I like to joke about how painful it can be to watch UConn football sometimes.
I did it today, too, as the Huskies fell 16-10 to Marshall in the St. Petersburg Bowl, ending a 6-7 season.
When you score a touchdown in an 11 am bowl game with no one watching https://t.co/3qA6dOYRbH
— A Dime Back (@ADimeBack) December 26, 2015
THIS. IS. UCONN. FOOTBALL. (and we’re very sorry about that)
— A Dime Back (@ADimeBack) December 26, 2015
Return for a touchdown Blocked PAT UConn loses in overtime #guranteed
— Russell Steinberg (@Russ_Steinberg) December 26, 2015
And I wasn’t the only one. Let’s be honest: this was not a good football game. Marshall dominated time of possession (34:42-25:18), total yards (389-213) and converted on 11 of 17 third downs. Yet the Thundering Herd were only able to muster 16 points out of it. That’s a whole lotta wasted effort, and others took notice.
This UConn-Marshall game is the taint of bowl season.
— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) December 26, 2015
@TheUConnBlog @NoEscalators I’ve never seen a box score look more Future UConn WTF Victory in my life pic.twitter.com/hRGeoDQttj
— Ryan T. Smith (@USFRyan) December 26, 2015
UConn makes football seem so incredibly difficult.
— Mele Ka-Pete-kimaka (@peterberkes) December 26, 2015
But here’s the funny part: UConn still had a chance to win the game. If Bryant Shirreffs had been able to pull a touchdown out of his ass on that last drive, the Huskies would have won 17-16.
Funnier still: UConn has looked like this for a while now, and looked like this during most of its wins this season. Even when they’ve won, the Huskies have won ugly.
The core of an offense that, at times, was able to do just enough, will be back next year. Running backs Arkeel Newsome and Ron Johnson both have two more years of eligibility. Receiver Noel Thomas has one more year. Tight ends Alec Bloom and Tommy Myers have two more years. Tyraiq Beals was only a freshman.
They will only get better.
So make fun of how this team plays all you want. Make fun of their ugly back-to-back five-point wins over Villanova and Army to start the season. They were wins, led by Johnson against the Wildcats and Shirreffs against the Knights.
Make fun of their dumb made-up rivalry with UCF and talk all you want about how a 40-13 win in Orlando is hardly an accomplishment. No one would have noticed it if Bob Diaco wasn’t positively insane.
That 7-3 win at Tulane was as unwatchable a piece of garbage as any game ever played. Guess who “won” that game? Jamar Summers, a sophomore, on a pick-six.
Call the win over Houston a fluke. It was. But it allowed the Huskies to go to the postseason. Want to hear a few teams who were not so fortunate? Try Syracuse, Boston College, Texas, Maryland, Rutgers and South Carolina.
So yeah, UConn football can be painful to watch. But you were able to watch it in December because it was just good enough.
By no means is this meant to say that championships or a Power 5 invite are right around the corner. This is, instead, meant to put things in perspective. UConn did not look like a Power 5-caliber school for more than maybe a few minutes this whole season, but it was still able to reach a bowl game in a tough conference. Don’t let anyone poo-poo this season by making fun of how those wins came.
The team may have been unwatchable sometimes, but it was still playing in December when many traditional “football schools” had already finished.
This year, that’s good enough.
