West Virginia cruises in blowout victory
UConn freshman quarterback Dennis Brown finished 10 of 19 passing for 97 yards and an interception and fullback Lou Allen scored the only touchdown for the Huskies in their 45-13 loss to No. 18 West Virginia Wednesday night at Mountaineer Field.
UConn (4-4, 1-3 Big East) did not run well all game and finished with 12 rushing yards on 38 attempts. Allen had 17 yards on 11 carries and scored on a touchdown run with 5:38 left for the final margin.
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Running back Terry Caulley finished with 20 yards on eight carries and Cornell Brockington had two carries for -5 yards as UConn finished the game with only 128 total yards of offense.
Place kicker Matt Nuzie hit a 41-yard field goal with 6:45 left in the first quarter to cut West Virginia's lead to 7-3. Nuzie also drilled a 39-yard field goal with 2:46 left in the third, but the Mountaineers still led 38-6.
West Virginia quarterback Pat White ran for two touchdowns and threw another and finished with 106 passing yards and 63 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Steve Slaton, who scored six touchdowns in West Virginia's triple-overtime win over Louisville to tie a conference record, finished with 71 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.
Slaton, who left with a sore hip late in the first half, scored the Mountaineers' first touchdown on a 1-yard run with 11:06 left in the first quarter.
Fullback Owen Schmitt scored on a 15-yard run with 2:48 left in the first to give West Virginia (7-1, 4-0) a 14-3 lead.
The second quarter was disastrous for UConn.
White hit wide receiver Brandon Myles for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 12:07 left in the second as the Mountaineers took a 21-3 lead.
Brockington fumbled on UConn's first play after the West Virginia touchdown and defensive end Warren Young recovered it at the UConn 20-yard line. Three plays later, White rushed 14 yards for a touchdown and a 28-3 lead with 10:28 left in the half.
UConn, which has lost three-straight Big East games, bounced back with a Caulley run for 20 yards that took the ball out to the UConn 32-yard line.
But on the next play, Brown's pass was intercepted by defensive back Anthony Mims and returned to UConn's 14-yard line. After Slaton was stuffed for no gain, White scored again on a 14-yard run and suddenly the Huskies were being blown out, 35-3, with 9:28 left.
West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee tacked on a 32-yard field goal with 6:47 left in the third and Jason Colson scored the Mountaineers' final touchdown with 8:28 left for a 45-6 advantage.
UConn was 3 of 15 on third-down conversions and lost the time of possession battle by almost 10 minutes. Redshirt freshman quarterback D.J. Hernandez did play later in the second half and had a 20-yard pass completion and rushed twice for nine yards.
Brandon Young, who is coming off an injured ankle, led UConn with three catches for 47 yards. Tight end Dan Murray added two receptions for 45 yards.
Caulley and Jason Williams each had two catches. Courtney Robinson added a 40-yard kickoff in the second half.
The Huskies look to rebound at Pittsburgh at noon next Saturday. The game will be televised by ESPN+.
Adam Gorney covers UConn sports for Rivals.com and can be reached at gorney@rivals.com.