UConn Overcomes 5 First Half Turnovers To Win 38-20

Was this a game that the UConn Huskies deserved to win? Buffalo Bulls fans will say no, UConn fans will say yes. I will say because of the adjustments Randy Edsall made in the second half to overcome 5 first half turnovers, including 3 on special teams and 1 each by Tyler Lorenzen and Donald Brown that they deserved to win.

For most of the 1st half, it looked as though the Bulls were going to run away with this game as they converted the 5 turnovers into 20 points. Other than that though, the UConn defense was strong and the offense put together 28 unanswered points to lead them to a 38-20 win over the Bulls in front of International Bowl record of  40,189 at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The first of the five turnovers came on a Buffalo punt when the ball hit Jonathan Jean-Louis and the Bulls recovered. The UConn defense held strong and only allowed a field goal. The second turnover came when Jasper Howard muffed a punt and kicked into the end zone that was recovered by the Bulls for a touchdown. The third turnover came when Lorenzen was sacked and fumbled that was recovered Buffalo. UConn’s defense held strong and only allowed a field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, Robbie Frey made a bad decision after missing the kickoff and decided to take it out of the end zone where he was hit and fumbled at his own 4. The Bulls recovered it and on the first play from scrimmage scored a touchdown. Brown fumbled on UConn’s next possession but once again their defense held strong forcing the Bulls to punt.

So how was UConn able to overcome the 5 turnovers in the 1st half. It’s pretty simple. They had Donald Brown and Buffalo didn’t. Despite a fumble in the 1st half, Brown had 208 yards rushing a touchdown to keep the Huskies in the game. Brown finished the game with a career-high 261 yards on 29 carries and the touchdown in what could be his final game in a UConn uniform. The Bulls even stacked the line as UConn attempted just 1 pass in the first half but there was no stopping Brown and Lorenzen on the ground.

Lorenzen had a pretty good day on the ground as well as he showed no ill effects from the broken foot suffered against Louisville back in September. Lorenzen had 12 carries for 32 yards and two touchdowns on runs of 13 yards and 15 yards. Even Jordan Todman got into the act as he had 7 rushes for 62 yards. Lorenzen was 4-of-6 for 49 yards and a touchdown in the air as well.

The UConn defense held Buffalo to 237 yards with good portion of those coming late in the game when the Huskies were in a prevent defense. UConn finished with 407 yards of total offense with 358 of them coming on the ground.

Scoring:

1st quarter

BUF – A.J. Principe 38 yard field goal

CON – Donald Brown 45 yard run (Dave Teggart PAT)

2nd quarter

CON – Dave Teggart 32 yard field goal

BUF – Ray Anthony Long fumble recovery in end zone (A.J. Principe PAT)

BUF – A.J. Principe 29 yard field goal

BUF – James Starks 4 yard run (A.J. Principe PAT)

CON – Tyler Lorenzen 13 yard run (Dave Teggart PAT)

3rd quarter

CON – Steve Brouse 4 yard pass from Tyler Lorenzen (Dave Teggart PAT)

4th quarter

CON – Tyler Lorenzen 15 yard run (Dave Teggart PAT)

CON – Dahna Deleston 100 yard interception return (Dave Teggart PAT)

Offensive Player of the Game:

Donald Brown had 29 carries for a career-high 261 yards and a touchdown.

Defensive Players of the Game:

Robert McClain III and Jasper Howard both had 8 tackles in the game with McClain adding 2 pass breakups and Howard had one.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

1. The 5 turnovers in the first half led to 20 points by the Bulls but after Brown’s fumbled, the Huskies defense forced a punt. On the next play from scrimmage, Donald Brown busted a run for 75 yards to set up Tyler Lorenzen’s 13 yard touchdown run.
2. With UConn leading by 11 late in the 4th quarter, Dahna Deleston intercepted a Drew Willy pass and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown to put the nail in the coffin for the Bulls.

Offensive Notes:

• 1st qtr – 2nd/9 CON 19 – Tyler Lorenzen rushes for 10 yards
• 1st/10 CON 28 – Donald Brown runs for 8 yards
• 2nd/2 CON 36 – Lorenzen runs for 7 yards
• 2nd/5 CON 49 – Lorenzen sacked for 8 yards and fumbles that is recovered  by UConn’s Mike Hicks.
• 3rd/14 CON 40 – Will Beatty called for holding
• 3rd/24 CON 30 – Brown runs for 15 yards
• 1st/10 BUF 45 – Brown runs 45 yards for a touchdown
• 1st/10 BUF 30 – Brown rushes for 12 yards
• 1st/10 BUF 18 – Brown stopped for a 1 yard loss
• 2nd qtr – 2nd/9 CON 37 – Lorenzen is sacked for a 3 yard loss and fumbles. Ball is recovered by Buffalo at UConn’s 29
• 1st/10 CON 30 – Brown runs for 16 yards
• 1st/10 CON 46 – Zach Hurd called for holding
• 1st/21 CON 37 – Brown rushes for 5 yards and fumbles when hit that is recovered by Buffalo at UConn’s 40
• 1st/10 CON 12 – Brown busts one open for 75 yards
• 1st/10 BUF 13 – Lorenzen runs for a 13 yard touchdown
• 1st/10 CON 9 – Brown runs for 8 yards
• 3rd qtr – 2nd/10 CON 31 – Brown runs for 8 yards
• 1st/10 CON 44 – Brown rushes for 9 yards
• 2nd/8 BUF 46 – Brown runs for 18 yards
• 2nd/5 BUF 31 – Brown runs for 9 yards
• 2nd/5 BUF 17 – Todman runs for 10 yards
• 1st/goal BUF 4 – Lorenzen hits Steve Brouse for a 4 yard touchdown pass
• 1st/10 CON 49 – Todman runs for 22 yards
• 4th qtr – 1st/10 CON 32 – Lorenzen stopped for a 3 yard loss
• 2nd/13 CON 29 – Lorenzen hits Darius Butler for a 15 yard gain
• 1st/10 CON 45 – Lorenzen stopped for a 4 yard loss
• 2nd/14 CON 41 – Lorenzen hits Anthony Sherman for an 11 yard gain
• 3rd/3 BUF 48 – Lorenzen hits Kashif Moore for an 18 yard gain
• 2nd/6 BUF 26 – Todman rushes for a 6 yard gain
• 2nd/15 BUF 15 – Lorenzen rushes 15 yards for a touchdown

Defensive Notes:

• 1st qtr – 2nd/10 BUF 24 – Cody Brown and Kendall Reyes stop James Starks for 2 yard loss
• 1st/10 BUF 35 – Lawrence Wilson stops a Drew Willy to Starks pass for a 4 yard loss
• 3rd/4 BUF 41 – Greg Lloyd and Brown stop Starks for no gain
• 1st/10 CON 23 – Robert McClain III almost picks off a Willy pass
• 2nd qtr – 3rd/5 CON 35 – Cody Brown sacks Willy for a  2 yard loss
• 3rd/13 BUF 39 – McClain breaks up a Willy pass
• 3rd qtr – 2nd/8 BUF 3 – Brown stops Starks for no gain
• 3rd/8 BUF 3 – Jasper Howard stops a Willy to Naaman Roosevelt pass for a 1 yard loss
• 2nd/1 BUF 37 – Julius Williams and McClain stop Starks for a 12 yard loss
• 1st/10 BUF 39 – McClain stops a Willy to Roosevelt pass for a 1 yard loss
• 4th qtr – 1st/10 CON 44 – Williams stops a Willy to Starks pass for a 5 yard loss
• 3rd/15 CON 49 – Darius Butler stops a Willy to Starks pass for a 5 yard loss
• 3rd/goal CON 5 – Dahna Deleston picks off a Willy pass and returns it 100 yards for a touchdown
• 2nd/1 BUF 21 – McClain stops a Willy to Starks pass for a 1 yard loss
• 1st/10 BUF 35 – Marcus Campbell sacks Willy for a 6 yard loss

Special Teams Notes:

• 1st qtr – Buffalo punts and it hits UConn’s Jonathan Jean-Louis. The Bulls recovered the ball at UConn’s 23
• Jordan Todman returns a kickoff 45 yards to give UConn the ball at Buffalo’s 45
• 2nd qtr – Jasper Howard muffs a punt that is recovered by the Bulls in the end zone for a touchdown
• Robbie Frey muffs a kickoff and picks it up in the end zone and decides to return it. He fumbles when he’s hit at UConn 4 yard line where Buffalo recovers
• 3rd qtr – Robbie Frey downs a Desi Cullen punt at Buffalo’s 1 yard line
• Dave Teggart has a 42 yard field goal blocked

Injuries:

• none on UConn’ s side of the ball

Game Notes:

Buffalo Bulls at UConn Huskies International Bowl box score

• The 1958 Buffalo Bulls team was honored before the game. They turned down a bid to the Tangerine Bowl when it’s 2 black players weren’t invited to the game.
• The 100 yard interception return for a touchdown by Dahna Deleston was a UConn record and an International Bowl record.
• The Huskies improved their record in bowls to 2-1, with both wins coming against the MAC after they beat Toledo in the 2004 Motor City Bowl. It was Buffalo’s first bowl appearance.
• Connecticut’s Donald Brown rushed for a career-high 261 yards, giving him 2,083 yards on the season. Brown is the 15th FBS running back to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark in a season and the second Big East running back to do (Ray Rice in 2007).
• Brown’s 261 rushing yards ranked as the fourth-best single-game total in UConn history.

Things to Work On:

• The Huskies will have all of spring practice and until their season opener to work the special teams play that plagued them today

Up Next:

Spring practice for the Huskies and a decision in the next 12 days from Donald Brown on whether he’ll turn pro or return for his senior season. Brown had already said he was coming back to UConn but apparently he has changed his mind and will see where he’s projected to go in the 2009 NFL Draft before making a final decision.