The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Learning hard lessons
Takeaways from UConn’s lopsided loss to NC State
The UConn football team was overmatched in its second consecutive game against a top 25 Power Five opponent, as NC State defeated the Huskies 41-10 Saturday night in Raleigh, N.C.
The shutout loss to No. 4 Michigan a week ago left UConn without its best offensive weapon, as leading running back Nathan Carter suffered a second degree separated shoulder.
And without Carter, the battered offense struggled for just 160 yards of total offense, 39 in the air and 121 on the ground. Meanwhile, NC State compiled 492 yards of offense primarily from quarterback Devin Leary’s 320 passing yards.
“Disappointing loss, it has been a tough three weeks for these guys, for this team,” UConn head coach Jim Mora said after the game. “But I have always been a glass is half full guy, and I think that the lessons we have learned and the hardships we have faced will just prepare us for our next seven.” Here’s what we learned Saturday:
DEFENSE OVERMATCHED
The NC State quarterback lived up to his preseason ACC offensive player of the year selection by completing 32 of his 44 pass attempts for 320 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
The one interception, made by linebacker Brandon BouyerRandle, was a 33-yard pick that set up a field goal for UConn’s first points of the game in the final seconds of the first half. It was the second of the season for Bouyer-Randle.
“He does a lot of different things for us, he plays inside linebacker, outside linebacker, he plays rush in, we move him around a lot,” Mora said. “He is a good football player. This is important to him, he came in as a transfer and immediatley assumed a leadership role with his work ethic and the way he plays the game. I am glad he is on our team.”
On the ground, UConn surrendered 169 yards on 33 rushes (5.1 yards per carry) to eight different rushers. Michael Allen led the charge for NC State with 66 yards on 10 carries.
The Huskies have allowed 49.3 points per game over its last three contests, with Saturday night being the lowest point total against during that stretch.
UConn is still rearranging its defense following the sudden departure of defensive coordinator Lou Spanos in the final week of fall camp.
“We played tighter, we changed up our strategy a little bit on the outside and played more bump and run rather than off or bail,” Mora said. “I thought for the most part the guys responded well...They didn’t back down, the corners challenged. The yardage was ugly, but there were some encouraging things there that we can build on.”
OFFENSE SPUTTERS
UConn’s lone touchdown came in the fourth quarter as true freshman running back and last year’s Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year Victor Rosa ran for his second 11-yard touchdown of the season. He currently leads the team in touchdowns.
Beyond that, the offense was lifeless. But that’s been the case all season, as UConn has lost Carter along with with starting quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson, and receivers Cam Ross and Keelan Marion.
“Well, we were playing one of the best defenses in college football on the road,” Mora said. “Without our starting quarterback, without our top two running backs and without our top two receivers, so I’ll start there. From there we didn’t do a good enough job with scheming to put our players in a position to make plays, and then we made some mistakes on the field.”
Noe Ruelas, another Connecticut product hailing from West Hartford, made his third field goal of the season in the second quarter after the UConn interception. The offense mustered 1 yard of offense on the three plays leading up to the 28-yard field goal.
The three points from the Ruelas kick were the first points UConn had scored since the third quarter of a 48-14 loss to Syracuse.
True freshman quarterback Zion Turner was accurate, completing 10-of-12 passes, but for just 39 yards.
Rosa led the backfield in Carter’s absence, taking advantage of his six carries for 43 yards (7.2 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Devontae Houston had 38 yards on eight carries.
“The guy that I was most impressed with down the stretch was Robert Burns,” Mora said. “The guy is just a man. It means so much to him and he ran hard. We ask him to do a million different things and he does them willingly, he is so unselfish. Then when he got a chance to carry the ball he made the most of it.”
Burns, who has been shuffled around on offense due to his versatility, had four carries for 13 yards.
After two first downs on the first two offensive UConn plays, the Huskies entered into an offensive void that would not see another first down until the fourth quarter.
MORE INJURIES
The injury issue for UConn has been absurd.
Every week the list of injuries to key players seems to pile higher and higher. On Saturday night, that unfortunate trend continued.
Sophomore defensive back Kaleb Anthony went down with a knee injury and will likely miss the remainder of the season.
“Obviously losing Kaleb (Anthony), who has been a starting corner here, you feel horrible for him,” Mora said. “He is a hard worker and he was making progress. His season is ended now, but we played Juan Rosario tonight, he had never seen a snap. We got to play Isiah Davis at corner and he is going to figure into the plans more prominently now that Kaleb is out.”
Rosario, a Stamford native
who attended St. Luke’s, is one of a large sample that is seeing the field for the first time due to injuries. Anthony had played in each game for the Huskies this season.
True freshman defensive back D’Mon Brinson, who saw game action for the first time against Syracuse and again against Michigan, did not travel with the team after spraining his ankle during practice on Thursday.
Another injury scare came during pregame when linebacker Ian Swenson went to the ground with back spasms. Swenson was able to play through the pain until the fourth quarter when he was removed.
“Ian (Swenson) ... fought through it,” Mora said. “He came back and tried to play, but then he couldn’t late.”
Swenson ranks third on the team with 37 tackles.
POWER FIVE STEAMROLL
Even without the injury cards that UConn has been dealt, the schedule over the past three weeks was going to be an uphill battle.
Two ACC opponents, a Big Ten opponent, and two of them are ranked within the top 25 (No. 4 Michigan and No. 12 NC State), all unbeaten opponents.
After its first win at home against Central Connecticut State, UConn was thrown into a gauntlet of opponents that ended with three predictable losses.
With the big three in the rear view, it is worth noting that the collective record of Syracuse, Michigan, and NC State currently stands at 12-0.
IT SHOULD GET BETTER
UConn (1-4) will return home next Saturday to host Fresno State (1-2).
Fresno State defeated Cal Poly 35-7 in its season opener, but has lost its last two to Oregon State (35-32) and No. 7 USC (45-17).
UConn will be the underdog again, but for the first time in three weeks perhaps the spread will not flirt with 40 points.
The Huskies have hobbled through the most difficult stretch of its schedule, with genuinely winnable games on the horizon following the three lopsided losses.
FIU (1-2), Ball State (1-3), Boston College (1-3), UMass (1-3), Liberty (3-1), and Army (1-2) are the teams that lie ahead. Any progress that has been overshadowed by the Huskies recent opponents could soon come to light.
“There is progress being made here,” Mora said. “We knew it was going to be a tough task. We knew it was going to be a process. We knew that we were going to play these three games, and I am going to tell you the truth, I am glad we played them. It is going to make us a better program in the long run.”