Win, with a loss
UConn wins Big 12 opener, lose Hamilton for 6 weeks
I have a feeling this is going to turn into one of those championship hangovers that everyone seems to have.
This was validated after UConn lost struggling starting QB David Hamilton in the first quarter of UConn's 35-21 win over Oklahoma St. in Stillwater with a torn shoulder, and requires him to sit out for 6 weeks recuperating. Hamilton suffered the injury late in the first after getting knocked down in the backfield on a read option play, and a diagnosis was made later in the game.
UConn found themselves down 7-3 at the time of D-Ham's injury, and in the meantime, at least we found a backup.
True freshman
Tanner Dean-Lowry, held out of UConn's opener against Boise to prevent sending him out in a high pressure situation, finally got his big opportunity to shine. And shine he did.
Following a pair of sacks from
T.J. Newell, UConn settled for a field goal to make it 7-6.
Fortunately,
Joey Stetson pushed a long field goal attempt wide left for the Pokes, and it was all TDL after that.
TDL's first throw was a wobbly one to
Rashad Harris, but Harris was open and made the catch, and proceeded to spin around a Pokes defenderon his way to the Okie State 12.
Ron Johnson finished off the quick drive with a 12 yard stretch run that went for a TD, and pulled UConn ahead 13-7.
Okie State responded though. After a short catch from
Chris Davidson,
Chris Lacy's 11 yard grab kept the chains moving. QB
Omar Myrick and tailback
Lonnie Wright kept the drive moving on the ground, but on 3rd and 10 Myrick hit
Dorian Baker down the left sideline after absolutely torching
Anthony Watkins. 2 plays later,
Brian Deebler was in the end zone with an Okie State lead, 14-13.
With 1:40 left, TDL and the Huskies got aggressive and looked to score. They were aided by
Jeff McNeal's long return to the Pokes' 40, and that was all TDL needed. After a 15 yard scramble, he hit Harris again for 18, and a few plays later tight end
Alec Bloom for a 4 yard TD, and the 20-14 lead at the half.
TDL punctuated the second half early on with a one yard sneak TD (leaping over the line and going head first, mind you) to cap off a beautiful 12 play, 73 yard TD drive. After a pass to
Jeff Matthews for the two-point try, UConn had command of the game with a two score lead.
A series of three and outs ensued as Okie State's offense floundered, while their defense stood out. Ends
Jordan Brailford and
Cole Walterscheid pressured TDL and knocked Johnson and
Arkeel Newsome around for minimal or no gains.
UConn sucked the air out of Myrick and the Pokes with a beautiful goal line stand at the outset of the 4th. Closing in on pulling the game within a TD again, Myrick looked to Lacy in the end zone, where he was covered by
Derek Robinson. The junior knocked the ball away, it tipped out of Lacy's hands and sophomore
Ross Sinclair ducked down, grabbed the ball and stood right back up for a big INT that took all the momentum out of OSU.
Two drives later, UConn locked up the game with an 11 yard TDL pass to Harris, and that pushed UConn's lead to 21 and locked up the Huskies' 20th consecutive win.
As for the stats, TDL performed splendidly, going 10-17 for 157 yards and a pair of scores, with another on the ground. Johnson added 98 yards on the ground, though no one seems to be pleased by the poor play of the O-Line preventing him from picking up more yards. The defense settled down, but Myrick fired 314 yards and 2 TD's.
So the question now is....we have the streak at 20. But we're down a starting QB. Luckily for us, he wasn't setting the Earth on fire with his performance in the last 2 games.
Can we keep it rolling? Baylor next at the Property. Rise Up!
TOP: Derek Robinson breaks up the pass for Chris Lacy
BOTTOM: Ross Sinclair ducks and picks off the tipped pass
| Connecticut Huskies at Oklahoma State Cowboys |
| Sep 29, 2018 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| #9 Connecticut Huskies (5-0, 1-0) | 3 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 35 |
| #25 Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-2, 0-1) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Team Stats Comparison |
| CONN | OKST |
| Total Offense | 394 | 351 |
| Rushing Yards | 213 | 37 |
| Passing Yards | 181 | 314 |
| First Downs | 18 | 14 |
| Punt Return Yards | 55 | 38 |
| Kick Return Yards | 85 | 81 |
| Total Yards | 534 | 470 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| 3rd Down Converstion | 6-16 | 4-11 |
| 4th Down Conversion | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 6-4-2 (100%) | 2-1-0 (50%) |
| Penalties | 1-15 | 1-5 |
| Posession Time | 19:00 | 13:00 |
| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | CONN | OKST |
| 6:00 | (OKST) Myrick 44 pass Davidson (Stetson kick) | 0 | 7 |
| 3:16 | (CONN) Miller 26 FG | 3 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | CONN | OKST |
| 6:23 | (CONN) Miller 35 FG | 6 | 7 |
| 3:24 | (CONN) Johnson 12 run (Miller kick) | 13 | 7 |
| 1:40 | (OKST) Deebler 7 run (Stetson kick) | 13 | 14 |
| :25 | (CONN) Dean-Lowry 4 pass Bloom (Miller kick) | 20 | 14 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | CONN | OKST |
| 3:15 | (CONN) Dean-Lowry 1 run (Conversion Good) | 28 | 14 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | CONN | OKST |
| 2:08 | (CONN) Dean-Lowry 11 pass Harris (Miller kick) | 35 | 14 |
| 1:03 | (OKST) Myrick 30 pass Lacy (Stetson kick) | 35 | 21 |
| Connecticut Huskies | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Tanner Dean-Lowry | 10-17 | 157 | 2 | 0 | | David Hamilton | 2-6 | 24 | 0 | 0 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | Ron Johnson | 23 | 98 | 4.2 | 1 | | Arkeel Newsome | 11 | 77 | 7.0 | 0 | | Tanner Dean-Lowry | 7 | 37 | 5.2 | 1 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | Rashad Harris | 4 | 84 | 21.0 | 1 | | Alec Bloom | 4 | 29 | 7.2 | 1 | | Jeff Matthews | 3 | 54 | 18.0 | 0 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | Luke Carrezola | 8 (TFL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Ross Sinclair | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | T.J. Newell | 4 (3 TFL) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | Oklahoma State Cowboys | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Omar Myrick | 18-33 | 314 | 2 | 2 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | Lonnie Wright | 15 | 49 | 3.2 | 0 | | Brian Deebler | 1 | 7 | 7 | 1 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | Scott Davidson | 6 | 115 | 19.1 | 1 | | Dorian Baker | 4 | 84 | 21.0 | 0 | | Chris Lacy | 3 | 50 | 16.6 | 1 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | Anthony Miller | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Justin Phillips | 7 (2 TFL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | | Cole Walterscheid | 6 (3 TFL) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
|
Don't worry, I think Thomas was back for next week, though coming off the bench. He did get his share of throws though.
We got the win, but by no means was it helpful losing our starting QB. At least TDL looked OK, but we need to get Johnson and 'Keel back posting 100 yards/game.
Indeed. Not only that, he garners more attention than Okie State's head coach Hudspeth.