End of the road for UConn football; Marshall too much for Huskies in Myrtle Beach Bowl, winning 28-14
UConn’s adventure into bowl territory didn’t start well, and the Huskies couldn’t overcome their early mistakes, leaving a proud, but empty feeling at the end of a satisfying season.
The Huskies ran into a little more than they could handle in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, where Marshall’s defense proved to be a good as its numbers and as good as advertised, at least for the first half. UConn struggled to move the ball, and its series of mistakes allowed the Thundering Herd to take a commanding lead, and eventually win, 28-14, Monday before 12,023 at Brooks Stadium.
Freshman running back Victor Rosa, from Bristol, starred for UConn, gaining 75 yards on 16 carries, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter.
Quarterback Zion Turner, who managed a conservative offense most of the season, showed none of that poise at the start, looking more like a true freshman, a fumble and interception giving Marshall two early touchdowns. A good encapsulation of the first half: When UConn’s George Caratan punted 76 yards out of his own end zone, a blocking penalty negated it and he had to try again. Nothing was going right.
Early in the second half, UConn linebacker Ian Swenson, who stuck with the losing program for six years to play in a bowl game, was penalized and ejected for targeting an opponent. The Herd (9-4) went on to score on that possession, growing their lead to 28-0.
Then UConn’s offensive sprung to life with a furious rally, with touchdowns on back-to-back possessions, both the nifty legwork of Rosa, with runs of 14 and 24 yards. In the fourth quarter, the Huskies were threatening to get closer, but Turner’s long pass was to Keelan Marion was broken up, and when the refs did not call pass interference, coach Jim Mora’s arguing resulted in a 15-yard penalty, essentially stopping the drive.
UConn threatened again, but Turner’s third interception, in the end zone with 5:08 left, ended hope.
So the rally was furious, but futile, and the UConn program, in a bowl game for the first time since 2015, when it lost to Marshall 16-10, is still looking for the program’s first bowl win since 2009. That will be the goal for Mora’s second season as coach.
The game got off to a brutal start for UConn, and continued to get worse. Marshall moved the ball deep into Huskies’ territory, but but was stopped on downs as Jelani Stafford forced a fumble. On UConn’s first offensive play, they tried an option pitch, a play they haven’t used often, and Turner, swamped, made an errant toss. Marshall’s Charlie Gray returned the fumble recovery to the UConn 16. Cam Fancher cashed in the break with a 9-yard TD pass to Corey Gammage.
Later in the quarter, UConn tried a screen pass, but Turner threw it right to Marshall’s Damion Barber Jr., who returned it 34 yards for a score.
The Huskies’ defense settled the game down in the second quarter, but on offense, Marshall overmatched UConn with its five-in-the-secondary alignment. UConn got 32 yards on a reverse to Devontae Houston, but that drive stalled and Noe Ruelas missed a 45-yard field goal attempt. Then UConn’s defense gave up two big plays, Rasheen Ali turning the right corner for 38 yards, and Fancher throwing 10 yards to Rece Verhoff to make it 21-0 with 7:05 left in the first half.
After Marshall’s fourth touchdown, midway through the third quarter, Rosa scored to finish a 9-play, 75-yard drive. When UConn’s defense stopped Marshall and gave the offense a short field, Rosa finished a 4-play, 40-yard drive.
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com
