Huskies get blown out by Owls in finale
TEMPLE 57 UCONN 7
EAST HARTFORD — Every team comes into a season hoping to make history. Unfortunately, for the UConn football team that was exactly what the Huskies accomplished.
UConn’s 57-7 home loss to Temple resulted in the Huskies finishing the season by giving up the most points and yards in the history of Football Bowl Subdivision and I-A football.
The Huskies gave up 605 points and 7,409 yards and finished without a win in conference play for the first time since 1954.
The previous marks were 572 points by East Carolina in 2010 and 7,120 yards by Texas Tech in 2015. When Will Mobley connected on a 27-yard field goal with 3:35 left, it gave UConn a record 50.4 points allowed per game.
West Hartford’s Isaiah Wright opened the scoring with an 18-yard run, and after UConn responded with Keyion Dixon’s 4-yard touchdown reception, Wright took the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.
It was a sign of things to come as Temple ripped off 27 points in the second quarter. Todd Centeio capped a 92-yard drive with a 6-yard scoring run and on the next drive threw a 5yard TD to Chris Myarick. Will Mobley sandwiched a pair of 18-yard field goals around Christian Braswell’s
8-yard interception return.
Temple made it a 47-7 game on Jagr Gardner’s 26-yard scoring run.
Pindell came out of the game in the third quarter after throwing his third interception. He finished the season third in UConn history with 3,101 yards of total offense and with a UConn quarterback rushing record 1,139 yards as a senior.
Senior receiver Hergy Mayala finished tied for 13th in program history with 113 career receptions and 21st with 1,352 receiving yards. Freshman safety Oneil Robinson had an interception and his six tackles gave him 62 this season, a UConn record for a true freshman breaking Terrance Smith’s mark of 60 set in 2000.
The game marked the end of the careers of the seniors including Pindell, tight end Aaron McLean, receivers Tyraiq Beals, Kyle Buss and Hergy Mayala, center Ryan Crozier, linebacker Santana Sterling and defensive linemen James Atkins and Carlton Steer. Several redshirt juniors were also honored before the game as they won’t be back. Defensive tackle Kevin Murphy, kicker Michael Tarbutt and quarterback Brandon Bisack are among the players with remaining eligibility who are departing.
Wilbur Cross graduate Jaelin Robinson, who started at left tackle, was one of Temple’s four captains for the game.