(13)
49 --- 7-2 (5-1)
17 --- 2-7 (0-6)
Cause for Concern?
UConn offense anemic early against cellar dwelling Cavs, but recover in second half for blowout
UConn looked a little rusty at the start of the game; Quay LaMarr (LEFT) intercepted Jordan Brown early, while Mike Jones (RIGHT) recovered a fumble for a touchdown.
Entering a matchup against Virginia, history was on UConn’s side, having won both recent matchups in 2016 and 2017. Five years later, UConn ran the recent head-to-head record to 3-0 with a 49-17 triumph over the Cavs. However, while that score might look impressive on paper, it was not a very inspiring blowout for UConn fans.
With UConn’s season effectively boiling down to their high-profile matchup against Notre Dame in two weeks, contests against Virginia and Louisville are a good barometer for UConn in assessing their chances to possibly steal an ACC title. While the Irish are playing like national title contenders, UConn still has lots of work to do, if today’s contest is any indication.
Despite sitting at the bottom of the ACC, Virginia kept UConn close for awhile before
Jordan Brown gathered himself and proceeded to slice up the Cavalier defense. Brown went just 8-18 in the first half while stalling many drives with inaccurate throws near several easy or open targets. His very first pass of the day was thrown well past tight end
Alex Paige and intercepted by safety
Quay LaMarr.
Virginia quarterback
Morgan Johnston struggled early as well, firing an interception right back toward
Linzell Tyson, the two-way freshman dynamo. Redshirt freshman
Kelvin Cooke, receiving his first start at nickel this week, also recorded his first career interception off of Johnston.
Freshman takeover as Linzell Tyson (LEFT) and Kelvin Cooke (RIGHT) record their first career interceptions.
Despite both sides having some chances to score, UConn would assume a scant 7-3 lead after Brown finished a successful drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Paige. The score did not change as the defenses dug in in the second quarter. However, right before the half UConn’s offense finally broke through. Orchestrating a last minute touchdown drive, true freshman
Ashanti Swift dove up the middle for a short touchdown run that opened up the game to 14-3. Swift recorded his second-100 yard game of the season, a much needed confidence booster for the blue chip freshman.
After a close game in the first half, UConn finally pounced and poured it on after the half. With the exception of a
Michael Jones fumble recovery touchdown for Virginia, the Huskies did all of the scoring, adding four touchdowns in the third frame to take a 42-10 advantage. Jordan was responsible for each one, passing for three and rushing for the other. The targets for most of Jordan’s production were the big three receivers for UConn, as
Lonte’ Speier caught six balls for over 100 yards and a score,
Devin Brown was on the receiving end of 116 yards while
Chamarkelle Byrom added four grabs for 70 yards and a score. Devin Brown had perhaps the biggest play, being on the receiving end of a 67 yard catch and run that set up UConn’s final touchdown of that third quarter, a play action goalline pass to reserve fullback Jayson Moss.
Lonte’ Speier (LEFT) high steps into the end zone and Chamarkelle Byrom (RIGHT) each assisted Jordan Brown’s massive third quarter output.
What was a close game turned into a 30-point blowout in just nine minutes, but that turned out to be a positive as several backups got chances to play. Notably, the Linzell Tyson show at quarterback returned and electrified Husky fans. Tyson was responsible for a 14-yard rushing touchdown late in the going off a specialty triple option play. While he didn’t get as many chances as he did against BC, Tyson is now the second leading rusher on the team this season behind Swift. Redshirt freshman quarterback
Kelly Carlson also got to see some action, completing two of his three passes.
The second-team defense was less than inspiring, however, allowing a fourteen-play drive for Virginia’s only offensive touchdown of the day as Johnston passed to freshman tight end
Jay Scarborough. It should be noted, however, that receivers
Marcus Rodgers and
Collin Miranda, both athletes coming out of high school, got chances to play at corner in this stretch, which could mean Coach Belichick is experimenting or thinking ahead.
The Virginia offense was not bad, by any stretch. Sophomore running back
Tayron Monroe gained 100 yards in total rushing and receiving, and Johnston, despite throwing two interceptions, completed nearly 60% of his passes and 240 yards. Five receivers made four or more catches for the Hoos as well. For the second straight week, UConn saw just how much the secondary missed injured senior
Sam Barnett, who is still week-to-week with an abdominal tear. While the front seven continues to play solid ball, including
Mike Hill adding eleven more tackles for a nation-leading total of 88, the secondary will need to step up in the next few weeks if Barnett remains out.
Virginia did not play a complete game, but they gave their best shot and made a few highlight plays. Nick Provest (LEFT) makes a diving catch, while Ishaq Church (RIGHT) lays the wood on Ashanti Swift.
“We’re getting every team’s best shot”, noted head coach Stephen Belichick. “No excuse for subpar play”.
UConn can expect another tougher than usual game against Louisville next week. Though the Cardinals are 2-7 and have some of the nation’s worst statistical numbers, they gave UConn a tough battle last year in Hartford, and this year’s game takes place in Louisville.
Freshmen Tyson (LEFT) and Swift (RIGHT) make quite the pair in the backfield. | Connecticut Huskies at Virginia Cavaliers |
| Nov 5, 2022 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| #13 Connecticut Huskies (7-2, 5-1) | 7 | 7 | 28 | 7 | 49 |
| Virginia Cavaliers (2-7, 0-6) | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Team Stats Comparison |
| CONN | UVA |
| Total Offense | 514 | 273 |
| Rushing Yards | 163 | 14 |
| Passing Yards | 351 | 259 |
| First Downs | 22 | 14 |
| Punt Return Yards | 42 | 36 |
| Kick Return Yards | 16 | 18 |
| Total Yards | 572 | 327 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| 3rd Down Conversion | 6-12 (50%) | 3-17 (17%) |
| 4th Down Conversion | 0-0 | 2-3 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 6-6-0 (100%) | 3-1-0 (33%) |
| Penalties | 6-35 | 3-22 |
| Possession Time | 18:10 | 17:50 |
| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | CONN | UVA |
| 3:57 | (UVA) Bryant 42 FG | 0 | 3 |
| :19 | (CONN) Paige 8 pass from J. Brown (Ricciardi kick) | 7 | 3 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | CONN | UVA |
| :01 | (CONN) Swift 1 run (Ricciardi kick) | 14 | 3 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | CONN | UVA |
| 6:36 | (CONN) Speier 29 pass from J. Brown (Ricciardi kick) | 21 | 3 |
| 5:06 | (UVA) Jones returned fumble 18 yds (Bryant kick) | 21 | 10 |
| 3:09 | (CONN) Byrom 13 pass from J. Brown (Ricciardi kick) | 28 | 10 |
| 2:08 | (CONN) J. Brown 5 run (Ricciardi kick) | 35 | 10 |
| 1:14 | (CONN) Moss 4 pass from J. Brown (Ricciardi kick) | 42 | 10 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | CONN | UVA |
| 3:31 | (CONN) Tyson 14 run (Ricciardi kick) | 49 | 10 |
| :28 | (UVA) Scarborough 2 pass from Johnston (Bryant kick) | 49 | 17 |
| Connecticut Huskies | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Jordan Brown | 19-32 | 314 | 4 | 1 | | Kelly Carlson | 2-3 | 37 | 0 | 0 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | Ashanti Swift | 22 | 102 | 4.6 | 1 | | Linzell Tyson | 6 | 32 | 5.3 | 1 | | Mike Molden | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | Lonte' Speier | 6 | 107 | 17.8 | 1 | | Devin Brown | 4 | 116 | 29.0 | 0 | | Chamarkelle Byrom | 4 | 70 | 17.5 | 1 | | Alex Paige | 3 | 38 | 12.6 | 1 | | Jayson Moss | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 1 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | Mike Hill | 11 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Vic Castalanetta | 4 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Linzell Tyson | 4 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | | Kelvin Cooke | 3 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | | Kiel Hughes | 3 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | | James Mandrell | 2 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | Anthony Ricciardi | 0-0 | 7-7 | 7 | |
| | Virginia Cavaliers | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | Morgan Johnston | 29-47 | 259 | 1 | 2 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | Tayron Monroe | 13 | 55 | 4.2 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | Tayron Monroe | 9 | 55 | 6.1 | 0 | | Jeremy Levine | 6 | 94 | 15.6 | 0 | | Jason Steiner | 5 | 53 | 10.6 | 0 | | Nate Provest | 4 | 27 | 6.7 | 0 | | Jay Scarborough | 4 | 25 | 6.2 | 1 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | Calvin Slaughter | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Jason Treangen | 7 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | | Danny Lewis | 5 (2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | | Kasey Johnson | 5 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Quay LaMarr | 3 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | | Michael Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | Freddy Bryant | 1-3 | 2-2 | 5 | 42 |
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Next Week: (13) --- 7-2, 5-1 vs.
--- 2-7, 2-4