The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Takeaways from another UConn loss
EAST HARTFORD — The most memorable moment of the UConn football’s team’s 34-33 loss to Utah State at Rentschler Field Saturday was the Aggies’ Ike Larsen blocking Joe McFadden’s extra point with 40 seconds left to preserve a 1-point lead.
What shouldn’t be forgotten is the Huskies had a 17-point advantage and complete control with 37 seconds in the first half only to see Utah State score on six consecutive possessions over the next 25:17 to erase the deficit and survive UConn’s final touchdown.
So at 0-5, the Huskies are now one of four winless teams in the country joining Nevada (0-5), Sam Houston State (0-4), and Virginia (0-5) as they head to Houston to take on Rice this Saturday. Buffalo got off the short list Saturday as it blocked a potential tying field goal in overtime to get a 13-10 win over Akron.
Here are five takeaways from UConn’s latest loss.
And a one or a two ...
Three times during the game coach Jim Mora gambled on fourth down and short yardage and converted twice — including a four-yard touchdown pass from Ta’Quan Roberson to Nick Harris on a fourth-and-2 in the second quarter.
But with a chance to regain the lead with a two-point conversion following an impressive 85-yard drive, Mora opted to kick for the tie. He said he contemplated going for two, but felt his team had momentum on offense off the drive and had regained momentum on defense following its only stop of the second half to play for overtime.
UConn would have momentum following the late touchdown in overtime. Also, the announced crowd of 21,227 — though it was probably only a bit more than half of that in the stands — was loud and being heard.
On the other hand, the Huskies were two yards away from taking a lead. With their offense having by far their best showing of the season, Mora could have shown confidence in it that it could get two yards. Also, Utah State wide receiver Jalen Royals was having his way with the UConn secondary, so could the Huskies get a defensive
stop? Finally, at 0-4, what do you have to lose playing for the win?
Take offense
In his first start for UConn in the 2022 season opener at Utah State, Roberson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on the Huskies’ second possession and was lost for the rest of the year. Perhaps inspired by the sight of the Aggies, Roberson was outstanding Saturday. In his third start of the season, he overcame an interception on the first possession to finish 23for-32 passing for 255 yards and two touchdowns. He had completions to nine receivers with Cam Ross leading the way with seven for 70 yards.
“He made plays,” Ross said.
UConn, which scored more than 17 points for the first time since its last victory against Liberty on Nov. 12, 2022, had 473 yards of total offense with running backs Victor Rosa (15 carries, 92 yards) and Cam Edwards (13 carries, 73 yards) leading the ground attack.
“Those guys had a day, those guys were running hard,” Ross said. “When they run like, when our O-line plays like that, it opens up a lot for the offense. That’s our backbone.”
Defense rests
In building its 17-0 firsthalf lead over the first 29:23, UConn limited Utah State to 22 yards of offense and at one point had a 100-0 lead in rushing yards. Jackson Mitchell and Chris Shearin recorded the Huskies’ first interceptions of the season and the offense turned them into touchdowns.
But in the next 25:17, Utah State — which came in averaging 37.8 points per game — went on drives of 75, 88, 48, 88, 75, and 68 yards to go ahead 34-27. Royals entered the game with 19 catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns but torched the UConn secondary for seven receptions for 185 yards and three scores. He had 101 yards after the catch and he made a reception every time he was targeted.
“We worked really hard this week and thought we had a good plan going into this one,” UConn defensive tackle Jelani Stafford said. “We started out strong but didn’t get the outcome we wanted.”
Utah State had three plays of 50 yards or more plus one where a 31-yard catch and a roughing the passer penalty led to a 46yard gain. The first was McCae Hillstead’s 63-yard touchdown pass to Colby Bowman that got the Aggies within 10 at halftime. The other three were a 31yard pass from Hillstead to Royals with Hillstead being injured and leaving the game due to a penalty, and backup Cooper Legas’ 71- and 52-yard touchdown passes to Royals.
“The one at the end of the first half was not a good call,” Mora said. “The second one was we got beat due to a busted coverage. The third one was our right corner got blocked and lost leverage. The fourth one a guy beat us. We simply got beat there. Four different things: bad call, bust, got blocked, got beat.”
Transfer talk
Three Huskies left the team in September. Running back Brian Brewton departed after carrying the ball three times the first two games. Linebacker Eriq Gilyard, a transfer from Kansas who also played at UCF, departed after playing in two games and making four tackles.
Then this past week junior running back Devontae Houston quit and is entering the transfer portal. Houston rushed for 538 yards, second to Rosa, and averaged a team-high 6.9 yards per carry as a sophomore. In four games this season he ran the ball 34 times for 161 yards. Against Florida International on Sept. 16, he had 19 rushes for 126 yards while also catching a 37yard screen pass from Roberson for a touchdown. But the next week against Duke he had only one carry for two yards, which Mora said was due to flulike symptoms.
By playing in only four games, Houston will retain two years of eligibility.
“It’s always a concern,” Mora said. “You want to know the reasons. It’s also a part of college football, an unfortunate part of college football. I want players to have success in life and football. I’m not a big fan of the ability of a player to play four games and then decide he doesn’t want to be with the team and have the ability to transfer and play at the start of next year.
“The portal and NIL are two things the NCAA is navigating its way through. Hopefully we can find a better way to do those things because I don’t think it’s healthy at all. We’re teaching people to take the easy way out.
The blow back would be a coach can leave at anytime. They don’t in the middle of the season. I don’t like it but it’s something you have to deal with.”
Road trip
After going 5-1 at home a year ago, the Huskies are 0-4 here. Their only road game was a 35-14 loss at Georgia State on Sept. 9. Now they play five of their last seven games on the road starting with Rice.
The Owls improved to 3-2 Saturday as JT Daniels’ touchdown pass to Landon Ransom-Goetz with 6:24 left proved decisive in a 24-17 American Athletic Conference win over East Carolina in Houston.
Daniels completed 18 of 32 passes for 232 yards with an interception. The 23-year-old was the 2017 national Gatorade Player of the Year at Mater Dei High in California, a school known here for producing UConn women’s basketball All-Americans Kaleena MosquedaLewis and Katie Lou Samuelson. He started his college career at USC, transferred to Georgia in 2020 where he was part of the Bulldogs’ 2021 national championship team, transferred to West Virginia for the 2022 season, then transferred to Rice earlier this year. In his five games for the Owls he is completing 62.4% of his passes for 1,469 yards and 13 touchdowns with four interceptions.