We were talking this morning about hitting the wall. Well, after leading 14-3 at halftime, we sure hit the wall, didn't we?
Our defense held tough and didn't surrender a touchdown all night. But a blocked punt made it 14-13 and then a Husky picks up a Larry Smith fumble and runs 64 yards for a touchdown for a 21-14 lead. At that point, midway through the fourth quarter, our offense had zero first downs in the second half.
Talk about hitting the wall. There was no way we could move the ball. No way we could win.
But then Casey Hayward, one of the playmakers that James Franklin is always talking about, breaks on the ball, gets the pick and darts and weaves 50 yards for the touchdown to tie the game. Wow.
And then when we get the ball back, Zac Stacy, who'd been held in check all night, rips off a 48-yard run to set up the game-winning field goal. We win 24-21.
Our defense was fantastic, with five sacks and more than a dozen tackles for losses. Only 193 total yards of offense, four turnovers including three interceptions, and converting three of 15 times on third down. Chris Marve had "only" seven tackles, because running backs weren't getting past the defensive line. Big Rob Lohr played a great game.
Sure, we've got some things to clean up. The offense broke down in the second half. The line wasn't giving Larry time and Larry was struggling back there. He had three turnovers. Franklin talks about making explosive plays, which he defines as runs of 12 yards or more and passes of 16 yards or more. We had four explosive runs (Seymour 40-yard TD and 18-yards, Krause 24 yards on a reverse and Stacy with the big 48-yarder late) and three explosive pass plays (Larry to Boyd for 42-yard TD, to Cole for 31 and to Krause for 16). Larry hit eight different receivers but our supposedly best receiver, Jordan Matthews, had zero catches.
So we have some things to work on for sure. But it was a big victory, and it feels good to win two in a row.
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7 comments:
Geaux Dores!!!!!!
For what it is worth...Sagarin had UConn ranked ahead of both Michigan and Notre Dame.
Beat Ole Miss!!
Last team to defeat the defending Big East champs was Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
A little reminiscent of the 2008 team with the defense coming up big. Remember, Hayward played in the Music City Bowl as a freshman.
CJF has the team believing. They would have lost this games the past two years. I'm flying down for the Ole Miss game and think we can win that one. Glad we have a kicker like Spear. We will win several games because of him.
Was at the game and worried early in the 4th quarter that we would lose this one after starting out so well. Stats don't tell the true story on LS. He played a very solid game and took a beating from the Uconn defense most of the game especially the 2nd half. Appears that we have several play-makers on both sides of the ball. Coach Hand has his work cut out; LS wont last the season if we don't get the O-line issues resolved quickly. Very inspiring effort by the entire defense. Really proud of CJF and staff as this was a typical game that we would have lost in the last 2 years. No disrespect, but does anyone truly think that the Robbie Caldwell staff wins that game ??...not a chance. Go Dores !
CJF is making me a believer, great to see this team gut out a win. Were the black helmets a one time thing? And, will the gold jerseys ever return?
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