The Huskies dropped a tough contest against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.
The UConn Huskies football team dropped a difficult 24-21 contest against Miami (Ohio) on the road in Oxford, Ohio on Saturday.
The Huskies blew a 14-0 first quarter lead en route to falling to 2-2 on the campaign.
The loss offered some very solid building blocks, including a good day for the receivers, but after the loss, there are two familiar questions/concerns to wonder about.
And they are things that we've raised before.
1) This team can't be so Kalieb Osborne dependent
It's a tough balance, and we get that. Osborne is this team's most dynamic player, so the coaching staff wants the ball in his hands as much as possible, but at some point, they have to be able and willing to find other answers.
Osborne was 17-of-32 for 215 yards, a touchdown and an interception through the air. But he also led the team in carries with 13, totaling 84 yards and a score.
Now, in fairness, not every single Osborne run is a designed run. He will sometimes keep the ball himself, so he'll end up running on plays that weren't designed to be runs, but still: We'd like to see the Huskies be able to willing to get others more involved.
Kenji Christian (7 carries, 48 yards) and Cyncir Bowers (6 carries, 26 yards), both averaged more than four yards per carry, and Christian averaged nearly seven. Both running backs can be dynamic with the ball in their hands. We'd like to see more designed runs for them. Osborne had as many runs as they did combined.
Of course, that takes the running back and offensive line working in concert to create opportunities, but the team has got to find a way to get Osborne some reprieves.
UConn Huskies quarterback Kalieb Osborne (7) throws a pass against the Maryland Terrapins in the first quarter at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. David Butler II-Imagn Image2) The penalty woes show up yet again
Now, again, in fairness, there was some improvement here, but the penalties have been too much of a story through four games.
| Game | Penalty Numbers | Penalty Yards |
|---|---|---|
| Lafayette | 11 | 134 |
| Maryland | 8 | 72 |
| Southern Miss. | 8 | 74 |
| Miami (OH) | 6 | 60 |
Again, this was the least penalized that the Huskies have been this season, so I don't want to gloss over the improvement, but it was still three times as many as the Redhawks (2) for double as many yards (30).
Simply put: UConn won't be able to walk on the field and just "out-talent" people very often. If the Huskies are going to find success, they'll have to execute and be disciplined.
It's worth noting that Syracuse, the next opponent for the Huskies, was the most heavily-penalized team in the nation entering this week. The Orange are 1-2 and are coming off a bye week.
