That UConn was able to draw within a single score of South Florida in the final two minutes is a testament to just how weird college football can be. USF’s offense wasn’t great, but the Bulls did just enough to take advantage of an absolutely horrific night of Huskies football, emerging from Raymond James Stadium with a 17-14 win.
UConn vs. South Florida: Bulls smother Huskies in rain-soaked 17-14 win
The Huskies cut the Bulls’ advantage three in the final minutes of the game, but this one was never truly in doubt.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Connecticut completed just six passes all night, and four of those completions were made in the last five minutes of the game. The running game fared no better, averaging just 1.6 yards per carry on 27 mostly futile attempts to advance the ball forward. In the end, the Huskies were able to muster just 132 yards of total offense. Chandler Whitmer's 32-yard touchdown pass to Geremy Davis allowed the Huskies to save some face, but otherwise, this game went about as badly for UConn as it could have possibly gone.
South Florida running back Marlon Mack finished the night with 103 yards and a touchdown, but needed 31 carries to get there. Bulls QB Mike White completed just 10 of 18 pass attempts for 113 yards. Not great. Not even good. But on a night when the opponent was unimaginably bad, it was enough.
Three things we learned
1. The AAC is extremely top-heavy. Through three games, East Carolina has looked like a top 25 football team. Cincinnati has only played one game but with Gunner Kiel at quarterback, the Bearcats look like they might have one of the most explosive offenses in the country. UCF looks like it might be just a rung before those two teams, and after that, it's a steep decline. What we saw from USF and UConn was not good at all. Meanwhile, SMU is also off to a terrible start. What will the post-Louisville, post-BCS AAC look like? There's some talent at the top, but the bottom of the conference will have to step it up if it's going to stay relevant.
2. Bob Diaco has his work cut out for him. That Paul Pasqualoni didn’t leave the UConn football program in the best of shape is not new information, but Friday night was a jarring indication of just how far Bob Diaco has to go to restore the Huskies to some semblance of competitiveness -- even in the relatively talent-light AAC. The sterling reputation that Diaco earned while serving as defensive coordinator is going to keep him off the hot seat for a year or two, but many more nationally televised efforts such as pitiful as this one will shorten the honeymoon considerably.
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3. Weird weather can make terrible games sorta fun. On the third play from scrimmage, Chris Dunkley strip-sacked Whitmer. The USF drive that followed the Bulls' fumble recovery made it three times in four games that UConn has fumbled on its first possession and that such turnover has turned into a touchdown for the other team. But the most beautiful part was the unsuspecting ref getting clotheslined by the South Florida player hustling back to contribute to the fumble recovery efforts.
Though not the same ref, this play clearly led to some residual confusion among the officiating crew when the zebras later misidentified South Florida as UCF. The few USF fans in attendance weren’t happy about that. But there were some things to be happy about. Things like shelter.
The students are fleeing to the huts. pic.twitter.com/BYrznrHKJx
— Sam Dakota (@thesamdakota) September 20, 2014
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