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)

UConn Flashback

UConn has had some troubles with Oklahoma State in their three years in the Big 12.

2018 saw a program-changing game, as starter David Hamilton left injured in, as it turned out, his last game for UConn.

2019 saw a tough overtime loss, punctuated by Andrew Campbell's fumble six all the way back to seal up a Cowboys win, and then in the Big 12 Championship Game later that year lost again.

[whughes]

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

Good luck against Ok State. The right side of their offensive line is weak, Diaco would be smart to send a bevy of blitzes to that side. I like the new stats comparison too Guru

[thesportsguru11]

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

WE'RE BACK!

UConn headed back to playoff as Huskies fend off pesky Cowboys in 30-17 decision, win first Big 12 Title

Coming into last night’s Big 12 Title Game against Oklahoma State, UConn head coach Bob Diaco, at one point, stood alone in AT&T Stadium. And he started to reflect. He remembered how hurt his team was after their loss in this exact same game a year ago. In the exact same place. Against the exact same team. He couldn’t let it happen again.

With the College Football Playoff on the line, UConn came into Jerruh World on December 5, 2020 and put the demons of 2019 behind them once and for all. Facing the Oklahoma State Cowboys again, Luke Williamson ran for a career-high 217 yards and a pair of scores to help UConn to a 30-17 victory, winning their first Big 12 Title while clinching their spot in the 4-team playoff, set to kick off on New Year’s Day.

Williamson’s rushing deluge was much needed on a day when quarterback Isaac Jackson took a step back from his record nearing performance against Houston, today completing just 13 of his 22 passes for 216 yards, a score and a pick.

Thanks also to Williamson, UConn was able to take control early and overcome a sluggish second half by posting 24 of their 30 points in the opening two stanzas, including 17 in the second quarter.

Marcus Bradford quickly got rolling on defense, picking off Oklahoma State's senior QB Kenny Greenwood to spoil an eleven play opening drive that got inside the UConn 35. Though Brad Brown picked off I-Jax immediately thereafter, UConn held the Pokes to only a field goal, giving OK State a 3-0 lead.

UConn got on the board next with a 74 yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Jeff McNeal. McNeal got some great blocking from the wideouts and fullback Alfred Hart to spring the speedy senior utility man loose.

UConn had some big offensive plays on the day. (LEFT) Luke Williamson drags in defenders on his 27 yard TD run. (CENTER) Jeff McNeal flips into the end zone on his 74 yard catch. (RIGHT) Rashad Harris makes an acrobatic catch along the sideline.

With momentum turning to their side, the Husky D forced a three and out, and Williamson capped off a ten-play drive with a one yard TD punch up the gut.

Williamson would also run in a score from 27 yards out on a four-play drive to stretch the lead to 21-3 midway through the second quarter. That would be all the offensive power UConn would need, as Oklahoma State struggled to get points on the board all game long.

Greenwood completed 25 passes and moved the ball well, but threw 3 INT’s, star running back Lonnie Wright was held to under 100 yards and top wideout Parke Lanoer was held in check all game by Shavlion Wade (who didn't record an INT for the second straight game). Joey Stetson kicked two field goals to net all six first half points for the Cowboys, and tacked on another in the third to get Oklahoma State to nine after the third quarter elapsed.

I’m proud of the defensive effort.. They gained yards but all that matters are the points you put up, and we’re good at holding teams in the red zone. I’m proud of our guys.

Oklahoma State managed to hang around in part because of the struggles of UConn’s offense in the second half. Late in the going, Greenwood fired a TD pass to Nick Hayden and converted the two point try to pull within 11 points (26-17). However, the UConn D came up with two late INT’s from Vic Castalanetta and the dagger from Sammie Leonard to wrap up any slim hopes the Cowboys had.

Highlights were far between for the Cowboys, but Nick Hayden dragged in a few UConn defenders for the Cowboys' only touchdown. (RIGHT) Brad Brown picks off I-Jax early in the going.

“Sweet. I don’t think I played very well last year, but there was more on the line now and we all came through. I’m excited to head to the Playoff!”

UConn will be going to the playoff for the second time, having previously been in 2017, their final season in the American Athletic Conference. UConn defeated Oregon in the Sugar Bowl, and then defeated Florida for the program's first national championship in football.

The win marks UConn's first football championship in the Big 12 conference, this being their third year as members. Their record now sits at 12-1. The full bracket and bowl slate will be revealed next with the final CFP poll.

Oklahoma State Cowboys at Connecticut Huskies
Dec 5, 2020	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-5)	3	3	3	8	17
#1 Connecticut Huskies (12-1)	7	17	0	6	30

Team Stats Comparison
	OKST	CONN
Total Offense	325	437
Rushing Yards	134	221
Passing Yards	191	216
First Downs	18	16
Punt Return Yards	8	26
Kick Return Yards	59	20
Total Yards	392	483
Turnovers	3	1
3rd Down Conversion	5-16 (31%)	7-16 (43%)
4th Down Conversion	1-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-1-2 (100%)	5-1-3 (80%)
Penalties	0-0	0-0
Possession Time	16:40	19:20

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		OKST	CONN
3:46	(OKST) Stetson 33 FG	3	0
2:49	(CONN) Jackson 74 pass McNeal (McCray kick)	3	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		OKST	CONN
8:00	(CONN) Williamson 1 run (McCray kick)	3	14
4:50	(CONN) Williamson 27 run (McCray kick)	3	21
2:48	(OKST) Stetson 20 FG	6	21
:44	(CONN) McCray 32 FG	6	24
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		OKST	CONN
1:07	(OKST) Stetson 41 FG	9	24
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		OKST	CONN
3:38	(CONN) McCray 24 FG	9	27
5:43	(OKST) Greenwood 14 pass Hayden (conversion good)	16	27
2:01	(CONN) McCray 20 FG	16	30

Oklahoma State Cowboys PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Kenny Greenwood 25-38 191 1 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Lonnie Wright 19 96 5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Nick Coley 7 75 10.7 0 Jason Hayden 5 39 7.8 1 Parke Lanoer 3 47 15.6 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD D.J. Key 11 (3) 1 0 0 Brad Brown 9 0 1 0 Alex Zeigler 6 (3) 1 0 0 Bakari Stanton 2 (1) 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Joey Stetson 3-3 0-0 9 41

Connecticut Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Isaac Jackson 13-22 216 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Luke Williamson 33 217 6.5 2 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jeff McNeal 4 119 29.7 1 Rashad Harris 4 66 16.5 0 Royce Archie 2 10 5.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD John Cox 13 (3) 0 0 0 Sammie Leonard 6 (1) 0 1 0 James Mandrell 4 (2) 2 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Tyler McCray 3-3 3-3 12 32

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Good luck against Ok State. The right side of their offensive line is weak, Diaco would be smart to send a bevy of blitzes to that side. I like the new stats comparison too Guru

We didn't have any problems getting pressure. We only got a couple of sacks in total I think, but it turned out well nonetheless. We forced Greenwood into some throws late, and the Cowboys didn't seem to want to test us deep. I was frustrated to see them not run on us more, they had good success running Wright early in the game (like they have the past two seasons) but I understand the need to throw more trailing in the second half.

I used the stats comparison in the game preview for the Natty a couple years ago but haven't used it since. I'm thinking about overhauling the game preview graphics for next year, and the stats comparison might become a regular feature, so I appreciate the comment on that.

[BookWork123]

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

Nice job getting back to the playoff! Now go get that natty!


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[whughes]

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

Great win fellas. I'm itching to see how the rest of the games played out, and what the committee decides to do with Arkansas State

[ThatBritishGuy]

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

Revenge!! Great win, now onto the big show I'm sure, let's hope Williamson shows up for that one with another 200 yard performance!

[RoundingThird]

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

I'm glad my new home field was so good to you. Go bring home another Natty for us back in Storrs.

[thesportsguru11]

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

Red-hot Wolverines vault into playoff talks with upset win over Nebraska; four teams fight for last two playoff spots as UConn, Oregon are in

Vandy wins first conference title in 97 years, Florida State destroys Duke

ACC: Florida State 65, #15 Duke 7
W. Humphrey (QB, FSU): 22-30, 414 yds, 5 TD, 4 rush, 102 yds, TD

AAC: Temple 31, Navy 28
M. Mason (RB, TEM): 20 rush, 118 yds

Big 10: #9 Michigan 23, #2 Nebraska 21
Q. Baker (CB, MICH): 5 tckl, INT, FF, FR

Big 12: #1 UConn 30, Oklahoma State 17
L. Williamson (RB, UCONN): 34 rush, 217 yds, 2 TD

C-USA: David Hamilton’s Fightin’ Old Dominion Monarchs 48, Texas State 28
David Hamilton (QB, ODU): 15-18, 286 yds, 2 TD, rush TD

MAC: Toledo 28, #17 Miami-OH 23
C. Collier (RB, TOL): 19 rush, 114 yds, 2 TD

MWC: #12 Fresno State 33, New Mexico 28
M. Patterson (QB, FRES): 23-36, 277 yds, 3 TD

Pac-12: #3 Oregon 48, #16 Colorado 24
S. DeWeaver (QB, ORE): 17-21, 290 yds, 3 TD, 25 rush, 98 yds, 2 TD

SEC: Vanderbilt 38, #14 Arkansas 35
J. Gonzalez (RB, VANDY): 27 rush, 156 yds, 2 TD


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Nebraska's Merriman wins Heisman over UConn's Williamson in tight vote

Nebraska running back Andy Merriman was awarded the 2020 Heisman Trophy at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York on Saturday.

The Huskers' feature back only since week 2 when their starter went down hurt, Merriman put together a record breaking season for Nebraska. The senior ran 368 times for a school record 2,249 yards and 26 TDs. Merriman emerged in the Heisman race around mid season and held the top spot for the majority of the second half.

Merriman won by only 77 points over UConn's sophomore tailback Luke Williamson, who made a late push with a 217-yard showing in the Big 12 Title Game. Williamson has ran for 1,840 yards and a school record 25 TD's on the ground this season while being the focal point of the top-ranked Huskies offense. Williamson could not quite take home UConn's first Heisman, instead settling for the runner up spot much like Josh Marriner did in 2017.

Also invited to the Heisman ceremony were Miami of Ohio's Jesse Scales, also a 2000 yard rusher, and USC quarterback Cam Miles, who won the Maxwell Award as the top player in the nation. Miles finished fifth. Oregon's star QB Se'Nelquez DeWeaver finished fourth.

The remainder of the top ten looks as follows: Ole Miss sophomore QB Devon McCullough finished sixth, Fresno State QB Michael Patterson finished seventh, followed by Auburn tailback Braylon Norton, Rutgers QB Rian Scott and Notre Dame QB Lance Ward.

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Shav Wade, Altarri Gardner take home National Awards

The legend of Shavlion Wade continues to grow. The true sophomore continued his legendary season by taking home the Thorpe Award for the nation's top defensive back, as well as the Bednarik Award, given to the best defensive player in the nation.

Wade has had one of the best statistical seasons in school history for a defensive back, tallying 39 tackles, 10 pass deflections and a dizzying 10 interceptions, with one of those being returned back 98 yards for a touchdown against Michigan in September.

Wade wasn't the only Husky to take home some hardware this season. Defensive end Altarri Gardner, a first year starter as a junior, won the Lombardi Award for the nation's top interior lineman. Gardner continues UConn's trend of statistical leaders at the defensive end spot, as Gardner is the nation's leading sack artist at 13. Gardner also has 20 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

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Nice job getting back to the playoff! Now go get that natty!

Thanks BookWork! We'll certainly do our best.. with a team as hot as we've been since I-Jax's insertion into the lineup, we really have a shot at Natty #2.

Great win fellas. I'm itching to see how the rest of the games played out, and what the committee decides to do with Arkansas State

We shall see what everything looks like soon enough! As in, next post soon enough! Wasn't our best game by any stretch, but luckily for us we didn't need to play perfectly. I'm very excited to play through the CFP.

Revenge!! Great win, now onto the big show I'm sure, let's hope Williamson shows up for that one with another 200 yard performance!

Thank you! I was happy to net Williamson a great game -- considering the way he's carried our offense for a lot of the season, if he plays well in the playoff we're going to be a very tough out.

I'm glad my new home field was so good to you. Go bring home another Natty for us back in Storrs.

I'll do my very best! Oregon is going to be a tough matchup if we draw them. As I've already said, with Williamson and the play of the defense the last six weeks or so, I think we have a real shot for a second title..

[HARLEE23]

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

We pooped the bed the second half of the season! Congrats on the playoff birth though!

[thesportsguru11]

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

Committee takes two-loss Tech over one-loss Arkansas State, strength of schedule the reason

Ducks jump UConn to grab playoff's top seed

The playoff committee has spoken: One-loss Group of 5 teams? No mas.

Arkansas State played their way to an 11-1 record and third straight Sun Belt title after losing a tight game to Auburn early in the year. However, Auburn was one of just four .500 teams that the Red Wolves played all year -- and the only Power 5 team. That loss kept Arkansas State out.

Despite sitting idle on Champ Week, Georgia Tech had the better resume than the Red Wolves and jump to #4 - they'll make their second trip to the playoff, following their semifinal exit against Florida in 2018. Tech lost to Clemson on the road and Duke at home in another down year for the ACC, but played better quality teams out of conference, including Georgia, Alabama and Notre Dame.

The Jackets will face Oregon in the Farmers Insurance Rose Bowl. The Ducks are making their third appearance in the playoff, having won it all in the first playoff (2014) and losing the Sugar Bowl in 2017 against... UConn.

The Huskies slide to #2 after a closer than hoped Big 12 Title Game win over Oklahoma State, but will face Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl. The Big 10 Title Game losers had a good enough resume to make their loss to Michigan not hurt as much. That game will be a tailback battle between Heisman winner Andy Merriman and runner-up Luke Williamson.

The title game will take place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey -- the first cold-weather Title Game in the playoff era.

Full Bowl Map for 2020 Season:

*AUTHOR'S NOTE: CAC teams are highlighted in bold. I made a little news post about the bowl name changes a while ago and they can be reviewed here. This is something I've done in past seasons and expect to do more of moving forward.



Sports Authority Bowl Denver: Denver, CO - Mississippi State (7-5) vs. Virginia Tech (7-5)

Famous Idaho Potato: Boise, ID - Toledo (8-5) vs. Wyoming (6-6)

Dish Network San Diego Poinsettia Bowl: San Diego, CA - #22 Notre Dame (7-5) vs. New Mexico (9-4)

Tropicana St. Petersburg: Tampa Bay, FL - Western Kentucky (6-6) vs. Memphis (6-6)

CenturyLink New Orleans: New Orleans, LA - Rice (7-5) vs. Georgia State (7-5)

Amazon Las Vegas: Las Vegas, NV - #14 USC (8-4) vs. #12 Fresno State (12-1)

Sheraton Hawai'i: Honolulu, HI - Florida Atlantic (9-3) vs. Colorado State (7-5)

General Motors Bowl Detroit: Detroit, MI - Rutgers (7-5) vs. Akron (8-4)

CitiBank Military (pres. by Northrop Grumman): Annapolis, MD - Central Michigan (7-5) vs. Navy (8-5)

Chevron Holiday: San Diego, CA - Baylor (7-5) vs. Washington State (8-4)

Bank Of America: Charlotte, NC - Miami-FL (6-6) vs. UCF (7-5)

Popeye’s Independence: Shreveport, LA - Tulsa (8-4) vs. Clemson (6-6)

Phillips 66 Bluebonnet Bowl: Houston, TX - #13 Michigan State (7-5) vs. West Virginia (6-6)

Target Bowl Minneapolis: Minneapolis, MN - #17 BYU (8-4) vs. Minnesota (7-5)

Armed Forces pres. by Cessna: Fort Worth, TX - Texas State (8-5) vs. Air Force (8-4)

Intel Santa Clara: Santa Clara, CA - #16 Marshall (9-3) vs. #21 Arizona State (8-4)

Valero Alamo: San Antonio, TX - Kansas (7-5) vs. Arkansas (7-6)

Buffalo Wild Wings Cactus: Tempe, AZ - #10 Texas (8-4) vs. Wisconsin (6-6)

Franklin American Mortgage Music City: Nashville, TN - Florida (7-5) vs. Louisville (6-6)

Sysco Sun Bowl: El Paso, TX - Colorado (8-5) vs. Pitt (7-5)

AutoZone Liberty: Memphis, TN - Texas A&M (6-6) vs. #23 Old Dominion (11-2)

DuPont Baltimore: Baltimore, MD - LSU (6-6) vs. Penn State (8-4)

Office Depot Outback: Tampa Bay, FL - #15 Tennessee (7-5) vs. #18 Iowa (8-4)

Fidelity Financial: Jacksonville, FL - #19 Auburn (8-4) vs. SMU (8-4)

Orlando’s Citrus Bowl pres. by CSX Play It Safe: - Orlando, FL -
Oklahoma State (8-5) vs. Duke (9-4)

Windy City Chicago Bowl pres. by Boeing: - Chicago, IL - Temple (8-5) vs. Maryland (6-6)

Southern Bowl: Mobile, AL - #25 Miami-OH (11-2) vs. Louisiana (7-5)

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We pooped the bed the second half of the season! Congrats on the playoff birth though!

Hahah yeah you did sadly. But the Big 10 has always been loaded in this dynasty and you did enough to pick up a bowl berth, so that's still a good thing. I'm curious to see what happens to your Terps in the bowl game and moving forward into the offseason and in 2021!

[BookWork123]

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

Well it appears Cindy got shafted AGAIN after going 7-5 (unless I missed it) , I apparently have the worst luck. Good luck in the Sugar Bowl tho!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[thesportsguru11]

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

Well it appears Cindy got shafted AGAIN after going 7-5 (unless I missed it) , I apparently have the worst luck. Good luck in the Sugar Bowl tho!

Yeah I just double checked and you guys didn't get a bowl game despite being 7-5; I know I didn't use your team as the sacrificial lamb that loses their bowl game when you run the playoff. Frankly I didn't even notice. That is really a shame, as you guys were in line to play in the AAC Title Game until your Week 14 loss.

But in any case, the most logical reason is there is a bowl tie-in error somewhere (truthfully I'm thinking of scrapping all the tie-ins for every bowl next season).. and that accounted for the 7-5 team getting left out in favor of conference members with worse records.

EDIT: Yeah I think I found it. The editor doesn't show the AAC #1 team in a bowl slot anywhere -- the AAC's 4th slot goes to the Chicago Bowl, and I think that was supposed to be you guys. Instead, the conference champions, Temple, took that spot. I'd bet that's probably it.

If it's not that, I don't know what it is. We can play it off as you guys were on probation or passed up a bowl invite waiting for a better game, and didn't get one like Louisiana Tech did in real life one year. But I'm really really sorry about that. You guys deserved a bowl slot, no doubt.

[whughes]

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

After seeing Michigan win the Big Ten I was hoping they'd wiggle their way into the playoff, but im biased. I'm ok with how the committee laid out the rankings. I'm surprised Fresno State isn't ranked higher with that 12-1 record. Good luck in the playoffs

My boys at CMU will have their hands full with Navy. As you know all too well the option is hard to stop in this game so hopefully our DC coaches that side of the ball up well. My offense might have to score 6 touchdowns to win the game.

[thesportsguru11]

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

After seeing Michigan win the Big Ten I was hoping they'd wiggle their way into the playoff, but im biased. I'm ok with how the committee laid out the rankings. I'm surprised Fresno State isn't ranked higher with that 12-1 record. Good luck in the playoffs

My boys at CMU will have their hands full with Navy. As you know all too well the option is hard to stop in this game so hopefully our DC coaches that side of the ball up well. My offense might have to score 6 touchdowns to win the game.

If Michigan had three losses instead of four, they might have had a claim to pass Nebraska. I was surprised about Fresno as well.. I've never been shy about giving smaller schools chances in the big bowl games and I'd have happily left them in a big boy bowl had the game placed them there. But they'll get one of the better non-New Year's games playing Coach Shea and USC, so we'll see how legit they are.

Yeah you've been around long enough to remember my plight with Army and Navy (and later on Cincinnati) every year in the AAC. I'm a little worried about your offense.. I don't remember a time where you've scored 40 or more so you'll definitely need the defense to play well. Navy has a very good offense.. I like their QB Jabari Woods and they have a couple of good tailbacks. Nevertheless, a win I think will be huge for your job security and prospects to look for a bigger job. 8-5 with a bowl win? I think a lot of teams would take a deep look at your body of work this season.

[gsutiger]

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

Good luck against Nebraska should be a good one. Your passing game against their pass defense