UConn’s Loss Tough To Watch
The Story: Like watching a horror movie called “The Nightmare in Atlanta,” there had to be plenty of cringe-worthy moments when Jim Mora made his UConn football team sit through the game film from Saturday’s 35-14 defeat to Georgia State.
TUESDAY MORNING QB: Before looking ahead to this week’s matchup against FIU, let’s examine five plays – all in the first half — that doomed the Huskies against Georgia State. The plays are listed in chronological order, but first, a word of caution: You might want to avert your eyes on a few of them.
1. Grainger’s 65-yard TD run: For your viewing pleasure, we’ve provided still images from the game’s first touchdown to show what went wrong for UConn.
• The first pic shows the pre-snap look for Georgia State QB Darren Grainger, whose offense is in a 5-receiver set. It has the desired effect for the Panthers because UConn is completely spread out, with the red circle indicating the wide-open area that Grainger plans to attack.
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• The second photo shows Grainger already at the line of scrimmage. His center and left guard double-team one UConn defensive tackle, while the right guard takes care of the other DT lined up off his outside shoulder, and the result is a major thoroughfare for Grainger.
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• The UConn linebackers – Jackson Merrill (top) and Noah Plack (bottom) — are still near the hash marks, well out of position to react in time to stop Grainger, who bolts through the gaping hole untouched. This wasn’t the last time UConn had trouble with Grainger running the football.
2. Mitchell’s fumble: Down 7-0, UConn advanced into Georgia State territory with a chance to keep pace with the Panthers. The Huskies got as deep as the 35-yard line, but an illegal block penalty pushed them back to the 45.
• On third and 15, Joe Fagnano connected with Jalen Mitchell, who after gaining 14 yards fumbled as he was hit, and the Panthers’ Jeremiah Johnson recovered the ball — as he did the next one as well …
3. Buckman’s muffed punt: Midway through the second quarter, UConn had just forced Georgia State into a three-and-out, and with the Panthers punting from around its own 10-yard line, the Huskies looked as if they’d have excellent field position near midfield to start their next series.
• But UConn return man Brett Buckman couldn’t reel in Kade Loggins’ line drive punt. Instead, it bounced off his body and was recovered by the Panthers at the UConn 46. Six plays later, Georgia State scored its second touchdown and went up 14-0.
• Winning the turnover battle is always critical, and the two fumbles cost UConn as many as 14 points.
4. Holding call on Houston run: Now down 14-0, UConn had Ta’Quan Roberson in at QB for the injured Fagnano. On 2nd and 7 at the UConn 29, Devontae Houston rushed for 16 yards to the 45. But it didn’t stick.
• A holding call on Noel Ofori-Nyadu brought the play back, and UConn never recovered. The Huskies had to punt from their own 20. By the way, the Huskies’ longest official run of the night was 10 yards – on the game’s last play..
5. Grainger on third-and-long: On the ensuing drive, the Panthers put the game out of the reach on Grainger’s legs. Two plays — both on third-and-long — could be cited here, but we’ll go with the last one.
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With Georgia State facing third-and-17 on the UConn 33, the pre-snap look has UConn’s two linebackers, Jackson Mitchell and Noah Plack, near the line of scrimmage, showing blitz. But that merely played right into Grainger’s hands because the Panthers run an option play, with Grainger going right and Marcus Carroll serving as his potential pitch man.
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• The second photo shows Grainger running through another huge hole at the line of scrimmage. UConn’s Pryce Yates (90) must choose between Grainger and Carroll. He chooses Carroll, and with Mitchell and Plack occupied inside, Grainger scampers untouched for 26 yards until he’s tackled at the UConn 7. Two plays later, Carroll scores on a 2-yard run to give Georgia State a 21-0 at halftime.
• There’s little-to-no reason to cite any other plays beyond those five because the game was even from that point and the damage was already done.
• It’s safe to say Mora and his coaching staff have a wealth of talking points for a team that in one week looked like it regressed from the one that played NC State.
FAGNANO’S SHOULDER: There should be an update today on Fagnano’s injured shoulder and whether either he or Roberson will get the start Saturday.
• Fagnano hurt his right shoulder when he was tackled hard on a second quarter run. He immediately grabbed the shoulder, although he stayed in the game for one more series and threw three more passes, completing one of them for six yards.
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO? Now 0-2, UConn is obviously trending downward. But just how low? Sporting News ranks UConn 92nd out of 133 FBS schools.
• ESPN’s post Week 2 SP+ rankings are much less gracious toward the Huskies. SP+, which is a predictive and opponent-adjusted measure, has UConn ranked 129th. FIU, the Huskies’ next opponent, is ranked 107th by Sporting News and 124th according to ESPN.
— David Kull
