University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
2-7 , 0-5
United States Naval Academy
7-1 , 5-1
UConn Drops Friday Night Game to Navy
11/2/2019 12:32:00 AM | Football
EAST HARTFORD- The Navy Midshipmen came into Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field on Friday night and beat the UConn Huskies 56-10. It was Huskies and Heroes night at The Rent, where members of the Armed Forces were honored throughout the game.
It was the military members who had the advantage on the field as well, as Navy outgained UConn 573-313 in total yardage. Navy moved to 7-1 with the win while UConn dropped to 2-7.
"When you have opportunities in the first half that we had and didn't take advantage of them, it sure makes it hard to come back like we tried to come back," head coach Randy Edsall said after the game. "Just didn't play very well … [Navy is] a very good football team, but we didn't help ourselves."
Quarterback Jack Zergiotis completed 16 of his 34 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown. It was the third game this season that he passed for over 200 yards.
Running back Kevin Mensah led the Huskies with 26 carries for 107 yards. It was his ninth career 100-yard rushing game, tying him with three others for seventh most in program history.
Cameron Hairston led all receivers with 53 yards. Cam Ross added a team-high six catches for 38 yards. In all, six players caught passes from Zergiotis in the game.
Defensively, UConn was led by safety Tyler Coyle, who posted a career-high 19 total tackles, with two for a loss. Robert King finished with 10 tackles and added a pass breakup.
Navy took the lead early, scoring on just their third play on a 58-yard run by quarterback Malcom Perry. It was his 15th rushing touchdown of the season.
UConn responded on its next possession, driving down the field in just five plays. Quarterback Jack Zergiotis connected with Cameron Hairston for a 53-yard pass and then found Art Thompkins for a 10-yard touchdown pass on the next play to knot the score at seven.
After that successful drive, the Navy defense lived up to its top-25 ranking (19th in points allowed, 22nd in total yards allowed) by holding UConn to just three points on a Clayton Harris 40-yard field goal. The Midshipmen forced three turnovers - two interceptions and a fumble and constantly applied pressure on Zergiotis, sacking him three times.
"It's just about playing smart football," Zergiotis said. "There's no more excuses."
Meanwhile the unique Navy offense kept the Huskies on their heels all night, scoring another three times in the first half to go up 28-10.
"Our young guys have never played against that type of an offense before," Edsall said. "It's one of those offenses that you're never going to shut down. You hope to slow it down maybe but you're never going to completely shut it down."
Next week, the Huskies will try to bounce back when they travel to Cincinnati for a matchup with the Bearcats.
Team Stats
NAVY 7, UCONN 0
NAVY - PERRY, Malcolm 58 yd run (NICHOLS, Bijan kick), 3 plays, 64 yards, TOP 1:16
NAVY 7, UCONN 7
UCONN - THOMPKINS, Art 10 yd pass from ZERGIOTIS, Jack (HARRIS, Clayton kick) 5 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:50
NAVY 14, UCONN 7
NAVY - CAROTHERS, J 13 yd run (NICHOLS, Bijan kick), 6 plays, 49 yards, TOP 2:44
NAVY 14, UCONN 10
UCONN - HARRIS, Clayton 40 yd field goal 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 3:56
NAVY 21, UCONN 10
NAVY - SMITH, Nelson 1 yd run (NICHOLS, Bijan kick), 11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 5:00
NAVY 28, UCONN 10
NAVY - COOPER, Mychal 58 yd pass from PERRY, Malcolm (NICHOLS, Bijan kick) 1 plays, 58 yards, TOP 0:08
NAVY 35, UCONN 10
NAVY - PERRY, Malcolm 2 yd run (NICHOLS, Bijan kick), 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:16
NAVY 42, UCONN 10
NAVY - CAROTHERS, J 23 yd run (NICHOLS, Bijan kick), 5 plays, 71 yards, TOP 2:23
NAVY 49, UCONN 10
NAVY - CAROTHERS, J 6 yd run (NICHOLS, Bijan kick), 2 plays, 87 yards, TOP 0:34
NAVY 56, UCONN 10
NAVY - OLSEN, Perry 1 yd run (NICHOLS, Bijan kick), 15 plays, 94 yards, TOP 8:00
