It looked as if UConn would have an easy day when it took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. It didn't work out that way.
Entering their Saturday clash with Miami (Ohio), the UConn Huskies had played one type of game.
A blowout. Three of them – two of them wins, one a loss.
The Huskies finally played a nail-biter and wound up on the wrong side, losing 24-21, in Oxford, Ohio. Head coach Jason Candle, who coached against Miami when he was the head coach at Toledo, will watch this game film with interest.
The first half
The Huskies jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first 8:37, and it appeared UConn was on its way to another big win.
After taking the kickoff, Kalieb Osborne marched the Huskies down the field, finishing an eight-play, 75-yard drive in just 3:56. It was capped by a 7-yard Osborne pass to Javon Brown and a Jack O’Connor extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Another eight-play drive, this one for 84 yards, followed. This time, Osborne kept the ball himself, running 38 yards into the end zone to put UConn up 14-0 with 6:23 to play in the half.
He led the Huskies (2-2) with 84 rushing yards.
Kalieb Osborne was the leading rusher for the Huskies in their loss on Saturday. David Butler II-Imagn ImagesDavid McComb, Miami’s quarterback, engineered yet another eight-play drive, going 90 yards to score with 6:08 remaining in the half. He ran the ball in himself for the final 10 yards and a score. A self-inflicted wound by the Huskies – a personal foul penalty – gave the RedHawks 15 yards on the drive and put them in UConn territory.
With 1:50 left in the half, McComb needed just one play and six seconds to hit Brendan Loftus with a 57-yard pass for a 14-14 tie.
O’Connor missed a 46-yard field goal – his first miss of the season – as time expired in the first half.
What went wrong for UConn
Each team settled for a touchdown in the second half until freshman Brady Stidham connected on a 33-yard field goal attempt with 1:58 left to take the 24-21 lead.
Miami coach Chuck Martin inserted Stidham in the game, replacing Kellan McLaughlin, who had missed field goal attempts from 40 and 44 yards.
The Huskies had chances in the fourth quarter that were thwarted by mistakes.
Seconds into the final frame, running back Kenji Christian took the handoff from Osborne at the UConn 24 and ran 38 yards to the Miami 40, where he was tripped up. The play was brought back on an offensive holding penalty to the UConn 14.
The game-crushing play came with 9:01 left on the clock – still tied at 21 – when Osborne threw his only interception, picked off by linebacker CJ Young at the UConn 43.
And the RedHawks (2-2) took their time. They ran 11 plays and gained just 28 yards while running 6:49 off the clock in advance of the Stidham field goal.
The Huskies had one final chance to tie the game or take the lead with 1:50 remaining but couldn’t put together a drive in the 2-minute drill. The RedHawks took over on downs.
The numbers
UConn was dominated in time of possession, with Miami having the ball for 32:33.
Osborne was 17-of-32 passing for 215 yards with one TD and one interception. McComb finished 19-of-29 for 312 yards and two touchdowns.
Hayden Pegg had a team-high eight tackles, followed by Braedyn Moore with seven for UConn. K’Von Sherman made one sack. Malcolm McCain had nine for the RedHawks.
Miami registered 20 first downs to 17 for UConn. The RedHawks had 414 total yards to 377 for the Huskies.
