UConn routed in opener
After a solid start, defense crumbles in a 45-0 loss at Fresno State.
So this is what 637 days of preparation looks like?
The UConn football program’s return to action after a year off, the debut as an independent, had the promise of a new day, but it was buried in an avalanche of broken plays, errant throws, defensive breakdowns and, well, all the things that have we have seen too often for too long.
The Huskies were no match for Fresno State in a game played 3,000 miles from Connecticut and, from what we heard on the telecast, on the surface of the sun thanks to the hot weather. Maybe Fresno’s shoes didn’t melt, as feared, but UConn’s resistance did. It looked as bad as the 45-0 final.
“That, of course, wasn’t the outcome we were looking for,” coach Randy Edsall said. “There were things that I liked, but there just wasn’t enough of those things.”
Okay, so UConn’s defense tackled well, looked good in the first quarter, but this was likely a function of Fresno State needing a few series to get its explosive offense on track. Once quarterback Jake Haener started hitting his guys in stride, the footraces to the end zone were futile: 61 yards for one TD, 86 for another. It was 31-0 at the half and the second half was superfluous.
The Huskies conventional approach, to establish the run and keep their defense rested in the 110-degree heat, went nowhere and the old gambit of withholding the name of their starting quarterback until game time proved pointless. Jack Zergiotis, who played much of 2019, was the only quarterback Fresno State could have prepared for anyway.
We can say this much: It’s only one game, and Fresno State is one of the better opponents on UConn’s eclectic schedule. An experienced team with a terrific quarterback, Haener, who was 20-for-26 for 331 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter with dehydration issues, the Bulldogs were just too much. Other games will be more winnable, if there is such a thing for a program that has lost 31 of its last 37, but how the Huskies fare against opponents the caliber of Fresno State will eventually make the difference between success and failure in future seasons as an independent.
So this program reboot could have been better. The Huskies could have offered more hope, more than just some good special teams play, looked like they belonged on the field with Fresno State for more than one quarter. But, no, nothing to see here. Not yet.
“It starts up front,” Edsall said. “We weren’t able to generate a running game, and when you can’t do that it makes it hard, in terms of what we
wanted to try to do.”
UConn’s offensive line was manhandled, never opening a crack between the tackles, and Zergiotis, when he wasn’t running for his life, was missing open receivers. The defensive touchdown that started the snowball effect, just going for a cooling imagery, could have gone the other way. Zergiotis’ arm may have been moving forward on the fumble that was returned for a TD by Arron Mosby in the first quarter. In the second quarter, after a well-conceived play-action,
Zergiotis missed a wide open Cam Ross. That would have come back due to a penalty anyway, but it was a bad omen. In the second quarter, Zergiotis overthrew a wide open Nate Carter.
For the Huskies to have a chance against opponents like this, they need their quarterback to hit the handful of big-play opportunities that present themselves in the course of a game. That could make up for other shortcomings, but Zergiotis, who evidently won a quarterback competition that was not particularly close, was 12-for24 for 61 yards before Steven Krajewski finished up. There is potential there; Zergiotis is raw, only a sophomore, and it’s obviously going to take an investment in time and patience.
“He’s going to be the quarterback next week,” Edsall said. “The quarterback takes too much blame when you lose, gets too much credit when you win. But, again, you’re never going to be good in football unless you get it done up front. Everybody else has to do their job, he’s just one of 11. We’re not going to start a quarterback controversy, we’re going with Jack, he’s going to get better, Steven’s going to get better, and everybody’s going to get better.”
With nothing to stretch or push the defense off the ball, UConn’s running game was stifled, 1.1 yards per carry. UConn’s defense, so historically bad in 2018 and 19, has a long way to go. Another 538 yards.
... Ah, a long way to go, we’ve heard forever, it seems. Progress remains so slow, you couldn’t detect the needle moving with the naked eye Saturday. Still more patience is required. Maybe next week. Holy Cross will be at Rentschler, and there will be believers, looking, squinting, reaching for a reason to cheer and feel good about UConn football.
“There’s no excuses,” Edsall said. “We weren’t good enough. I’m upset, and pissed, because we came out here to get a win and we didn’t that. I told the kids that’s what it’s all about. I love these kids, they’re going to do everything we ask them to do. They have to understand it’s a 60 minute game and we’ve got to be consistent for 60 minutes if we’re going to give ourselves an opportunity to win.”