Huskies lose at ‘Cuse, but find positives in every facet of game

The UConn Huskies have had a terrible season so far.  They were blown out twice against ranked opponents, barely beat an FCS opponent in Rhode Island, and were blown out again by a surprisingly good Syracuse team.  However, this loss felt different.  It felt like the Huskies actually put forth effort on both offense and defense, didn’t solely rely on David Pindell, and learned some valuable lessons.  The  Huskies may have lost 51-21, but they looked better than they have all season.

Pindell and Washington shine on offense

David Pindell had another great performance, as he threw for 151 yards, ran for another 113 yards, and had both a passing and rushing touchdown.  If he wasn’t under fire the entire game (as he usually is with this makeshift offensive line), Pindell would have a chance to be a very special player.  Between his rocket arm and his ability to make plays with his legs, Pindell is a very good dual threat quarterback.

Unfortunately, Pindell went down in the fourth quarter with the game well out of reach.  It was mostly precautionary, but UConn plugged freshman Marvin Washington with little time left on the clock.  Washington threw a beautiful 26 yard touchdown pass.  He struggled in the drives after, including two turnovers.  However, there are a lot of positive attributes that Washington showed in his very first game.

Huskies defense stout in second half 

UConn’s defense gave up 51 points, but they looked much better in the second half.  After going down 31-14 in the first half and giving up multiple scoring drives to Syracuse, UConn buckled down and held Syracuse to four straight scoreless drives.

They’re small victories for a defense that has been ravaged by both injuries and terrible play.  The defense missed plenty of tackles and gave up 500 yards once again, but it’s the little things that matter in what is most certainly a rebuilding year.

Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey finished the game 21 for 27 with 286 yards, threw two touchdowns and ran in for another three.  In fairness to the UConn defense, this was the same quarterback who threw all over what was supposed to be a very good Florida State defense.

At the end of the day, UConn lost by 30 points.  When you look at things a little bit closer, they played the best they could and produced a positive result going forward.  It may not seem like much in a lost season, but the Huskies are slowly making progress towards a larger goal.  That goal?  Bringing the program back to relevance.