Sizzle then fizzle
Huskies defy expectations, but open Mora era with loss
The Jim Mora era of UConn football began with a loss on Saturday, featuring one of the program’s best first quarters in recent history followed by a familiar fizzle.
The Huskies traveled to Utah State as a massive underdog and ultimately lost 31-20, but defied expectations after an initial line projecting a near fourtouchdown loss.
“We didn’t come here to lose so we don’t feel good about that,” Mora said. “There is a real disappointment in that locker room. … They are disappointed, but we are not discouraged. I saw things today out of this group that lead to encouragement.”
In first 15 minutes UConn looked like a new team, grabbing its third 14-point first quarter lead in the last 10 years. In the second quarter the Huskies were outscored 24-0.
The UConn defense rebounded to hold Utah State scoreless in the third quarter as UConn cut the deficit to four points before an Aggies touchdown in the final minutes.
“We did a good job in the third quarter and unfortunately we didn’t close it out at the end,” Mora said. “I need to do a better job at the end helping those corners, we left them in a ton of man today and they had some really good receivers.”
UConn surrendered 281 yards in the air as Utah State quarterback Logan Bonner went 20-for-29 with three touchdown passes.
“Utah State is a really good football team,” Mora said. “I think their quarterback is outstanding. They have big fast receivers, they make plays in the run game, and we hung in there with them.”
The UConn offense was almost entirely dependent on running back Nate Carter, who set a career high with 190 rushing yards on 20 carries.
“We have a pretty good run scheme, and we have backs that can get tough yards for us,” Mora said. “(Carter) came out and started really fast, he broke