UConn finally tastes success, upsets Fresno State
EAST HARTFORD — After three demoralizing losses in a row, the UConn football team scored the first significant win of the Jim Mora era on Saturday with a 19-14 victory over Fresno State at Rentschler Field.
A 17-yard rushing touchdown by running back Devontae Houston with 2:20 left delivered UConn’s first win since the second game of the season against Central Connecticut State.
“Our running back situation is not great. Devontae (Houston) is playing with a shoulder sprain that a kid with less mental toughness might take a couple weeks off for,” Mora said. “But he understands as a running back that you are never going to be 100% healthy and I think it shows his commitment. He goes through the whole week with a red jersey on and doesn’t take a hit, then comes out today at 163 pounds and runs relentless.”
It was UConn’s first win over an FBS opponent since the Huskies defeated UMass 56-35 on Oct.26, 2019, snapping an 18-game losing streak.
Last season when UConn and Fresno State met in the season opener, the Huskies flew home with an 0-1 record in a 45-0 loss. But this year is different.
“It is critical (to see results) when you are trying to build something,” Mora said. “You always worry as a coach that if you keep suffering losses that a little bit of that belief will chip away. I didn’t see that out of our guys at all, but certainly a win like this helps them believe in what we are doing.”
The UConn defense was the bright spot, containing a Fresno State offense that has averaged 28 points per game.
Some takeaways from the game:
DEFENSE KEEPS IT CLOSE
After allowing 148 points in its last three games (average of 49.33 points per game), the UConn defense displayed the subtle improvements Mora saw on film earlier in the week.
While the offense managed19 points, the Huskies’
defense held Fresno State to 187 total yards of offense (157 passing and just 30 rushing).
Fresno State was unable to convert on any of its seven third down attempts and went 0-for-2 on fourth down conversions.
The UConn defense forced three turnovers on two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Fresno State only scored on one of its 11 drives, punting five times with two turnovers on downs.
Heading into halftime trailing 7-6, UConn displayed its best half of football since the last leg of its win over Central Connecticut.
Fresno State turned the ball over twice in the opening half. The Bulldogs were threatening at the UConn 30 on its first drive when quarterback Logan Fife dropped the ball and UConn defensive lineman Pryce Yates recovered the fumble. Fresno State threatened at the end of the half, on the UConn 30 again, but linebacker Ian Swenson picked off a Fife pass.
In the second half, the UConn defense continued to impress despite a quick Fresno State touchdown on its first drive.
Two minutes and 10 seconds into the second half, Fresno State marched down the field on six plays for 80 yards, ending with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Jordan Mims.
On UConn’s first offense drive of the half it brought the ball to the Fresno State 22-yard line, gaining 55 yards on six plays before Houston fumbled and Fresno State recovered.
The turnover did not lead to points however, as UConn defensive back Tre Wortham intercepted Fife a few plays later to set up the Huskies’ first touchdown.
After Houston’s late touchdown to give UConn a five point lead in the final minutes, the defense stood tall again. After a sack on third and 9 by Jackson Mitchell, an incomplete Fresno State pass turned it over on downs with 1:25 left.
EXPANDING THE OFFENSIVE PLAYBOOK
While true freshman quarterback Zion Turner was not particularly accurate in the passing game, there was a clear concerted effort to throw the ball down field.
“That was definitely the key point in this week’s game plan,” Turner said. “Coach talked to me in practice about how we have to push the ball down field and make plays. Tonight we were able to do that, but we still have to build on that and there is a lot of room for improvement.”
Turner was 8 of 15 for 130 yards with a touchdown and a fumble.
“I felt like through the game, for some reason his confidence started to grow,” Mora said. “I think you see
that with a lot of young players is that there is a breakthrough for them. We know that he is talented, we know that he is smart and we know that he is a great competitor. Sometimes something just needs to happen to trigger those things into existence.”
In the previous two games against No. 4 Michigan and No. 12 NC State, Turner’s longest pass went for just 12 yards. On Saturday, his longest pass went for 40-yards and he completed three passes for double digit yardage.
His longest two passes were both caught by redshirt sophomore wide receiver Kevens Clercius. The 40-yard reception came on third and 7 with 8:46 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“We have been practicing that, it was not his first time throwing a ball like that,” Clercius said. “We just transferred what we did in practice to the game and it worked.”
Turner’s second longest pass of the day for 36 yards came on a two quarterback reverse. Backup quarterback Cale Millen threw a screen pass to Zion Turner, who tossed it down field to Clercius.
“(Offensive Coordinator) Nick Charlton has been a guy in his career who has been pretty creative and has done things down the field,” Mora said. “So it was nice to get one down the field and I think any time a quarterback makes some throws for first downs it will help you, and it certainly helped Zion today.”
The next play was drawn up similarly, with Turner handing the ball off to Millen, who threw an incomplete pass in the end zone before UConn settled for Noe Ruelas’ second field goal of the game.
Turner also threw his first touchdown pass since the loss to Syracuse and fifth overall this season. The receiver was Aaron Turner, who had also caught Zion Turner’s touchdown pass in that Syracuse game.
The Turner to Turner connection came on a 5yard pass with 5:18 left in the third quarter to cut into the Fresno State lead 14-12 following a failed two-point conversion.
With UConn starting running back Nate Carter out for the season, it was Houston who played the hero with the late 17-yard touchdown to clinch the game in the final minutes. Houston took 23 carries for 105 yards with the touchdown and a fumble.
“We have a lot of guys down, I just knew they need me,” Houston said. “I feel like I am a person you can rely on no matter what, and every time I look at my teammates that is my motivation to keep going.”
Houston has been battling a shoulder sprain since the loss to Syracuse, and when asked how it feels he paused and replied, “Working hard in treatment, working as hard as I can in treatment.”
WEATHERING THE STORM
Despite UConn coming off three demoralizing losses, the team’s attitude has been consistent.
“These guys are a little bit different than guys I have been around and they have been through a lot,” Mora said. “Through the trials that they have been through, they have built a resiliency up. A game like this, to me, confirms who those men are. They are tough kids, they are committed, they care about each other, they care about winning, and they do the work it takes to win.”
UConn had not defeated an FBS team in 1,806 days and had been outscored 148-24 during the stretch against three of the top teams in the country (Syracuse, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 10 NC State).
“There was never any doubt,” Houston said. “Coach says every week, adversity is going to come whether you are up or down. We just stick to that, don’t ride the wave. Be consistent no matter what is going on, and that is our culture.”
WHITE OUT CANCER
UConn paid tribute to family and friends who are battling cancer with either pink or blue ribbon decals worn on the players white helmets.
“I think it was especially important today for them because there were about 50 of our players that were playing to honor somebody else,” Mora said. “I would say that we probably drew a little bit of strength from that. They put that helmet on and we talked about how the only way you can honor somebody else is to go out and fight like the people who are battling cancer have fought.”
“It means a lot, especially for our guys who had the ribbons on their helmet for everybody in their families who were effected,” defensive lineman Jelani Stafford said. “Me personally, my grandmother was actually diagnosed with lung cancer this week. So it was kind of a surprise and a little outrageous that it happened this week, but we played hard for our families and we did a good job.”
ROAD AHEAD
All of a sudden, the possibility for success this season shines a bit brighter.
UConn will travel to FIU (2-2) next Saturday, facing a team that lost to Western Kentucky University 73-0 a week ago, but defeated New Mexico State 21-7 on Saturday. The Huskies could potentially be the favorite.
“We talked about after the game about enjoying this game for the next 24 hours, but the key for us is to go back this up by having another good performance next week on the road at FIU,” Mora said.
Ball State, Boston College, UMass, Liberty, and Army will round out the second half of the schedule as UConn (2-4) will have a legitimate shot to climb back up to .500.