Connecticut News, Raphielle Johnson, Uncategorized

UCONN SURVIVES TURNOVERS IN WIN AT OHIO

By Raphielle Johnson

There was a lot of excitement regarding the change in offensive scheme going into Connecticut’s season opener on Saturday at Ohio. Some young playmakers on the outside, a full offseason as starter under the belt of QB Zach Frazer and a no-huddle system from Joe Moorhead that looked like a safe bet to ramp things up. But the Huskies had to rely on some familiar staples in beating the Bobcats at Peden Stadium 23-16.

Running backs Jordan Todman (25 carries, 157 yards and a TD) and Andre Dixon (19 carries for 100 yards) topped 100 yards on the ground, and the defense finished with three sacks two by DE Lindsey Witten) and two turnovers forced. That made up for four turnovers (three interceptions) from the Husky offense, but those weren’t the only miscues on the night. Desi Cullen sent two kickoffs out of bounds, contributing to the Bobcats’ average starting position in the first half of the 38-yard line (Connecticut’s average starting position in the first half was down in the mid-twenties).

The receivers dropped balls, two of which resulted in interceptions for the Bobcats. All sixteen of Ohio’s points were the result of Husky turnovers, something that could get them blown out next week when North Carolina comes to town. Defensively the Huskies were their usual solid selves, but there was a blown assignment on Boo Jackson’s touchdown pass to Taylor Price to tie the game at 7. Connecticut held the Bobcats to less than two yards per rush (61 yards on 32 carries) and 3-of-14 on third downs.

Despite throwing for just 127 yards and three interceptions Frazer threw a pair of touchdown passes, the first of which opened up the scoring when he found fullback Anthony Davis for a four-yard score in the first quarter. The second touchdown pass was to senior wide receiver Brad Kanuch, who made up for a dropped pass on the 35-yard conversion. Three Huskies finished with two receptions: TE Ryan Griffin (26 yards), RB Andre Dixon (20 yards) and WR Dwayne Difton (7 yards). Kanuch led the team in receiving yards on the evening.

Next up for the Huskies is North Carolina, who is ranked 21st in the AP Poll and 20th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Tar Heels took care of The Citadel on Saturday by the final score of 40-6. Their passing game struggled as well but backs Shawn Draughn and Ryan Houston combined for 163 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. North Carolina won last season’s meeting in Chapel Hill by the final of 38-12.

What went right at Ohio

1. Running the football. Todman and Dixon showed off why they can be a talented and dangerous tandem toting the football. And given the amount of growth that needs to take place in the passing game it’s good to see that they’re up to the task.
2. Defense! Besides the blown assignment on the long touchdown pass (letting a man behind you when playing Cover 3 is a serious no-no) Todd Orlando’s defense played well for being placed in tough situations on so many occasions. They can definitely be better, and the injuries to linebackers Scott Lutrus (shoulder) and Sio Moore (leg) could take a bite out of their depth if serious, but tonight was a decent start.
3. Short-yardage defense. Three times the Bobcats were in situations in which they needed either one or two yards to convert for a first down. 3rd and 1, 3rd and 2 and 4th and 1, and the Husky defense did not allow one to be converted. Ohio isn’t the strongest team in regards to their backs, but to show that kind of ability in the opener has to be encouraging.

What went wrong at Ohio

1. Too many turnovers. Four turnovers, three of which can via interception, is not a good way to start your season. Not all of the picks were the fault of Zach Frazer, but you can’t blame fans if they saw these issues and thought “here we go again” in reference to the passing game. With the defense likely to be tested much more next weekend, the offense cannot afford to put them behind the eight ball.
2. Kicking game issues. David Teggart missing a field goal isn’t a huge issue; he’s a solid kicker who will definitely make his share. But with kickoff specialist Desi Cullen you cannot kick the ball out of bounds, which happened on two occasions against the Bobcats. Luckily for the Huskies Ohio was unable to take advantage of either miscue, but that may not be the case against better competition. This becomes even more important next weekend in hosting a team that used special teams as a springboard to victory last season.

Next: North Carolina, Saturday September 12th at Rentschler Field