UConn drops home opener to Holy Cross, 38-28
Sep. 4—EAST HARTFORD — There's plenty of blame to share in UConn's most recent loss on Saturday, the football program's 23rd in the last 26 games.
That's right, the Huskies are 3-23 since the start of the 2018 season.
A mistake-prone offense continues to let them down.
An unreliable defense can't make a timely stop or eliminate big plays.
And coach Randy Edsall still hasn't figured out how to pull the program out of a Grand Canyon-size hole.
UConn walked off the field on the wrong end of a 38-28 score against Holy Cross before an announced crowd of 18,782 in the home opener at Rentschler Field. The Huskies dropped to 0-2.
Holy Cross celebrated the win on the field after the final whistle.
"Everybody is angry," UConn sophomore linebacker Jackson Mitchell said. "This game, we should have won. We had chances to win and we let it slip away. Yeah, we're angry. Also, it's embarrassing any time someone comes on your field and they dance in the middle of your field after they beat us.
"Yeah, I'd consider that embarrassing."
Given the way the Huskies are playing, there really aren't any games left on the schedule that they should win.
Saturday's loss came against a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) foe.
Entering the game, the Huskies had gone 17-1 against FCS teams since becoming a Football Bowl Subdivision team in 2002. That includes a difficult 27-20 win over Holy Cross in 2017. It was also the Crusaders first win over an FBS team since 2002.
Make that 17-2 now.
"We just didn't play very well today," Edsall said. "It's disappointing. Congratulations to Holy Cross. We've just got to work to get better and clean up mistakes."
The Huskies led only once after sophomore Jack Zergiotis converted a quarterback sneak from one yard out for a 14-7 edge late in the first quarter.
The advantage lasted only a few minutes, as Zergiotis' tipped pass was intercepted by defensive tackle Jason Modak who rumbled 29 yards for a touchdown to tie the score on the second play of the second quarter.
"We go up 14-7 and then we make a poor throw, a poor mistake, and we're tied up," Edsall said.
UConn trailed 24-21 at halftime after allowing Holy Cross to drive down the field to set up Derek Ng's 30-yard field goal with three seconds left.
The Huskies faced a three-point deficit to start the fourth quarter.
Holy Cross (1-0) put the game away by driving 98 yards on four plays, finishing the series off with Tyler Purdy's 14-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 38-28.
The Huskies appeared to put the Crusaders in an awful spot when Joe McFadden's punt was downed on the Holy Cross 2-yard line. But on third down and two from the 10, quarterback Matthew Sluka, who rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown as well as throwing for two scores, broke free up the middle and raced 76 yards.
"Missed tackles and he made a good play," Mitchell said.
Purdy scored on the next play, shedding defenders before powering into the end zone.
Then, on UConn's next possession, John Smith intercepted Zergiotis with 6:26 left.
Game over.
The Huskies were outgained for the second straight game, this time 361 to 262.
Zergiotis (17 for 41, 174 yards) accounted for all four UConn touchdowns, running for one and throwing two scoring strikes to freshman Keelan Marion (50 and three yards) and one to Jayce Medlock (eight yards).
But he also committed four turnovers — three interceptions and a fumble. Back-up quarterback Steven Krajewski remained on the sidelines.
"I just wasn't as good as I should have been," Zergiotis said. "That's it. I've gotta be better. It's definitely a gut-check for the team. But I didn't lose any faith in that game in the guys. I still trust in them and believe in them."
Edsall could make some changes in the lineup for next week's home game against Purdue on Saturday.
At this point, it might be worth shaking things up a bit.
When asked if he had the personnel — players and coaches — to win games at this level, Edsall responded: "I think we have people in place. Everybody has to understand that playing this game isn't easy. ... We've got to execute at a higher level.
"... We're not good enough to put ourselves in situations where we're giving away points, turning the ball over. We'll keep stressing it, keep talking about it and keep practicing it and work to keep getting better at it. That's all I know how to do."
News and notes
UConn likely lost return man and wide receiver Cam Ross for the rest of the season. Ross suffered a broken foot. ... The Huskies rushed for less than 100 yards for the second straight game, managing 88 on 39 carries. "We have to come off the ball and block people," Edsall said. ... Senior Kevin Mensah moved into fourth place on the program's career net rushing yards list. He had 66 yards on Saturday, giving him 2,716 in his career. ... Senior linebacker Omar Fortt led the team with 12 tackles, including two for loss. ... The Huskies registered their first four sacks of the season.
