UConn blows late lead, falls to UMass

You thought after the performance the UConn defense put up against South Florida that they’d repeat the same effort against a much weaker UMass Minutemen team.  You’d be right, for the most part.  The Huskies defense put forth another great performance for a little less than three quarters.  They held UMass to only 22 points, but in a 22-17 loss it doesn’t mean much.

The defense started to unravel during the third quarter, where a 4th and 6 turned into a backbreaking, 38 yard touchdown by UMass.  The UConn Huskies are not a good team, but you absolutely cannot give up a 38 yard touchdown on 4th down, no matter who the opponent is.

That lapse in the third gave way to an even worse lapse towards the end of the game.  UConn was clinging onto a 17-15 lead, even after multiple missed attempts to convert on 4th down by quarterback David Pindell.  The defense had hung tough for the rest of the third and fourth quarters, but the Huskies were unable to stop UMass during an 11 play, 81 yard clinching touchdown drive.

Marquis Young drove through a pack of Husky defensemen on his way to the game winning touchdown.  The score proved to be the dagger to not only the game, but the UConn season in general.  This will now be the eighth straight season that UConn will finish with a losing record.

There wasn’t a lot of firepower on offense, as UConn attempted only six passes.  David Pindell threw a back breaking interception to end the game, but had much success on the ground.  He ran for 120 yards on the ground, including a touchdown.  Running back Kevin Mensah carried the ball 21 times for 82 yards.  It was a sloppy weather game so not much throwing was to be expected, but the Huskies were outgained 444-265 overall.

It was one of those games where you just sit back and shake your head.  UConn had every opportunity to win this game despite being severely outplayed, but Murphy’s Law exists in all walks of life.  Anything that can go wrong will go wrong this season for the Huskies, and it sure did on Saturday.  However, it’s not all bad luck and circumstance that has haunted this bad UConn team.  There has been tons of miscommunication, poor coaching, and terrible execution throughout the season.  There’s a reason why UConn will only wind up with a maximum of four wins.  This rebuild still has a long way to go, and the road ahead looks bumpy as all hell.