Zergiotis turnovers leave spot in turmoil

Krajewski enters game on Huskies’ fourth possession

ORLANDO, Fla. – It took only three drives Saturday for UConn coaches to decide they’d seen enough from quarterback Jack Zergiotis.

Zergiotis threw an interception on his first pass of the night, then fumbled away what would have been his second attempt. On the third drive, he badly missed an open receiver on a screen pass, tossing the ball out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage.

When UConn came out for its fourth possession, it was redshirt freshman Steven Krajewski, not Zegiotis, leading the team’s offense.

At the time of his exit, Zergiotis was 1-of-3 for eight yards and two giveaways.

It wasn’t long, however, before Krajewski added to the turnover tally. On his very first attempt, he threw a pass directly at a UCF defender, who returned the interception for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Krajewski gave away a fumble for UConn’s fourth turnover of the game.

UConn’s quarterback job has already traded hands several times this season. Grad t ra n s f e r Mi ke Beaudry started the opener against Wagner but threw for only 158 yards and suffered a minor injury in the close win. Zergiotis showed promise the next week against Illinois but struggled at Indiana in the subsequent game.

Beaudry has traveled and dressed for each of UConn’s last three games. It is not clear whether he remains hurt.

Farewell tour begins

Saturday’s game against UCF marked the literal beginning of the end for UConn — as in, the beginning of the program’s final march through the American Athletic Conference.

Before the Huskies officially go independent next summer, they will face eight AAC opponents with whom they share considerable history. Next week, they’ll host South Florida, the school they beat to secure a Big East championship in 2010. Two weeks later, they’ll welcome Houston, the team they upset in 2015 for the program’s biggest win of this decade. Later, they’ll travel to meet Cincinnati and Temple, two opponents they’ve clashed with in annual matchups for much of this century.

UConn coach Randy Edsall indicated last week that the Huskies could continue to play certain AAC opponents, including UCF, after the program goes independent. The annual games, though, will end this fall.

UCF, of course, will hold a particular place in UConn fans’ hearts and memories once the Huskies move on from the AAC. Former UConn coach Bob Diaco famously tried to conjure a rivalry with the Knights, introducing the Civil ConFLiCT trophy, which UCF refused to accept.

Though its whereabouts are currently unknown, the trophy remains an object of fascination in both Connecticut and Florida. On Saturday, one UCF podcast host tweeted a photo of himself with what initially looked like the long lost artifact, but close inspection revealed apparent differences between his version and the original.

Donovan Williams out again

UConn tight end Donovan Williams missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury.

The Huskies’ next opponent, South Florida, trailed SMU 41-0 at one point Saturday on the way to a 48-21 loss.