UMass falls apart in 35-16 rivalry loss to UConn

It was a beautiful Friday night in Hartford, Connecticut, with the energy surrounding Pratt & Whitney Stadium palpable all the way up to kickoff. UMass fans in particular were hopeful with the announcement star QB Pop Watson III (ankle) would play after missing the previous two games.

The game itself started out as a grind, with both teams feeling each other out, but by the second quarter, the UConn Huskies (4-3) found the breaks they needed before running away with a dominant 35-16 victory over the UMass Minutemen (4-4, 1-3 MAC)

UMass looked ready to fight early; the Minutemen methodically drove 69 yards in eight minutes on their opening drive to take a 3-0 lead in the first quarter to open the scoring account. UConn responded immediately, driving 75 yards down the field in six minutes to take the lead on a five-yard touchdown pass from Kalieb Osborne to Shamar Porter.

They would never surrender that lead, using the Porter touchdown to post up 28 unanswered points and keep UMass at bay. The streak happened, in part, due to the Huskies turning the game on its head in the final minutes of the second quarter.

After forcing UMass' fifth-straight three-and-out, the Huskies got the ball at the opposing 45-yard line. Four plays later, J.D. Willoughby caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Osborne with 1:36 left to push the margin to 14-3– and 32 game seconds later, Cyncir Bowers ran for a 70-yard touchdown on the first play of UConn's new series to put up an insurmountable 21-3 halftime deficit for the Minutemen.

Matters got worse for UMass in the third quarter; the two teams opened the second half exchanging punts, but another inefficient drive saw UMass once again having to punt the ball right back. Shamar Porter– who already had a touchdown on the evening– went on to recover a blocked punt in the end zone, extending the lead to 28-3.

Both teams traded scores in the fourth quarter, as Curtis Kimmons IV caught a seven-yard Pop Watson pass with 14:17 left to break UConn's scoring streak, and Kalieb Osborne okey-doked several defenders en route to a game-sealing 13-yard touchdown 3:04 left. Halfback Justin Williams-Thomas scored a six-yard touchdown run for UMass to give the game its 35-16 score.

The UMass pass rush was excellent in the loss, notching five sacks. Joe Griffin Jr. returned to action and led the Minutemen with four catches for 77 yards, a boon with T.Y. Harding out once again due to injury. Pop Watson threw for 205 yards and ran for 11 yards in his return, but suffered for accuracy, completing 57 percent of his passes. UMass struggled on the ground, limited to 53 yards on 22 carries. Elijah Faulkner led the group with 15 yards.

UConn improved to 4-3 and significantly aided its bowl hopes. UMass falls to 4-4 and must go 3-1 over the weeknight stretch to reach bowl eligibility due to facing two FCS schools in non-conference play. The feat is realistic with Ball State, Toledo, Akron, and Bowling Green remaining, but this team needs to regain momentum immediately.