Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)
To quote the immortal Gus Johnson: "WHAT! A! GAME!"
Ok, ok, I might have used that one before. But it's still a solid adjective.
Anyway, this game between ECU and UConn...Had more twists and turns than a NASCAR road course, and a finish capable of being noted in the same breath as the Catch in Colorado (props to you if get the reference), the Music City Miracle, etc.
Blake Kemp? Cory Hunter? 3 scores in the final minute? 2 return TD's from the smallest guy on the team in Arkeel Newsome? 102 yards for the win? You have to believe in miracles now.
Truth be told, UConn didn't deserve the win in the slightest. They were incapable of stopping Kemp through the air and on the ground all game. 33-41 passing is..just...mindboggling.
What was even stranger was how ECU was playing effective defense. The 112th best defense? Yeah right.
Regardless of the stats, ECU had early control, going up 7-0 after 1 and only trailing 14-10 at the half after Bryant Shirreffs connected with Damon Mitchell.
From there, though, it was mostly ECU. On their opening drive of the second half, Kemp hit Jimmy Williams, Trevon Brown, Anthony Scott and Isaiah Jones at least one, ending a methodical drive with a Brandon Bishop score to go up 17-14.
Though as a defender you always hope to go out with the lead, they didn't want to go out that quickly after the score.
Newsome took the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to paydirt. Sorry defense.
Anyway, after holding Jones to a completely disastrous WR screen, he got revenge, as Luke Carrezola missed badly on an attempted tackle. Jones ended up with a 26 yard screen play. (Cue mindless rolling of eyes).
2 plays later, Scott burned Jamar Summers for a 36 yard gain, but UConn held check inside the 10, forcing just an Allen Moody field goal for the Pirates. Despite being down 21-20, ECU had momentum, and a fully functional offense, much unlike their counterparts from the Constitution State.
Josh Marriner exited after a big hit from Joe Allely, and would not return (he'd be OK and will be good to go for Cincinnati next week.) Despite another rough day on the ground, UConn was still missing something.
This was evidenced as UConn proceeded to punt that drive.
Fast forward after a Shirreffs INT into the 4th quarter.
UConn was on the verge of holding ECU again on 3rd down when Kemp shook off a sack, took off right and rumbled to the house 30 yards. Though they failed the 2 point try, they were still up. At the Rent. Oh boy.
UConn, with 5 minutes and 79 yards at their disposal, remained calm and just played their game: power running. With Ron Johnson now in the game, he broke off runs of 15 and 17 to push UConn near midfield. Falling into a 3rd and 11 at one point, UConn converted that too.
Even Newsome got in on the action, making an improbable 7 yard gain in which he broke a tackle of an ECU defender who looked at least 7 inches and 60 pounds bigger than him.
With 1:11 on the clock, Johnson pounded the rock to score and give UConn a 27-26 lead. (They too, failed the 2 point conversion).
Which takes us to the climax of our story. For some reason, ECU started running clock. With 70 yards to go, 60 seconds and 3 timeouts, a dumb move if you ask me. Especially considering this was coming out of a no huddle. But, Ruffin McNeill made it look easy. Kemp, looking like Tom Brady at this point, flung a pass to Brown in single coverage, and came down with it over Jordan Floyd for a humongous 47 yard gain. 20 yards from the end zone.
Hunter got a TD 3 plays later to give ECU the 32-27 lead with 4 seconds left (note: They missed another 2 point conversion for the chance to go up 7). Finish the sentence here. It's all over. The great win streak, UConn's chance at the AAC East (again). ECU only needed to squib or onside and would likely lock up the stunner.
Heh. I love being wrong about this.
'Keel Newsome is a bit of a small man (in football terms) at 5'7, 185 pounds. But he was about to feel 10 feet tall.
Fielding the kickoff 2 yards deep in the end zone (WHY NOT SQUIB!!?!??!), 'Keel could either take a knee and let Shirreffs press his luck, or try to win by plowing through the band. Seeing as how he's the reigning National Returner of the Year, you could see why he took it out.
Newsome got 4 blocks to the left (one pancake), and was almost in the clear about the 30. Jon Hicks shoved a Pirate out of the way. The kicker Moody and a Pirate O-lineman were soon the only ones in between Newsome and lore, about 45 yards away.
Newsome whizzed past the lineman, and Zach Rugg pushed Moody aside. Newsome ran to the right around the block, and cut back left. Dazed ECU defenders were 10 yards behind giving chase, but Newsome kept sprinting away, all the way to the house.
Moments later, linemen were hoisting the hero into the air as ECU players and coaches put their head in their hands on the field, still in shock as to what the heck had happened. I think McNeill shed a tear on the bench, knowing there was some miscommunication in the directions of the kickoff.
But the magic of the Rent never fails to disappoint. Welcome to lore, 'Keel. Here's to a victory. The Return at the Rent, anybody?
Better Call 'Keel!
Newsome falls into lore with "The Return at the Rent"
To quote the immortal Gus Johnson: "WHAT! A! GAME!"
Ok, ok, I might have used that one before. But it's still a solid adjective.
Anyway, this game between ECU and UConn...Had more twists and turns than a NASCAR road course, and a finish capable of being noted in the same breath as the Catch in Colorado (props to you if get the reference), the Music City Miracle, etc.
Blake Kemp? Cory Hunter? 3 scores in the final minute? 2 return TD's from the smallest guy on the team in Arkeel Newsome? 102 yards for the win? You have to believe in miracles now.
Truth be told, UConn didn't deserve the win in the slightest. They were incapable of stopping Kemp through the air and on the ground all game. 33-41 passing is..just...mindboggling.
What was even stranger was how ECU was playing effective defense. The 112th best defense? Yeah right.
Regardless of the stats, ECU had early control, going up 7-0 after 1 and only trailing 14-10 at the half after Bryant Shirreffs connected with Damon Mitchell.
From there, though, it was mostly ECU. On their opening drive of the second half, Kemp hit Jimmy Williams, Trevon Brown, Anthony Scott and Isaiah Jones at least one, ending a methodical drive with a Brandon Bishop score to go up 17-14.
Though as a defender you always hope to go out with the lead, they didn't want to go out that quickly after the score.
Newsome took the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to paydirt. Sorry defense.
Anyway, after holding Jones to a completely disastrous WR screen, he got revenge, as Luke Carrezola missed badly on an attempted tackle. Jones ended up with a 26 yard screen play. (Cue mindless rolling of eyes).
2 plays later, Scott burned Jamar Summers for a 36 yard gain, but UConn held check inside the 10, forcing just an Allen Moody field goal for the Pirates. Despite being down 21-20, ECU had momentum, and a fully functional offense, much unlike their counterparts from the Constitution State.
Josh Marriner exited after a big hit from Joe Allely, and would not return (he'd be OK and will be good to go for Cincinnati next week.) Despite another rough day on the ground, UConn was still missing something.
This was evidenced as UConn proceeded to punt that drive.
Fast forward after a Shirreffs INT into the 4th quarter.
UConn was on the verge of holding ECU again on 3rd down when Kemp shook off a sack, took off right and rumbled to the house 30 yards. Though they failed the 2 point try, they were still up. At the Rent. Oh boy.
UConn, with 5 minutes and 79 yards at their disposal, remained calm and just played their game: power running. With Ron Johnson now in the game, he broke off runs of 15 and 17 to push UConn near midfield. Falling into a 3rd and 11 at one point, UConn converted that too.
Even Newsome got in on the action, making an improbable 7 yard gain in which he broke a tackle of an ECU defender who looked at least 7 inches and 60 pounds bigger than him.
With 1:11 on the clock, Johnson pounded the rock to score and give UConn a 27-26 lead. (They too, failed the 2 point conversion).
Which takes us to the climax of our story. For some reason, ECU started running clock. With 70 yards to go, 60 seconds and 3 timeouts, a dumb move if you ask me. Especially considering this was coming out of a no huddle. But, Ruffin McNeill made it look easy. Kemp, looking like Tom Brady at this point, flung a pass to Brown in single coverage, and came down with it over Jordan Floyd for a humongous 47 yard gain. 20 yards from the end zone.
Hunter got a TD 3 plays later to give ECU the 32-27 lead with 4 seconds left (note: They missed another 2 point conversion for the chance to go up 7). Finish the sentence here. It's all over. The great win streak, UConn's chance at the AAC East (again). ECU only needed to squib or onside and would likely lock up the stunner.
Heh. I love being wrong about this.
'Keel Newsome is a bit of a small man (in football terms) at 5'7, 185 pounds. But he was about to feel 10 feet tall.
Fielding the kickoff 2 yards deep in the end zone (WHY NOT SQUIB!!?!??!), 'Keel could either take a knee and let Shirreffs press his luck, or try to win by plowing through the band. Seeing as how he's the reigning National Returner of the Year, you could see why he took it out.
Newsome got 4 blocks to the left (one pancake), and was almost in the clear about the 30. Jon Hicks shoved a Pirate out of the way. The kicker Moody and a Pirate O-lineman were soon the only ones in between Newsome and lore, about 45 yards away.
Newsome whizzed past the lineman, and Zach Rugg pushed Moody aside. Newsome ran to the right around the block, and cut back left. Dazed ECU defenders were 10 yards behind giving chase, but Newsome kept sprinting away, all the way to the house.
Moments later, linemen were hoisting the hero into the air as ECU players and coaches put their head in their hands on the field, still in shock as to what the heck had happened. I think McNeill shed a tear on the bench, knowing there was some miscommunication in the directions of the kickoff.
But the magic of the Rent never fails to disappoint. Welcome to lore, 'Keel. Here's to a victory. The Return at the Rent, anybody?
| East Carolina Pirates at Connecticut Huskies | |||||
| Oct 15, 2016 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| East Carolina Pirates (3-4, 2-2) | 7 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 32 |
| Connecticut Huskies (5-1, 3-1) | 0 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 33 |
| Scoring Summary | |||
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | ECU | CONN | |
| :28 | (ECU) Kemp 12 pass J. Williams (Moody kick) | 7 | 0 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | ECU | CONN | |
| 5:39 | (CONN) Marriner 7 run (Puyol kick) | 7 | 7 |
| 1:33 | (ECU) Moody 22 FG | 10 | 7 |
| :20 | (CONN) Shirreffs 9 pass Mitchell (Puyol kick) | 10 | 14 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | ECU | CONN | |
| 5:44 | (ECU) Kemp 11 pass Bishop (Moody kick) | 17 | 14 |
| 5:33 | (CONN) Newsome 93 kick return (Puyol kick) | 17 | 21 |
| 4:06 | (ECU) Moody 23 FG | 20 | 21 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | ECU | CONN | |
| 5:16 | (ECU) Kemp 30 run (conversion failed) | 26 | 21 |
| 1:11 | (CONN) Johnson 1 run (conversion failed) | 26 | 27 |
| :04 | (ECU) Hunter 4 run (conversion failed) | 32 | 27 |
| :00 | (CONN) Newsome 102 kick return | 32 | 33 |
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