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Fourth-quarter failure: Takeaways from UConn football’s 24-21 loss at Miami of Ohio
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- Fourth-quarter failure: Takeaways from UConn football’s 24-21 loss at Miami of Ohio
A strong start is critical in order to compete on the road, but a strong finish is required to win.
The UConn football team learned that lesson on Saturday after blowing an early 14-0 lead and suffering its second loss of the season at Miami (Ohio), 24-21.
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It was a promising start: two drives, two touchdowns, while the defense kept quarterback David McComb in check and made a strong 4th-down stop, limiting the RedHawks to 52 yards over their first two offensive series. But long-time coach Chuck Martin adjusted his approach, allowing his QB more freedom to get outside of the pocket and create. McComb opened up the offense with his legs and executed in the pass game while UConn 's offense fell out of sync.
After starting the game with three completions in a row (five, with two wiped due to penalties) and finishing the first quarter 4 of 6 passing, the pressure started to affect UConn QB Kalieb Osborne early in the second quarter. He was hit as he threw, fumbled, and his timing seemed to be off the rest of the way in his fifth career start.
The Huskies, now 2-2 for the third year in a row, have an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and respond in a big way with Syracuse visiting Rentschler Field on Saturday at noon.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's loss:
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Fourth quarter failure
UConn only made two first downs in the third quarter and three in the fourth, but there were two explosive plays that would've changed the game late if they stood.
First was a 38-yard run from Kenji Christian to open the final quarter. With the game tied at 21, it would've set the Huskies up in Miami territory with a strong chance at a go-ahead score. But the play was called back by a holding penalty on offensive lineman Tamarus Walker and UConn punted three plays later.
After Miami's 33-yard field goal to go ahead, giving the Huskies the ball with three minutes left, Osborne suddenly found his rhythm again. His connection with tight end Matt Ragan moved the ball to the Miami 38-yard line, where he threw what appeared to be a perfect ball to Javon Brown down the middle of the field. Brown's hand appeared to be held but no flag came out as the ball hit turf in the end zone.
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Game-winning drive comes up short as UConn falls at Miami, Ohio, 24-21
McComb impressed at QB
McComb, a sophomore making his fourth career start, didn't offer much in the first quarter and left the game with an apparent non-contact injury with 12:28 left in the fourth. But he owned the second and third quarters, breathing life into the RedHawks' offense and executing in impressive fashion as he led his team out of the early hole.
Opening the offense with the option game, McComb finished 19 of 29 with 312 passing yards and two touchdowns, and ran three times for a team-high 33 yards and another score. He benefited from some receiver highlights as Damarion Witten made a one-handed catch for 31 yards to get the offense going early in the second quarter, and tight end Brendan Loftus went up for his own one-handed snag, which turned into a 57-yard touchdown and tied the game.
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What was that?
The rewind button was put to use a few times on Saturday.
First was the strip sack on Osborne to start the second quarter. The ball slipped out as he began the throwing motion and innocently fell to the turf like an incomplete pass. Miami's Amariyun Knighten picked it up and handed it to UConn receiver Zy'marion Lang to get on with the next play.
But, after a lengthy review, it was determined to be a fumble, recovered by Knighten, and then fumbled again to Lang.
Another rewind was required after Renick Dorilas intercepted McComb later in the same quarter. It looked to be a clean play down the sideline, but a flag came out for pass interference. The rewind didn't help much as there didn't appear to be any illegal contact in what was shown on TV, but it was a devastating swing as McComb connected with Loftus for the long touchdown on the very next play to tie the game.
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Special teams
UConn didn't lose the game on special teams, but there were a few plays that could've changed it had they gone differently. First, it is worth mentioning that Mike Baker's opening kickoff went out of bounds for the second game in a row. His other three kickoffs were in the end zone for touchbacks.
The Huskies had a chance to add three points, which ended up being the difference in the final score, just before halftime. But freshman Jack O'Connor, after making the first two field goal attempts of his career last week, missed wide right from 46 yards.
UConn's offense was set back earlier in the second quarter, after Miami's first touchdown, when returner Julian Allen brought the kickoff out of the end zone and was taken down at the 8-yard line rather than taking the touchback, which would've allowed the offense to start at the 25. The Huskies gained 32 yards in the series, but still punted from their own side of the field and the RedHawks would score again.
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Ex-Huskies have mixed day
Saturday didn't go particularly well for the former Huskies dispersed around the country, either.
Bristol native Victor Rosa , now at Ohio , had the best day of the bunch as he ran for 87 yards and two touchdowns against Stonehill, bringing him to 189 yards and four scores on the season. It was an unfortunate scene for his former running mate as Norwalk native Cam Edwards, now at Michigan State, had to be carted off the field with an apparent knee injury after running four times for 16 yards in a loss to Nebraska .
Former coach Jim Mora and the chunk of the roster that followed him to Colorado State suffered a tough loss in a shootout against UTSA, falling 59-45. K'Saan Farrar, who started the Fenway Bowl last year, was 29 of 46 with 344 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception. Former running backs Mel Brown and Durrell Robinson ran for 90 and 43 yards, respectively, while Terrence Smith Jr., Jackson Harper and Juice Vereen provided some big plays in the passing game.
