University of Connecticut Athletics
Football Nipped on the Road at Rutgers 12-10
10/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Junior Donald Brown rushes for 106 yards in loss
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Oct. 18, 2008) --- Quarterback Mike Teel was 15 of 28 in the air for 162 yards as Rutgers defeated UConn by a 12-10 score before a sold out crowd of 42,491 at Rutgers Stadium.
The Huskies had a chance to win on their last offensive possession of the game as they drove down to the Rutgers' 35-yard line with 1:09 remaining in the contest, but a 42-yard field goal attempt by Tony Ciaravino (Boca Raton, Fla.) clanked off the right upright to preserve the victory for the Scarlet Knights.
UConn falls to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in BIG EAST play while Rutgers is 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the league.
Rutgers scored the first touchdown of the game on its first possession of the second half. The Scarlet Knight got the ball at the UConn 37 after the Huskies started the half with the ball at their own one and could get nothing going.
Kordell Young scored the TD on a six-yard run that capped the six-play drive to make it 10-3 Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers made it 12-3 when it recorded a safety with 1:38 left to go in the third quarter. UConn started three of its first five drive s of the second half inside its own five-yard line. UConn started that third possession at the two-yard line and UConn junior running back Donald Brown (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) was tackled by Blair Bines in the endzone.
Connecticut trimmed the margin to 12-10 when Zach Frazer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) connected on a 47-yard scoring strike to Kashif Moore (Burlington, N.J.) to cap a six-play, 85-yard scoring drive with 8:33 remaining in regulation.
Brown, who entered the game as the country’s leading rusher, was the leading rusher in the game with 25 carries for 106 yards. UConn sophomore quarterback Frazer made his second career start and was 16 of 22 in the air for 206 yards.
Although the two teams combined for 327 yards of total offense in the first half, UConn and Rutgers could only muster a field goal each for a 3-3 tie as both teams scored on their opening possessions. The Huskies missed two field goals in the first half while Rutgers also missed a field goal and punted three times.
UConn scored its field goal on a 19-yard kick by Ciaravino after the Huskies gained the ball on a blocked punt by senior Cody Brown (Coral Springs, Fla.). The Huskies got the ball at the Rutgers 48 and moved it to the two, before settling for the field goal.
Rutgers’ first drive saw the Scarlet Knights moved the ball to the UConn three-yard line on a first and goal. The Husky defense then stopped Rutgers on three-straight rushes by Young and the Knights kicked an 18-yard field goal.
Connecticut returns to action next Saturday when it returns home to Rentschler Field for a 12:00 p.m. Homecoming game against Cincinnati. The contest will be UConn’s first home game since Sept. 19. The game will be televised by the BIG EAST Network and be seen in Connecticut on MyTV9-WCTX.
Game Notes
- UConn’s block of a Rutgers’ punt in the first quarter by Cody Brown marked the first time the Huskies have blocked a punt since Nov. 3, 2007 vs. Rutgers (D.J. Hernandez).
- The blocked punt also marked the first of Cody Brown’s career.
- Cody Brown posted two sacks and a block punt on UConn’s first defensive series of the game.
- Tony Ciaravino’s 19-yard field goal in the first quarter marked his seventh consecutive successful field goal attempt.
- Tony Ciaravino’s miss on a 43-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter snapped his streak of seven consecutive makes.
- Donald Brown’s 25 carries today increased his career total to 535 – moving him into second place on the UConn career list.
- Donald Brown had 100 yards rushing at halftime – marking the sixth time in seven games that he has totaled 100 yards by halftime.
- Donald Brown finished with 106 rushing yards – increasing his season total to 1174 – which ranks as the fifth-highest single-season total in UConn history.
- Fullback Anthony Sherman tallied a career-best 51 receiving yards.
- Rutgers’ safety in the third quarter was the first allowed by Connecticut since Oct. 27, 2007 vs. South Florida.
- Zach Frazer’s 47-yard TD pass to Kashif Moore in the fourth quarter marked the longest completion of Frazer’s career and also marked the first receiving TD in Moore’s career.
- Today’s loss drops Connecticut to 12-17 all-time against BIG EAST opponents since 2004.
- Today’s loss slips UConn’s record in BIG EAST road games to 3-12.
