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

[thesportsguru11]

Quote: Originally Posted by HARLEE23

Interesting to see the teams ahead of you in the CFP rankings, San Diego State And Fresno State are surprises to me. I'm predicting a playoff birth in the end for UConn!

I know that Fresno and SDSU play each other either next week or the week after. They are also in the same division, so in effect, the winner of that game has the only shot to rep the Group of 5 in the Playoff. Additionally, if the top 3 can win out (Florida, USC, Ole Miss) and these 1/2-loss teams like Colorado, UCLA, us, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, TCU, Auburn, West Virginia, etc. can stay put, the winner of that game will have to win the conference to have a chance to make the playoff.

There is no way I'm taking a 1-loss team Group of 5 team that won the conference championship over a one (or maybe even two) loss team from a Power 5 conference. I know the selection committee has been off in judgement in the past (3-loss Minnesota and South Carolina over 1-loss BYU and 2-loss Michigan St. in 2015 being the prime example), but I'm buckling down on that this year!

Thank you for exerting your confidence in a playoff berth. I sincerely hope that we can win out and get back to the playoff as well!

[thesportsguru11]

Wait.....We lost? At home?

Iowa State rides run game, two defensive TD's to stunning UConn upset, end Rent win streak

Friends, all good things must come to an end I suppose.

3 years and something-teen wins later, UConn has finally tasted the spoils of defeat at the place dubbed the Property by now UConn super assistant head coach Bob Trebell and DrGravyBoat.

At the hands of.....Iowa State?

Yes, the 2-6 Cyclones came in to Hartford and played exactly a game style that Coach Diaco would be proud of. Rely on a cheesy run game and score with the defense. Fact of the matter is, ISU found all the holes, played penalty-free and did everything correctly in their 36-31 upset, and their formula was flawless.

Step 1: Take advantage of the other team's mistakes...early and often

Tanner Dean-Lowry made what would turn out to be two massive mistakes early in the first quarter. On UConn's second drive from scrimmage, TDL was closing in on the end zone when a rare speed option was called for.

TDL attempted to flip to Ron Johnson, but Mike Hillsworth tipped it away, scooped up the loose ball and ran it back for the score, 7-0 ISU.

On the very next drive, UConn was at midfield when a TDL wheel route pass to Arkeel Newsome was picked off by Paul Everett, who shook 'Keel's tackle and went the distance. 14-0 ISU on a pair of defensive scores.

Step 2: Hold your opponent to field goals in the red zone

A long drive was ended for UConn on an incompletion when ISU got pressure on TDL and forced a throw away. Mike Miller kicked a field goal for UConn's first points, 14-3.

Step 3: Every opponent's score has an equal and similar rebuttal

ISU settled for a Ben Gibson FG on their next drive to push the lead back to 14. However, UConn's mega-utility equivalent of Superman Jeff McNeal returned the next Gibson/Iowa State field goal attempt for a TD. Starting right, McNeal cut left when he came remotely close to an ISU lineman, and used his speed to burn everyone else and walk home from 103 yards out.

You don't typically try to return a missed kick with 5 minutes left in the quarter, but Bob Diaco is absolutely crazy. And it worked. 17-10 ISU.

But back to the Iowa State forumla for victory:

Step 4: Score before the end of the half, especially if you deferred

Darius Lee-Campbell orchestrated an 11 play drive that ended seconds before the half in a 3 yard TD plunge on a midline read. Of course, you can't finish if you didn't start: DLC started that drive with a 30 yard run in which he broke 5 tackles.

Regardless, Iowa State had a 24-10 halftime lead. Scary considering 27 of those points came from defense or special teams.

After the half, UConn pulled within 7 after Iowa State attempted and failed a 4th down. TDL hit Jon Haden on a 9 yard out route to the right, and UConn was right back in it at the end of the third.

Alas.......(Sound Alarm).....back to the Iowa State gameplan:

Step 5: Score in the 4th Quarter

DLC hit tailback Mike Warren on a screen for a 28 yard ISU gainer, which DLC followed up with runs of 7, 9, 14 and a Warren 15 yard punisher for the TD to swell the lead back to 13. (Gibson missed the PAT).

And just like that, Haden got UConn right back in the game, bringing back the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for the TD, a pure speed play to the left. 30-24 Iowa State. But I can't be too happy about this. Partially because I know how this game ends. But mostly this...

Step 6: Cheese with screens and scrambles, finish

DLC knew with 4 minutes left or so that a nice TD would place his Cyclones in good shape. After hitting Warren on a 16 yard screen, DLC found Scotty Schaffner for 19, and Jovan Callahan followed with runs of 5 and 10. After a Sam Rourke sack, DLC scrambled for a big gain down to the UConn 5. Sending a big blitz, Diaco couldn't quite get to DLC, as he just managed to find Rickey Young for a 1 yard score, 36-24.

TDL had fully recovered from his mistakes and was playing well late, immediately scoring (a Jeff Matthews 36 yard TD catch over the top) and allowing the UConn defense to get back on the field.

Being a Bob Diaco defense, they have to get the stop in clutch situations. They have for 4 1/2 years. What can go wrong? What can go wrong?

Warren found a hole up the middle, ran for 10, DLC scrambled for 10 more and Warren converted a huge 3rd and 10 with an 11 yard plunge (ISU manhandled the UConn front that drive) to seal the game. Looks like everything went wrong.

What can I say other than that Iowa State had a brilliant gameplan. Feed your stars, score on defense, make key stops, and have a QB who I can abbreviate to DLC. Obviously the streak would come to an end at some point, but to 2-6 Iowa State?

Anyhow, we have some more pressing matters at hand. We can't get a run game going, our defense looked mortal, and TDL accounted for three turnovers that doomed UConn from the get go. Not only that, the team's confidence is probably shot heading into a TCU showdown and our Playoff hopes are pretty much over. We'll fall behind a gaggle of 2-loss teams and likely have a worse resume than everyone ahead of us.

Obviously seeing a win streak end sucks. But as Bill Belichick famously said, "We're on to Cincinnati." In our case, on to TCU. Fort Worth next folks, see ya there.

'Twas a good three years....

Iowa State Cyclones at Connecticut Huskies
Nov 3, 2018	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Iowa State Cyclones (3-6, 2-3)	17	7	0	12	36
#7 Connecticut Huskies (8-2, 4-2)	3	7	7	14	31

Team Stats Comparison
	ISU	CONN
Total Offense	459	304
Rushing Yards	284	113
Passing Yards	175	191
First Downs	24	13
Punt Return Yards	0	21
Kick Return Yards	81	219
Total Yards	540	544
Turnovers	0	3
3rd Down Converstion	9-15 (60%)	3-7 (42%)
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-3-0 (75%)	3-1-1 (66%)
Penalties	0-0	1-5
Posession Time	19:04	12:56

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		ISU	CONN
4:59	(ISU) Hillsworth returned fumble 75 yds (Gibson kick)	7	0
3:55	(ISU) Everett returned INT 46 yds (Gibson kick)	14	0
1:54	(CONN) Miller 31 FG	14	3
:06	(ISU) Gibson 45 FG	17	3
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		ISU	CONN
5:04	(CONN) McNeal missed kick return 103 yds (Miller kick)	17	10
:28	(ISU) Lee-Campbell 4 run (Gibson kick)	24	10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		ISU	CONN
:39	(CONN) Dean-Lowry 9 pass Haden (Miller kick)	24	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		ISU	CONN
7:23	(ISU) Warren 15 run (missed kick)	30	17
4:42	(CONN) Haden returned kickoff 94 yds (Miller kick)	30	24
3:58	(ISU) Lee-Campbell 1 pass Young (Convo no good)	36	24
3:36	(CONN) Dean-Lowry 36 pass Matthews (Miller kick)	36	31

Iowa State Cyclones PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Darius Lee-Campbell 20-28 175 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Mike Warren 23 134 5.8 1 Darius Lee-Campbell 21 139 6.6 1 Jovan Callahan 3 11 3.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Mike Warren 8 86 10.7 0 Scotty Schaffner 6 36 6.0 0 Adam Trohoe 3 42 14.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kevin Goodleberg 6 (2 TFL) 0 0 0 Mike Hillsworth 4 (2 TFL) 1 0 1 Paul Everett 3 0 1 1

Connecticut Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tanner Dean-Lowry 10-17 191 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Ron Johnson 14 83 5.9 0 Arkeel Newsome 5 22 4.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jon Haden 4 109 27.2 1 Jeff Matthews 2 52 26.0 1 Arkeel Newsome 2 12 6.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Vontae Diggs 10 (3 TFL) 0 0 0 Sam Rourke 7 (3 TFL) 1 0 0 T.J. Newell 5 (2 TFL) 1 0 0

[whughes]

NOOOOO! The mighty have fallen! Oh well, was a good run while it lasted. This will probably knock you out of the playoffs, but you can still compete for the Big 12 title. Maybe...

[mattrd39]

Wow, what a wild game. I'll be honest, I expected a cakewalk to keep you in the playoff hunt.

Looks like they earned it though with that strong running game and defense, just like a typical Diaco gameplan, as you mentioned. I know they scored two defensive touchdowns, but you got two on special teams, take those out and they still win.

[thesportsguru11]

Bye next week. Some recruiting coming next.

Other Notable Scores:

Old Dominion 45, FIU 35
Wyoming 27, Boise St. 24
Cal 38, Colorado 14
UCLA 44, Arizona 35
Washington 34, Oregon St. 9
Utah 41, Arizona St. 28
Arkansas 52, Ole Miss 21
Alabama 48, LSU 45
Florida 45, Vanderbilt 35
Tennessee 35, Missouri 7
Boston College 34, NC State 14
Florida St. 38, Clemson 24
Pitt 28, Virginia Tech 18
Georgia Tech 28, Miami-FL 21
North Carolina 28, Louisville 21
Ohio St. 27, Michigan St. 20
Penn St. 37, Michigan 28
Illinois 27, Nebraska 16
Houston 23, Kansas St. 17
TCU 61, Texas Tech 55
Oklahoma 35, Oklahoma St. 28
Texas 45, Kansas 24
Baylor 42, West Virginia 35
USF 37, Army West Point 34
Notre Dame 48, Fresno St. 21

NCAA Players of the Week

UConn ST coordinator/assistant offensive and defensive coordinator Bob Trebell (DrGravyBoat) and his Huskies lost to Iowa St. 36-31 last week. They travel to face TCU next week.

Other CAC Results

Sam Freday (OC, Bowling Green, RoundingThird)

W (6-3, 4-2) 42-24 vs. Miami-Ohio (3-6, 1-5)

T. Maynard: 9-14, 223 yds, 3 TD
B. English: 14 rush, 101 yds, 3 TD
M. Cooper: 5 rec, 120 yds, TD

Week 12: vs. Kent St. (7-1, 5-1)

Kaelyn Willingham (OC, Washington St., kswgrad2012)

L (2-7, 1-5) vs. Oregon (6-3, 4-2)

C. Hill: 27-45, 335 yds, 2 TD
K. Harrington: 7 rec, 173 yds, TD
P. Pollard: 7 tckl, INT

Week 12: vs. Arizona (5-4, 3-3)

Brian Woodard (OC, Ohio, mattynokes)

L (5-4, 4-2), 35-49 vs. Akron (6-3, 5-1)

J. Duckworth: 19-23, 320 yds, 4 TD
B. Harris: 26 rush, 102 yds
A. Meyer: 9 rec, 170 yds, 3 TD

Week 12: @ Toledo (4-5, 3-3) -- matchup with former UConn assistant Tim Albin


Dale Miller (OC, UL-Lafayette, glunsford)

L (1-7, 1-2), 24-30 vs. South Alabama (5-3, 2-1)

J. Davis: 17-31, 183 yds, 3 TD
A. Wilson: 11 rush, 60 yds, 78 rec. yds, TD
B. Randle: 7 rec, 90 yds, TD

Week 12: vs. Georgia St. (6-2, 2-1)


Quinn Shea (OC, USC, thesportsguru11)

BYE (9-0, 7-0)

Week 12: vs. Stanford (5-4, 4-3)


Brian Grant (OC, New Mexico St., (LadiesAndEdelman)

BYE (3-5, 2-2)

Week 12: @ Troy (2-5, 1-2)

Quote: Originally Posted by whughes

NOOOOO! The mighty have fallen! Oh well, was a good run while it lasted. This will probably knock you out of the playoffs, but you can still compete for the Big 12 title. Maybe...

We are still in decent shape for the Big 12, you are correct. Considering that we are 4-0 against Houston in this dynasty, I think we can beat them on Senior Day in three weeks. At least the bye can give us time to regroup.

Quote: Originally Posted by mattrd39

Wow, what a wild game. I'll be honest, I expected a cakewalk to keep you in the playoff hunt. Looks like they earned it though with that strong running game and defense, just like a typical Diaco gameplan, as you mentioned. I know they scored two defensive touchdowns, but you got two on special teams, take those out and they still win.

Yeah, ISU was just all over us and we couldn't counter. Our special teams have been fantastic through the course of the dynasty, I think McNeal returned our fourth missed field goal returned for a TD in the first 5 seasons of the dynasty. But it's nice to see that I'm still losing every now and then, keeps the dynasty competitive and interesting!

Thanks for the comments as usual fellas.

[bryan3169]

Purdue strikes again!! Where is all that scoring coming from!


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[whughes]

Right, I knew you guys were undefeated against Houston so far, I just couldn't remember when you played them this season.

Love to see my Chips beat down those losers from Kalamazoo. CMU vs WMU is always a fun game to watch

[mon0poly]

Tough tough loss there man. Nothing worse than breaking that home-winning streak. Those turnovers and the red zone woes!! Where are the defending national champs at??

Look forward to seeing how you bounce back.