Huskies suffer first conference defeat
Eight days after opening its Big East schedule with a win at Rentschler Field, UConn went on the road Saturday afternoon and took a major step back.
D.J. Hernandez struggled in his first-ever college start and finished 19 of 43 passing for 193 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and Bradley Glatthaar led the way with 125 yards and two touchdowns as Cincinnati defeated UConn, 28-17, Saturday at Nippert Stadium.
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Cincinnati (3-3, 1-1 Big East) took its biggest lead with 9:11 left in the third quarter when Butler Benton ran for a 27-yard touchdown and Kevin Lovell's extra point gave the Bearcats a 21-3 lead.
Hernandez hit fullback Lou Allen on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 38 seconds left in the third to cut Cincinnati's lead to 21-10.
UConn's first possession of the fourth ended on Cincinnati's 35-yard line when Adam Roberts sacked Hernandez, one of six for the Bearcats in the game. Roberts and Trevor Anderson each had two sacks.
On the Huskies next possession, Hernandez was sacked twice and UConn ended up punting.
Glatthaar scored on a 72-yard run on Cincinnati's first play after UConn punted to take a 28-10 advantage with 7:16 left. Hernandez was intercepted with 4:50 left on Cincinnati's 43-yard line.
UConn scored with 2:45 left on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Hernandez to Seth Fogarty for the final margin.
Glatthaar opened the scoring on Cincinnati's third possession of the game with a 9-yard touchdown run with 3:20 left in the first. Nuzie booted a 22-yard field goal to cut Cincinnati's lead to 7-3 at halftime.
The Bearcats exploded offensively early in the third as Cincinnati drove 65 yards on its first possession after halftime.
Freshman quarterback Dustin Grutza found 6-foot-4 tight end Connor Barwin for a 7-yard touchdown with 11:23 left in the third to give the Bearcats a 14-3 lead.
On Cincinnati's next possession, Benton rushed for 33 yards on second-and-13. He then took it 27 yards for the touchdown and the 21-3 lead with just over 9 minutes left in the third.
Terry Caulley finished with 84 yards on 21 carries. Dan Murray (70 yards) and Jason Williams (58 yards) each had six receptions. Allen finished with two receptions for 35 yards and one touchdown.
UConn (4-2, 1-1) hosts Rutgers at 3 p.m. Saturday at Rentschler Field. The game will be televised by NESN and MSG.
News & Notes
Freshman defensive end Cody Brown made his first career start in place of Dan Davis, who did not play due to an ankle injury.
Adam Gorney covers UConn sports for Rivals.com and can be reached at gorney@rivals.com.