Hope almost always springs eternal whenever a new college football season begins. The UConn football team’s plethora of incoming transfers provided optimism that, even with their key departures, they could vie for a bowl berth in 2024.
What started out as a day of bright anticipation against the Maryland Terrapins gradually became a catastrophic thunderstorm for UConn, however. By the time the downpours stopped, the Terrapins had blown out the Huskies 50-7.
Nothing went right in Connecticut’s favor on either side of the ball; the defense allowed 629 yards and the offense turned the ball over three times. Some of the issues rearing their ugly heads in College Park displayed a much different team than the one head coach Jim Mora witnessed at training camp.
“That football team that I saw today in UConn uniforms was not the team that I have seen the last four weeks,” Mora commented afterward. “I want the attitude to be right and the emphasis to be right and our focus and energy. It was not [right].”
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Being down three defensive stalwarts exacerbated the team’s overall woes. Redshirt upperclassmen Pryce Yates (partial concussion) and Malik Dixon-Williams (broken hand) both did not play. Senior defensive back Rante Jones sat out the first half because of a targeting penalty that carried over from last season.
Even then, the Huskies could not slow down Maryland’s aerial attack. From the start, Redshirt junior Billy Edwards Jr. ensured that the Terrapins had found Taulia Tagovailoa’s successor under center. The 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watchlist selection completed each of his first seven passes and just seven of his 27 passes did not result in a catch.
Edwards Jr. threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns in just three quarters. Senior wideout Tai Felton blossomed as the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon’s top target with a career-best 178 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches. Kaden Prather supported his fellow senior with 60 yards on six receptions.
Maryland’s offensive success, which included a perfect 6-6 afternoon in the redzone, extended well beyond their relentless passing game. Redshirt junior Roman Hemby and redshirt freshman Nolan Ray both ran for over 60 yards on a combined 20 carries and found paydirt once apiece.
As for UConn, Skyler Bell showcased what made him one of the program’s top portal additions with 141 yards on five catches. Redshirt sophomore Nick Evers struggled in his Huskies debut, going 6-17 for 73 yards before a late hit knocked him out of the contest. Graduate student Joe Fagnano stepped up when he went down, throwing for 149 yards and a touchdown on eight completions.
Connecticut’s run game, usually a strength, could not take off against the tight Terrapin defense. Cam Edwards and Victor Rosa, the Huskies’ regular one-two punch, combined for just 49 yards on nine rushes while redshirt freshman Durell Robinson ran for 34.
UConn’s defense nearly made a statement on the season’s first drive. Junior defensive back Lee Mollette III ripped the pigskin from Edwards Jr.’s hands as he hit the turf following a fourth-down conversion. Although fellow junior D’Mon Brinson fell on the loose football, video review ruled him down and kept the ball in Maryland’s hands. The Terps went ahead 7-0 on the very next play.
The Huskies’ offense punted on their first drive despite Edwards’ 16-yard rush. Maryland started deep in their own territory, but they did not turn back as soon as they crossed their 30-yard line. Octavian Smith Jr. caught a 16-yard spiral from Edwards Jr. and Ray swiftly doubled the Terrapins’ lead on a 48-yard house call.
Connecticut’s offense amassed their best drive of the first half following redshirt junior Jack Howe’s 29-yard field goal. The Wisconsin transfers—Evers and Bell—put the Huskies in enemy territory with their only connection of the afternoon. UConn could not capitalize on the 37-yard reception, however, as Chris Freeman’s 47-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
Maryland countered with not one but two field-goal drives before the intermission. Redshirt senior Jordan Wright’s targeting penalty and a handful of Hemby’s rushes helped the Terps cross the 20-point mark. Redshirt senior Glendon Miller’s fifth-career interception set up the other and put the Huskies in a 23-0 halftime hole.
Not even a halftime speech seemed to start Connecticut’s motor; they went three-and-out with an intentional grounding penalty to start the second half. Their defense, now with Jones back in the contest, had trouble stopping Maryland’s dynamic passing duo. Edwards Jr. and Felton connected once on a 39-yard strike and then did it again for 27 yards on a 1st-and-18 situation. Hemby capped off the drive with a four-yard score.
It was not until Fagnano entered—on relatively short notice—that the Husky offense started rolling. Fagnano looked much more comfortable in the pocket than Evers did; it took him two attempts to connect with Bell for a 35-yard pickup.
That march down the field halted immediately when senior linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II intercepted a deflected pass off Rosa’s hands. Following the Terps’ empty possession, the 2024 College Sports Comeback Player of the Year Award Watchlist selection subsequently rattled off four consecutive completions. Purdue transfer wideout TJ Sheffield caught the last of those passes on that drive for 27 yards and put UConn on the board.
Felton immediately sniffed out any chance the Huskies, down 30-7, had at keeping the contest close. The Phil Steele Preseason Second-Team All-Big Ten selection slipped past multiple would-be tacklers and won the footrace to the endzone as time expired in the third quarter.
Maryland’s backups entered in the final frame and piled on to their 36-7 advantage. First-year student DeJuan Williams’ first-career rushing touchdown with 1:23 remaining all but solidified the Terrapins’ first home victory in their series with Connecticut since 1942.
Disastrous as the season opener was, the Huskies have a chance at redemption when they host the Merrimack Warriors at Rentschler Field. Kickoff next week is at 12 p.m. on WFSB Channel 3 and the UConn Sports Network.
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