The food trucks and the tailgaters assembled outside Rentschler Field on Saturday as 22,442 students and spectators gathered to watch UConn football host Central Connecticut State in its home opener. After a slow start, the Huskies began to wear the Blue Devil defense down in the second half on their way to a 28-3 victory, the first of the “Husky Revolution” under new head coach Jim Mora.
It took awhile, but after two punts, a fumble and a blocked field goal, the UConn offense was able to find the end zone. True freshman quarterback Zion Turner found tight end Brandon Niemenski in the end zone to give the Huskies a lead with six minutes left before halftime.
Central, an FCS school, kept the game close by allowing just 199 yards and forcing two Husky turnovers in the first half. The Blue Devils even blocked a Noe Ruelas 54-yard field goal attempt. Early on the flashbacks from UConn’s 38-28 loss to FCS Holy Cross in last season’s home opener became increasingly relevant.
“I think execution is a big thing. They weren’t doing anything that we hadn’t prepared for in practice. We just had to execute our offense,” Nate Carter said. “When we came in the locker room (at halftime) that was our plan. We weren’t going to change anything, we knew what we wanted to do, we knew who we were and in the second half went out there executed which is why we were able to finish out the game.”
Turner had his first chance at a two-minute drill with halftime approaching. He comfortably completed two straight passes that got the Huskies near midfield. On third-and-6, with nine seconds to go before the half and one chance at the end zone, Turner dropped back and took his time before firing a laser to tight end Justin Joly. That pass, however, was tipped and intercepted by Harold Miles for a Blue Devil touchback.
“That play is definitely a critical error on my part,” Turner said. “I have to do better in ball security, controlling the ball, just knowing the down and distance. It’s just being better in those critical decisions.”
Turner completed 14 of 22 passes in his first collegiate start for 172 yards and a pair of touchdowns – good for a 150.2 passer rating.
“In the second half I started to play more freely, just let loose and just play a game of football instead of thinking too much,” Turner said. “This was a hard-fought win, but we know there’s a lot of mistakes made that we can correct and become a better team.”
UConn finished the first half with 199 yards compared to CCSU’s 122, though two giveaways in CCSU territory and a blocked field goal attempt kept the Huskies out of the end zone.
In the latter stages of the opening drive in the second half, Dal’mont Gourdine made the defensive play of the game for UConn. A 17-yard completion to Everett Wormley gave the Blue Devils the ball at the UConn 2 yard line. One play later, Gourdine found an open path to quarterback Romelo Williams and brought him down for a 9-yard loss.
“They had a big play before that (sack) to get them down there,” Gourdine said. “We play every six seconds, every six seconds is a new mindset. Before the play, we (knew we) needed a big play, we didn’t want them to score.”
A few plays later, CCSU’s 17-yard field goal attempt by Cristiano Rosa clanked off the left upright, no good.
On the ensuing drive, Carter rumbled into the tiring CCSU defensive line, picking up yards in small handfuls. Eventually, after a 15-yard passing completion from Zion Turner to Aaron Turner, Carter found open space in front of him. Seventeen yards later he was in the end zone with his first touchdown of the season and gave UConn a 14-3 lead.
Carter’s 123 yards on 23 attempts Saturday give him 313 on the season.
“The game plan was to run the ball. We knew what they wanted to do on defense and on offense we wanted to pound the rock and be able to run the ball and get them tired – and it worked out,” Carter said.
UConn finished with 272 rushing yards as a team as Brian Brewton (62) and Devontae Houston (41) each contributed.
Jacob Flynn, a Southington native who filled injured Keelan Marion’s spot on the depth chart, caught the first pass of his career, a 10-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that made the game 21-3 and gave UConn the flexibility to rotate backups into the game.
“That ball (Turner) threw me was perfect,” said Flynn, who Mora refers to as “sweet-feet.”
Then, with 36 seconds to go, Bristol Central alum Victor Rosa raced into the end zone from 11 yards out to record the first touchdown of his college career and put the closing stamp on the game.
Once the team made it to the locker room, the local duo was mobbed by teammates.
“I’ve talked so much about the character of these guys and the lack of entitlement, that, to me, was it in a nutshell,” Mora said.
UConn (1-1) will return to Rentschler Field to Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.
“We’ll watch this film, we’ll make corrections, we’ll apply the lessons learned and then we’re gonna get on to Syracuse,” Mora said. “It’s gonna be a great atmosphere, lights will be on and we’ve got this amazing field that the crew here takes care of. There will be that smell in the air that you love, night game – I mean, man, I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to be in the rent on (Saturday).”
