Story by
UConn Football: Huskies Fall Back to .500 With Road Loss
- Story by
- UConn Football: Huskies Fall Back to .500 With Road Loss
(Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)
The UConn Huskies football team fell back to .500 on Saturday, dropping a 35-26 contest against Air Force on the road in Colorado Springs, Colo.
With the loss, the Huskies are 4-4. The win moved Air Force to 6-2 and 4-1 at home.
Advertisement
Here's what you need to know. The takeaways are in no particular order.
Huskies get down early, but make it interesting
UConn trailed 14-0 in the first quarter, but ultimately showed a lot of resolve in coming back to within 28-26 in the fourth quarter.
But after that, Air Force went on a devastating 19-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up nearly 12 minutes of clock to punch in another score and earn the critical final score.
Gashed on the ground
Our own Jami Leabow wrote heading into this game that the Huskies needed to be able to stop the run to win this game, and they weren't able to do it.
Advertisement
Air Force, with one of those famous Service Academy offenses, ran a whopping 74 times for 366 yards (4.9 ypc). The Falcons only attempted three passes in the entire game, completing none of them.
This was truly throwback football in every sense of the word, and the Huskies just didn't have an answer. Kemper Hodges led the way with 35 carries for 200 yards and four touchdowns.
Time of possession disadvantages
As a result of the great running game, Air Force dominated the ball, having possession for more than 41 minutes in total and leaving UConn with it for less than 19.
Given the time disparity, it's amazing how much UConn was able to do on offense, but there ultimately weren't enough possessions for the Huskies to earn the win.
Advertisement
Offensive efficiency
While there weren't enough possessions, UConn was effective in the ones it had. Kalieb Osborne was 17-of-33 for 263 yards and two touchdowns while the team had 21 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. UConn had no turnovers and only punted three times. Kenji Christian continued to show his big-play ability on a long fourth quarter touchdown run.
The only blip was a missed extra-point, but that was it.
Up next
UConn will be back in action next Saturday (noon ET) for one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. The Huskies will welcome North Carolina to East Hartford as it marks Bill Belichick's first return to New England since before fired from the New England Patriots after the 2023 season.
The Tar Heels are 4-3 entering a game against No. 1 Miami on Saturday night.
