I’m not breaking any news here when I say this was a bad one.
With all due respect to South Florida, the Bulls didn’t win this game as much as UConn lost it.
The play calling, at times, was poor. There were some stupid penalties. UConn had opportunity after opportunity and could not convert.
It all added up to a 28-20 loss, severely crippling the Huskies’ once-realistic hopes of a bowl bid. Now, UConn will need to pull three wins out if its last five games, with only one (at Tulane) being a contest in which UConn might actually be favored.
There’s nothing I could say that would sum things up better than head coach Bob Diaco did with his opening statement after the game. He skipped the flowery optimism and spoke the cold, hard truth. Here it is, in its entirety:
I just pitched the stat sheet because it’s not relevant. It’s a bizarre read. I take full responsibility and accountability for what is a sad, hard loss. I saw that student section packed. They all came out and I just feel terrible that I let them down; I really do. Credit to South Florida for playing well enough to win today. We did not. I don’t need to watch the tape to see that, in particular on defense, we were not the UConn Husky defense that we are. One that has force and that is ready to keep the ball inside. One that tackles and one that doesn’t give up explosive plays. All of those things happened today. I need to be sure that I have these guys ready to play better than we did today.
The other two phases are the same tale of the tape. Beautifully executed return at 14-10 and then an unsportsmanlike penalty. Forget about the fact that you let a punt drop and roll for 30 yards. So at the end of that drive you are kicking a field goal as opposed to punting. That’s a huge deal. We need to do a better job as a staff finding ways to be successful in critical situations. We had third and fourth down (with short yardage to go) and if you get those it’s a different circumstance.
It was great to see the students (fill the student section). I hope they come back and I’m sorry.
That’s it and it’s perfect. As you’ll see in the Good and Bad sections, the stat sheet really had little to do with the outcome.
The Good:
- Most of the stats. The 528 total yards — a feat UConn hadn’t accomplished in about two years. The 26 first downs to 17 for USF. The 34:51 of possession. Bryant Shirreffs’ 28 completions for 365 yards. It all looks good and it all means very little when the other team manages eight more points.
- Jamar Summers and Junior Josephs each earned interceptions. For Josephs, it was a career first.
- UConn had a strong first half defensively, allowing only seven points and four first downs.
- Arkeel Newsome reminded us all exactly how good he is and how good he will be (very).
- Shirreffs rushed for a net of 100 yards, so that’s kinda cool.
- The student section was jam-packed in the first half. That was nice to see.
- The UConn field hockey team beat No. 11 Old Dominion 1-0 on Saturday.
The Bad:
- The Huskies’ first drive, where they could not convert on 4th-and-1 on the USF 8-yard line
- The time Brian Lemelle let a punt drop and roll behind him for 30 yards until it was downed at the UConn 16
- Shirreffs’ interception in the second quarter, leading to a quick USF touchdown
- Having an opportunity to answer that but needing to settle for a field goal after taking the ball to the USF 2-yard line
- The five times Shirreffs was sacked, which cost the Huskies 29 total yards
- The last drive of the first half, which was a clock management nightmare that included a delay of game penalty and time expiring as Newsome ran the ball to the USF 6. All with a timeout remaining. That drive amounted to 50 wasted yards.
- When UConn elected to go for a 44-yard field goal into the wind on 4th-and-1 to start the fourth quarter
- How somehow, according to Ed Daigneault, UConn was able to run 48 plays in USF territory and still only score 20 points.
Bowl eligibility watch:
9/3 vs. Villanova
9/12 vs. Army
9/19 at Missouri
9/26 vs. Navy
10/2 at BYU
10/10 at UCF (Civil ConFLiCT)
10/17 vs. USF (Homecoming) This one hurts. Gonna be tough to find three more wins from here.
10/24 at Cincinnati
10/30 vs. East Carolina (non-conference)
11/7 at Tulane
11/21 vs. Houston
11/28 at Temple
A picture of Bob Diaco soaking wet to cheer you up
