UConn’s attempt at a game-winning drive came up just short on Saturday.
Marching down the field looking to answer a late field goal, the Huskies had to go for it on 4th-and-10 from the Miami, Ohio, 38-yard line and failed to convert on a deep ball, putting the final nail in a disappointing 24-21 loss.
UConn, 2-2 through four games for the third year in a row, allowed 21 unanswered points after taking an early 14-0 lead through the first quarter.
Miami quarterback David McComb, who finished the game on the bench injured, took advantage of the Huskies’ young secondary and completed 19 of 29 passes for 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns. While he isn’t a natural runner, he led the RedHawks in rushing with 33 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
“Miami’s a good team, they play through the whistle, do the detailed things that you want to see teams do, so you have to go beat them,” UConn head coach Jason Candle told Fox Sports Radio 97-9 after the game. “We gave ourselves a chance at the end to go win the game and we just didn’t. It was kind of a tale of two quarters in the first half, really hot start, hit a lull there in the second quarter and then get to the point in time in the fourth quarter with the ball in your hands to go win the game. We just weren’t able to capitalize.”
Kalieb Osborne put on a show early before the Miami defense started to figure him out. The UConn QB finished with 215 yards and a TD on 17 of 32 passing, also leading the Huskies on the ground with 68 yards and another TD on 13 carries.
UConn’s Javon Brown celebrates after catching a 7-yard TD pass from Kalieb Osborne during the first quarter of Saturday’s game at Miami, Ohio. (Courtesy of UConn)
His connection with receiver Javon Brown was evident early as the duo connected twice for 27 yards and the opening touchdown, which made the team a perfect 10-for-10 in red zone opportunities this season. He didn’t need to get that close for the second score of the game. With Candle deciding to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the 38-yard line, the dual-threat QB faked a handoff and got to the outside, catching the defense off guard as he ran past it and got into the end zone for his fifth rushing score of the season.
Miami tried its own luck on 4th-and-1 the very next series but didn’t have the same success with star linebacker K’Von Sherman sprinting in to stop the runner for a loss.
But the RedHawks had another chance in the second quarter and converted with a pass to the sideline, setting up their first score as McComb kept the ball on an option play and dove for the pylon from 10 yards out. They tied the game later in the quarter as McComb connected with tight end Brendan Loftus down the field for a one-handed grab and a 57-yard touchdown.
Trading missed field goals from 40-plus yards, UConn’s secondary continued to be taken advantage of as McComb directed Miami’s offense down the field with ease, finding Scoop Smith in the corner of the end zone from 11 yards out to take the lead after an 83-yard drive.
UConn running back Cyncir Bowers looks for room during Saturday’s game at Miami, Ohio. (Courtesy of UConn)
The Huskies had a counter punch, however, after laying dormant for about a quarter and a half. Shamar Porter was on the receiving end of a 53-yard deep ball from Osborne, who shook a few tacklers as he ran the ball down to the 1-yard line and handed off to Cyncir Bowers to knot the score.
Hayden Pegg, the walk-on linebacker who’s earned a significant role, provided some much-needed defensive highlights in coverage early in the fourth quarter as he wiped a touchdown off the board and held the RedHawks to a 40-yard field goal attempt that missed short. Pegg finished as the team’s leading tackler with eight on the day.
The sloppiness continued in crunch time.
A holding penalty wiped an explosive Kenji Christian run off the board for the Huskies, who had to punt. Then McComb went down with a noncontact injury along his own sideline and Miami’s offense stalled out before Osborne gave the ball back with an errant throw across his body, his second interception of the season.
“Maybe the moment got to us a little bit there. We got affected up front, we didn’t protect the quarterback how we needed to,” Candle said. “We’ve got some young players in key positions and they haven’t been in those types of situations before, and they’ll be in them again. So they’ve got to respond better next time we get into those spots. We’ve got some growing pains that we’ve got to address and fix on tape and that starts with me and the staff.”
With backup QB Caleb Heavner guiding the offense, Miami took advantage of the short field from the interception, converted on 4th-and-1 and set up the go-ahead field goal attempt from 33 yards. After missing their first two kicks, RedHawks’ coach Chuck Martin turned to true freshman Brady Stidham for what ultimately served as the game-winner.
UConn will return to Rentschler Field with an opportunity to respond in a big way as Syracuse visits for a Noon kickoff on Saturday.