UConn football suffers painful 34-33 loss to Utah State as game-tying extra point blocked
Sep. 30—EAST HARTFORD — Not all losses rank the same on the painful scale.
For winless UConn, its latest defeat is at the top of its list for this season.
After blowing a 17-0 lead and falling behind 34-27 in the fourth quarter, the Huskies capped off a dramatic 85-yard drive with Jelani Stafford's 1-yard scoring plunge, but Joe McFadden's game-tying extra point attempt was blocked by Utah State's Ike Larsen with 40 seconds left.
UConn's onside kick failed and it walked off the field with a painful 34-33 defeat Saturday at Rentschler Field.
"We're devastated," Stafford said. "I feel like we did so much right and in the moment of truth we didn't do what we had to do."
The Huskies (0-5) played well offensively, hitting season highs for points, total offense (473 yards) and rushing yards (218). Quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson had his best game, completing 23 of 32 attempts for 255 yards with two touchdown passes — one to Nick Harris for four yards and one to Geordon Porter for 28 — and one interception.
Former Bristol Central standout Victor Rosa rushed for a team-high 92 yards and Cam Edwards, a sophomore from Norwalk, added a career-best 73 yards.
On their last drive, Roberson masterfully guided the Huskies 85 yards.
When Stafford, a 303-pound defensive tackle that saw spot duty in the backfield, plowed into the end zone for his career-best second touchdown to cut the deficit to one, Mora contemplated going for two points and the win before electing to kick the extra point.
"I thought our guys fought so hard, I wanted to give them a chance to win it in overtime," Mora said. "It just goes to show you, you can never take any play in athletic competition for granted. If you do, bad things happen. And a bad thing happened right there."
Defensive letdowns killed the Huskies (0-5) who allowed the Aggies to score on six straight possessions and gave up big pass plays.
The Aggies (2-3) took the lead for good with 12:36 left in the game when quarterback Cooper Legas connected with wide receiver Jaylen Royals for a 52-yard touchdown pass for a 31-24 edge.
Royals also had touchdown catches of 71 and 15 yards, finishing with seven catches for 185 yards, and Colby Bowman caught a 63-yard scoring strike from Legas (11-for-13, 204 yards, 3 TDs).
"On a day when our offense showed up and Ta'Quan made big strides, we threw the ball down the field and we ran the ball with authority, the defense didn't hold up its end of the deal and that's very disappointing," Mora said.
The Huskies dominated the first half, taking a 17-0 lead on Stafford's 1-yard run, Harris' 4-yard scoring catch and McFadden's 36-yard field goal. Stafford's score handed UConn its first lead since the season-opening drive against North Carolina State on Aug. 31.
A former high school running back, Stafford also caught a 10-yard pass for a first down on third-and-1 to keeping a second quarter scoring drive alive.
"I'm a guy who's going to do whatever to help this team win," Stafford said.
UConn's first two Interceptions of the season — and only its second and third turnovers generated — set up touchdowns. Linebacker Jackson Mitchell and Chris Shearin picked off the passes.
The Huskies dominated the first half and only came away with a 17-7 lead. Still, the output topped their scoring average of 13 points per game, which ranks last in the country.
Blame a defensive letdown.
After containing a Utah State offense that came in averaging 37.8 points and 430.5 yards per game, the Huskies gave up a big play.
Quarterback McCae Hillstead connected with Bowman on a 63-yard scoring strike with 14 seconds left. Prior to that drive, the Aggies had just 22 total yards. Hillstead left the game with an injury early in the third quarter.
The game turned in Utah State's favor in the third quarter. The Aggies scored on their first three drives and outscored the Huskies 17-0.
UConn answered, tying the score at 24 on Roberson's 28-yard touchdown pass to Porter on the second play of the fourth quarter.
It was a wild and entertaining finish.
Royals got behind Shearin and hauled in a 52-yard scoring strike to hand Utah State a 31-24 edge. McFadden's 38-yard field goal cut the gap to 31-27.
UConn's defense couldn't stop Utah State, which responded with Elliott Nimrod's 24-yard field goal to extend the lead to seven with 5:30 left.
After mounting perhaps the best drive of the season, the Huskies couldn't finish it off and missed the game-tying extra point attempt.
"It's tough," said redshirt junior Cam Ross, who had a team-best seven receptions for 70 yards. "I can speak for everybody on the team, we knew that we were going to win until (the clock hit) triple zeros. Disappointed.
"We've got another opportunity next week."
UConn will try to break a seven-game losing streak that dates back to last season next Saturday against Rice in Houston.
"There's only one option and that's to stay together and fight through it," Mora said. "That's how you deal with adversity. You understand everyone on the outside is going to be taking shots at you, rightfully so. This is a performance-based business. Everyone has their opinions and they're entitled to them. Right now, they're all valid.
"So, the only thing we can do is to continue to stay together, fight our way out of this, find ways to improve together as a team, and that's what we intend to do."
