WR Sterling Gibson (24 catches, 203 yards,), r-so. WR T.Y. Harding (15 catches, 322 yards, 5 TDs), sr. LB Jalen Stewart (72 tackles 2.5 sacks), r-jr. DE Louce Julien (38 tackles, 5 sacks), sr. LB Gerrell Johnson (64 tackles), r-sr. DB Tyler Rudolph (49 tackles), sr. DB Te’Rai Powell (49 tackles, 2 ints)

Noteworthy: Three of UConn’s four losses came against Atlantic Coast Conference programs — Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse — by a total of 15 points.

Quotable: “As a program, we’re making progress,” coach Jim Mora said. “We’ve played three ACC teams to a total of 15 points and had a chance at the end of all of them to win. But the objective is to win, not to come close. And we’re not about coming close. … We’ve just got to find the way as a program to continue to close the gap on those types of teams.”

Four-down territory

• UMass is having a dreadful season. Head coach Don Brown was fired on Nov. 18 and replaced with interim coach Shane Montgomery, the offensive coordinator.

The Minutemen have lost three in a row. Their wins came over Central Connecticut State University, 35-31, Sept. 21 and Wagner, 35-7, on Oct. 26. Their running game is a bright spot, averaging 161.6 yards per game. They piled up 226 yards vs. nationally ranked Georgia.

Defensively, they hold opponents to 176.2 passing yards per game, good for 11th in the FBS.

• UConn has improved significantly on both sides of the ball this season.

The Huskies are averaging 31 points and 397.6 yards per game compared to 19.1 points and 326.9 yards.

Defensively, they’ve lowered their points allowed per game average from 29.8 to 22.2 points.

• During Tuesday’s weekly press conference, Mora didn’t name his starting quarterback for Saturday’s game. With starter Nick Evers out with an injury last week, back-up Joe Fagnano took over and went 27-for-48 for 270 yards and two touchdowns.

Fagnano has taken more snaps than Evers, who’s been injury-prone this season. He’s thrown for a team-high 15 touchdowns and has only three interceptions.

“You go into every game with the thought of who can give us the best chance to win this game, at every position,” Mora said. “And it’s always open competition. I feel really fortunate to have two guys that have gone out and shown they can win games for us. When we get to Saturday, we’ll be locked in to who it’s going to be and we’ll go out and support the heck out of that guy.”

• After missing his first three kicks this season, graduate Chris Freeman has been reliable. He booted his 16th FG of the season vs. Syracuse, giving him the most by a Husky kicker since 2015. He’s 16-for-21 overall, including 12-for-13 from under 40 yards. His longest kick is 53 yards.

Freeman is tied for sixth in the program record book for most field goals in a season

Extra points: UConn finishes regular season with third straight road game. … A win would tie for the fourth-most victories in program history. … Huskies are 1-3 on the road. … UConn offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis is a nominee for the 2024 Broyles Award, which recognizes college football’s top assistant coaches. … Connecticut ties on UMass roster: Taisum Phommachanh (Bridgeport, Avon Old Farms), Tyler Rudolph (Waterbury, St. Thomas More), Will Perry (St. Thomas More), Christian LeBrun (Avon Old Farms), Godson Ofonagoro (Milford Academy), Kamren Watkins-Hunter (Hartford), James Horton (Westport, Staples) and Michael Cooper (Wilton). DB coach Michael Livingston, a 2012 UConn graduate, served as a defensive student assistant for the Huskies.

— Gavin Keefe