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)

Some additional thread information/updates

Bowl name changes, a TDL omission

I have started changing more corporate names of bowl games, as well as the location of the Russell Athletic Bowl, moving from Orlando to Minneapolis (talk about polar opposites!)

The main purpose to doing this is to keep with the times, so to say. Bowl names and games change every year, so I therefore find it necessary to do a few changes every year. As we go I hope to continue to move games to different locations (like Orlando to Minneapolis) to provide more geographical diversity and find more Fortune 500 companies, restaurants and lawn tool products that can sponsor some games.

A full of list of changes is below, with the old bowl in the left column and the new bowl name or sponsor in the right column. There are other changes that have been done in past seasons (I did a list highlighting the first batch two seasons ago), therefore you may not recognize the full list of bowl games. We'll cover that at the end of the season, and we can cover any questions there.

Old Bowl Name		New Bowl Name
Hyundai Sun Bowl		Sysco Sun Bowl
eBay.com Bowl		Intel Santa Clara Bowl
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl		CenturyLink New Orleans Bowl
Advocare V100 Independence Bowl		Popeye's Independence Bowl
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl		Cessna Armed Forces Bowl
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl		Olive Garden Citrus Bowl
Russell Athletic Bowl (Orlando)		Target Bowl Minneapolis
Birmingham Bowl		Arby's Birmingham Bowl
TicketCity Cactus Bowl		Buffalo Wild Wings Cactus Bowl
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl		Qualcomm Poinsettia Bowl

An Omission

In the game against Texas Tech, Tanner Dean-Lowry broke a UConn single game-record for total offense in one game with 471 yards. This was skipped over in the game recap (I didn't realize the record), and he is also fourth on the single-game passing yards with 417. Both records have been added on the records post on the first page, as has Gene Jackson's six sacks in the opener against Illinois.

Thanks!

[thesportsguru11]

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

That Purdue defense is looking good so far. Looking pretty good so far as a team they are slaughtering teams offensively.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While Coach Smith is doing a helluva job, your head coach, Travis Bush, is really good. I think I've mentioned this before, but Bush's last job was Florida offensive coordinator in 2017 (when we beat them in the Natty and Treon Harris won the Heisman). An explosive offense really pays off in the Big 10. Dare I say, playoff contender?

I hope you are not too attached to Purdue, you keep winning you're staring down a number of head coaching jobs.

Looks like I missed a couple of good games. I'm glad to see my BG offense finally booming as well. Unfortunately, I'm back only as a spectator. It's my busy time of year, and I've lost the Madden bug, so for now, I'm putting the Vikes on hold, especially while I train for baseball season.

At least check in through the week; most of my work this season will come between now and Sunday.

I hear you about the busy season, I think this is always a hard time of year for students. I can't start golfing outside just yet, so fortunately I have a few weeks before I have to start juggling everything again. But think about it this way, we are well over halfway home. Once you get through March, everything tends to move really quickly again.

Best of luck to your baseball team this year! Though I don't play anymore, there's a lot of excitement surrounding our school's team this year (they were state finalists last year as a middle seed and return almost everyone). Hopefully you guys can have as much success as we likely will.

[thesportsguru11]

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

A Tale of Overtimes and Inches

UConn fumbles twice on goalline, Cowboys tally 16 straight points in trio of overtime sessions to remain undefeated -- TDL exits with severe ankle injury

(Left) Tanner Dean-Lowry with the first of UConn's fumbles at the goalline. (Right) Andrew Campbell scoops up the second goalline fumble and returns it back for the game-sealing touchdown.

Just as quickly as UConn put their early season struggles behind them, just as quickly did the bad arise again.

UConn’s (4-2, 1-1) season took a hard left turn and crash landed all in one fell swoop with a heartbreaking, yet thrilling and heart pounding, triple overtime loss to Oklahoma State (5-0, 2-0) in Stillwater on Saturday, October 5. Not only was the game marred for the Huskies by a pair of fumbles at the goalline, once in the fourth quarter and once in the overtime period that would have won the game, but UConn also saw their starting QB Tanner Dean-Lowry leave the game in the fourth with a severe ankle injury. It was deemed after the game that TDL’s injury (believed to be a high ankle sprain) will hold him out until at least December, if not the rest of the season.

Regardless of the end result, both teams looked and played about as equal as it gets, each proving their worth as a contender in the crowded Big 12 race. Each side mustered but a single touchdown in regulation, UConn late in the first quarter on a four-yard Luke Williamson TD run, Oklahoma State’s on an Omar Myrick QB keeper from the same distance at the outset of the second quarter.

From there, the defensive battle was on. A Joey Stetson field goal from extra point range early in the third quarter put the Cowboys up 10-7, and from there the advantage for almost the entire second half. Try as they might, neither side could muster anything as both defenses came up short time and again. A Jeff Matthews 15 yard catch for UConn was followed up by three straight plays of no gain. Oklahoma State was a yard from a first down but was stopped for loss by budding star linebacker John Cox, who had 12 tackles (seven behind the line). Stetson missed a long 51 yard try from the left hash at the end of the third, rendering a ten play Cowboy drive fruitless.

Lonnie Wright (left) hurdles a UConn defender. QB Omar Myrick (right) scored Oklahoma State's only touchdown in regulation.

UConn came agonizingly close to the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, Williamson leading the march downfield with three gains of 13 yards or more, eventually leading the Huskies down to the two yard line. TDL tried to tuck and run himself for the six on a read option, but had the ball knocked loose by Andrew Campbell and recovered by Pat Wright.

Fortunately, Oklahoma State couldn’t get out of the shadow of their own goalposts, and UConn return man Carlton Parker brought their punt back to within 35 yards of the end zone with 3:47 remaining, but again the drive fizzled out after a 4th and 7 pass attempt fell harmlessly to the turf.

With time running out, UConn needed another stop, and got it. Having used all three timeouts earlier in the drive, a Sam Rourke tackle for loss of Lonnie Wright helped force the Cowboys to punt, and the pressure was now on UConn to pull out a two minute drill in 46 seconds.

The drive moved quickly having no timeouts to spare. TDL ran for eight yards, hit Rashad Harris and Jeff Matthews in succession for gains of 18 and 12, and an 11 yard TDL scramble stopped the clock when he stepped out of bounds. One more completion to backup tight end Ja’Montres Jones put the Huskies in field goal range, and Mike Miller, not known for his powerful leg, was able to put up the 27 yard field goal to tie the game -- at 10 -- and move to overtime.

At that point, TDL had left the game after getting hit on the Jones completion, hobbling off the field with help of trainers. Fifth year senior Jarrett Rivero, the artist behind the Ohio State comeback, was now in the game for UConn. Unfortunately, Rivero, needing simply a touchdown to win the game, was held six yards short and both teams settled for field goals in the opening OT.

Despite a sack from corner Matt Evansarsin to start the second OT, Rivero hit Matthews over the top for a 23 yard completion to the six yard line, and a play action run from Rivero gave UConn the 20-13 lead.

(Left) Mike Miller kicked the tying field goal with less than ten seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. (Right) Jarrett Rivero gave UConn a brief lead in the second overtime.

Oklahoma State answered back, though. Star QB Omar Myrick, held in check all game, finally got the chance to prove his worth. Faced with a 4th and goal from the one yard line with the game hanging in the balance, UConn sent an all-out blitz. With UConn defenders barreling in, Myrick just barely got the pass off in time, and Nick Valete was in the end zone with no one in the zip code. 20-20, third OT looming.

An Altarri Gardner sack stalled Oklahoma State on their possession in the third OT, and Stetson kicked his third field goal of the day to give OK State a 23-20 lead. Rivero got UConn’s drive started out OK with a designed scramble for a first down to the 13 yard line, but perhaps got overzealous when UConn ran the same play again, with a similar success level. There was one hitch, however. Rolling left, Rivero looked to dive into the end zone for the winning score with defenders closing, but was instead drilled at about the half-yard line by, who else but Evansarsin. The ball popped free, rolled a few yards backwards, and eventually it was Campbell who scooped it up and ran Rivero’s miscue back for a game-sealing touchdown.

A visibly angry Coach Diaco did not talk to the media after the game. Quickly examining TDL’s loss, this is no doubt a big one for UConn. There are now only two quarterbacks on the roster-- Rivero and sophomore Isaac Jackson. This is also the third offensive starter out for multiple weeks at the moment, as TDL joins tailback Jeff McNeal and tight end Royce Archie on the mend.

We’ll answer a lot of questions next week when UConn returns home to the impenetrable fortress in East Hartford to face West Virginia. The Mountaineers, led by William Crest, ended UConn’s 21 game winning streak last season when the two teams met in Morgantown.

Connecticut Huskies at Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oct 5, 2019	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
#14 Connecticut Huskies (4-2, 1-1)	7	0	0	3	10	20
Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-0, 2-0)	0	7	3	0	19	29

Team Stats Comparison
	CONN	OKST
Total Offense	388	333
Rushing Yards	131	177
Passing Yards	257	156
First Downs	22	15
Punt Return Yards	19	0
Kick Return Yards	40	47
Total Yards	447	380
Turnovers	3	1
3rd Down Converstion	6-16 (37%)	8-20 (40%)
4th Down Conversion	2-3 (66%)	1-1 (100%)
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2-2 (66%)	2-3 (100%)
Penalties	0-0	1-8
Posession Time	13:51	18:09

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		CONN	OKST
2:45	(CONN) Williamson 4 run (Miller kick)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CONN	OKST
7:56	(OKST) Myrick 4 run (Stetson kick)	7	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CONN	OKST
5:17	(OKST) Stetson 18 FG	7	10
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CONN	OKST
:08	(CONN) Miller 27 FG	10	10
OVERTIME SCORING		CONN	OKST
	(OKST) Stetson 24 FG	10	13
	(CONN) Miller 25 FG	13	13
	(CONN) Rivero 4 run (Miller kick)	20	13
	(OKST) Myrick 1 pass Valete (Stetson kick)	20	20
	(OKST) Stetson 43 FG	20	23
	(OKST) Campbell returned fumble 91 yds	20	29

Connecticut Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tanner Dean-Lowry 19-39 234 0 1 Jarrett Rivero 1-2 23 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Luke Williamson 20 72 3.6 1 Jarrett Rivero 7 34 4.8 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jeff Matthews 6 74 12.3 0 Rodney Reid 5 58 11.6 0 Rashad Harris 3 47 15.6 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD John Cox 12 (7) 0 0 0 Tim Duchane 9 (1) 0 0 0 Marcus Bradford 8 (3) 0 0 0

Oklahoma State Cowboys PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Omar Myrick 22-28 156 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Lonnie Wright 24 99 4.1 0 Omar Myrick 21 81 3.8 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Nick Valete 5 47 9.4 1 Derek Gaither 3 27 9.0 0 Scott Davidson 2 22 11.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Antoinelee Kelley 9 (1) 1 0 0 Matt Evansarsin 7 (2) 1 0 0 Anthony Campbell 5 0 0 1 Charles Canzell 5 0 1 0

[NewscasterNews4]

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

Name: Caleb Henderson
Age: 25
Skin Color: Dark
Body Size: Small
Head: #4
Apparel: Polo
Hat/Glasses (Optional): Glasses
Alma Mater: Eastern Michigan
Offensive Philosophy/Playbook: Spread
Offensive Run/Pass Ratio: 75-25 in favor of passing
Defensive Philosophy/Playbook: 4-3
Defensive Run/Pass Ratio: 50-50
Specialty: Offense

Any other information to consider for selecting initial job? (Not required; Tell me geographic interest, coaching style, etc.) Hopefully I can get a job in the state of Michigan, if not then idc where I coach at.

Btw finished reading this this morning, and this is great! It's got me inspired to start a college football dynasty of my own lol, but with preparing for college and all I probably won't be able to get around to it. Good luck on the rest of the season, glad to see you found a stable QB in TDL for now.

EDIT: Of course right after I say TDL's a stable QB option you post the recap and he's out for the year lmao. Hope you can solve your QB woes soon tho.

[mattrd39]

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

Dang, tough loss against the Pokes. Looked like a fun game though. That running game is going to have to get going, especially with the youth under center due to TDLs injury.

Hopefully that core of linebackers can continue playing well, looks like they made a number of plays in the OSU backfield... if you can keep holding teams to 10 points in regulation, you'll win more often than you lose.

[thesportsguru11]

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

NCAA Players of the Week

Other CAC Results -- Week 7

Tyrell Coley (OC, Rutgers, Knickerbocker91)

BYE (4-1, 1-1)

Week 8: @ #19 Michigan (5-1, 3-0)


Laurence Gilbert (OC, Syracuse, Mike7Vinas)

L (2-4, 0-3), 17-42 @ NC State (3-2, 1-1)

G. Martin: 16-33, 162 yds, 2 TD
T. Moore: 12 rush, 84 yds, 3 rec, 44 yds
J. Scott: Rec TD

Week 8: BYE


Brennan Smith (DC, #2 Purdue, bryan3169)

BYE (5-0)

Week 8: @ #4 Ohio State (4-1, 2-0)


Jordan James (OC, Maryland, HARLEE23)

L (1-4, 0-2), 28-35 vs. #23 Michigan (5-1, 3-0)

R. Adams: 9-20, 154 yds, TD
M. Kimbrough: 17 rush, 96 yds, TD
M. Washington: 10 rush, 78 yds
G. Bracken: 8 rec, 130 yds

Week 8: @ #5 Penn State (4-1, 1-1)


Emmett Nama (OC, Cincinnati, BookWork123)

L (1-4, 0-3), 17-19 vs. Army West Point (3-2, 2-1)

W. Curry: 10-26, 91 yds, rush TD
I. Miller: 22 rush, 145 yds, TD
T. Tucker: 9 rec, 85 yds

Week 8: @ ECU (1-4, 0-2)


Connor Turley (OC, UCF, convict38)

W (3-2, 2-0), 49-21 vs. Marshall (3-2, 1-2)

S. Vincent: 20-31, 361 yds, 2 TD
W. Alexander: 16 rush, 81 yds, 2 TD
K. Coles: 7 rec, 129 yds

Week 8: @ Memphis (4-1, 2-0) -- CAC Game vs. Coach King


Quinn Shea (HC, #1 USC, thesportsguru11)

W (6-0, 5-0), 42-7 @ Arizona (2-4, 0-3)

B. Ewing: 13-17, 157 yds, 2 TD, rush TD
L. Holycross: 19 rush, 101 yds, 2 TD
S. McAfee: 10 tckl (7 TFL), 3 sck

Week 8: vs. Wake Forest (2-3)


J.J. Mac (OC, UTEP, RedRaider10)

L (2-3, 1-1), 21-23 @ Old Dominion (4-1, 2-0)

C. Samples: 11-16, 133 yds, TD
K. Lewis: Rush TD
T. Davis: 6 rec, 65 yds

Week 8: vs. Rice (2-2, 0-2)


Spanky Westside (OC, UAB, Trevor3_2009)

L (0-7), 0-52 @ #19 Texas A&M (5-1)

T. Ward: 5-16, 71 yds
D. Clark: 15 rush yds
S. Simpson: 4 rec, 67 yds

Week 8: @ LSU (2-4)


Max Crenshaw (OC, Central Michigan, whughes)

L (2-3, 1-1), 28-35 vs. Buffalo (3-2, 1-1)

P. Weaver: 9-17, 138 yds, 3 TD, 15 rush, 66 yds
J. Bailey: 12 rush, 71 yds
M. Johnson: 7 rec, 94 yds
J. Muhammad: 2 rec TD

Week 8: @ Bowling Green (4-1, 2-0) -- CAC Game vs. Coach Freday


Equanimeous St. Brown Sr. (OC, Middle Tennessee State, TheRosterMaster)

W (2-3, 2-0), 28-24 vs. North Texas (1-4, 1-1)

W. Johnson: 8-16, 91 yds, 2 TD
A. Calhoun: 19 rush, 86 yds, TD
W, Johnson: 4 rec, 58 yds, TD

Week 8: @ Western Kentucky (2-4, 1-2)


Brian Grant (OC, New Mexico State, LadiesAndEdelman)

W (4-1, 1-0), 31-28 vs. Georgia State (1-4, 0-1)

J. Jackson: 12-34, 143 yds, 3 TD, 22 rush, 75 yds
A. Ward: 19 rush, 79 yds, TD
M. Hudson: 5 rec, 80 yds, TD

Week 8: @ ULM (2-3)


Matthew King (OC, Memphis, ThaBoss18)

W (4-1, 2-0), 30-10 vs. ECU (1-4, 0-2)

E. Harvey: 16-27, 263 yds, TD
N. Mason: 20 rush, 110 yds, TD
R. Burton: 7 rec, 160 yds

Week 8: vs. UCF (3-2, 2-0) -- CAC Game vs. Coach Turley


Kaelyn Willingham (HC, Washington St., kswgrad2012)

L (0-5, 0-2), 21-48 @ Utah (2-3, 1-1)

C. Hill: 21-42, 317 yds, TD
T. Gray: 8 rec, 103 yds
B. Larson: 2 rec Td
J. Neltren: 8 tckl (4 TFL), sck

Week 8: vs. Colorado (3-3, 1-2)


Brian Woodard (OC, Ohio, mattynokes)

L (0-5, 0-2), 10-38 vs. Ball St. (3-2, 1-1)

R. Humphrey: 15-29, 159 yds
R. Cox: 12 rush, 66 yds, TD
J. Oliver: 7 rec, 97 yds

Week 8: vs. Buffalo (3-2, 1-1)


Bob Trebell (HC, Hawai'i, DrGravyBoat)

W (5-2, 2-2), 29-17 vs. UNLV (4-2, 1-1)

M. Bryant: 16-30, 301 yds, TD
F. Cantana: 14 rush, 68 yds, TD
S. Cayden: 6 rec, 142 yds

Week 8: BYE

Name: Caleb Henderson

-----

Btw finished reading this this morning, and this is great! It's got me inspired to start a college football dynasty of my own lol, but with preparing for college and all I probably won't be able to get around to it. Good luck on the rest of the season, glad to see you found a stable QB in TDL for now.

EDIT: Of course right after I say TDL's a stable QB option you post the recap and he's out for the year lmao. Hope you can solve your QB woes soon tho.

Haha, all is good. Thanks for submitting a CAC! As for the NCAA dynasty, play within your limits -- that is, if a Madden dynasty is all you can handle, just stick with that. Besides, I enjoy that one as it is.

Or if you really want to do something, chronicle your NCAA dynasty in which you are importing draft classes for. You can do a brief weekly recap or something. Keeps it simple without giving yourself too much of a commitment.

As for the QB race, I'm really anxious now, as you could imagine. TDL could be back for a bowl game or two, but we need to find something and fast. Both Rivero and I-Jax have had their moments, but neither have been very consistent. Rivero's only career start was a flop (against Boise State last year), and I-Jax has accuracy issues. This is no doubt a huge loss. Hopefully nothing goes too horribly in TDL's absence.

Dang, tough loss against the Pokes. Looked like a fun game though. That running game is going to have to get going, especially with the youth under center due to TDLs injury.

Hopefully that core of linebackers can continue playing well, looks like they made a number of plays in the OSU backfield... if you can keep holding teams to 10 points in regulation, you'll win more often than you lose.

Big time defensive struggle, it was a great game! Some of the best games in the dynasty have come in that manner. Considering Oklahoma State has the top defense in the nation right now and some great offensive players in Myrick and Wright, I am quite pleased with the overall result and performance almost all the way around.

It's weird that Williamson's stats are not better, because he has been quite effective, especially catching passes out of the backfield. I'll give him some slack though, he's a redshirt freshman and we've only got two guys left before we get to the redshirts. Besides, it's not like he's costing us any games.

It's not so much youth anymore (Rivero is a senior, I-Jax a sophomore), it's just no consistency, as I mentioned above. I think Rivero will get the next start, but it's nice to know that if he falters, I have another capable option at least. But again, we need to find something and fast if we want any shot at a conference title.

Linebacker is a huge strong spot for us. We have a perfect mix of veteran with young, developing talent right now. Bradford and Leonard are the leaders, with Tim Duchane and Tashawn Coleman splitting time at the other middle spot. John Cox is one of those guys whose overall (76) doesn't indicate the player he is. He's a sure tackler, got a lot of speed, great off the edge. He's playing very well this season.

Yet I think it's the potential starters in two years that have me most excited. We'd have Cox, Tom Willis (who's played well in garbage time this season), with a bunch of redshirt freshmen from the great recruiting class of 2018 in Mike Hill, Scott Coffman, A.J. Paxston and Alex Brown. To make things even more interesting, we're recruiting more young talent.

[thesportsguru11]

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










Flashback: William Crest's epic day led to our first defeat last year at the hands of the Mountaineers, one of our worst losses in the dynasty to this point. The game also sparked Bob Diaco's not so nice relationship with Bill Legg. His comments gave him a $10K fine the next week. Relive the game here.

[RoundingThird]

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

I'm really lovin' that BG offense right about now. 63-17? Crazy. Hopefully, I can finally become a head coach somewhere.

[whughes]

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

I'm really lovin' that BG offense right about now. 63-17? Crazy. Hopefully, I can finally become a head coach somewhere.

I love it anytime Western Michigan loses. So good job coach

[thesportsguru11]

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

I'm really lovin' that BG offense right about now. 63-17? Crazy. Hopefully, I can finally become a head coach somewhere.

Chris Williams is amongst the best QB's in the nation. He reminds me a lot of Zach Long when you had him in your dynasty. Tailback Jasper Haley is a stud (and only a junior), so that's a helluva one-two punch.

If you guys don't collapse in MAC play (considering the REALLY weak conference), you'll be moving up at minimum to a Power 5 coordinator job.

I love it anytime Western Michigan loses. So good job coach

I'm an Eastern Michigan guy myself, so I'll take it!

------------

I also have noticed that is the 1,000th post in this thread. Very cool! Thanks for the support over the first thousand and let's go for a thousand more!

[itsbigmike]

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

Being born and raised in Kalamazoo, it's nice to have fans of all three michigan directional schools in the thread.

[Saltiren]

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

A friend showed me this dynasty, I really like it!

[thesportsguru11]

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

The Harris Heave

Harris trucks defender en route to winning UConn touchdown with no time left

Rashad Harris' finest hour: He makes the catch (left), trucks Ty Byrd (center), then dives into the end zone to win the game for UConn (right).

For 31 minutes and about 55 seconds, nearly the span of an entire game, UConn’s season was spiraling out of control. Two weeks ago, UConn was sitting at 4-1, on a three game win streak, ranked fourteenth in the nation with a firm foundation at quarterback. It was actually reasonable to start thinking about a playoff berth again.

Fast forward two weeks, the win streak and quarterback gone, the ranking lowered and playoff chances appearing dashed. After Joey Saffler’s third successful field goal of the afternoon, UConn found themselves trailing West Virginia 37-27 -- an almost insurmountable margin with 1:18 on the clock. But what else should we have expected? They allowed West Virginia QB Kyle Huff to perhaps surpass ex-teammate William Crest for the most dominating performance against a Bob Diaco/UConn defense (shredding the Huskies for 483 yards and 3 TD passes), and the Huskies had lost starting QB Jarrett Rivero to his own injury earlier in the game (he’ll be back next week).

Before the end, though, we’ll get you up to speed.

The Huskies had been trailing right from the get-go, when West Virginia came out on the first play from scrimmage with a 58 yard pass play from Huff to Adam Elonn. That translated to a field goal. On UConn’s first drive, Luke Williamson fumbled and corner Seph Sanders capitalized, returned for a touchdown. UConn found themselves down 17-7 after the first quarter, and every time they scored, West Virginia countered. All game long, West Virginia had their way through the air with the UConn secondary. Huff threw eleven passes of ten yards or more in the first half. (Add on ten more in the second half for a total of 21 such pass completions).

Seph Sanders (33) recovered Williamson's early fumble and put West Virginia up 14-0.

Even though they got within seven points on numerous occasions, their defense let them down all day long. Only a Shavlion Wade INT in the end zone in the third quarter prevented the game from getting really out of hand. Ultimately, UConn fell behind 37-27 with Saffler’s aforementioned third field goal. With only 1:18 remaining, things were looking grim.

After a nice return up past midfield, Isaac Jackson threw three straight incompletions 33 yards out from the end zone and faced a fourth and long. But something weird happened. Instead of panicking, Jackson stood tall in the pocket and threw a laser over the middle to Rodney Reid, who walked into the end zone to pull UConn within three points. Even so, there was only 23 seconds left. UConn still needed an onside kick recovery and a quick touchdown. With no timeouts to assist Jackson, UConn managed to somehow get the ball back.

Johnny Williams, the seventh-string wide receiver, came away with the ensuing onside kick in a scrum after it bounced off the hands of two West Virginia receivers. Great play and all, but there were still 60 yards to go and 23 seconds in which to cover it. It didn’t help that I-Jax tripped over a lineman for a sack, then threw an incompletion, leaving but two seconds on the clock.

Unlikely seventh-string wideout Johnny Williams (88) and sixth-string corner J.D. Rudie (1) recovered the onside for UConn.

With one last chance, Diaco went to an unusual hail mary plan. West Virginia, perhaps looking screen or an underthrown I-Jax ball, lined up their short prevent defense loaded to the left side to counter the three receivers UConn trotted out there. Rashad Harris, UConn’s best receiver, was the lone receiver on the right side of the field, with Luke Williamson in to help block.

After fielding the snap, Jackson dropped back about seven steps, rolled right and sure enough found Harris open. Safety Ty Byrd was on Harris -- for reasons I still don’t understand -- in single coverage, meaning Diaco’s plan actually had worked as Byrd was the only Mountaineer defender within literally 30 yards of Harris. I-Jax threw as far as he could, reaching Harris on the Mountaineer 40. Harris came back to the ball and hauled in the pass as Byrd got turned around and ready to make a tackle.

The rest was all Harris, and he did not disappoint. In fact, he made one of the most iconic plays in team history. Harris turned, threw an elbow into Byrd and sent him flying. The junior receiver suddenly had the whole field to himself, and took off. Confused West Virginia defenders gave chase, but none could close. With a defender closing inside the five yard line, Harris dove into the end zone over the pylon and got in for the winning touchdown. The ultimate comeback had been completed. A mob ensued in the end zone as UConn fans stormed the field after Mike Miller kicked a meaningless extra point.

Even Coach Diaco couldn’t contain his excitement. “That was f------ awesome!”, he exclaimed on the field. “I’m so proud of our guys, they never gave up, everyone made plays when we needed, that’s how every game should be played.”

For all the good and absurd that came out of the game, start with UConn once again assuming command of the Big 12 East, it became increasingly clear that UConn has lots of work to do. Rivero played well in TDL’s absence (19-33, 275 yards and a TD with almost 100 more on the ground), but did his best to keep UConn in the game with no help from the defense. The secondary looked horrid next to West Virginia’s pass heavy attack.

UConn will look to put the defensive struggles behind them against when they travel to play 1-5 Kansas next week. UConn won their last meeting last October.

West Virginia Mountaineers at Connecticut Huskies
Oct 12, 2019	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
West Virginia Mountaineers (4-2, 1-2)	17	7	3	10	37
#21 Connecticut Huskies (5-2, 2-1)	7	7	3	24	41

Team Stats Comparison
	WVU	CONN
Total Offense	511	612
Rushing Yards	28	238
Passing Yards	483	374
First Downs	21	29
Punt Return Yards	25	0
Kick Return Yards	0	171
Total Yards	536	783
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Converstion	3-8 (37%)	8-17 (47%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0	3-5 (60%)
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1-2 (75%)	3-2 (100%)
Penalties	1-5	3-30
Posession Time	10:36	21:24

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		WVU	CONN
7:11	(WVU) Saffler 27 FG	3	0
5:12	(WVU) Sanders 63 returned fumble (Saffler kick)	10	0
2:29	(CONN) Hart 2 run (Miller kick)	10	7
1:20	(WVU) Huff 26 pass Koskerill (Saffler kick)	17	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		WVU	CONN
6:53	(CONN) Rivero 8 pass Harris (Miller kick)	17	14
6:20	(WVU) Huff 19 pass Koskerill (Saffler kick)	24	14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		WVU	CONN
5:57	(CONN) Miller 40 FG	24	17
4:43	(WVU) Saffler 44 FG	27	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		WVU	CONN
6:25	(CONN) Parker 1 run (Miller kick)	27	24
5:18	(WVU) Huff 32 pass Elonn (Saffler kick)	34	24
3:03	(CONN) Miller 30 FG	34	27
1:18	(WVU) Saffler 39 FG	37	27
:23	(CONN) Jackson 33 pass Reid (Miller kick)	37	34
:00	(CONN) Jackson 66 pass Harris (Miller kick)	37	41

West Virginia Mountaineers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Kyle Huff 29-45 483 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Helton Tollora 6 46 7.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Gray Williams 7 111 15.8 0 Brandon Koskerill 6 69 11.5 2 Adam Elonn 4 130 32.5 1 Cal'Tray Mitchell 3 55 18.3 0 DEFENSE TACK (TFL) SACK INT TD Courtney Heeney 9 (1) 1 0 0 Seph Sanders 7 0 0 1 Ty Byrd 7 (1) 1 0 0 Kason Karsley 7 0 0 0

Connecticut Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Isaac Jackson 2-7 99 2 0 Jarrett Rivero 19-33 275 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Luke Williamson 24 105 4.3 0 Jarrett Rivero 16 95 5.9 0 Alfred Hart 5 10 2.0 1 Carlton Parker 4 19 4.7 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Rashad Harris 6 137 22.8 2 Jeff Matthews 5 88 17.6 0 Rodney Reid 5 79 15.8 1 DEFENSE TACK (TFL) SACK INT TD Ross Sinclair 9 0 0 0 Marcus Bradford 5 (2) 0 0 0 Gene Jackson 3 (3) 3 0 0

UConn and West Virginia traded punches all day. Rashad Harris' first TD (left) was immediately followed by Brandon Koskerill's (right).

Being born and raised in Kalamazoo, it's nice to have fans of all three michigan directional schools in the thread.

Having fans of multiple different schools makes things really interesting in the interactions between everyone. whughes is a Michigan fan, I'm a USC/BC fan, we have a few Ohio State fans. It no doubt helps keep everyone's interest.

Unfortunately for the MAC Michigan series, Western Michigan was last relevant two years ago when they went to a New Year's Six game. Central and Eastern have had losing records each of the first five years of the dynasty I believe, and WMU of course is winless this year.

A friend showed me this dynasty, I really like it!

Your friend has good taste! Thanks for taking the time to join the site and comment, hope you'll stick around and keep reading!

[mattrd39]

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

Crazy win, love the way you set that play up, luckily you got the look from WVU you wanted!

Rivero definitely had a decent day before getting knocked out, hopefully he can be "the guy" for the time being, especially with his dual-threat ability. Although I-Jax did create that magic at the end...

Hopefully the game against Kansas gives you a chance to work out some of the kinks in the secondary/defensively and you can make charge towards a division title. I know it is all cyclical, but the East definitely seems weaker than the West in your Big 12.

[whughes]

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

Oh man, what a game. Big fourth quarter. Obviously HUGE last two minutes of the game. I love how both of Jackson's completions went for 6. Great win, even better comeback. Like Matt said above me, hopefully you can get your defensive struggles fixed next weak against an assumingly week Kansas squad