University of Connecticut Athletics
Georgia Tech Hands Huskies First Loss Of Season
9/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
ATLANTA (Sept. 17) -- Georgia Tech redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Bennett made his first career start and passed for 142 yards and one touchdown to lead Georgia Tech to a 28-13 victory over the University of Connecticut Saturday night before a crowd of 48,077 at Bobby Dowd Stadium. Bennett was playing in place of usual starter Reggie Ball.
Georgia Tech improves to 3-0 on the season while the Huskies drop to 2-1. The Yellow Jackets are ranked No. 16 in the country.
Junior tailback Terry Caulley (Lusby, Md.) led Connecticut is rushing with 14 carries for 83 yards -- including runs of 52 and 21 yard in the first quarter.
Husky sophomore quarterback Matt Bonislawski (Natrona Heights, Pa.) was under heavy pressure much of the night and went seven for 25 in the air with three interceptions. In all, UConn finished with just 196 yards of total offense, the second lowest of the Division I-A era, topped only by the 190 yards that UConn gained in a loss at No. 1 Miami on Oct. 5, 2002.
P.J. Daniels led Tech in rushing with 114 yards while Calvin Johnson had three receptions for 75 yards.
The first quarter of the game was a wild affair as Georgia Tech gained 107 yards of total offense while the Huskies posted 94. UConn's pace dropped off in the second quarter as it ran 22 plays and gained just 64 yards.
Husky junior placekicker Matt Nuzie (Trumbull, Conn.) put UConn on the board with a 35-yard field goal 2:28 into the game. The first Husky scoring drive was keyed by a 52-yard run by Caulley.
Georgia Tech struck back quickly as Calvin Johnson had a 42-yard TD reception from Taylor Bennett on Tech's first play from scrimmage.
Nuzie then made it 7-6 Georgia Tech as he connected on a 49-yard field goal with 9:53 left in the quarter as the Huskies completed a seven play-19 yard drive. The highlight of that drive was a 21-yard reception by senior Jason Williams (McKeesport, Pa.) from Bonislawski on a third and 13 from the UConn 46.
UConn then took advantage of a Georgia Tech mistake when as they got the ball at the Tech five after a Yellow Jacket deep snap went over the head of punter Ben Arndt. Bonislawski quickly responded with a five-yard run for the TD and a 13-7 UConn lead.
Georgia Tech closed out the first quarter scoring as Kenny Scott intercepted a Bonislawski pass and returned it 19 yards for a 14-13 Tech lead.
The only scoring of the second quarter came 40 seconds into the period as Tashard Choice scored on a three-yard run for Georgia Tech, which conclude a five play-41 yard drive. It marked the first time UConn had gone a quarter without scoring since the third quarter of last year's game at Tech, a run stretching over 22 consecutive quarters on all.
UConn's offensive output was reduced in the third quarter to nine plays and 17 yards. The only scoring of the third quarter was a two-yard touchdown run by Choice that capped a 14 play-80 yard drive that consumed 6:10 of the quarter. Tech was three for three on third down conversations on that drive as the Yellow Jackets took a 28-13 advantage on the score board.
Tech was able to run out the clock during a scoreless fourth quarter. In the second half, the stingy Yellow Jacket defense held UConn to 38 yards and no first downs.
UConn will return to action on Oct. 1 when it travels to West Point, N.Y. to face the Cadets of Army. Game time and television information will be announced on Monday afternoon.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
w UConn has now scored on its opening drive in four consecutive games and seven of its last nine overall. In both of UConn’s meetings with Tech over that stretch, Matt Nuzie hit a field goal on UConn’s opening drive. In both games, Tech scored on its first play from scrimmage.
w By not tallying in the second quarter, UConn snapped a streak of 22 consecutive quarters without being shutout. UConn’s last scoreless stanza was the third quarter of the Huskies’ game at Georgia Tech on Nov. 13, 2004.
w Georgia Tech’s first score of the game snapped a shutout run of 149:34, dating back to the third quarter of UConn’s Motor City Bowl win over Toledo on Dec. 27, 2004.
w Georgia Tech’s Kenny Scott’s interception return for a touchdown was the first against UConn since Anthony Smith of Syracuse ran one back 32 yards for a score at the Carrier Dome on Oct. 30, 2004. It was the first true interception of a Matt Bonislawski pass. His only previous interception was on a “Hail Mary” pass at the end of the first half against Buffalo.
w Tech’s three interceptions tonight tie for the most against the Huskies in the Division I-A era. Dan Orlovsky was picked off three times against both West Virginia (Oct. 13, 2004) and Boston College (Sept. 13, 2003).
w With the loss, the Huskies dip to 0-5 against ranked Division I-A teams and 2-4 against active ACC members since moving up to I-A with three of those losses coming against Georgia Tech.
w UConn sees its five game winning streak snapped. It stood as the fifth longest in the nation entering the game after Utah’s loss to TCU on Thursday night.
w UConn’s 196 yards of total offense are the second-lowest of the Division I-A era. UConn gained only 190 yards in a loss at No. 1 Miami on Oct. 5, 2002.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
w Cornell Brockington eclipsed the 2,000 career rushing yards plateau during the game. He is the fifth Husky to ever reach that plateau, one that Terry Caulley crossed last week against Liberty.
w Matt Bonislawski’s first quarter touchdown run was his third of the season. UConn quarterbacks did not rush for a single touchdown in either 2003 or 2004.
w Matt Nuzie’s 49-yard field goal in the first quarter tied for the second longest of his career, trailing only the 51-yard boot that he hit last Nov. 13, also here at Grant Field. Nuzie previously had hit a 49-yard field goal as time expired in the first half of UConn’s 29-17 win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 30, 2004, its first ever BIG EAST win.
w With his two field goals tonight, Matt Nuzie moved just one field goal shy of tying Domingos Carlos’ school career record of 36, set from 1981-83.
w William Beatty made his first career start at left tackle. Grant Preston shifted to right tackle. Craig Berry has been sick this week with pneumonia
w Lou Allen made his first career start at fullback. UConn opened without a fullback in each of its first two games.
