The UConn Huskies kicked off their 2008 campaign behind the strong running of Donald Brown who had 4 touchdowns as they went on to blast the Hofstra Pride 35-3 at Rentschler Field. The win for the Huskies was their 8th straight at home.
Both the Pride and the Huskies looked a little tight early on in the game and after a turnover by Hofstra, Brown took over the game for the Huskies to help them put it out of reach. The Huskies dominated both sides of the ball and limited the overmatched Pride to 170 total yards while amassing 451 yards.
Some stupid mistakes by the Huskies cost them at least 1 touchdown and maybe another that could have made the final result a lot greater than it was.
It was a good first game for most of the Huskies and look for them to fix the problems they had tonight before next week’s game.
Scoring:
1st quarter
Donald Brown celebrates one of his 4 touchdowns tonight.
CON – Donald Brown 1-yard run, Ciaravino extra point is good – UConn 7 Hofstra 0
CON – Brown 1-yard run, Ciaravino extra point is good – UConn 14 Hofstra 0
2nd quarter
CON – Brown 19-yard run, Ciaravino extra point is good – UConn 21 Hofstra 0
CON – Brown 2-yard run, Ciaravino extra point is good – UConn 28 Hofstra 0
3rd quarter
HOF – Brian Hanley 28-yard field goal – UConn 28 Hofstra 3
4th quarter
CON – Robbie Frey – 2-yard run – Ciaravino extra point is good – UConn 35 Hofstra 3
Offensive Player of the Game:
Donald Brown had 23 carries for 144 yards and a career-high 4 touchdowns. He had 20 carries for 130 yards in the 1st half.
Defensive Player of the Game:
Lindsey Witten had 3 sacks for a loss of 16 yards total and 5 tackles.
Turning Point(s) of the Game:
A fumble by Hofstra’s Anthony Nelson after a Desi Cullen punt in the 1st quarter that was recovered by Robbie Frey was turned into a touchdown by Donald Brown that pretty much ended the night for Hofstra.
Offensive Notes:
Tyler Lorenzen wasn't at his best as he threw 3 interceptions
UConn went 3-and-out on their first possession of the season.
Tyler Lorenzen hit Ellis Gaulden for a 28-yard gain in the 1st qtr.
Donald Brown busted a 34-yard run in the 1st qtr.
Lorenzen hit Anthony Sherman for a 33-yard gain in the 1st qtr
Brown’s 19-yard TD run was negated by a holding call by Marcus Easley in 1st qtr.
Lorenzen was picked off by Hofstra’s Nick Altomare in the end zone to start the 2nd qtr.
Lorenzen hit Kashif Moore for a 19-yard gain to set up Brown’s 19-yard TD run in 2nd qtr.
Lorenzen hit Sherman for a 19-yard gain in the 2nd qtr.
Lorenzen hit Gaulden for a 16-yard gain in the 3rd qtr.
Lorenzen was picked off by Hofstra’s Ray McDonough in the end zone and it was returned 55 yards in the 3rd qtr.
Lorenzen was picked off by Hofstra’s Anthony Vernaglia in the 3rd qtr.
Lorenzen scrambled for 23 yards to start the 4th qtr.
Kevin Poles caught a 6-yard pass from Cody Endres and then lost it on a fumble in the 4th qtr.
Endres was sacked in the 4th qtr and fumbled the ball that was recovered by Hofstra.
Defensive Notes:
UConn defense forced Hofstra to 3-and-out on their first possession.
Scott Lutrus picked off a Cory Christopher pass in the 1st quarter and would have gone all the way had he not lost his balance.
Lindsey Witten sacked Christopher for a 15-yard loss in the 2nd qtr.
Witten and Julius Williams sacked Christopher for a 6-yard loss in the 2nd qtr.
Witten and Brown sacked Christopher for a 9-yard loss in the 3rd qtr
Cody Brown sacked Christopher for a 6-yard loss in the 3rd qtr to force Hofstra to kick a field goal.
Rob Lunn sacked Christopher for a 7-yard loss in the 3rd qtr.
Aaron Bagsby intercepted a Christopher pass in the end zone in the 4th qtr.
Special Teams Notes:
Randy Edsall reacts after Darius Butler's TD return is called back.
Darius Butler returned the opening kickoff of the game for a touchdown only to have a holding call negate the TD.
Robbie Frey recovered a fumble by Hofstra’s Anthony Nelson at the Hofstra 1½ yard line after a punt.
Hofstra had a 12 man on the field penalty that gave UConn a first down.
Jasper Howard returned a punt 24 yards to the Hofstra 48.
Hofstra was called for a roughing the punter penalty in the 4th qtr to give UConn a first down.
Injuries:
Hofstra’s Everette Benjamin had the wind knocked out of him and walked off under his own power in the 1st qtr.
Hofstra’s Larry Abiola suffered an unknown injury and walked off the field under his own power in the 1st qtr.
Hofstra’s Kevin Smith suffered an unknown injury and walked off the field under his own power in the 3rd qtr.
Hofstra’s Luqman Abdallah was shaken up in the 4th qtr and walked off the field under his own power.
UConn’s Alex LaMagdelaine was shaken up in the 4th qtr and walked off the field under his own power.
Hofstra’s Leslie Jackman suffered an apparent knee injury and had to be helped off the field.
Officials:
The officials were not a factor in the game as they called a fair game.
Game Notes:
Andre Dixon was in street clothes due to his ankle injury.
Hofstra’s QB Bryan Savage was scratched before the game with a bad back.
Donyell Marshall visited the broadcast booth in the 3rd qtr and talked his uncle, Pro Football Hall of Famer Lenny Moore.
Redshirt freshman Cody Endres took over for Lorenzen at QB in the 4th qtr.
Brown’s 4 TDs were the most for a Husky since Cornell Brockington had 4 against Wake Forest back in 2003. Brown also only had 8 touchdowns last season.
Lorenzen was 14-for-25 for 184 yards with 3 INTs. He had only 6 INTs all of last season.
UConn had 5 turnovers in the game.
The Huskies were penalized 7 times for 70 yards. Last year the Huskies averaged 4 penalties for 45 yards.
The Huskies were 5-for-10 on third down conversions.
The Huskies are 6-0 in home openers at Rentschler Field.
Big East Games and Results:
Cincinnati 40 Eastern Kentucky 7
8/30 – Syracuse @ Northwestern, 12 Noon
Bowling Green @ #25 Pittsburgh, 12 Noon
Villanova @ West Virginia, 3:30 PM
Tennessee-Martin @ #19 South Florida, 7:00 PM
8/31 – Kentucky @ Louisville, 3:30 PM
9/1 – Fresno State @ Rutgers, 4:00 PM
Things to Work On:
The Huskies need to work on taking better control of the ball and Tyler Lorenzen needs to work on his reads some more to prevent another 3 interception game as the competition gets tougher. Randy Edsall will be happy they won but that’s about it as they turned the ball over 5 times.
Up Next:
The Huskies will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field on September 6th at 12 Noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
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