RUN OVER AT RUTGERS

PISCATAWAY—At the start of the second half, defensive back-ups Andrew Adams and Marquise Vann combined for the play of the day, silencing a crowd of 5,000 strong. Forcing a fumble from returner Jeremy Deering, the pair gave possession to the UConn offense at midfield at a critical stage of a 6-3 Rutgers game.

 Then, with a quick a three-and-out, the Huskies handed the ball right back—never to see as quality an opportunity again.

 No. 22 Rutgers (5-0, 1-0) rolled over the UConn Huskies (3-3, 0-1) 19-3 thanks to a 13-0 second half last Saturday at High Point Solutions Stadium. The Big East foes kicked off their respective conference seasons with a defensive slugfest where neither team eclipsed 300 yards of total offense. Scarlet Knights running back Jawan Jamison was the lone bright spot, recording his fifth consecutive 100-yard game on the ground with 110 yards on 28 carries.

"We missed a lot of opportunities.” UConn quarterback Chandler Whitmer said. “Rutgers has a good defense and is a good team. I give a lot of credit to them, but we just didn't execute. It's just everybody not clicking. It's all eleven of us. We just didn't do our jobs today."

Whitmer completed just 14 of 32 passes for 191 yards and four interceptions, totaling 10 for the season. The second of the signal caller’s turnovers was returned for a touchdown by safety Wayne Warren with 3:44 left in the game, effectively sealing the Huskies’ fate. The two subsequent drives also ended in Whitmer picks and accounted for 62 of the Huskies total 191 yards of offense.

After being benched for the first quarter due to an earlier arrest for second-degree breach of peace, running back Lyle McConbs gained just 32 yards rushing. Geremy Davis was the Huskies’ leading receiver with four catches for 78 yards, furthering his season lead over other UConn pass catchers in those categories. However, an apparent miscommunication between Davis and Whitmer on the team’s second possession led to an easy Logan Ryan interception.