UConnReport.com - UConn drops another in fourth quarter

October 31, 2009

Zac Boyer
UConnReport.com Editor

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - Rarely does the opportunity exist for a second chance at a storybook ending.

That's the conclusion to a gut-wrenching, two-week saga UConn could have written Saturday when Jordan Todman rushed for a touchdown against Rutgers with 38 seconds remaining.

Instead, it was the same old story. Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Tim Brown, giving the Scarlet Knights a 28-24 victory and spoiling the Huskies' first game at home since the murder of teammate Jasper Howard on Oct. 18.

"Knowing what's on the line in the fourth quarter, it's all or nothing," Todman said. "This is to win the game. People live for this. We dream for this to have the game-winning touchdown or the game-winning drive.

"When I got through the end zone, so much relief. I was definitely so fired up and so happy. And then that happened."

It was the second consecutive stunning defeat for UConn (4-4, 1-3 Big East), which held the lead in the closing minutes at West Virginia a week ago, only to give up a 56-yard touchdown run to Noel Devine to lose the game.

The Huskies surrendered a fourth-quarter lead and lost for the fourth time this season. They have lost those games by a combined 13 points.

"It's just tough," said quarterback Zach Frazer, who stepped in for an injured Cody Endres in the first quarter. "Every loss that we had was so close. It's only one play. One more yard. One more inch and you get a win."

Todman's two-yard touchdown run capped a 15-play, 87-yard drive that spanned 3:11 and gave the Huskies their first lead of the day.

But Rutgers (6-2, 1-2 Big East) responded when Brown beat UConn cornerback Robert McClain, caught the pass at the Scarlet Knights' 47-yard line and took off past strong safety Aaron Bagsby, who misread the play.

"They make a good throw and they make a good catch, but we had a young man that really took a bad angle to the ball and we didn't make the tackle," said UConn head coach Randy Edsall. "It was a coverage we were using all day long and had real good success with."

Despite Todman's touchdown, and the drive that preceded it, the Huskies did not have sustained success on offense.

Endres was 4-for-9 with 40 yards over the game's first 8:46 before taking a hit by Rutgers defensive tackle Blair Bines. Endres, slow to get up, injured his left shoulder, and will undergo what is likely to be season-ending surgery Sunday morning.

Frazer struggled in his place and failed to build any momentum until the fourth quarter. After his first pass was dropped by Ryan Griffin on third down, leading to a punt by Desi Cullen, Frazer stepped back under center after Rutgers went three and out.

Right guard Zach Hurd was called for a false start, Todman was dropped for a loss of four yards on the next play and Frazer then threw an interception to Rutgers linebacker Damaso Munoz.

Still, he finished 21-for-46 with 333 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions, and did so by throwing for 194 yards in the fourth quarter.

"For some of [my receivers], it's been a while since I've thrown them a pass, so it definitely took a while to get in rhythm," said Frazer, who had not played in nearly seven weeks after injuring his right knee against North Carolina on Sept. 12. "But once we found the rhythm, I think we were doing all right."

The touchdown pass went to Marcus Easley with 10:19 remaining in the fourth quarter, marking Easley's fourth consecutive game with a touchdown reception.

Much of the focus at that time, though, was on the conversion: rather than kick an extra point, the Huskies went for two with a pass by Frazer to left tackle Mike Ryan, but the play was disallowed via review because Ryan was not a legal receiver.

"I caught it over my shoulder, so I didn't think it was forward," Ryan said. "But they reviewed it. I have no control over it."

Rutgers held UConn to 108 rushing yards, its second-lowest total of the season. Todman had 68 and Dixon had 49, each on 13 carries, but both made a mark in the passing game: Todman caught three passes for 59 yards, including a 41-yard reception in the fourth quarter, while Dixon caught a 27-yard pass in the second quarter.

Dave Teggart scored UConn's first points with a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter, but he missed two other attempts - one from 36 yards and another from 49 - for the second consecutive week. Robbie Frey added a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter, only the third return of that distance in school history.

Rutgers opened the game with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Devin McCourty, marking the second consecutive week the Huskies have allowed a touchdown return to open the game.

Savage finished 13-for-24 with 236 yards and three touchdowns, including a 37-yarder to Brown in the second quarter and a 20-yarder to Mark Harrison four minutes later.

Lawrence Wilson led UConn with nine tackles and Greg Lloyd added eight, but the Huskies, for the first time this season, did not force a turnover.

"It hurts our pride, our heart," Todman said. "This is over and over when we've had the opportunity to win in the fourth quarter and we let it slip through our hands. We're definitely tired of losing the close ones."

	Zac Boyer, the editor and publisher of UConnReport.com, covers UConn sports on the Rivals network. He can be reached by e-mail at zacboyer@rivals.com.
Home \| Latest Headlines \| Recruit Search \| Commitments \| Targets \| Visit Dates \| Message Boards