The score wasn’t pretty — 24-21 — but it was also not indicative of how UConn’s season-opener against Wagner on Thursday night actually played out.
With all the necessary caveats about Wagner being an FCS program — and not really a very good one at that — anyone who watched the Huskies in 2018 can see that the 2019 version of this football program has improved. How much it has improved and whether or not that will translate into more wins this season, however, is still a major question.
Before we go too far down the rabbit hole of projecting the rest of the season, let’s revisit week one.
Coaching
We’ll break down both sides of the ball individually in a moment, but one of the major question marks entering this season is how this team would react to brand new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Out is Billy Crocker on defense, in is Lou Spanos, a former analyst at Alabama with NFL experience. Gone to the NFL is offensive coordinator John Dunn and in is former O-Line coach Frank Giufre, the Huskies’ third offensive coordinator in three years.
Head Coach Randy Edsall, playing with a roster that is more than half freshmen and sophomores, managed a very conservative game on both sides of the ball. All offseason Edsall approached questions about the program’s future with a Belichickian “we’re onto Wagner,” and that mentality was very evident on Thursday night. It seemed clear that leaving East Hartford with a “W” was the one and only goal this team had; we will be awarding no style points for the effort.
On the whole the Huskies were a couple of breakdowns on offense and defense away from winning this one by two-to-three scores, which would have made all of UConn nation feel a lot better going into Illinois next week. But those breakdowns are part of the game and need to be addressed if this team wants to steal a couple more wins moving forward.
Offense
Last year, David Pindell had just about the best season a QB could possibly produce on a 1-11 squad. His speed and playmaking ability single-handedly lifted the offense to respectability. While it’s still too early to tell how significant a backslide his departure will cause, it sure seemed like Edsall and Giufre were worried enough to call what could generously be described as a conservative game on offense. Whether or not Giufre and Edsall intentionally ran such a basic game plan Thursday night to leave next week’s opponent Illinois guessing is unclear, but one thing is certain: the Huskies were not taking any risks on the offensive side of the ball.
On the whole, the offense moved the ball well most of the game, which is what you want to see against an FCS opponent. But UConn’s inability to finish drives left a lot of points off the board. During one stretch, the Huskies got inside the Wagner 40 on three consecutive drives but came away with a big old goose egg courtesy of a failed fourth down attempt at the end of the first half, a Kevin Mensah fumble and Mike Beaudry’s pick-six.
Speaking of the new QB1 and Western Tallahassee State Vocational College (or something) transfer, he had a mixed debut. He was effective in the short passing game, looking crisp and accurate in routes under 10 yards, but a complete non-factor in the downfield attack, often overthrowing his receivers. Beaudry also had a major blunder late in the third quarter, under-throwing RB Art Thompkins on a short route that resulted in a Wagner defender jumping the route and returning the errant pass for six points the other way.
The receivers were cromulent enough when given the opportunity, with decent performances by Matt Drayton and Heron Maurisseau accounting for nine of Beaudry’s 14 completions and for nearly two-thirds of the passing yards. The only misstep was a Quayvon Skanes drop in the end zone that forced the Huskies to settle for a field goal in the second quarter.
The one bright spot for the Huskies on offense was the running attack. The offensive line looked every bit as good and improved as advertised, and the dual threat of Mensah and Thompkins gives the Huskies a legit 1-2 punch out of the backfield. Mensah, who in 2018 was the Huskies first 1,000 yard rusher since Lyle McCombs in 2011, carried the ball an incredible 36 times for 144 yards and a touchdown, with his only blemish being an ill-timed fumble in the third quarter. Thompkins, a graduate transfer from Toledo generated 91 yards on the ground on 17 carries with another 14 yards receiving on two catches.
Again, the competition only gets harder from here, but it looks as though the Huskies rushing attack is going to have to lead the way for the Huskies in 2019.
Defense
The 2018 Huskies defense was historically, laughably, embarrassingly bad — literally the worst defense in the history of modern college football. The performance cost Billy Crocker his job, but ultimately the majority-freshman group of 2018 was overmatched and simply not ready for primetime.
Thursday night, the Huskies defense was unequivocally better in every aspect of the game. Yes, the competition was inferior, but watching this team and its personnel, it is clear that the guys are showing signs of improvement.
The secondary, which was lit up like the 4th of July every single week last year, was moving to the ball and closing routes much faster, tackling more effectively and hanging with Wagner’s receivers all game long. Omar Fort, Tyler Coyle and Tahj Herring-Wilson looked significantly better and are going to be key to holding opposing receivers in check this season.
The defensive line and linebacker units looked bigger and stronger than last year’s squad. They managed to get penetration on Wagner QB Christian Alexander-Stevens repeatedly throughout the game, with sophomore Lwal Uguak coming up with two huge third down sacks. Notre Dame transfer linebacker DJ Morgan, who seems like a huge pickup for the Huskies, led the way for the defense with eight tackles as well.
Still, the team is young and breakdowns — like surrendering a 55-yard TD run on what looked like a for-sure tackle for a loss towards the end of the third quarter — simply cannot happen. Additionally two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the 4th quarter — a throat slashing gesture on Fort and a late hit on freshman Eric Watts — cost the Huskies points and helped keep Wagner in the game.
Again, yes, it’s Wagner, but this is more or less the same defensive unit that surrendered 49 points to FCS Rhode Island last year. And by all accounts the guys are bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled than last year, which is what we absolutely needed to see.
Prognosis
So how should we feel about the game Thursday night? I would say cautiously optimistic for a couple more wins this season.
There is no question the defense has improved, and the offense, while it does have some major holes to fill, should give fans a reason for hope in the form of the running game.
Next week the Huskies will see a major upgrade in competition when they face the Big Ten’s Illinois Fighting Illini, who absolutely waxed Akron last week 42-3. The oddsmakers have Illinois as a 17-to-21 point favorite. And while even the most optimistic fans are probably not putting their money on a UConn victory, if the team can hang with the Illini and keep the game respectable, there may be meaningful football to be played in East Hartford this season after all.
