Tag: UConn Huskies

Nov 27, 2021; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Clayton Tune (3) throws a pass against the Connecticut Huskies in the second quarter at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Clayton Tune helps No. 24 Houston cruise past UConn

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Clayton Tune threw a season high-tying four touchdown passes to lift No. 24 Houston to a 45-17 victory over UConn in a nonconference game on Saturday afternoon in East Hartford, Conn.

Tune completed 21 of 30 passes for 301 yards for the Cougars (11-1), who carry an 11-game winning streak into next Saturday’s American Athletic Conference title game against Cincinnati.

Tune also threw four touchdown passes in Houston’s 44-37 victory over SMU on Oct. 30.

Nathaniel Dell reeled in two scores for his third multi-touchdown performance of the season. He had six catches for 62 yards before exiting with an undisclosed injury.

Jake Herslow had five catches for 111 yards and a touchdown and Jeremy Singleton reeled in five receptions for 100 yards and a score.

Alton McCaskill rushed for 54 yards and his team-leading 16th touchdown of the season before sustaining an undisclosed injury late in the second quarter. He did not return to the contest.

UConn’s Steven Krajewski completed 9 of 19 passes for 79 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 53 more. Micah Leon relieved Krajewski and went 10-for-13 for 62 yards before injuring his left leg for the Huskies (1-11), who lost their final four games of the season.

McCaskill opened the scoring early in the first quarter after using a jump cut before finding daylight as part of a 31-yard touchdown run. The rushing score was his 12th in his last eight games.

Tune connected with Herslow on a 49-yard touchdown pass with 11:44 left in the second quarter before UConn answered just over five minutes later, courtesy of a 34-yard scoring reception by Kevens Clercius.

Undaunted, Houston cobbled together a nine-play, 58-yard drive that was capped off by Dell’s 6-yard touchdown reception.

Joe McFadden’s 25-yard field goal just before halftime trimmed UConn’s deficit to 21-10. However, Dell reeled in a 13-yard touchdown with 11:08 left in the third quarter.

Dalton Witherspoon’s 23-yard field goal and Tune’s 34-yard pass to Singleton staked the Cougars to a 38-10 lead late in the third quarter.

Houston pulled Tune to begin the fourth quarter, but Malik Dixon greeted Ike Ogbogu rudely by stepping in front of his pass and returning it 27 yards for a touchdown.

–Field Level Media

Sep 17, 2021; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; UCF Knights running back Mark-Antony Richards (6) runs the ball against Louisville Cardinals linebacker Monty Montgomery (7) during the second quarter at Cardinal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

UCF pushes to get back on track vs. UConn

Posted on | by Field Level Media

UCF aims to rebound after seeing its three-game winning streak come to a halt when it hosts UConn on Saturday in Orlando, Fla.

The Knights (6-4) surrendered a total of just 24 points in victories over Memphis, Temple and Tulane before being gashed by SMU last Saturday. The Mustangs recorded 631 total yards and 36 first downs en route to a 55-28 drubbing of UCF in Dallas.

“I’ve talked for weeks, we had been doing a good job of stopping the run,” Knights coach Gus Malzahn said. “When you don’t stop the run, it opens up everything.”

Former Auburn transfer Mark-Antony Richards rushed for a career-best 104 yards and scored twice to notch his first multi-touchdown performance of his career. The production was welcome with leading rusher Isaiah Bowser dressed but not participating due to an ankle injury.

Mikey Keene struggled last Saturday, as he completed just over half his pass attempts (18 of 35) for a mere 174 yards.

“Overall, it was a real disappointing loss,” Malzahn said. “We had three real quality wins (previously). We’ve got to learn from it, we’ve got to grow from it, we need to heal up a little bit, and we’ve got to finish this thing, the next two games, at home.”

The Knights put a perfect 5-0 home record on the line against UConn (1-9), which has been outscored 198-69 on the road this season. The Huskies fell to 0-5 away from East Hartford with a 44-7 loss to Clemson last Saturday.

Freshman Brian Brewton’s 99-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff accounted for the lone high point for UConn.

The Huskies, after all, totaled just 99 yards (including minus-17 rushing), went 0-for-14 on third down, committed two turnovers and were sacked six times.

The carnage was on full display for next year’s head coach, Jim Mora, who will work with the team as an assistant for the remainder of this season.

Interim head coach Lou Spanos, who worked under Mora at UCLA in 2012-13, dismissed his uncertain future at UConn as any semblance of a distraction.

“All the other stuff — you just focus on the task,” Spanos said.

–Field Level Media

Nov 13, 2021; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver E.J. Williams (6) is tackled by Connecticut Huskies defensive back Malik Dixon (31) during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

Clemson defense shuts down UConn in comfortable win

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Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei passed for 241 yards and a touchdown as Clemson scored 44 unanswered points en route to a 44-7 victory against UConn Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C.

The Huskies got a 99-yard kickoff return by Brian Brewton to open the game, but that was about the only threat UConn could muster against the Clemson defense, which held the Huskies to 99 total yards.

Clemson (7-3), which was playing its first-ever game against UConn (1-9), won for the fifth time in six games, but continued to be plagued by injuries.

Wide receiver Justyn Ross watched the majority of the game from the sideline on crutches and with a boot on his left foot, back-up quarterback Taisun Phommachanh suffered a shoulder injury and exited in the first half after rushing for a touchdown, and linebacker James Skalski had to be helped off the field with an apparent knee injury in third quarter.

Clemson plays host to Wake Forest next week with an ACC Atlantic Division title potentially on the line. Clemson has won each of the last six Atlantic titles as well as six consecutive ACC Championship Games.

Uiagalelei, playing just one week after suffering a PCL sprain at Louisville, struggled at times but wound up completing 21 of 44 passes for a season-high in yards.

After spotting the Huskies a 7-0 lead on Brewton’s kickoff return, Clemson reeled off 30 straight points to forge a comfortable halftime lead. Placekicker B.T. Potter had three field goals, including two 49-yarders that rank as his season’s best, and Will Swinney — the eldest son of Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney — had a six-yard touchdown run on a fake field goal for the Tigers’ first touchdown of the day.

Clemson also got a three-yard touchdown run from Phommachanh and a 32-yard touchdown strike from Uiagalelei to freshman receiver Beaux Collins.

The Tigers tacked on two more scores in the second half — a two-yard run by Phil Mafah and a 25-yard pass from Billy Wiles to Jake Briningstool.

Clemson outgained the Huskies 476-99, limiting UConn to minus-17 yards rushing, six first downs and an 0-for-14 effort on third downs. The Tigers recorded nine tackles for loss, including six sacks.

UConn quarterback Jack Zergiotis completed 9 of 21 passes for 90 yards and two interceptions. The bright spot for the Huskies was Brewton, who totaled 216 all-purpose yards, including 190 on kickoff returns.

–Field Level Media

Sep 11, 2021; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Jack Plummer (13) throws a pass under pressure from Connecticut Huskies defensive lineman Travis Jones (57) in the first half at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Jack Plummer, David Bell help Purdue trounce UConn

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Jack Plummer threw three of his career-high four touchdown passes to David Bell and Purdue punctuated a rough week for UConn with a 49-0 nonconference victory on Saturday in East Hartford, Conn.

Plummer completed 16 of 20 passes for 245 yards with no interceptions and Bell had six receptions for 121 yards to lead the Boilermakers (2-0). Neither played in the second half with Purdue leading 35-0 at the break.

It was a rocky debut for UConn interim coach Lou Spanos, who took over on Monday when Randy Edsall stepped down following losses to Fresno State and FCS member Holy Cross to start the season.

The Huskies (0-3) were outgained 562-223 as the Boilermakers registered their first shutout since 2011.

After a three-and-out on its opening drive, Purdue scored touchdowns on its next seven possessions.

Plummer’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Payne Durham opened the floodgates with 5:06 left in the first quarter.

Purdue’s 28-point second quarter included a 1-yard run up the middle by King Doerue and three TD grabs by Bell, who repeatedly made UConn tacklers miss while scoring from 30, 59 and 8 yards out.

Steven Krajewski made his first career start for the Huskies and was 14-of-25 passing for 99 yards and an interception. He also rushed for a team-high 42 yards.

Aidan O’Connell took over for Plummer to start the second half and continued the onslaught, tossing third-quarter touchdown passes to Mershawn Rice (15 yards) and TJ Sheffield (5 yards) to make it 49-0.

Joe McFadden missed a 49-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter for UConn, which was shut out for the second time this season.

It was the first-ever meeting between the Boilermakers of the Big Ten and the independent Huskies.

Purdue lost starting tailback Zander Horvath to an injury in the first quarter. He was helped to the locker room and returned to the sideline with a boot on his lower left leg.

–Field Level Media

Oct 24, 2020; Fresno, California, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs quarterback Jake Haener (9) attempts to throw the ball during the second quarter in a game between the Fresno State Bulldogs and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Bulldog Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiel Maddox-USA TODAY Sports

Returning from a year off, UConn big underdog at Fresno State

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Jake Haener looks to build upon an impressive first season with Fresno State on Saturday afternoon when the Bulldogs open the 2021 campaign against visiting UConn.

Upon transferring from Washington last year, Haener threw for 2,021 yards with 14 touchdowns for Fresno State, with just five interceptions. He had four 300-yard performances for the Bulldogs, who posted a 3-3 record in six games against Mountain West opponents.

Haener will have a bevy of familiar targets at his disposal as he attempts to exploit UConn’s secondary. The Bulldogs are listed as much as a four-touchdown favorite over the Huskies in the season opener.

Jalen Cropper led Fresno State receivers last season in catches (37), receiving yards (520) and touchdowns (five). He is joined by Keric Wheatfall (23, 363, one) and Josh Kelly (22, 330, one), among others.

Running back Ronnie Rivers averaged a robust 5.1 yards last season, finishing with 507 yards and seven touchdowns. He said he is inspired to do even better in this, his second senior season.

“My time at Fresno State wasn’t done,” Rivers said last month. “Last year, getting hurt in the Nevada game and then missing out on (the season finale against) New Mexico, I just felt like my time here wasn’t done.

“It kind of left a bad taste in my mouth and I didn’t want to end my time at Fresno State like that. I feel that I have more to accomplish and that was one of the main draws (to coming back to school). We have the potential to be a great team this year.”

The Bulldogs also boast depth in the backfield, with Jordan Mims (5.2 yards per carry in 2020) and Jevon Bigelow (4.1) returning with Rivers, as coach Kalen DeBoer welcomes back his top three rushers.

Last August, UConn became the first FBS program to call off its 2020 football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Huskies had been preparing to play their first season as an independent after leaving the American Athletic Conference. UConn went 2-10 in its final season as an AAC member in 2019 and is 6-30 in three years since Randy Edsall returned as coach.

“I think they have that mentality that there’s not many people giving us a chance,” Edsall said, per the Hartford Courant. “And they’re the group that has the chip on the shoulder: they have something to prove and they’re just waiting for the opportunity to prove it.”

Kevin Mensah is expected to be the workhorse after rushing for 1,013 yards and nine touchdowns in 2019. He also will play a role in the passing game along with wideout Cameron Ross, who returns after recording team-leading totals in catches (60), receiving yards (723) and touchdown receptions (four).

Edsall has yet to declare a No. 1 quarterback, however. Heading into the opener, Jack Zergiotis, who threw for nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2019, continues to compete with redshirt sophomore Steven Krajewski for the starting role. Both are expected to play against Fresno State.

–Field Level Media