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

[thesportsguru11]

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

NCAA Players of the Week

[thesportsguru11]

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

[thesportsguru11]

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

Trick? Or Treat?

UConn tops AAC West leading Cougs on Halloween

Latrell Martin caught a pair of TD's, but ultimately his Cougs were lying on their backs.

Halloween has a tendency for bringing us surprises. Tricks or treats, if you will.

For example, in 2004 Pittsburgh beat New England and snapped their 21 game win streak. Surprising to New England fans, sure, but it led to New England winning the Super Bowl.

Anyway, now that I've gone off my tangent, I can preface this by saying if UConn continues to play like they did against Houston on Halloween, they could be partying like the Patriots come December when they hit a bowl game.

But was UConn's performance today a trick or a surprise for what's to come? Only time will tell...

UConn, despite nearly blowing a 20-7 lead in the third quarter, thoroughly dominated Houston on both ends, through 3 quarters that is.

This showed in the first half, as Houston started the game with 2 straight punts and a missed field goal, gaining less than 50 yards in that frame.

Meanwhile, on the strength of some of the best running of the season from Max DeLorenzo, UConn jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and Maxy picked up 41 yards very quickly, and another 19 through the air.

Houston (and guard Carter Wall) knew they were in trouble when down 20-7.

With Houston's backs to the wall, they turned to their only option left offensively: The Out route.

With some great success, John O'Korn drove his troops downfield and hit Latrell Martin for a 13 yard TD.

DeLorenzo, on 4 more carries, gained 22 yards, and Bryant Shirreffs connected with Thomas Lucas for a 16 yard gain and a pair of 9 yard runs to get a field goal before the half, and another right after it.

UConn had a 20-7 lead, and were cruising. Unfortunately, the UConn defense budged and Houston trimmed the deficit to 10, as O'Korn hit Deontay Greenberry for 18, Greg Ward Jr. for 16 and John Leday for 11 before the drive stalled out inside the red zone.

But once again, UConn responded and was on their way to putting game a little further out of reach.

Arkeel Newsome returned the kick to the 45, Noel Thomas had a 30 yard grab, another 12 yard snare and left the rest to, guess who, DeLorenzo.

Maxy had the corner, had his men beat, all except one, and was being pursued by Adrian McDonald. DeLorenzo wasn't going to make it, but tried to dive and get in anyhow.

Instead, McDonald made contact with Max and jarred the ball loose. Which sent the ball flying............

.........out of the end zone. Turnover.

Oh, no. It's Tulsa all over again.

Except it wasn't.

Cole Ormsby, giving Kenton Adeyemi a breather, sacked O'Korn twice in UConn territory and forced the Cougs to punt.

Crisis averted.

After 4 drives ending in punts in a row, Houston broke through as O'Korn hit Martin to pull within 3 with 2 minutes to go.

Uh-oh.

UConn again got in the red zone, but DeLorenzo got decked by Cameron Malveaux and lost the ball again.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

The one positive out of this? The ball was recovered by Trevon Stewart, but at the 1 yard line. So Houston had a buck 30 in clock, no timeouts and 99 yards to victory.

Jordan Floyd started by tipping an O'Korn pass as he was drilled, and Cameron Stapleton finally got to O'Korn and sacked him for a safety 2 plays later.

Whew.

UConn was able to sit on it and kill the clock, but it may have been a little close in that 4th.

Though we can not ignore the fact that Maxy did his best running of the year, and UConn (now 4-4) dominated the first 3 quarters.

Trick? Or Treat?

Only the next 4 weeks will tell.

Connecticut Huskies at Houston Cougars
Oct 31, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Connecticut Huskies (4-4, 2-3)	7	10	3	2	22
Houston Cougars (5-3, 4-1)	0	7	3	7	17

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		CONN	HOU
:29	(CONN) Marriner 3 rush (Puyol kick)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CONN	HOU
4:29	(CONN) DeLorenzo 1 rush (Puyol kick)	14	0
3:27	(HOU) O'Korn 13 pass Martin (Bullard kick)	14	7
:49	(CONN) Puyol 21 FG	17	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CONN	HOU
4:41	(CONN) Puyol 21 FG	20	7
2:36	(HOU) Bullard 29 FG	20	10
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CONN	HOU
2:19	(HOU) O'Korn 6 pass Martin (Bullard kick)	20	17
1:15	(HOU) Team Safety	22	17

Connecticut Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Bryant Shirreffs 19-24 263 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Max DeLorenzo 26 118 4.5 1 Bryant Shirreffs 10 38 3.8 0 Josh Marriner 8 17 2.1 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Thomas Lucas 5 111 22.2 0 Noel Thomas 5 66 13.2 0 Kamal Abrams 3 39 13.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Junior Joseph 6 0 0 0 Cameron Stapleton 3 2 0 0 Cole Ormsby 2 2 0 0

Houston Cougars PASSING C/A YDS TD INT John O'Korn 27-48 322 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Kenneth Farrow 3 17 5.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Greg Ward, Jr. 7 66 9.4 0 Latrell Martin 6 64 10.6 2 Deontay Greenberry 4 84 21.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Lee Hightower 10 0 0 0 Adrian McDonald 9 0 0 0 Cameron Malveaux 6 1 0 0

Despite two fumbles in the red zone, Maxy did his best running of the year on Halloween.

[whughes]

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

"Maxy" had a good game. Too bad he almost screwed the team with those two fumbles. Good win either way, specially against a quality opponent.

[thesportsguru11]

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

"Maxy" had a good game. Too bad he almost screwed the team with those two fumbles. Good win either way, specially against a quality opponent.

Indeed. "Maxy" was a term coined by Po1soNNN in Week 2, so thanks are in order to him. Haha.

The name of the game today was ball control, as we knew coming in Houston has the air raid offense and throw at will at all times. Thus, the more opportunities we gave Houston, the more chances they had to do some damage on offense.

Glad the D played well and Max did his job. Even nicer as Shirreffs had 0 turnovers.

But need to stay focused, I know we have winless Tulane next week, but you never know.

[whughes]

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

Indeed. "Maxy" was a term coined by Po1soNNN in Week 2, so thanks are in order to him. Haha.

I must've missed that post haha. Well let's hope Mr. Maxy can rush for 150+ against lowly Tulane, eh? And Sheriffs throws for say, 300 and 2 TDs? I think they can do it, I have faith

[thesportsguru11]

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

NCAA Players of the Week

I must've missed that post haha. Well let's hope Mr. Maxy can rush for 150+ against lowly Tulane, eh? And Sheriffs throws for say, 300 and 2 TDs? I think they can do it, I have faith

That'd be very nice. They have the talent to do that, but man, Tulane scares me, as we have done really badly against lower levels of competition this year, including individual stats. I have a feeling we will get one of two.

[RoundingThird]

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

Indeed. "Maxy" was a term coined by Po1soNNN in Week 2, so thanks are in order to him. Haha.

Indeed. IRL, I call him Maquise, but that's a mouthful.

[thesportsguru11]

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

Sorry, KSW. Your guys suck.

Indeed. IRL, I call him Maquise, but that's a mouthful.

Haha. I really didn't feel like typing DeLorenzo, as that's so boring and wastes time.

[kswgrad2012]

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

Yup. That Tulane team was garbage when I took over. Massive overhaul I did there.

[RoundingThird]

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

I know you want to keep things realistic, guru, but please schedule a game AT Bowling Green next season. It would make me extraordinarily excited.

[thesportsguru11]

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

It's not about how you start..

UConn overcomes 10 point deficit to top Wave



Bryant Shirreffs had a good day running the ball. Throwing? Eh, not so much.

We are one win away. Sound familiar?

Well we are, this time with 3 chances to grab that elusive 6th win. Friends, a bowl game is well within our reach.

Even better? We have a win at The Rent to our credit this season. About time!

However, it took a while for The Rent to get rolling on this November day.

With only 3 points (an Andrew DiRocco field goal) in the first quarter, 0-8 Tulane had an early lead.

UConn, plagued by drops and poor line play to help out Max DeLorenzo, woke up sluggish.

Whereas Tulane's 119th ranked offense was playing a bit better. Tanner Lee, in his first game off an abdominal injury, made some good throws, and flexed his muscle on the ground, giving the Wave a 10-0 lead midway through the second on a 6 yard QB draw.

Fortunately for our Huskies, Bob Diaco turned on the alarm clock and Bryant Shirreffs woke his troops up.

Arkeel Newsome returned the kickoff to the UConn 49, and UConn went on the prowl. Shirreffs scrambled for 15, they converted a 4th down, hit Sean McQuillan for a big 14 yard gain, then DeLorenzo punched in the 5 yard TD.

Max DeLorenzo had 3 TD runs and 111 yards on the ground in this one.

With UConn back in the game, we hit the half with a 10-7 game, and UConn, with the ball out of the half, had a chance to swing the momentum into their favor if they scored.

That they did.

Newsome brought the opening kick out to the Tulane 40, and Shirreffs took 5 plays before running in the TD himself.

UConn had the lead. But the only problem? Sherman Badie didn't seem to like that. Breaking 3 tackles, Badie scooted away from the UConn secondary and took the first carry of the Tulane drive 79 yards to the house to get Tulane the lead back.

Which upset Shirreffs even more, as, aided by a 44 yard Thomas Lucas pass play, Shirreffs lead the troops down the field once again, and the next drive culminated with a Josh Marriner TD run.

Tulane proceeded to go 3 and out, and while they got the ball back on an INT, they again came up empty. It would be a few more drives before we would see any more scoring, however Tulane threw away a great shot as Marc Edwards dropped a wide open pass, no one between him and the end zone. Tulane would miss the field goal.

DeLorenzo, midway through the 4th, would try to get his Huskies back on the board again, taking carries of 11 and 21 yards to get UConn past midfield, and finished off the drive himself a few plays later with his 2nd TD of the day. UConn would assume the 28-17 lead, a lead they would hang onto the rest of the way, and lock up the 35-25 win.

So it took a while, but UConn recovered and now has possession of their 5th win. Max DeLorenzo has possession of a 3 TD day and 111 yards. Bryant Shirreffs has 0 TD's in his last 2 games. But look what that's gotten the team.

Down the stretch, UConn has 3 more games; @ UCF, @ USF and vs. Temple. All 3 can be won, this would take UConn to 8-4 and certainly a solid bowl game. Considering UConn plays their best ball against the best opponents, a win next week is possible. It's sure to be a good one.

Can UConn get bowl eligible next week? Tune in to find out.

Sherman Badie had a big 79 yard TD run, and ended with 148 yards on the day.

Tulane Green Wave at Connecticut Huskies
Nov 7, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Tulane Green Wave (0-9, 0-6)	3	7	7	8	25
Connecticut Huskies (5-4, 3-3)	0	7	14	14	35

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		TULN	CONN
1:50	(TULN) DiRocco 27 FG	3	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		TULN	CONN
3:38	(TULN) Lee 6 rush (DiRocco kick)	10	0
1:12	(CONN) DeLorenzo 5 rush (Puyol kick)	10	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		TULN	CONN
5:48	(CONN) Shirreffs 5 rush (Puyol kick)	10	14
5:26	(TULN) Badie 79 rush (DiRocco kick)	17	14
4:08	(CONN) Marriner 3 rush (Puyol kick)	17	21
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		TULN	CONN
4:40	(CONN) DeLorenzo 8 rush (Puyol kick)	17	28
3:37	(TULN) Lee 2 pass Hunter (Conversion Good)	25	28
1:27	(CONN) DeLorenzo 2 rush (Puyol kick)	25	35

Tulane Green Wave PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tanner Lee 21-39 291 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Sherman Badie 12 148 12.3 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Marc Edwards 7 89 12.7 0 Devon Breaux 3 92 30.6 0 Todd Allen 3 72 24.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD RaeJuan Marbley 8 0 0 0 Richard Allen 5 0 1 0 Jonathan Atkinson 4 1 0 0

Connecticut Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Bryant Shirreffs 11-21 164 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Max DeLorenzo 22 111 5.0 3 Bryant Shirreffs 12 50 4.1 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Noel Thomas 4 38 9.5 0 Thomas Lucas 3 86 28.6 0 Kamal Abrams 2 15 7.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Obi Melifonwu 4 0 0 0 Jefferson Ashiru 3 1 0 0 Kenton Adeyemi 2 2 0 0

Yup. That Tulane team was garbage when I took over. Massive overhaul I did there.

Well, at least they have a few exciting freshmen/sophomores on this version of the Wave (Lee, Badie, Teddy Veal, Jonathan Atkinson at safety)... maybe in a few years they could be good again.. Though they will have to do so with a new coach almost certainly....

I know you want to keep things realistic, guru, but please schedule a game AT Bowling Green next season. It would make me extraordinarily excited.

Well...you are in luck. UConn has a game scheduled against Maine at The Rent in 2016, and because I don't want to play another FCS team, I'll see if I can schedule a game with BG. Not sure if I want it at home or away though, we'll have to see how the AAC schedule turns out.

With another game against Holy Cross in 2017, maybe we can set up a home and home thing. We'll see...

But yeah, I am very committed to UConn's real-life OOC schedule, so in 4-5 years we'll see Virginia, UMass, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee eventually. I'd love to get BC to come to the Rent around 2020-2021 (if I'm still going... I sure hope so.)

[whughes]

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

Great win, Maxy is really hitting his stride these last couple weeks. I did a Tulane dynasty that only last 3 seasons, but Badie was a staple of my offense all 3 years and developed into a pretty good back by his junior year. So you might have your hands full with him these next couple seasons

[mattynokes]

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

Good stuff here. Keeping the OCC schedules as close to real life as possible is a nice touch.

[thesportsguru11]

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

NCAA Players of the Week

Great win, Maxy is really hitting his stride these last couple weeks. I did a Tulane dynasty that only last 3 seasons, but Badie was a staple of my offense all 3 years and developed into a pretty good back by his junior year. So you might have your hands full with him these next couple seasons

Now that our O-line has figured themselves out, we are definitely getting better in all facets of our offense.

As I said to KSW, they have 3 great sophomores (Lee, Badie and Teddy Veal at WR) who are all going to be studs. On defense, they get one more year out of Nico Marley I believe, and he is quite the playmaker, but they have a couple of freshmen who started and could be good in a short period of time.

However, they are likely going to get better with a new coach. I don't see how Curtis Johnson stays past this year. Shame, as he has had some injuries and growing pains with the new guys.

Good stuff here. Keeping the OCC schedules as close to real life as possible is a nice touch.

Thanks for checking in matty. Glad you are enjoying this!