Here are photos from Friday night’s game between the UConn Huskies football team and the BYU Cougars at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT. BYU won the game 35-10.

photo credits: ian bethune – sox & dawgs

BYU QB Taysom Hill scores on a seven yard touchdown run in the first quarter against the UConn Huskies at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT on August 29, 2014.

UConn Huskies head coach Bob Diaco knew all along that BYU Cougars QB Taysom Hill was going to get his yards on the ground running. I don’t think he quite expected what he did in the air as well.

Hill accounted for 405 of BYU’s 513 total yards and was in on all five touchdowns as the Cougars beat the Huskies 35-10 in front of 35,150 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT on Friday night.

All spring and summer long we heard how the Huskies had to eliminate the things that cause losing. They didn’t do a good job of that early on.

After BYU opened the scoring, a Jazzmar Claxx holding call on a great return from Deshon Foxx set the Huskies back at their own 19 yard line. Then on the first play from scrimmage, Max Delorenzo fumbled the ball and it was recovered by BYU’s Bronson Kaufusi.

On the very next play, Hill hit Mitch Mathews for a 26-yard touchdown pass and within a span of 21 seconds, UConn found themselves down 14-0.

“You can’t start a football game like that and can’t win… come on,” Diaco said.

It was 21-0 before the Huskies finally got on the scoreboard late in the first half on a Joshua Marriner one yard touchdown run. But a breakdown by the defense allowed the Cougars to score before the end of the first half  and UConn found themselves down 28-7 at the break.

The third quarter was scoreless and you never saw a sense of urgency from the Huskies trailing by three scores. Even after they kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter and got the ball back, you never saw the Huskies trying to play hurry up or anything like that.

“Our program is like an infant, we have a long way to go but we have the right guys to go there,” Diaco said. “There isn’t any doubt about that”.

Scoring:

1st quarter

BYU – 9:56 – Taysom Hill 7 Yd Run (Trevor Samson Kick)

BYU – 9:35 – Mitch Mathews 26 Yd pass from Taysom Hill (Trevor Samson Kick)

2nd quarter

BYU – 9:13 – Adam Hine 7 Yd pass from Taysom Hill (Trevor Samson Kick)

CON – 2:33 – Joshua Marriner 1 Yd Run (Bobby Puyol Kick)

BYU – 1:03 – Terenn Houk 35 Yd pass from Taysom Hill (Trevor Samson Kick)

3rd quarter

No scoring

4th quarter

CON – 11:48 – Bobby Puyol 35 Yd Field Goal

CON – 4:06 – Taysom Hill 26 Yd Run (Trevor Samson Kick)

Offensive Players of the Game:

BYU QB Taysom Hill dominated the Huskies. I actually gave him the nickname of “The Snake” for the way he slithered through UConn’s defense. Hill was 28-of-306 for 308 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensive Player of the Game:

BYU LB Zac Stout had 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

A three play combination was the turning point of this game.

After a BYU touchdown, UConn WR/KR Deshon Foxx had a great kickoff return but Jazzmar Claxx was called for holding during the return. Then on the first play from scrimmage of the season, Max DeLorenzo fumbled and it was recovered by BYU’s Bronson Kaufusi. Then on the very next play, Hill found Mitch Mathews for a 26-yard touchdown pass.

Offensive Notes:

Casey Cochran was 17-of-31 for 171 yards and an interception. He was sacked once. Chandler Whitmer was 8-of-17 for 113 yards and was sacked three times. Max Delorenzo had nine carries for 38 yards. Joshua Marriner had nine carries for 27 yards and a touchdown and also had one catch for 17 yards. Arkeel Newsome had three runs for 10 yards and one catch for 18 yards. Geremy Davis had nine catches for 96 yards. Kamal Abrams had three catches for 38 yards while Sean McQuillan had three catches for 33 yards.

Defensive Notes:

UConn’s LB trio of Marquise Vann, Jefferson Ashiru and Graham Stewart each had 11 tackles. Ashiru was also credited with a 1/2 sack along with Cameron Stapleton. Stewart had a forced fumble that was recovered by Reuben Frank. Junior Joseph had a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Andrew Adams had eight tackles.

Special Teams Notes:

Bobby Puyol made his only field goal attempt from 35 yards. One of his kickoffs went out of bounds. He also made his only extra point try. Justin Wain had four punts that averaged 35.8 yards. Only one of those four punts was downed inside the 20.

Game Notes:

BYU Cougars @ UConn Huskies 8/29/14 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Bob Diaco and BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

Here are the postgame notes courtesy of the UConn Athletic Communications Department:

• Friday’s night contest was the first between UConn and BYU. The Huskies will play at BYU on Oct. 2, 2015.
• The contest marked the debut for UConn Head Coach Bob Diaco.
• Jefferson Ashiru, Graham Stewart and Marquise Vann each set new career-highs with 11 tackles apiece.
• Joshua Marriner scored his first career touchdown with a one-yard score in the second quarter. Marriner finished the day with nine carries for 27 yards in his first collegiate appearance.
• Geremy Davis now has at least one catch in 27 straight games. That streak is tied for longest in the nation. Davis finished the game with seven receptions for 96 yards.
• Arkeel Newsome made his first collegiate catch, an 18-yard gain in the first quarter. He also carried three times for 10 yards.
• Justin Wain recorded his first career punt in the first quarter. Overall on the day, Wain punted four times, averaging 35.8 yards per punt.
• Ron Johnson carried for six yards midway through the second quarter, his first career rush. Johnson finished with three carries for nine yards.
• Cameron Stapleton was credited with a half sack in the second quarter, his first career sack.
• Tommy Myers recorded his first career catch in the third quarter.
• Alec Bloom also made his first career reception in the fourth quarter. Bloom finished with two catches for 24 yards.
• Bobby Puyol connected on a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. It was the first field goal for Puyol, who redshirted last season, since Dec. 1, 2012.
• UConn is now 48-25 all-time at Rentschler Field and 26-12 in non-conference games there.

Injuries:

Geremy Davis suffered an undisclosed injury in the 3rd quarter. He return in the 4th.

AAC Games and Results:

Thursday, August 28

Tulane 31
Tulsa 38, OT

Temple 37
Vanderbilt 7

Friday, August 29

UTSA 27
Houston 7

Saturday, August 30

UCF 24
Penn State 26

Austin Peay
Memphis, 7 p.m.

West Carolina
South Florida, 7 p.m.

North Carolina Central
East Carolina,  8 p.m.

Things to Work On:

• Eliminate the things that cause losing.
• Eliminate the things that cause losing
• Red zone offense
• Eliminate the things that cause losing

Up Next:

UConn stays home next Saturday, September 6 as they’ll take on the Stony Brook Seawolves. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.

photo credit: ian bethune – sox & dawgs

UConn Huskies head football coach Bob Diaco listens to a question from the media during UConn’s media day on August 21, 2014 at the Burton Family Football Complex.

A lot of people have asked me the following question. What kind of team will head coach Bob Diaco have with the UConn Huskies football team?

Here’s what coach Diaco had to say that question at the American Athletic Conference Media Day:

“The team is going to be intense. The team is going to love each other. The team is going to love football. The team is going to work to eliminate the things that cause losing, pre-snap penalties, errors with the football, mistakes like that (lack of control and emotional control mistakes). The team is going to display their passion. They’re going to play hard and give great, great effort.”

Doesn’t that remind you of what he said on Monday when he was asked about what expects from the team against BYU?

UConn Huskies head football coach Bob Diaco answers a question during his press conference for BYU on August 25.

When looking at the UConn Huskies 2014 football schedule, plusnot knowing what the Huskies are going to look like offensively and defensively, it’s hard to predict the outcome of the games.

But I’m going to give it my best shot.

Game 1 – BYU:

• Loss – UConn comes out fighting and gives a spirited effort but falls short 24-21

Game 2 – Stony Brook

• Win – I don’t see another Towson debacle happening here as UConn wins 45-7

Game 3 – Boise State

• Loss – Once again, Diaco’s Huskies put up the good fight but fall 27-17

Game 4 – @ South Florida

• Win – First road game under Diaco and he brings them in to Tampa and comes out victorious 21-13

Game 5 –  Temple

• Win – Temple looks to be an improved team but the confidence of a road win leads them to a 24-17 win

Game 6 – @ Tulane

• Win – The momentum continues as the Huskies shut down the Green Wave 28-13

Game 7 – @ East Carolina

• Loss – The streak ends at ECU as the Huskies can’t overcome the raucous crowd and get beat 35-7

Game 8 – Central Florida

• Loss – Bortles may be gone but UCF remains the class of the American with a 42-21 win

Game 9 – vs Army (Yankee Stadium)

• Win – Army and UConn battle hard but the Huskies pull out the W on an overtime field goal 24-21.

Game 10 – Cincinnati

• Loss – Former Huskies coach Hank Hughes’ defense shuts them down in a 21-7 win.

Game 11 – @ Memphis

• Win – The Tigers are overmatched again and UConn becomes bowl eligible with a 37-7 win.

Game 12 – SMU

• Win – UConn seniors go out in style and accomplish their goal of a bowl game with a 21-18 win.

Game 13 – Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman

• UConn heads to Annapolis, MD to take on a member of the ACC

So there you have it. I see UConn finishing 7-5 this season. I see no worse than 5-7 in this schedule.

Let me know in the comments how you think they are going to do.