Huskies Drop Hard-Fought Game to Houston, 24-17

Saturday, October 19

East Hartford, Conn.

12 p.m.

University of Connecticut

1-6 , 0-4

University of Houston

3-4 , 1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Houston

UConn

Photo by: Stephen Slade

10/19/2019 4:34:00 PM | Football

Box Score

QUOTES

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – The progress that UConn football coach Randy Edsall has been waiting to see on game days was evident as the Huskies dropped a hard-fought 24-17 game Saturday afternoon to Houston at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.

Although UConn didn't win, the coach saw plenty of opportunities slip away that could have made the difference for the Huskies. While that doesn't make the loss hurt any less, it does show that they are clearly moving in the right direction.

"The moral of the story is, when you get opportunities, you have to take advantage of those opportunities," Edsall said. We just didn't do that today. We gave ourselves a chance to win, but we just didn't do enough in terms of executing and trusting our fundamentals and our technique."

It was a one-score game almost throughout – until Houston (3-4 overall, 1-2 American Conference) gained some separation with a touchdown with just 3:19 remaining to make the score 24-10. Even then, the Huskies (1-6, 0-4) rallied behind freshman quarterback Jack Zergiotis to drive down the field and score on a Zergiotis-to-Art Thompkins pass to again get within a touchdown with 1:40 to go.

An onside kick attempt didn't work, however, and the UConn defense – outstanding all day, allowing Houston just 284 yards in total offense and recording three sacks – couldn't prevent the Cougars from earning a game-clinching first down.

Zergiotis, back in the starting role for UConn, had solid numbers – 27 of 44 for 270 yards and two touchdowns – and spread the ball around, finding eight different receivers, but was frustrated by overthrowing an open UConn receiver on at least five plays.

"It's 1,000 percent frustrating," Zergiotis said. "I've got to get the ball to my guys and I couldn't do it today. I've got to get better. I'm always trying to drive it in there, but I've got to work on tilting my shoulder and letting them adjust to it. It's definitely encouraging to see that my guys can get open, I've just got to get the ball to them. I have to do my job."

Edsall understands the ups and downs of a freshman quarterback.

"He hasn't played a lot and we're trying to get him to understand that he throws the ball on a flat line and he's got to make the ball come down the chimney a little bit and put a little bit more air under it," he said. "Those are some of the things you get when you play a young kid. He made some really great throws out there, too. The more he plays, the better he'll get."

UConn took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter as Matt Drayton caught a TD pass, but Houston had a 10-7 edge at halftime. The Huskies tied it 10-10 on a Clayton Harris field goal in the third quarter, but the Cougars tallied twice to give themselves the cushion they needed to withstand UConn's late effort.

Still, if a couple of those offensive plays had clicked ….

"I think we played fairly well and still lost, that's the frustrating part," said Cam Ross, who had a career-high nine receptions for 75 yards. "We came so close, but that's what's hard. But I trust Jack to get the ball to me. He's got quite an arm on him and he's going to get right for sure. That's my roommate And we're talking every day about football. That's my brother. Our bond is very strong."

UConn will move out of conference play next week, traveling to Amherst, Mass., to meet UMass on Saturday. The Huskies return home on Nov. 1 against Navy.

"We battled for 60 minutes today and I am proud of the kids," Edsall said. "We always had that upbeat attitude. At least we gave ourselves a chance to win. It's still a work in progress."