This was definitely not the way that Randy Edsall wanted his UConn Huskies team to start the 2010 season. The Huskies had high expectations coming into 2010 and although they won’t change, Edsall certainly has a lot to work on to get there.
For whatever reason, the Huskies have had trouble stopping mobile quarterbacks. And on Saturday, it was no different as Denard Robinson rushed for 197 yards and a touchdown as the Michigan Wolverines beat the Huskies 30-10 in front 113,090 at the Big House
Robinson also threw for 186 yards and a touchdown as the Huskies had no answer for him at all. The offense shouldn’t have been a surprise to the Huskies as they’ve seen it before when Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez when he was at West Virginia. Many of the Huskies defenders must have thought former Mountaineers QB Pat White was on the field.
The Wolverines were able to get 287 yards rushing due to the play of their offensive line. A small question mark coming into the season, the Huskies front four couldn’t get any pressure on Robinson at all and at times looked all out of whack. Edsall went with a nickel package early on and the Wolverines exploited that as Robinson ran the Huskies ragged in getting his team out to a quick 14-0 lead.
Plus it didn’t help that the Huskies couldn’t tackle anyone to save their lives. There were too many missed tackles for my liking and I’m sure Edsall’s as well.
On the offensive side of things, the Huskies looked out of sync as well. Some of quarterback Zach Frazer’s throws were short or to the left or right of the receiver. Plus it didn’t help that his receivers had some key drops at critical times. The one by Michael Smith at the Michigan two yard line comes to mind.
The Huskies did rally back after falling behind 21-0 with ten straight points to end the first half. And after allowing an early field goal in the third quarter, the Huskies looked like they were going to pull within a touchdown of the Wolverines.
On a 4th and 1 at the Michigan seven yard line, Edsall decided they would go for it. They handed the ball off to D.J. Shoemate who ran for four yards before Michigan’s Obi Ezeh knocked the ball loose and recovered it. The fumble by Shoemate, who was playing in his first game after transfering from Southern Cal, seemed to take all the momentum out of the Huskies.
From that point on, they were listless on offense and Michigan’s offensive line just absolutely controlled UConn’s front four. It’s hard to win ball games when the other team has the ball for almost 37 minutes.
The Huskies will need to use this week of practice to get everything back on track because I’m sure this was not what Edsall had envisioned for his team on Saturday. Don’t get me wrong, UConn is very good but unless the defensive line steps up, it could be a long season.
Scoring:
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| UConn Huskies | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Michigan Wolverines |
14 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 30 |
1st quarter
MI – Vincent Smith 12 Yd Run (Brendan Gibbons kick) – Michigan 7 UConn 0
MI – Denard Robinson 32 Yd Run (Gibbions kick) – Michigan 14 UConn 0
2nd quarter
MI – Michael Shaw 3 Yd Run (Gibbons kick) – Michigan 21 UConn 0
CON – Dave Teggart 32 Yd Field Goal – Michigan 21 UConn 3
CON – Jordan Todman 2 Yd Run (Teggart kick) – Michigan 21 UConn 10
3rd quarter
MI – Gibbons 24 Yd Field Goal – Michigan 24 UConn 10
4th quarter
MI – Vincent Smith 11 Yd Pass From Denard Robinson (Gibbons missed kick) – Michigan 30 UConn 10
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Offensive Players of the Game:
This one’s pretty much a no-brainer.
Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson was 19-of-22 for 186 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 197 yards and a touchdown. The 197 rushing yards was good for a Michigan QB record.
Defensive Player of the Game:
After it was thought he would redshirt in 2010, Greg Lloyd returned to the field and had 11 tackles. 10 of those tackles were of the solo varitey and two of them went for losses.
Turning Point(s) of the Game:
With the Huskies losing 24-10 in the third quarter, Randy Edsall decided to go for it on 4th and 1 at the Wolverines 7 yard line. D.J. Shoemate got the ball and rushed for three yards before a monster hit by Obi Ezeh forced the ball loose. Ezeh recovered the ball and that seemed to take all of the wind out of UConn’s sails.
Offensive Notes:
Zach Frazer was 18-of-37 for 207 yards passing. Jordan Todman had 20 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown. He also had three catches for 23 yards. Michael Smith caught three balls for 87 yards including a long of 47. Kashif Moore had three catches for 31 yards and Anthony Sherman had three catches for 28 yards.
Defensive Notes:
Lawrence Wilson led all tacklers in the game with 12 tackles. Greg Lloyd finished with 11 tackles, including 10 solo tackles. Dwayne Gratz had 10 tackles, including nine solo tackles. Harris Agbor and Kijuan Dabney both finished with eight tackles. Three of Agbor’s tackles went for losses of 15 total yards and he forced two Michigan fumbles that the Wolverines recovered.
Special Teams Notes:
The first punt of Cole Wagner’s collegiate career went for 66 yards. His second one went for five yards. David Teggart’s 40 yard field goal attempt was blocked but he did make his other one from 32 yards and made his only extra point attempt. Todman had one return for 26 yards as the Wolverines squibbed most of their kicks.
Injuries:
Apparently Scott Lutrus reinjured his shoulder as he missed most of the second half.
Officials:
Referee: A.Kemp; Umpire: T.Owens; Linesman: R.Davis; Line judge: J.Szink; Back judge: M.Edwards; Field judge: T.Robinson; Side judge: J.Visingardi
Game Notes:
UConn Huskies @ Michigan Wolverines 9.4.10 box score
At the time of this post, no game notes were released by the UConn Athletic Communications Department.
The crowd of 113,090 was the largest crowd in NCAA football history.
Big East Games and Results:
Thursday, September 2
Norfolk State 0
Rutgers 31
#15 Pittsburgh 24
Utah 27
Saturday, September 4
#25 West Virginia 31
Coastal Carolina 0
Syracuse 29
Akron 3
Kentucky 23
Louisville 16
Stony Brook
South Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Cincinnati
Fresno State, 10:00 p.m.
Things to Work On:
- Tackling, tackling and more tackling.
- The receivers need to learn how to catch the ball.
- The defensive line needs to work on their moves to get to the quarterback
Up Next:
The Huskies will open up the home portion of their 2010 schedule at Rentschler Field on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. against the Texas Southern Tigers.
Photo credits (in order of photo): AP Photo, Hartford Courant, Hartford Courant, Hartford Courant
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