For the past two weeks, we’ve seen the UConn Huskies blow games in the fourth quarter. This week, Johnny McEntee and Nick Williams made sure that didn’t happen as they hooked for a touchdown that would ultimately give the Huskies a 17-3 win over the Buffalo Bulls in front of 18,215 at UB Stadium in Amherst, NY on Saturday night.
With the win, the Huskies even their record at 2-2. The Bulls fall to 1-3 (0-1 MAC) on the season.
During the first three games of the season, we’ve seen UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni employ McEntee, Scott McCummings and Michael Nebrich at quarterback. After Saturday night, it looks like McEntee has emerged as the main guy at the helm.
The Bulls shot down the running game of the Huskies but McEntee was able to move the ball for the Huskies. After throwing four interceptions in the first three games, he rebounded with his best performance of the season. He was 12-of-21 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. The two touchdowns happen to be the first for the walk-on from California.
His first touchdown pass went to the Hawaiian Husky in Mark Hinkley with his second going to Williams. It was Williams who actually set up Hinkley’s touchdown after catching a pass and going 64 yards with it before being run down.
The defense was solid as they limited the big mistakes this week.
Yawin Smallwood picked up a big interception of Buffalo QB Chazz Anderson who had been driving the Bulls down the field in the third quarter. From that point forward, the Bulls never really threatened the Huskies defense.
It may not have been pretty at times but it was a solid team win for the Huskies. Hopefully we’ll see Pasqualoni going with McEntee at quarterback with McCummings coming in when situations warrant the Wildcat. You could see how much more efficient the Huskies were with just one QB in for most of the time.
Using one QB is also good for moral. You definitely want a guy back there you can trust and McEntee looked like he earned that on Saturday night.
Another win next Saturday against Western Michigan would be great for the Huskies before they enter Big East play.
Scoring:
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| UConn Huskies | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Buffalo Bulls | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
1st quarter
NONE
2nd quarter
BUF – 05:28 – Peter Fardon 28 Yd Field Goal
CON – 02:34 – Dave Teggart 47 Yd Field Goal
CON – 00:15 – Mark Hinkley 4 Yd Pass From Johnny McEntee (Dave Teggart Kick)
3rd quarter
NONE
4th quarter
CON – 04:52 – Nick Williams 49 Yd Pass From Johnny McEntee (Dave Teggart Kick)
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Offensive Player of the Game:
Nick Williams had a huge game when he touched the ball. He caught two passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. His first catch went for 64 yards to set up UConn’s first touchdown of the day. His second one of 49 yards was good for a touchdown and clinched the game for the Huskies.
Defensive Player of the Game:
Yawin Smallwood picks up the honors this week. He had the huge interception in the third quarter plus he led the Huskies with nine tackles (three solo, six assists)
Turning Point(s) of the Game:
Yawin Smallwood’s interception in the end zone of the third quarter stopped a big Buffalo drive and killed the momentum they’d built up.
Johnny McEntee’s 49 yard touchdwon pass to Nick Williams late in the 4th quarter ensured that the Huskies would not blow a game in the 4th quarter for the third week in a row.
Offensive Notes:
Johnny McEntee was 12-of-21 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. Lyle McCombs had 30 carries for just 61 yards. He also had one reception for 15 yards. Nick Williams had two catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Isiah Moore led the Huskies with four catches that went for 49 yards. Kashif Moore has three catches for 23 yards.
Defensive Notes:
Yawin Smallwood led the Huskies with nine tackles (three solo, six assists) and an interception. Dwayne Gratz had seven tackles while Blidi-Wreh Wilson had six tackles and two pass breakups. Tywon Martin had six tackles while Sio Moore, Gary Wilburn, Jesse Joseph and Jory Johnson all had five. Kendall Reyes, Teddy Jennings and Trevardo Williams all had sacks for the Huskies.
Special Teams Notes:
Dave Teggart went 2-for-2 on extra points and was 1-of-2 on field goals. He hit from 47 yards and his 49 yard attempt was blocked. Cole Wagner averaged 44.2 yards on eight punts with a long of 62. He had two of them downed inside the 20. Nick Williams had one punt return of 12 yards and one kickoff return for 27 yards.
Injuries:
Blidi-Wreh Wilson suffered a leg injury and didn’t return to the game.
Moe Petrus was shaken up after getting leveled while blocking. He only missed one play and did return to the game.
Mark Hinkley suffered a leg injury and didn’t return to the game.
Officials:
The crew on Saturday night was from the Big East.
Referee: Jerry McGinn; Umpire: Richard Feeney; Linesman: Steve Matarante; Line judge: Ralph Newell; Back judge: Ben Vasconcello; Field judge: Folayan Kindred; Side judge: James Downey;
Game Notes:
UConn Huskies @ Buffalo Bulls 9-24-11 box score
Here are the starters on both sides of the ball for the Huskies:
OFFENSE
LT 72 Bennett, Jimmy
LG 77 Friend, Kevin
C 57 Petrus, Moe
RG 63 Masters, Adam
RT 71 Ryan, Mike
TE 81 Manning, Corey
WR 85 Davis, Geremy
WR 6 Moore, Kashif
QB 18 McEntee, Johnny
RB 43 McCombs, Lyle
WR 83 Moore, Isiah
DEFENSE
LE 48 WILLIAMS, Trev.
NT 4 MARTIN, Tywon
DT 99 Reyes, Kendall
RE 98 JENNINGS, Teddy
LB 3 Moore, Sio
LB 33 SMALLWOOD, Yaw.
LB 28 Johnson, Jory
CB 7 Gratz, Dwayne
S 16 Jones, Byron
S 25 Agbor, Harris
CB 5 WREH-WILSON, B
Big East Games and Results:
Thursday, September 22
N.C. State 14
Cincinnati 41
Saturday, September 24
Toledo 30
Syracuse 33, OT
Notre Dame 15
Pittsburgh 12
Ohio 26
Rutgers 38
UTEP 24
#18 South Florida 52
#2 LSU 47
#16 West Virginia 21
Things to Work On:
- Get Nick Williams some more touches on the offensive side of things. We saw how explosive he can be when he gets the ball. He needs to be used in ways the New England Patriots use Wes Welker.
- Open up for more holes for McCombs. With most of the offensive line back, they should be able to help the running game. They haven’t been doing a good job of opening up holes for Lyle McCombs the past few weeks. The running game opens up the passing game.
- Keep working on defensive technique. They did a great job of limiting their mistakes this week. But as competition gets better as the weeks go, they need to be ready.
Up Next:
The Huskies return home to Rentschler Field next Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. to host the Western Michigan Broncos. This is the final non-conference matchup of the season for the Huskies before they start Big East play in two weeks against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
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Photo credit: AP Photo (No. 1 in gallery)
