The Post-Game Spread: Rice, Rice Baby
The Huskies feasted on Rice for their first win of the season.
Welcome to the post-game spread, our take on the game recap!
UConn won the football game. It wasn’t a stellar performance, but the Huskies certainly earned the win and left Houston with a lot to build on going into their bye week.
On Saturday, Rice gained 155 more yards than the Huskies, had more than double UConn’s first downs, and ran 22 more plays. But the Owls’ four turnovers, including two gaffes that led to UConn’s first two touchdowns, made the difference.
The Husky offense did a nice job taking advantage of opportunities. Boosted by those 12 points off turnovers, including a fumble returned for a touchdown, UConn notched a season-high in scoring, with 38 points.
Roberson made a few key plays in crunch time to secure the much-needed victory. Justin Joly’s 59-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter was not just a great play, it was the culmination of another impressive (by UConn’s standards) passing performance.
Ta’Quan Roberson completed 15-of-19 passes (79 percent) for 215 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown was a 41-yard bomb to Cam Ross that gave UConn a 20-14 lead. Joly finished with seven receptions for 96 yards and also made a nice play to convert a two-point conversion, catching a tough ball and breaking a tackle to get in and make the score 28-14.
Rice worked hard to stay in the contest. Right before Joly’s long touchdown, the score was 31-28 after two receiving TDs to Luke McCaffrey and a Husky field goal; it appeared as though anyone could still win the game.
On Saturday, that anyone was the UConn Huskies. Their bowl chances may be slim but they live to fight for another few weeks with a bye this Saturday followed by a home date with USF. The next week, they’re at BC. Both of those opponents are beatable.
As we’ve discussed, there’s still plenty on the line for this UConn team. If they beat BC and UMass, that’s a good year. If they can get to four wins, it could ease the sting of the 0-5 start and get fans to believe that the program is moving in the right direction.
Stats & Facts
DB Chris Shearin grabbed his second interception in as many weeks, hauling in an overthrown ball by JT Daniels with 5:06 left in the game to help the Huskies close the deal.
Victor Rosa ran for 89 yards on 19 carries, a solid average of 4.9 yards per carry. He’s got 399 rushing yards on the season to lead the Huskies at the halfway mark.
Cam Edwards had just eight yards on seven carries.
Jelani Stafford recovered a fumble and then scored a touchdown two plays later. He leads the team with five touchdowns after getting in the end zone twice.
Ta’Quan Roberson changed his jersey number to 1 from 6 starting with this game.
Rice scored the game’s first 14 points and then UConn scored 28 unanswered across the second quarter and into the third.
UConn’s four forced turnovers represent a season high after forcing just one over the first four games.
Pryce Yates and Jelani Stafford got the pressure that led to JT Daniels’ first fumble. UConn got on the board thanks to that and then got its second touchdown when Jackson Mitchell recovered a lateral from the ground and brought it back to the house.
This was UConn’s first win over an American Athletic Conference opponent since leaving the league, having lost the last two tries.
In-Game Win Probability
via ESPN
Pros
Victor Rosa gets tough yards on plays where the opponent is expecting a run. He’s already averaging 5.3 yards per carry on the season, and things could open up for him even more in the future if the Huskies’ passing attack continues to perform well.
Roberson has completed 74.5 percent of his pass attempts over the last two games, with four touchdowns, one interception, and 470 passing yards. He’s making big plays and smart decisions, even if the offense goes cold at times.
The offense has now strung together two positive performances, and it’s showing signs of an identity. Roberson is progressing. His top target has been Joly (good choice) along with Brett Buckman and Cam Ross. Victor Rosa and Cam Edwards pack a powerful punch out of the backfield running behind a rock-solid O-line.
Joly and Ross each got their first touchdown of the season.
Stafford’s first touchdown came on a savvy run. The big man leaped into the pile and was stuffed at first, but ran around the pile into the end zone.
Cons
Three Rice receivers posted at least six receptions and 88 receiving yards, as veteran QB JT Daniels had a strong overall performance against the UConn secondary, finishing with 362 yards while completing 67 percent of his 49 attempts. UConn ran 49 plays total.
Rice ran the ball well, too, finishing with a sack-adjusted 6.3 yards per carry. Rice is one of the better offensive teams UConn will face all year, but the Husky defense has to do better.
UConn converted just 2-of-9 on third down, largely due to struggles on early downs, with an average third-down distance of 7.2 yards.
The Huskies had four three-and-outs out of 11 non-end-of-half drives.
This was UConn’s first win since the bowl-clinching victory over Liberty on Nov. 13, 2022, and first road win since the FIU game last year, Oct. 8th, 2022.
Highlights
Pryce Yates forced fumble, recovered by Stafford
Jackson Mitchell fumble return TD
Justin Joly two-point conversion
Roberson 41-yard TD to Cam Ross
Joly 59-yard catch and run from Roberson
Photos: Twitter - @UConnFootball