The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Huskies get blitzed
Purdue hands UConn second shutout loss of season
EAST HARTFORD — Well, frankly, what else did you expect?
Interim coach Lou Spanos to snap his fingers and transform UConn into a better team overnight? Saturday against Purdue, the lowly Huskies — new coach, new quarterback and all — didn’t look any different than they had before. In fact, it was more of the same as the Boilermakers manhandled them 49-0 at Rentschler Field.
It was UConn’s worst shutout loss since a 49-0 defeat to New Hampshire on Nov. 7, 1931.
“We feel awful,” said Spanos, who took over for Randy Edsall on Monday. “Our team feels awful that we’re not executing.
We’re just disappointed for our fans.”
The Huskies’ offense was barely functional, shut out for the second time in three games to begin the season. Not even a quarterback change helped. Sophomore Steven Krajewski, thrust into the starting role this week, threw for just 99 yards and an interception and rushed for a team-high 42 yards on 11 carries.
“Not where it needs to be,” Krajewski said, when asked to evaluate his performance. “There’s a lot of things I can do better and cleaner, and [I need to] take advantage of what the defense is giving us. I’ll get better, my teammates will get better, coaching will get better.”
The Huskies have been outscored 132-28 through three games, including 94-0 against
FBS opponents.
“It’s not up to par,” Krajewski said. “The standard needs to exceed what we’ve set for ourselves and for myself. We can get better.”
It’s been an emotional week for Spanos, whose father died of COVID-19 on Sept. 2. Players have been supportive of the former defensive coordinator, raving about his enthusiasm through adversity.
“Coach Lou’s done an amazing job,” Krajewski said. “He’s brought new energy to the building and to practice, and we appreciate that and the battles he’s fought this week. I think he’s handled the position nicely. We love him, and we’re going to support coach from here on out. We’ve put our trust in him.”
They remain hopeful a turnaround is possible.
“I’m confident that we can build off this and learn,” Krajewski said.
Purdue (2-0) made a mockery of the Huskies’ defense, carving them up for 562 yards and touchdowns on seven — seven! — consecutive drives. Junior Jack Plummer (19-of-24) threw for 273 yards and four scores before halftime, springing the Boilermakers to a resounding 35-0 lead.
Three of those touchdowns were hauled in by junior David Bell, who had six grabs for 121 yards.
“We did a poor job of staying in our lanes and executing,” Spanos said, who shouldered some of the blame for the defense’s lack of fundamentals. “We’ve got to have better practices, we’ve got to work better, I’ve got to put them in a better position.”
For UConn, there was a shade of optimism early. The Huskies drove into Purdue territory on four of their first five possessions (47, 44, 44, 32), but continually stalled. Two of those drives ended with punts, and another on a turnover on downs. Freshman Joe McFadden also missed a 49-yard field goal.
“We were moving the ball pretty well early in the game. We’ve just got to finish those drives,” Krajewski said, “and once we cross the 50 just execute and everyone go do their job. We can be better once we get toward that red zone.”
Plummer found tight end Payne Durham from 17 yards out to open the scoring with 5:06 left in the first, and things snowballed from there for the Huskies, who have now lost 33 of their last 39 games dating to 2017.
It won’t get any easier next Saturday when the Huskies visit 2-0 Army.
“We’re trying to get it right,” Spanos said. “They’re working hard and they’re trying hard. We’ll keep working hard and we’ll get ready starting tomorrow for our next opponent.”