Fourth-quarter mistakes burn Huskies in loss to BYU

OK I’m going to make this quick because I’m helping my parents move and they’re already yelling at me.

If you stayed up to watch the game Friday night, congratulations. You’re as dumb as I am. You know what happened: UConn led 10-7 and went into the fourth quarter at BYU tied at 10.

Already that should have been grounds for a moral victory. Then it all fell apart.

Bryant Shirreffs threw an interception when he should have just taken the sack, leading to a BYU touchdown. Then the Huskies appeared to have stopped the Cougars, but Andrew Adams kicked the ball in celebration and was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct. BYU scored another touchdown two plays later. Shirreffs then threw another interception and BYU tacked on three more.

The final was 30-13 in a game that was really much closer than that.

- Advertisement -

“There was a two-minute span of a dog fight there where we have a chance to win the game,” head coach Bob Diaco said. “But it was two minutes there of a physical error, executive error and a mental error.“

By 1:37 a.m. ET, the Huskies had dropped their third straight game to fall to 2-3 on the season. UConn still does not have a road victory in Diaco’s tenure.

The good:

• Despite being out-played virtually the entire game, UConn’s defense made the plays necessary to keep the score tied going into the fourth quarter. Just about any Husky fan would have signed up for that earlier in the week.
• Arkeel Newsome, at times, looked incredible. He’s smarter, more confident and better than he was a year ago. This isn’t UConn’s signature running game of old, but it’s a start.
• Justin Wain was relied on more than the Huskies would like, but he had a solid game. His six punts averaged 41.2 yards each, forcing BYU back into its own territory even after the most pathetic of offensive possessions.
• The schedule gets easier from here, with the Civil ConFLiCT next Saturday against a winless UCF team. Three straight losses sucks, but the big games are still ahead. 

The bad:

• The entire fourth quarter.
• It was really two mental errors that killed UConn in the end: Shirreffs’ interception when he should have taken the sack and Adams’ penalty that kept BYU’s drive alive. Those are things that cause losing.
• For the second game in a row, UConn struggled to stop its opponent on third down. The Cougars were 9-16 in those situations.
• UConn could not get its defense off the field. BYU had the ball for 35:12, compared to 24:48 for the Huskies.
• The Huskies’ offensive line again looked porous. It was a problem all of last year and seemed to have been dramatically improved over the first couple games of this season. Not so much anymore. Shirreffs was sacked four times and netted negative yardage on the ground for the game (-5 yards).
• Defensive breakdowns were abundant. Far too often, the Huskies appeared to lose a BYU receiver, who would somehow find the ball wide open for a first down. BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum completed 35-53 passes for the game, giving him 365 yards through the air.

Bowl eligibility watch:

9/3 vs. Villanova
9/12 vs. Army
9/19 at Missouri
9/26 vs. Navy
10/2 at BYU Yeah, another loss, but it all picks up from here. Need to beat UCF.
10/10 at UCF (Civil ConFLiCT)
10/17 vs. USF (Homecoming)
10/24 at Cincinnati
10/30 vs. East Carolina (non-conference)
11/7 at Tulane
11/21 vs. Houston
11/28 at Temple