A Thursday night matchup between ECU’s lethal offense powered by Shane Carden and the conference’s top defense in UConn wasn’t decided until the final minute of play, as a fourth quarter rally by the Pirates sealed a 31-21 victory at home.
UConn (1-6, 0-4 AAC) showed a powerful effort in the loss, and even without the win, its competitiveness for a full four quarters damaged ECU’s (6-1, 3-0) one-loss profile as the Pirates slipped to No. 21 in the AP poll.
The student section was in full blackout mode, and Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was rocking after ECU took a commanding 14-point lead in the first quarter. The 28-point favorites were off to a fast start, but it was adjustments made by UConn’s offense and defense that kept the Huskies in the game.
After their first three-and-out drive, Chandler Whitmer and the offense took the field with confidence and went into an aerial attack in the first three plays of the drive, and all for first downs. Bob Diaco and his offensive coordinators reacted to what they saw on the defense and changed plays at the line of scrimmage to set up pass routes for Thomas Lucas, Deshon Foxx and Dhameer Bradley. With all eyes on containing the 6-foot-3 Geremy Davis, Whitmer looked for other targets throughout the night, and Davis only ended up with one reception before leaving the game with a foot injury.
Following three straight runs by Ron Johnson, Whitmer took it in himself from one yard out to give UConn its first touchdown scored in the first quarter all season. The Husky offense showed improvement and the capability of a fast start. The seven-play, 77-yard drive took nearly four minutes, but it was the most efficient drive for the Huskies all year long.
ECU got a little too greedy on its next possession, as Carden opted not to pitch the ball to his running back on an option play, but nevertheless, UConn was ready for it. With seven defenders in the box on fourth and short, the pressure was on Carden and continued to fluster him all night.
A pair of interceptions thrown by Carden and Whitmer rounded out the first half of play. Whitmer’s pass was tipped at the line and an athletic play was made by Terry Biles to catch the ball he deflected. Carden’s pick came in the end zone after pressure came from containment linebackers Graham Stewart and Jefferson Ashiru and a over throw caught by Byron Jones. Jones made his second interception of the year, and unfortunately it was his last of his collegiate career. Jones left the game with a shoulder injury later in the game, and Diaco announced that his top corner would be out for the rest of the season.
UConn’s opening drive of the second half tied the game up at 14 after the offensive line gave Whitmer enough time throughout the drive to convert on two third downs, with the latter being a 32-yard touchdown pass to Noel Thomas. The man-to-man corner slipped and it was a relatively easy catch for the Norwalk, CT native.
What made offensive drives more easier for the Huskies was the play calling of multiple screen passes and quick decision routes that got the ball out of Whitmer’s hands fast. Deshon Foxx and Noel Thomas benefited from these plays, and additionally it is probably going to be Arkeel Newsome who will turn small plays into explosive plays with his ability to spread the field. Newsome entered the game in the third quarter but only saw one carry and one reception as he is nursing a lower leg injury.
The small ball style of play also opens up the field for deep routes as well, and that’s exactly what we saw as Whitmer hit Foxx for an 88-yard touchdown. Foxx was able to shake off a falling defender and he ran the final 50 yards untouched. Thursday night’s game was the most Whitmer has looked downfield this season, and his deep throws were accurate for the most part. Whitmer finished with 303 yards on 18-for-30 attempts — his highest number of pass attempts and yards this year.
UConn couldn’t escape out of the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter after an ECU field goal put the Pirates up by three. Two pass interference calls against the Huskies helped ECU tack on the final touchdown of the night.
Without Geremy Davis and Byron Jones in the fourth quarter, it was impressive that UConn stayed in the game as long they did. Shane Carden threw for a career-high 64 times and held him under a 60 percent completion rate for only the second time this season.
Going forward, the Huskies are seriously depleted without one or two of their team captains, but Thursday’s game showed the pride they have as a team and the progress they have made throughout the rough 2014 campaign.
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