We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

[thesportsguru11]

Jackson makes amends with Diaco, slated to return as backup vs. Oklahoma

No Update on Jake Crowder

Coach Diaco made an interesting announcement at his weekly press conference, stating that backup QB Isaac Jackson is back in good standing with him and the team and will be available to play this weekend against Oklahoma.

The news comes one week after reports surfaced that Jackson and senior cornerback Jake Crowder had a verbal incident with Diaco on the plane home from the Michigan game. Crowder's tension with Diaco had escalated over the last few weeks, while Jackson accused Diaco of being a racist hypocrite.

Jackson took the initiative to approach Coach Diaco and apologize for his actions, explaining that he was merely frustrated with his role on the team so far this season and "made an extremely poor choice of words to vent my feelings".

Quote: Originally Posted by Isaac Jackson

I'm a competitor. When I don't get to compete, I get frustrated, simple as that. Coach gave me a chance to prove myself within his program and I'll never repay him for that. I still feel that my play last year merited consideration for me to get a chance at the starting job, but I'm pleased at how well we've started the year. I'll gladly accept my role, whatever it may be, and do anything else just to get back to playing the game I love again. I deeply appreciate the second chance from Coach and I promise I won't let him down.

Jackson helped lead UConn to a 5-1 record to close out the 2019 regular season following injuries to Tanner Dean-Lowry and Jarrett Rivero, not including a loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in last year's Big 12 Title Game. Jackson has a knack for playing well in comeback situations, having led multiple UConn come from behind wins in his time at the school.

Jackson has also played second fiddle for much of his college career to this point. Recruited unheralded behind former Husky QB David Hamilton, I-Jax has been passed up twice now in favor of Tanner Dean-Lowry for the starting QB job in the last two years.

Diaco made it very clear that Tanner Dean-Lowry is still the starting QB. Diaco has not decided if Jackson will regain his #2 spot on the QB depth chart, or if true freshman Alex Paige will instead handle the backup duties.

Nevertheless, this news is very interesting considering TDL's blazing start to the season, including vaulting into the Heisman race early in the season. He has passed for 1400 yards already to go with 12 TD passes. Jackson has only played in one game this season, the opener against Indiana in which he ran for a 37 yard TD with the second stringers on the field.

As of now, there is no update on the status of Crowder moving forward. Crowder was replaced in the lineup last weekend by sophomore Sam Barnett and did not play against Boston College. Crowder will not make the trip to Oklahoma for this weekend's game. Diaco said he was hoping to revisit the issue during UConn's bye next week.

[thesportsguru11]

[beast10]

i had a feeling the battle of New england wouldn't meet the hype. nice win and it looks like a star emerging out of Shavlion. love playmaking DB's.. also, i've always liked the detail you put into this, like the article above. and speaking of quarterbacks and d-ham, how did he do at old dominion? if he's even eligible yet, i forget

don't think i've commented since u came back. was very excited to see this back. think i had just started catching up before this initially died out.. good luck against oklahoma, who looks very impressive

[Knickerbocker91]

Aye I'll take the upset win over Miami. Good luck against Oklahoma, clearly going to be a tough one. Hopefully TDL can continue the hot start to the season.

[thesportsguru11]

Back to Reality

TDL plays horrendous game before leaving with injury; I-Jax nearly leads ridiculous rally but UConn falls in Norman 41-38

Alden Rosario had a sensational game on defense, knocking TDL out of the game in the 3rd quarter and stopping UConn dead in its tracks multiple times.

This time, too good was true.

After an incredible 4-0 start to the season led by unheard of play by junior QB Tanner Dean-Lowry, it all came crashing down in the Huskies' 41-38 defeat at the hands of the now 5-0, #24 Oklahoma Sooners in Norman on Saturday.

TDL's 1400 yards and 12 TD passes in just four games fell quickly into the background with a record low performance. TDL completed just 9 of his 27 passes for 132 yards, only one touchdown and two INT's.

And the record low ended with a thud. In the third quarter, rolling out to the right, TDL got drilled by Alden Rosario, who tied a school record on the day with a whopping five QB sacks.

TDL crawled to his knees after falling to the turf, clutching his midsection in pain. He wouldn't return and the extent of his injury is unknown.

Down 28-14 at that point midway through the third quarter, the game looked to be slipping out of reach. After all, it was out of reach only a couple of minutes earlier, as UConn had all sorts of troubles getting the offense going in the first half. Incompletions and inaccuracies galore, little running room for emerging star Luke Williamson, and another missed field goal from senior Mike Miller (I believe his fourth already this season) doomed UConn from the get-go.


Though the defense was solid early, including another INT from impact sophomore corner Shavlion Wade, they couldn't get any help from the offense. Oklahoma would soon find their holes, with star QB Ashton Overstreet connecting with tight end Brad Charles on a 12 yard TD, followed by tailback Elston Alpanaria running for a one yard score, and Overstreet scoring on a ridiculous 61 yard run in which Overstreet broke tackles from seemingly the entire state of Connecticut.

Ashton Overstreet proved how dangerous he is on multiple occasions.

The only person responsible for saving UConn from a blowout? Marcus Bradford. Of course. The senior linebacker and former UCLA transfer, having the best season of his career, made yet another huge, clutch play, just as he has done countless other times in his career.

Bradford picked off Overstreet as the Sooners were threatening to widen the gap even more. Bradford had a lane and clear field in front of him. A quickly fatiguing Bradford took off, shook off a couple tackles (two at the goal line) and would not be denied in completing the pick six to get UConn right back into the game.

UConn had a chance to erase the lead to only one touchdown at the half, but Williamson had the ball knocked loose by Rosario and scooped up by Earn DeWeaver on the wrong side of the 50. TDL made the touchdown saving tackle, but Alpanaria ran in another TD a few plays later from two yards out.

Despite TDL's early struggles, he did manage to string a drive together with only 39 seconds to work with and had one shot at the end zone before the break. Busting open, TDL found Jeff McNeal wide open racing into the end zone to make the game 28-14.

The first drive out of the break was when we saw TDL get hurt toward the end of a 13-play drive that would eventually die out and end not with a TD, but only a field goal from presumed new kicker Tyler McCray.

TDL was initially replaced with freshman Alex Paige. Unfortunately he'd toss an INT to backup linebacker Matt Weber, and Williamson lost another fumble after that (forced, of course, by Rosario).

Luke Williamson had a pair of rare fumbles on the afternoon, which would hurt the Huskies hopes.

Diaco had enough.

Enter the newly exiled Isaac Jackson. Jackson has always had a knack for playing well in clutch/come from behind situations. Kansas State, 2018. Illinois, 2019. My personal favorite, West Virginia, 2019.

He nearly did it again today.

I-Jax helped his newly minted good standing with Coach Diaco. He was thisclose to leading yet another miraculous comeback.

Overstreet ran in a short touchdown to give the Sooners a 38-17 lead, and Jackson went to work.

I-Jax completed eight of his 13 pass attempts for 217 yards while only playing the fourth quarter. Jackson led two consecutive touchdown drives, having remarkable success with the deep ball, especially to Rashad Harris. Both TD drives were punctuated by Carlton Parker and Williamson runs from a couple yards out. With a couple defensive stops, the gap was thinned to seven points with two minutes remaining (38-31 Sooners).

Even with the Huskies suddenly back in the game, an onside kick or a stop was necessary. Tyler McCray's first onside attempt would go out of bounds, forcing the D to come out themselves. Despite giving up a 21 yard run to Alpanaria, UConn did in fact force a fourth down, finished with Bradford dragging Alpanaria down for a four yard loss. However, Ricky Congdan would easily connect on the 37 yard field goal to give OU the 41-31 edge.

With a minute to go, Jackson needed a miracle, which he has pulled off many times here. It took three plays for Jackson to find Harris for a 22 yard touchdown in the right corner of the end zone. The game, and the comeback, would hedge on McCray's second attempt at an onside kick. Though the ball stayed in bounds, Sooner wideout Jay Copeland fielded the kick cleanly off the bounce and OU would kneel out the clock to seal UConn's fate.

Jay Copeland had no problem scooping up UConn's second failed onside attempt.

With that, we're right back to where we started the season. TDL plays his worst game ever in an important Big 12 game and gets hurt. Isaac Jackson cleans up TDL's mess and nearly saved our butts yet again. We'll see how severe TDL's injury is, but if he's good to go in two weeks against Texas Tech, it's going to be hard to pass up I-Jax one more time.

But we'll see. We have a lot to clean up. Including a messy kicking game, apparently.. two missed field goals definitely made a difference.

Oy vey.

See you back at the Property in two weeks.

Connecticut Huskies at Oklahoma Sooners
Sep 19, 2020	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#8 Connecticut Huskies (4-1 (0-1))	0	14	3	21	38
#24 Oklahoma Sooners (5-0 (2-0))	7	21	10	3	41

Team Stats Comparison
	CONN	OKLA
Total Offense	480	417
Rushing Yards	131	195
Passing Yards	349	222
First Downs	20	18
Punt Return Yards	44	0
Kick Return Yards	194	3
Total Yards	718	420
Turnovers	5	2
3rd Down Conversion	6-18 (33%)	7-16 (43%)
4th Down Conversion	3-4	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-2-1	6-4-2
Penalties	2-15	0-0
Possession Time	16:11	15:49

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		CONN	OKLA
3:33	(OKLA) Overstreet 14 pass Charles (Congdan kick)	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CONN	OKLA
4:03	(OKLA) Alpanaria 1 run (Congdan kick)	0	14
2:29	(OKLA) Overstreet 61 run (Congdan kick)	0	21
1:29	(CONN) Bradford 73 returned INT (McCray kick)	7	21
:33	(OKLA) Alpanaria 2 run (Congdan kick)	7	28
:00	(CONN) Dean-Lowry 38 pass McNeal (McCray kick)	14	28
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CONN	OKLA
4:49	(CONN) McCray 23 FG	17	28
1:59	(OKLA) Congdan 27 FG	17	31
:06	(OKLA) Overstreet 1 run (Congdan kick)	17	38
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CONN	OKLA
4:52	(CONN) Williamson 1 run (McCray kick)	24	38
1:53	(CONN) Parker 1 run (McCray kick)	31	38
1:09	(OKLA) Congdan 37 FG	31	41
:48	(CONN) Jackson 22 pass Harris (McCray kick)	38	41

Connecticut Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Isaac Jackson 8-13 217 1 0 Tanner Dean-Lowry 9-27 132 1 2 Alex Paige 0-2 0 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Luke Williamson 23 97 4.2 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Rashad Harris 7 195 27.8 1 Jeff McNeal 3 51 17.0 0 Ja'Montres Jones 2 32 16.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Marcus Bradford 10 (3 TFL) 0 1 1 Shavlion Wade 8 (TFL) 0 1 0 Sammie Leonard 8 (2 TFL) 2 0 0

Oklahoma Sooners PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ashton Overstreet 29-42 222 1 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Elston Alpanaria 19 99 5.2 2 Ashton Overstreet 14 92 6.5 2 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD LaVont'a Dobson 5 52 10.4 0 Jay Copeland 5 51 10.2 0 Luke Brooks 5 49 9.8 0 Brad Charles 2 21 10.5 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Alden Rosario 10 (4 TFL) 5 0 0 Earn DeWeaver 6 0 1 0 Carlton Rollins 3 0 1 0

Please sir, I want some more! New #1 corner Shavlion Wade snags his fourth INT in three weeks.

Quote: Originally Posted by beast10

i had a feeling the battle of New england wouldn't meet the hype. nice win and it looks like a star emerging out of Shavlion. love playmaking DB's.. also, i've always liked the detail you put into this, like the article above. and speaking of quarterbacks and d-ham, how did he do at old dominion? if he's even eligible yet, i forget don't think i've commented since u came back. was very excited to see this back. think i had just started catching up before this initially died out.. good luck against oklahoma, who looks very impressive

Shav is one of my favorite players on this team. Ratings aren't great yet, but he plays so much better. Especially with Crowder's career now likely down the drain, Shav is our #1 corner moving forward, no matter what happens. He's effectively shut down the top receiver for BC last week (Steven McGill) and his assignment against Michigan (who I believe was Timas Scallion, who only had a couple of catches). It's also nice he's emerging now because our leader in the secondary has been Ross Sinclair this year.. he graduates in the spring so it's nice to have a next man up.

D-Ham is a starting QB at Old Dominion now.. he sat out last year and he's off to a good start this year. He popped up a couple weeks ago in one of the recent NCAA Scorecards when ODU beat Virginia Tech (I believe it was), but I didn't really make note of it. Regardless, looks like he's cleaned up his act with the new school.

Thank you for commenting beast. As I've said a bunch already.. I'm thrilled to bring this back and I'm so excited to keep playing. I'm happy folks like yourself are still interested in this project.

Quote: Originally Posted by Knickerbocker91

Aye I'll take the upset win over Miami. Good luck against Oklahoma, clearly going to be a tough one. Hopefully TDL can continue the hot start to the season.

OU might have a better team than Michigan did.. and they showed it today. TDL is an enigma whom which I will never clearly understand.. hopefully he'll come back after our bye but we'll see.

[RoundingThird]

Damn, you almost pulled off another one of my classic comebacks. I still think it's a joke that you're in the Big 12. No reason why you should be playing all those teams. The long road trips are the reason behind any of these conference road losses.

[whughes]

You're gonna have to start calling him Ice-Jax if he keeps playing like this. We'll see how hurt TDL is but like you said it's going to be hard to pass up I-Jax again. Tough loss to a good team, let's figure out the qb situation and roll through the rest of Big 12 play

[slicknick3822]

I have a feeling this was storylines out
Sucks to see a Heisman candidate go down like that but seems like Jax has ice in his veins. Hopefully he can do just as well as last year.