Despite coming off a 3-9 2023 campaign where seemingly nothing went right, the UConn football team has surpassed expectations for this season, clinching Bowl eligibility this past week in their 34-27 win over Georgia State. This is the second time in his three seasons that head coach Jim Mora has accomplished this feat. This win also marks the final home game of the year for the Huskies after finishing an excellent 6-1 in East Hartford, Conn. This also signals the end of the program’s six-game homestand.
In the past three weeks, a prevalent theme for the program has surrounded its offense. The scoring and overall consistency on that side of the ball have dissipated from what they were in previous weeks, yet in those matchups, the defense shined and made game-winning plays. However, last Friday, it was the offense that stole the show, although the defense did have a large effect on the outcome of this game.
In football, there’s getting off to a fast start, and then there’s the start that the Huskies got off to. The Connecticut defense forced a quick three-and-out, and a fair catch interference set UConn up nicely near midfield. On the first play from scrimmage, Mel Brown found a hole on the left side and took a run for 52 yards, all the way to the Georgia State seven-yard line. One run and a bootleg pass to Louis Hansen later, the Huskies were up 7-0.
On the next Georgia State drive, the Huskies’ run defense forced an early Panthers third and eight. However, quarterback Zach Gibson did an excellent job of being elusive, avoiding the pressure and scrambling for the first down. This became a reoccurring theme for not only this half but the game as a whole. The redshirt senior finished his afternoon with eight rushes for 24 yards. While these stats aren’t the most eye-popping in the world, most of these were scrambles that kept drives alive for the Panthers; regardless, UConn battled.
On the next Connecticut offensive drive, the program clicked on all cylinders. Whether quarterback Nick Evers found Brown in the flats or Durell Robinson broke off a solid run, the Huskies made solid offensive efforts on its second drive. They drove for 59 yards before a pair of incompletions, and a scramble from Evers later set up a 42-yard field goal from Chris Freeman; suddenly, the program had a quick 10-0 lead and looked to keep the foot on the gas.
Despite the hot start early on for UConn, Georgia State battled back.
The Panthers’ passing attack was in full force for their third drive of the night, as it took less than two minutes for the program to get into Connecticut territory. A crucial play ensued later in the series, as Petey Tucker took a dump-off for 14 yards to the UConn 25. However, those in stripes slapped senior defensive back Rante Jones with a questionable unnecessary roughness call, putting the Panthers in the red zone for the first time all night. From there, Gibson threw a perfect back corner ball to junior wide receiver Ted Hurst for the score. After that, Georgia State was in command of this matchup.
The Huskies were looking to respond strongly on their following offensive sequences, as not only was the rushing attack in order, but Evers did a great job at finding his receivers, and this wasn’t limited to inside the pocket. The sophomore signal caller had some plays that broke down, meaning Evers had to get creative and try to make some magic, and he did that, finding Shamar Porter on the sidelines for an excellent thirda nd 13 conversion. However, things took a turn for the worse shortly after. Robinson had a carry at midfield but lost the football, and the Panthers recovered near midfield. However, the UConn defense limited the bleeding to only a field goal, meaning we had a tied ball game on our hands.
A crucial moment of Friday’s contest came on Georgia State’s following offensive sequence, as the program had a chance to tack on some late points. However, UConn defensive back D’Mon Brinson found himself in the perfect position for the interception. The junior also tacked on 20 yards on the return, placing Connecticut in field goal range and allowing Connecticut to reclaim the lead at the end of the half.
The second half was similar to the first 30 minutes, as a 46-yard run from Cam Edwards set the Huskies up nicely. A few plays later, Skyler Bell did an excellent job at drawing a pass interference call, putting the Huskies within the five and in prime position for Robinson to punch it in for his first score of the night. This seemed to be the turning point in the night as the Huskies began to pull away. After conceding a field goal and trading punts, thanks to the rushing attack between Evers, Edwards and Brown, the program found the back of the endzone yet again thanks to the legs of their quarterback.
The signal caller’s scrambling game was prominent all night. Evers’ nine carries for 25 yards did a good job of moving the ball downfield, although this alone was not what won the program this game.
The Huskies’ biggest break came at the beginning of the fourth quarter, as Georgia State backup quarterback Christian Veilleux threw an interception to Malik Dixon-Williams. On Connecticut’s first play from scrimmage, Brown took a run to the house for a 31-yard touchdown.
Brown had his hands all over this contest, finishing with that score and 138 yards rushing. Edwards also accumulated 88 yards of his own on the ground. Both running backs expressed that the preparation leading into this contest helped them perform at this level and that the big runs they did have were similar to how those runs went down in practice.
Despite the program’s running success, the Panthers made it a much closer contest than the Huskies would have liked, thanks to Freddie Brock’s 55-yard rushing touchdown and Gibson’s scrambling score. However, too much time had come off the clock. Georgia State made it a one-score game, although there were less than two minutes left, meaning they needed an onside kick.
Kicker Braeden McAlister booted as good of an onside kick as the Panthers could have hoped for; the ball took a perfect spin off of wide receiver Shamar Porter’s leg before it traveled 10 yards, meaning a dog pile ensued. Players from both sides fought at the bottom of the pile to come up with the rock. However, it was UConn’s Jackson Harper coming up with the football, despite not initially possessing the ball. Now, the game plan for the Huskies was simple: bleed the clock. However, Connecticut hit a roadblock early on. The Panthers forced the program into a fourth and one. UConn could have opted for the 40 plus yard field goal into the wind and make it a two possession game or go for it and get the first down to win the game. Mora opted for the latter, and it paid off, as Edwards made the line to gain, sealing Connecticut’s sixth win of the season.
Friday’s victory was massive for the program, as UConn is eligible to compete in a bowl game. However, as everyone from Mora to Edwards has noted, this doesn’t guarantee the Huskies a bowl match, and they will need to continue to compete in the three games they have left on the road.
Connecticut’s next test is against UAB on Nov. 7 on the road in Birmingham, AL.