UConn Heartbroken Again In Last Minute

Unreal. This one hurts bad. Reallllllll bad.

That’s what I said on my Twitter page after Saturday’s game.

For the second straight week, with a win in their grasps, the UConn Huskies were once again foiled in the closing minutes of the game. Last week it was Noel Devine and West Virginia. This week, it was Tim Brown and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Tom Savage hit Brown, who happened to be one of slain UConn cornerback Jasper Howard’s best friends in Miami, for an 81 yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds to left to lift the Scarlet Knights to a 28-24 win over the Huskies at Rentschler Field.

This came on the heels of a 15 play, 87 yard drive that resulted in Jordan Todman’s two yard touchdown run that temporarily gave the Huskies a 24-21 lead after trailing 21-10 starting the fourth quarter. Marcus Easley’s 32 yard touchdown catch from Zach Frazer had gotten the Huskies within four at 21-17.

Frazer was in the game for Cody Endres who was 4-of-9 for 40 yards before going out with a shoulder injury. It was learned after the game that Endres will be out for the season and will undergo surgery tomorrow. Endres suffered the same type of shoulder injury that cost Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford his season.

Frazer, playing for the first time since injuring his knee in the loss to North Carolina, definitely looked a little rusty early on as he threw an interception on his second possession. He finished with three interceptions on the afternoon and now has thrown seven for the season. But he did help the Huskies get back into the game and finished with 333 yards and the touchdown pass to Easley in relief of Endres.

Oddly enough things started the same way as they did last week as UConn won the toss and deferred to the second half only to watch Rutgers return the opening kickoff for a touchdown. West Virginia did the same thing last week.

It’s been an emotional two weeks for the Huskies and you only wonder how much they have left in them. With Saturday being the first home game, we all knew the Huskies would ride the emotions of the day and try to win it for Jazz. Unfortunately for the second straight week, they came up just a play short.

This is the fourth loss for the Huskies in the final minutes of a game and you have to wonder how much more this team can take. We know they are strong and will need a good run here to find themselves in a bowl game for the third straight year. If there’s anyone who can do it, it’s this team.

Scoring:

1st quarter

RU – Devin McCourty 98 yd kickoff return (San San Te kick) – RU 7 UConn 0

CON – Dave Teggart 37 Yd field goal – RU 7 UConn 3

2nd quarter

RU – Tim Brown 37 Yd Pass From Tom Savage (San San Te Kick) – RU 14 UConn 3

CON – Robbie Frey 100 yd kickoff return (Dave Teggart kick) – RU 14 UConn 10

RU – Mark Harrison 20 Yd Pass From Tom Savage (San San Te Kick) – RU 21 UConn 10

3rd quarter

No scoring

4th quarter

CON – Marcus Easley 32 Yd Pass From Zach Frazer (Dave Teggart Kick) – RU 21 UConn 17

CON – Jordan Todman 2 Yd Run (Dave Teggart Kick) – UConn 24 RU 21

RU – Tim Brown 81 Yd Pass From Tom Savage (San San Te Kick) – RU 28 UConn 24

Offensive Player of the Game:

Rutgers wide receiver Tim Brown had five catches for 162 yards and two touchdown passes. Each time he scored, he honored his friend Jazz.

Defensive Players of the Game:

UConn linebacker Lawrence Wilson had 9 tackles on the afternoon.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

1. Jordan Todman’s two yard touchdown run with 38 seconds gave the Huskies their first lead of the afternoon. During the drive, they went for on fourth down three times and were successful all three times, including Todman’s touchdown.
2. Tom Savage’s 81 yard pass to Tim Brown gave Rutgers the lead with just 22 seconds left to break the Huskies hearts.

Offensive Notes:

Filling in for an injured Cody Endres, Zach Frazer was 21-of-46 for 333 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.  Jordan Todman led the Huskies with 68 yards on the ground and a touchdown. He also had three catches for 59 yards. Andre Dixon had 49 yards. Marcus Easley had five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown while Ryan Griffin had six catches for 80 yards.

Defensive Notes:

Lawrence Wilson led the Huskies with nine tackles while Greg Lloyd, Jr had eight. Scott Lutrus returned to action on Saturday and had six tackles and a sack. Twyon Martin had four tackles and 1.5 sacks while Jesse Joseph was credited with a 1/2 sack and had give tackles.

Special Teams Notes:

For the second straight week, the Huskies allowed the opening kickoff to be returned for a touchdown.

Robbie Frey did return the favor in the second quarter as he returned a kickoff after a Rutgers touchdown 100 yards for a touchdown of his own. It tied the longest kickoff return for a touchdown in UConn’s history.

Although the wind may have been a factor, it looks like UConn head coach Randy Edsall may have to open up the place kicking competition again as Dave Teggart missed two more field goals on the afternoon. He missed from

Injuries:

UConn quarterback Cody Endres left the game with a shoulder injury and didn’t return. He is out for the year and will undergo surgery on Sunday.

Robbie Frey injured his shoulder and didn’t return to the game. His injury isn’t as serious and is considered day to day.

Ryan Griffin injured his left leg and his status is unknown right now.

Officials:

Referee: Thomas Tomczyk; Umpire: Ronald Kumiega; Linesman: Kavin McGrath; Line judge: D. Gallagher; Back judge: Paul Vargo; Field judge: R. Sokolowski; Side judge: B. Vasconcells; Scorer: Andrew Prince.

The replay booth made a late call on a UConn two point conversion in the fourth quarter. Zach Frazer rolled right and threw a pass to Mike Ryan who scored the two pointer. After the television time out, they went to replay and determined that the pass was a foreward pass, thus illegal. But after further clarification, it was determined that Ryan was in an illegal formation. Needless to say, the replay booth and ref blew the call. UConn ended up kicking the extra point. They were penalized 15 yards on the kickoff as well as Edsall went ballistic on the refs.

Game Notes:

Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ UConn Huskies 10.31.09 box score

Game notes are courtesy of UConn

• The Huskies are currently 9-20 against Rutgers all-time and 2-4 in BIG EAST match ups.
• The 12-second return of the opening kickoff for a TD by Devin McCourty was the fastest score against the Huskies in the FBS era. This is the second-straight week that the Huskies have allowed a touchdown on the opening kickoff.
• Robbie Frey set a new career high in kickoff return yards with three returns for 163 yards including a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
• The Frey return for a touchdown is the first of his career and ties the longest kickoff return for a touchdown in UConn Football history.
• It is the third 100-yard return for a touchdown in UConn Football History tying Gary DuBose vs. Yale in 1983 and Nick Giaquinto vs. New Hampshire in 1975.
• This is the first kickoff return for a touchdown for the Huskies since Tyvon Branch returned a 97-yarder against Rutgers on Nov. 3, 2007
• The opening kickoff return for a touchdown is the fastest score against
• This is the first time that an opponent has recorded 10 punts against the Huskies since Buffalo did it at the International Bowl game on Jan. 3, 2009.
• Zach Frazer had a career day for the Huskies despite throwing three interceptions. He recorded the highest amount of pass attempts (46) and passing yards (333).
• With his 28-for-28 consecutive PATs made this season, Dave Teggart ranks fourth on the Single Season consecutive PATs made list behind Rob Moons who made 29-straight in 1988.
• Marcus Easley’s 32-yard touchdown reception was his team-leading fourth of the season.
• Ryan Griffin also had a career day for the Huskies hauling in a career-best six receptions for a career-high 80 yards including a career-long 28-yard pass.

Big East Games and Results:

October 30

(21) West Virginia 19
South Florida 30

October 31

(8) Cincinnati 28
Syracuse 7

Arkansas State 13
Louisville 21

Things to Work On:

1. The Huskies need to do much better on special teams, especially kickoff returns. You can’t allow the opposing team to take the opening kickoff back for a touchdown if you want to win the game.
2. Dave Teggart needs to fix his kicking mechanics. He’s still having issues with his plant foot and it showed again on Saturday.
3. Going forward, Zach Frazer is the quarterback. He really needs to work on his reads and not concentrate on one receiver.
4. Speaking of the receivers, they need to learn how to catch the ball then run. A couple of dropped passes by the Huskies came in huge situations although Michael Smith did redeem himself with a great catch in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, if the ball hits your hands, you need to catch it.
5. Continuing the grieving process while moving forward. Saturday’s game should mark the end of the tributes to Jasper Howard. It’s not that he won’t be remembered but it really shouldn’t be the entire focus the rest of the way here. Instead, they need to use their emotions for good and finish off a game. They could be 8-0 right now but they aren’t. They need to finish the game. The game is 60 minutes long not 59.

Up Next:

The Huskies travel to Cincinnati next Saturday to take on the Bearcats. The game time hasn’t been announced yet but it’s likely to start at either 3:30 p.m. or be in prime time and will be on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.