Edsall: Sometimes You Get Your Ass Kicked
The Story: UConn’s long-awaited return to the gridiron got off to a disastrous start in a 45-0 loss to Fresno State on Saturday.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn’s defense, which played well in the opening quarter, gave up 538 yards for 7 yards a play. The offense? Don’t ask. The offense was so bad we thought the 500-plus yards given up were a bright spot. We don’t know how a team can be any more unproductive offensively than the Huskies were. For all their lows over the last decade, they had their worst offensive performance in their FBS history as they mustered only 107 yards on 61 plays. UConn didn’t get anything going up front as the offensive line struggled to control the line of scrimmage and Jack Zergiotis was all over the place. He went 12-for-21 for 61 yards and missed a number of easy throws.
DON’T EXPECT A CHANGE AT QB: Randy Edsall shut down the thought of changing quarterbacks after one game. Zergiotis, who was the most experienced quarterback returning, wasn’t very good. He overthrew wide-open receivers twice for what would have been sure touchdown catches (though one play was moot because there was a holding call) and gave up the disastrous sack-fumble as he failed to see or feel the pressure coming off the edge late in the first quarter. That led to Fresno State taking a 7-0 lead and UConn never really recovered. According to Edsall, he’s still the most accurate quarterback and has the best arm, so in essence, we’re all doomed. It looks like this is Zergiotis’ job for the long term, or as football coaches are wont to do, one half of a game against Holy Cross.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: UConn had 11 punts and nine first downs. Joe McFadden, the All-America high school kicker from Texas, took eight of the punts and totaled 323 yards. He’s also the kicker, but UConn didn’t get near the red zone on Saturday. UConn’s longest drive of the game was six plays for 34 yards late in the fourth quarter.
WHAT DID EDSALL SAY? “Sometimes you get your ass kicked and when that happens, how do you respond? Sometimes you need to get your ass kicked to realize, ‘Oh, I gotta pick it up a bit.’”
OUR TAKE: We appreciate Edsall’s candor. He was salty and combative with the media and has a chip on his shoulder. (What’s new?) We are disappointed. Not in the loss — it was going to happen because Fresno State is very good &madsh; but how it happened. UConn hadn’t played a game in 600-plus days and only managed 107 yards? We cringe whenever Zergiotis went back to throw. UConn has Holy Cross next week, and if that game is close, it might get pretty ugly around here. It’s a 12-game season and the opening loss is nothing in the grand scheme. Still, it means everything to us. The football team continues to underperform and we would like to see improvement. Should the players get a couple of games under their belts before we make any permanent conclusions? Of course. But going down 45-0 on Saturday does not make us feel good about going to The Rent on Saturday at noon.
Morning Reads
• We don’t have the heart to put the football highlights in a module. If you have an affinity for the torture genre, he’s the football equivalent. (ESPN)
• Rodney Purvis signed a contract to play in the Ukraine this season. (Twitter)
• The women’s soccer team fell 4-1 to Boston College on Sunday. The Huskies are 2-1 on the season. (UConnHuskies.com)
