NC State Takes Defensive Battle From UConn, 10-7

After the way the UConn Huskies defense played last week, we were expecting more of the same from them this week against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. And with the Pack sporting a solid defense of their own, you knew we might end up having a defensive battle on our ends.

And that’s exactly what happened on Saturday afternoon at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT as the Wolfpack held off a late charge from the Huskies to win 10-7 in front of 34,202.

UConn drops to 1-1 on the season while NC State improves to 1-1.

So how did the Huskies lose this game?

For starters, it was the inept offense to go along with the bad decision making by QB1 Chandler Whitmer playing in just his second FBS game. Secondly, the one breakdown the defense had turned out to be difference in the game.

With Blidi Wreh-Wilson on the sidelines battling dehydration, NC State QB Mike Glennon threw a perfectly placed ball to WR Bryan Underwood who beat Taylor Mack to the ball with safety Ty-Meer Brown getting there too late.

Back to the offense though.

For a while there in the first half, it looked like UConn’s old coach Randy Edsall was calling the plays. Even with UConn not being able to establish a run game, Paul Pasqualoni kept calling run plays that were stuffed the NC State defensive line. Pasqualoni even tried the Wildcat with Scott McCummings and WR Michael Smith but that didn’t help things out.

And with the Huskies not being able to run the ball, Whitmer was forced to throw the ball and for the most part it didn’t go well. He made some bad reads that cost him as he was picked off three times. That’s not to take anything away from the NC State secondary who is amongst the best in the nation even without suspended star C.J. Wilson.

So why can’t the Huskies run the ball?

In years past, the UConn front five was able to open up holes for the running game. This year in two games that hasn’t been the case at all. And if it doesn’t change, it could be a long season for the Huskies as the defense will only be able to carry this team on their collective backs for so long.

The offensive line looked a step slower than the front four for NC State. It seemed to me from my seat that they were constantly being beat at the line of the scrimmage. Their technique and focus needs to be better going forward.

This was a game the Huskies should have won. But they didn’t. Now it’s time to move forward, learn from the mistakes and get ready for next weekend.

Scoring:

1st quarter

No scoring

2nd quarter

NCST – Niklas Sade 40 yard field goal

3rd quarter

NCST – Bryan Underwood 46 Yd Pass From Mike Glennon (Niklas Sade Kick)

4th quarter

CON – 7:00 – Lyle McCombs 5 Yd Run (Chad Christen Kick)

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Offensive Player of the Game:

Bryan Underwood’s one catch of the game (a 46 yard touchdown) turned out to be the difference in the game.

Defensive Player of the Game:

UConn LB Yawin Smallwood recorded 14 tackles (seven solo, seven assisted) to go along with a 1/2 sack.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

On 4th and 4 late in the game on their own 45, UConn went for it but Chandler Whitmer’s pass to Geremy Davis fell incomplete and NC State was able to run out the clock.

Offensive Notes:

Chandler Whitmer had a terrible game as he was 15-of-27 for 204 yards and he threw three interceptions. He also was sacked three times. Lyle McCombs had 20 rushes for just 60 yards. He also had two catches for 51 yards including a 43 yarder that set up his five yard touchdown run. Nick Williams led the Huskies receivers with three catches for 59 yards. John Delahunt also had three catches for 33 yards but had a costly fumble. Geremy Davis added two catches for 27 yards.

Defensive Notes:

Yawin Smallwood led the Huskies with 14 tackles (seven solo, seven assisted) and was credited with a 1/2 sack. Jesse Joseph had eight tackles (four solo, four assisted) with 1.5 tackles going for a loss of six yards. He also had one sack. Byron Jones also had eight tackles (three solo, five assisted). Trevardo Williams had five tackles (three solo, two assisted) with three of them going for a loss of 11 yards. Sio Moore also had five tackles and had a sack. Jesse Joseph and Angelo Pruitt had the other sacks for the Huskies.

Special Teams Notes:

Nick Williams had one punt return for one yard and had two kickoff returns going for 44 yards. Cole Wagner had eight punts in which he averaged 40.5 yards. His longest punt went for 49 yards with three of them downed inside of the 20. He had one punt go for a touchback. Chad Christen had two kickoffs in the game and both of them were touchbacks.

Injuries:

There were no injuries that I saw on the UConn Huskies side of things.

Officials:

Referee: Jeff Heaser  •  Umpire: Michael Wooten  •  Linesman: Joe Griesser  •  Line judge: Richard Misner  •  Back judge: Dale Shaw  •  Field judge: Mike Cullin  •  Side judge: Michael Triana

Game Notes:

NC State @ UConn Huskies 9.8.12 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni and NC State head coach Tom O’Brien as well as players from both teams.

Here are the starters for the Huskies:

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

Here are the game notes courtesy of UConn Sports Information:

• Redshirt sophomore Yawin Smallwood registered a career best 14 tackles including 9 in the 1^st half.
• Connecticut was scoreless in the first half for the first time since October 23, 2010 vs. Louisville when Connecticut was shutout entirely at Papa John’s Stadium.
• The three interceptions thrown in today’s game, ties for second highest among eight other games in UConn’s FBS history; the last coming vs. West Virginia on November 1, 2008.
• Redshirt sophomore Lyle McComb’s rushing touchdown was his second of the season and the ninth of his career. The 43-yard reception on the previous play was his career long topping a 26-yarder vs. Western Michigan on October 21^st, 2011.
• Senior defensive end Trevardo Williams registered 2.5 sacks in the contest giving him 22.5 for his career.
• The Huskies held the Wolfpack to 258 yards on 71 plays an average of 3.6 yards per play.
• Senior wide receiver Nick Williams led the Huskies with 3 catches for 59-yards marking his career high in receptions in a game.
• Senior tight end John Delahunt had a three catches for 33 yards in the game.
• Redshirt senior defensive tackle Ryan Wirth had the first fumble recovery of his career against the Wolfpack.
• Redshirt sophomore Angelo Pruitt had the first sack of his career against the Wolfpack.
• Redshirt junior punter Cole Wagner had eight punts for a 40.5-yard average, and had three land inside the 20.

Big East Games and Results:

Thursday, September 6

Pittsburgh 10
Cincinnati 34

Saturday, September 8

Howard 0
Rutgers 26

Missouri St 7
(23) Louisville 35

Maryland 36
Temple 27

South Florida 32
Nevada 31

(2) USC 42
Syracuse 29

Things to Work On:

• Abandon the wildcat. The wildcat didn’t work on Saturday against the Wolfpack. I know the coaching staff likes it but it needs to change
• Go with Johnny McEntee or let Scott McCummings run the offense. As evidenced by this game, Whitmer is not quite ready for FBS football. McCummings can pass the ball, we’ve seen it before. We all know what McEntee can’t do so I’d give McCummings the chance. With him back there, it could open things up a little because you don’t know if he’s going to run, pass or handoff.
• Work on different schemes in the punt return game. NC State punted nine times with Nick Williams only getting a chance to return one. Most of the time, the UConn blockers were getting beat down the field forcing Williams to call for a fair catch. And no I’m not counting the times UConn went for the block.

Up Next:

UConn heads down to College Park, MD for their first road game against the former coach Randy Edsall and his Maryland Terrapins. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

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Photo credit: ap photo, brad horrigan – hartford courant (no. 7 in gallery)