Rutgers Takes Advantage of UConn Mistakes in 19-3 Win

This was a game where the defenses of the UConn Huskies and Rutgers Scarlet Knights were probably going to dominate the game. So it would come down to who could limit their mistakes on offense.

And that’s how the game played out on Saturday afternoon at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, NJ as the Scarlet Knights made the most of UConn’s turnovers in a 19-3 win.

The No. 22/21 Scarlet Knights improve to 5-0 (2-0 Big East). UConn drops to 3-3 (0-1).

Rutgers defense is No. 1 in the Big East in rush defense and with UConn being without Lyle McCombs in the 1st quarter, Martin Hyppolyte and Max DeLorenzo weren’t able to get anything done. McCombs was suspended for the first quarter of the game after being arrested for breach of peace after a domestic dispute with his girlfriend.

UConn turned to the air without its top running back and got some yards on their first drive. But their second drive of the game brought the first turnover when Chandler Whitmer was picked off Logan Ryan at the UConn 45.

The Huskies D held strong though and limited the Scarlet Knights to a field goal. But on the ensuing kickoff Nick Williams was hit during the return and fumbled the ball giving Rutgers the ball at UConn’s 29. If it weren’t for a holding penalty on the Rutgers drive it would have been 10-0. Instead, the UConn defense tightened up and forced Kyle Federico’s second field goal of the game.

McCombs returned in the 2nd quarter and helped the Huskies to their points of the game. UConn had gotten the ball back after Shamar Stephens blocked a Federico field goal attempt from 50 yards which was recovered by Sio Moore at the RU 47.

After a roughing the passer penalty, McCombs got them down to the Rutgers 17 on a five and a ten-yard run. Scott McCummings then earned the Huskies a 1st and goal from the at Scarlet Knights six yard line. But Rutgers was able to keep McCombs and the Huskies out of the end zone and they had to settle for a Chad Christen 19 yard field goal.

From there it was all about the defenses for the rest of the first half.

UConn was unable to take advantage of a fumble on the kickoff to start the second half and was forced to go three and out. The Scarlet Knights then drove the ball 84 yards for touchdown when Gary Nova hit Stratford, CT native Mark Harrison for a 14 yard touchdown.

Rutgers would add a late touchdown when Whitmer was picked off by Wayne Warren who took it back 25 yards for the score.

Obviously without McCombs early on, the rushing game was lacking. But even when he was in, the team as a whole finished with just 53 yards against a stout Scarlet Knights defense. The other part of the problem was the fact that the blocking on passing downs was horrible.

Whitmer was under pressure on about at least 75% of his passes. He seemed to be knocked down on every pass. And with that he was forced to throw some bad passes. He also made some bad decisions which led to two of his four interceptions.

Defensively, I don’t think the Huskies were all that bad. Even with the offense giving Rutgers a short field, the defense remained strong like we’ve seen all season. The problem for me with the defense was their form on tackling. I saw at least four or five plays that they missed tackles that allowed the Scarlet Knights to gain more yards.

In the end though, it’s another loss.

After all the progress the offense had made, it took two steps backwards. And if Paul Pasqualoni and his staff don’t figure it out soon, it could be a long season in the Big East and another year without a bowl game appearance.

Scoring:

1st quarter

RUT – 03:43 – Kyle Federico 45 Yd Field Goal

RUT – 00:28 – Kyle Federico 31 Yd Field Goal

2nd quarter

CON – 02:39 – Chad Christen 19 Yd Field Goal

3rd quarter

RUT – 09:09 – Mark Harrison 14 Yd Pass From Gary Nova (Kyle Federico Kick)

4th quarter

RUT – 03:44 – Wayne Warren 25 Yd Interception Return (Pat Failed)

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Offensive Player of the Game:

Jawan Jamison was the first running back this season to go over 100 yards against UConn as he finished with 110 yards on 28 carries. He also caught two balls for 19 yards.

Defensive Player of the Game:

It’s hard to single out any one player on the Rutgers defense, so I’ll give this to the entire Rutgers D. They held UConn to 53 yards rushing and picked off four Chandler Whitmer passes.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

To me the turning point of the game came early in the 3rd quarter. When Marquise Vann forced a fumble on the opening kickoff of the third quarter that was recovered by Andrew Adams, the UConn offense went three-and-out. After a punt, the Rutgers offense went 84 yards on nine plays to score a touchdown.

Offensive Notes:

Tough game for Chandler Whitmer as he was 14-of-32 for 191 yards. He was picked off four times. After being suspended for the 1st quarter, McCombs returned and ran for 32 yards. Scott McCummings missed on his only pass and but ran for 24 yards. Geremy Davis led all Huskies receivers with four receptions for 78 yards. Michael Smith had three catches for 32 yards while Ryan Griffin added three catches himself for 31 yards. Nick Williams chipped in with two catches for 24 yards.

Defensive Notes:

Jory Johnson led all tacklers in the game with 10 tackles (two solo, eight assisted). Sio Moore had nine tackles (five solo, four assisted) including 1.5 tackles for a loss of three yards. Yawin Smallwood also had nine tackles as did Byron Jones. Ryan Wirth had eight tackles and forced a fumble. He also had the only sack of the game for the Huskies.

Special Teams Notes:

Shamar Stephens blocked a field goal that was recovered by Sio Moore. Marquise Vann forced a fumble on a kickoff that was recovered by Andrew Adams. Cole Wagner had an up and down day as he was awful on his first two punts with the second one coming on a bad snap. He averaged 34.6 yards on five punts with a long of 62. He also had three punts downed inside the 20. Chad Christen was 1-of-2 on field goals with his miss coming from 51 yards while his make came from 19 yards.

Injuries:

There were no injuries to UConn players that I saw.

Officials:

Referee: Tracy Jones  •  Umpire: Greg Brenner  •  Linesman: T. Considine  •  Line judge: Kevin Codey  •  Back judge: Bryan Pratt  •  Field judge: Dan Gallagher  •  Side judge: George Liotus

Game Notes:

UConn Huskies @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights 10.6.12 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni and Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood. Here are the postgame quotes from the UConn players.

Here are the postgame notes from the UConn Sports Information Department:

• With today’s loss, the Huskies drop to 1-18 all-time against ranked opponents
• Redshirt junior running back Martin Hyppolite made his first career start at running back
• Redshirt senior tight end Ryan Griffin had two receptions on the opening drive and tied his season-high with three catches in the game
• The Husky defense, led by redshirt senior linebacker Jory Johnson’s four tackles, held the Scarlet Knights to just 43 yards of total offense in the first quarter. Rutgers scored two field goals in the initial 15 minutes as a direct result of two Connecticut turnovers
• Johnson finished with a game-high 10 tackles
• Senior wide receiver Michael Smith tied his season-high with three receptions, all in the fourth quarter
• Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Geremy Davis led the Huskies with four catches for 78 yards
• Rutgers was held to just 108 yards of total offense in the first half
• Redshirt senior defensive tackle Ryan Wirth recorded his first career sack in the second quarter
• Redshirt freshman linebacker Marquise Vann caused his first career fumble on the second half kickoff. It was recovered by redshirt freshman safety Andrew Adams, his first career fumble recovery
• With the two field goals allowed in the first quarter, Connecticut has still allowed just one first quarter touchdown this season (Buffalo)
• Redshirt junior defensive tackle Shamar Stephen blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt by Rutgers’ Kyle Federico. It was the first blocked field goal for the Huskies since the Murray State game on September 4, 2004, when James Hargreaves turned the trick
• Redshirt junior placekicker Chad Christen made a 19-yard field goal late in the second quarter. He is now 7-for-10 in field goal attempts in his Connecticut career after missing a 51-yard attempt at the end of the first half
• Redshirt junior punter Cole Wagner had a season-long 62-yard punt in the third quarter. His career standard is a 66-yard punt at Michigan in 2010. He had three punts downed inside the 20 in the contest, including one inside the one early in the fourth quarter, which was downed by redshirt junior linebacker David Kenney
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Chandler Whitmer was 14-for-32 passing for 191 yards. He was intercepted a career-high four times
• The five turnovers committed by the Huskies was a season-high

Big East Games and Results:

Friday, October 5

Pitt 13
Syracuse 14

Saturday, October 6

USF 28
Temple 37

Miami (OH)
(NR/23) Cincinnati, 7 p.m.

Things to Work On:

• Limit the mistakes on offense. Part of the mistakes on offense particularly Chandler Whitmer came as result of No. 2 on the list, pass blocking. He does need to make better decisions though.
• Pass blocking. As I said above Whitmer seemed to be under duress more often than not.
• Tackling form. Too many missed tackles for my liking.
• Keep Lyle McCombs out of trouble. This is his second arrest in two years with the Huskies. You have to wonder how much more tolerance Paul Pasqualoni will have. If he ends up missing any more games, UConn’s offense could be in trouble.

Up Next:

UConn returns home to Rentschler Field next Saturday afternoon for a game against the Temple Owls. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and it is the Homecoming Game for the Huskies.

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Photo credit: getty images, getty images