Choked by the Collier
UConn mounts furious comeback, but fall in triple OT courtesy of CPU cheese
I guess sometimes it's a good thing that the CPU absolutely does not want me to win certain games. Stupid Ohio State.
But anyhow, this one's going to be really tough to swallow. Especially because it may or may not be my fault.
After falling behind 24-0 in the second quarter and 27-6 at the half, UConn was able to climb out of the gutter, play clean, force overtime, and the CPU thanked us by handing Ohio State the victory on a golden platter courtesy of the overtime glitch. (Why don't we have the ball!?!?!?!?!?!)
Of course, this type of gut-wrenching loss could have easily been prevented. Our defense gave up a dynasty record
59 points over 32 minutes of play and a trio of overtime sessions, and this largely hung on OSU QB
Stephen Collier's shoulders. His 247 pass yards and TD were nice, but his 219 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD's gave Coach Diaco a real-life nightmare.
Ohio State was the only team ready to play early, pouncing out to the early 24-0 lead on the strength of Collier's gashing runs. OSU had three players score those three TD's in Collier,
Brandon Williams and
Kelson Davis, displaying OSU's powerful O-Line.
Despite taking two quarters to get in gear, UConn finally did get it going in the third quarter.
Ron Johnson pushed the deficit to 27-14 after a 3 yard TD run and conversion. After forcing a 3 and out,
Tanner Dean-Lowry found
Jeff Matthews for a big 38 yard TD that pulled the game within 6.
OSU got back on the board quickly, with Collier hitting
William Thompson for 15 on a crucial 3rd down (I take blame, poor coverage on my part), then finding Thompson again for 21 before a 47 yard pass to
James Fitzpatrick over the middle went for a touchdown after UConn defenders
Anthony Watkins and
Ross Sinclair both were burned in coverage.
Next, TDL strung together a nice 11 play drive, culminating in a 1 yard TD plunge from
Arkeel Newsome, playing his final collegiate game, to make it a 34-28 OSU lead early in the fourth.
Collier responded on the second play from scrimmage of OSU's next drive by busting a 70 yard TD run thanks to some fantastic blocking. After a 2 point conversion to
Parris Campbell Jr., OSU was staring at a 42-28 lead with 5:30 remaining.
In need of a TD late in the game, UConn got it off another one-yard TD from 'Keel, and down 7, we essentially needed a stop to stay in the game.
At the time it was easier said than done given UConn's track record of stopping OSU in the game (not very good). Despite allowing the Bucks to get inside the UConn 29,
Kevin Delastonte, who connected on 3-4 on the day, pushed the field goal attempt right and gave UConn a chance.
After an incompletion, TDL found senior
Jon Haden behind a pair of OSU corners and he got down to the Buckeye 29. However, with no timeouts remaining, UConn was short on time. After a 16 yard Matthews catch, UConn got inside the 13 with a minute to go.
Two plays later, faced with a 4th and 1 from the 4 and 6 seconds remaining, TDL took the snap out of the gun and rolled right. Firing off balance, he threw a perfect pass and had Matthews in the middle of the end zone for the tying TD.
Overtime!
The first two extra sessions resulted in quick TD's for each side. Collier needed three plays for Ohio St. to score; a 17 yard pass to the left to Fitzpatrick, a 7 yard screen to Brandon Williams and a one yard TD punch from Williams. Haden escaped coverage for UConn and was in on a 25 yard TD on the very first play to keep the game moving.
After a 14 yard catch from Matthews to set the second OT in motion, TDL decided to tuck and run on 3rd and long. Headed right, he took off, had no one in front of him, and was in for the go-ahead TD. The Bucks got Williams moving as he went up the middle for 18, got an encroachment penalty to go their way, and a three yard TD run from Williams to tie the game at 56.
Delastonte booted a field goal to make it 59-56 Buckeyes to kick off the third OT, but something terrible happened after.
OSU got the ball back. We never got a possession in the third OT and the game ended after the Bucks ran the first play of what should have been our drive. We got screwed, and get tagged with the 59-56 loss*. (With this fancy asterisk).
Indeed, a very sour ending to a rough second half of a National Title defense. Wasn't quite the season we had envisioned after the phenomenal 6-0 start, but we gain more experience headed into 2019 and are looking stronger into the second year of our Big 12 membership.
With Coach Diaco set to return (barring any NCAA penalties, we are still awaiting the final verdict on the Sam Rourke investigation), maybe he can work his genius on his suddenly struggling defense. Because if the offense plays like that each time out, we'll be in good shape.
It's been a pleasure having you guys on board as we close out the fifth season of our residency in East Hartford. Let's keep rocking into season six!
| Connecticut Huskies at Ohio State Buckeyes |
| Dec 31, 2018 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT | SCORE |
| #14 Connecticut Huskies (9-4) | 0 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 14 | 56 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes (8-5) | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 17 | 59 |
| Team Stats Comparison |
| CONN | OSU |
| Total Offense | 508 | 622 |
| Rushing Yards | 181 | 375 |
| Passing Yards | 327 | 247 |
| First Downs | 25 | 26 |
| Punt Return Yards | 9 | 6 |
| Kick Return Yards | 43 | 78 |
| Total Yards | 560 | 706 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd Down Converstion | 6-12 (50%) | 10-14 (71%) |
| 4th Down Conversion | 3-3 (100%) | 0-0 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 1-2 (50%) | 1-1 (100%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 7-6-0 (85%) | 7-4-3 (100%) |
| Penalties | 2-3 | 0-0 |
| Posession Time | 17:48 | 14:12 |
| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | CONN | OSU |
| 5:16 | (OSU) Collier 3 run (Delastonte kick) | 0 | 7 |
| 3:01 | (OSU) Davis 22 run (Delastonte kick) | 0 | 14 |
| :25 | (OSU) Williams 18 run (Delastonte kick) | 0 | 21 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | CONN | OSU |
| 3:34 | (OSU) Delastonte 22 FG | 0 | 24 |
| 1:12 | (CONN) Johnson 1 run (2 pt. failed) | 6 | 24 |
| :00 | (OSU) Delastonte 23 FG | 6 | 27 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | CONN | OSU |
| 4:56 | (CONN) Johnson 3 run (2-pt. conversion good) | 14 | 27 |
| 3:00 | (CONN) Dean-Lowry 38 pass Matthews (Miller kick) | 21 | 27 |
| 1:29 | (OSU) Collier 47 pass Fitzpatrick (Delastonte kick) | 21 | 34 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | CONN | OSU |
| 6:06 | (CONN) Newsome 1 run (Miller kick) | 28 | 34 |
| 5:33 | (OSU) Collier 70 run (2-pt conversion good) | 28 | 42 |
| 3:16 | (CONN) Newsome 1 run (Miller kick) | 35 | 42 |
| :03 | (CONN) Dean-Lowry 4 pass Matthews (Miller kick) | 42 | 42 |
| OVERTIME SCORING | CONN | OSU |
| (OSU) Williams 1 run (Delastonte kick) | 42 | 49 |
| (CONN) Dean-Lowry 25 pass Haden (Miller kick) | 49 | 49 |
| (CONN) Dean-Lowry 12 run (Miller kick) | 56 | 49 |
| (OSU) Williams 3 run (Delastonte kick) | 56 | 56 |
| (OSU) Delastonte 25 FG | 56 | 59 |
| Connecticut Huskies | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Tanner Dean-Lowry | 22-32 | 327 | 3 | 0 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | Ron Johnson | 20 | 76 | 3.8 | 2 | | Arkeel Newsome | 11 | 44 | 4.0 | 2 | | Tanner Dean-Lowry | 8 | 59 | 7.3 | 1 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | Jon Haden | 7 | 142 | 20.2 | 1 | | Jeff Matthews | 7 | 92 | 13.1 | 2 | | Alec Bloom | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 0 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | Vontae Diggs | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Sammie Leonard | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Ross Sinclair | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Ohio State Buckeyes | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Stephen Collier | 24-31 | 247 | 1 | 0 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | Stephen Collier | 20 | 219 | 10.9 | 2 | | Brandon Williams | 18 | 93 | 5.1 | 3 | | Shedrick Temple | 4 | 34 | 8.5 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | Brandon Williams | 9 | 50 | 5.5 | 0 | | James Fitzpatrick | 7 | 109 | 15.5 | 1 | | William Thompson | 3 | 47 | 15.6 | 0 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | P.J. Vinson | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Ray Dixon | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | Keltrayvion Parks | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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