Running game, opportunistic defense leads UConn football to back-to-back wins

Oct. 10—The UConn football team recorded back-to-back victories for the first time since 2017 and snapped an 11-game road losing streak with its 33-12 win over Florida International University Saturday in Miami.

But coach Jim Mora was not in a celebratory mood.

"It's always great to win a game. That's the No.1 objective," Mora said on a Zoom call with reporters after the game. "I don't feel like we played great. I feel like we played good. There are a lot of things we've got to do better if we want to improve, and our team is really intent on improving."

Mora cited three areas of concern—burning multiple timeouts in the first half, the number of penalties the team committed, and their run defense.

"When we're not winning and not playing well, I'm looking for those positives that indicate there's a light at the end of the tunnel. And when we win some games, I get extra critical," Mora said Sunday. "I came out of that game happy with the win, but unsatisfied with the performance of all of us. ... I'm talking about all of us, everyone involved, starting with myself. Still recognizing the good things that we do, but in order to improve, there' a whole lot of things that need to be fixed. We've got to focus on those things ... because you look back and go, I didn't do a good enough job in coaching. I didn't give them enough looks in practice, we didn't execute it."

While Mora focused on the mistakes, there were also plenty of positives to build upon.

The Huskies compiled 405 yards of total offense, 107 yards receiving and a season-high 298 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

Sophomore Devontae Houston and true freshman Victor Rosa have filled in seamlessly for sophomores Nate Carter and Brian Brewton, the Huskies top two running backs who both suffered season-ending injuries.

Houston, who is playing through a shoulder injury, surpassed 100 yards rushing in each of the last two games, totaling 240 over that span, and Rosa leads the team with four touchdowns after a pair of scores against FIU.

Houston had two runs of more than 50 yards in the first half Saturday, though the first, an 80-yard touchdown, was called back due to a holding penalty from the offensive line, which otherwise dominated the line of scrimmage.

Houston racked up 135 yards on 12 carries (11.3 yards per carry) before being sidelined with an ankle injury early in the third quarter. He had X-rays performed after the game and they came back negative.

Mora said Sunday that Houston suffered a sprain but did not provide a timeline for his recovery.

"The running backs are as depleted as you could be. ... I think everyone responds differently to (an ankle sprain) and recovers at the pace they recover at," Mora said Sunday. "I know with Devontae, he'll come back as quick as he can. Right now, we are really down to two running backs that have actually carried the ball in a college football game. Another guy that we just moved there a couple of weeks ago, which is (defensive back) Cam (Edwards). It's going to require some extreme creativity out of our offensive staff to figure out how to continue to run the football the way we've run the football. But that's nothing new for those guys."

The UConn offensive line, anchored by veteran Christian Haynes and Dartmouth transfer Jake Guidone, has been a strength all season, allowing only nine sacks and opening holes for a Huskies' rushing attack averaging 4 1/2 yards per carry.

After Guidone, a graduate student, limped off the field in the fourth quarter, his replacement Christopher Fortin snapped the ball over backup quarterback Cale Millen's head and through the back of the end zone for a safety to cut the Huskies' lead to 26-12. He returned later in the quarter.

"It always, the result, revolves around your center," Mora said Saturday. "I think (Guidone) gives everyone a little bit of comfort in there. You have him and Christian next to each other. You've got a couple of guys that have played a lot of football who are comfortable playing with each other. We don't operate as efficiently when he's not in there, so I think that tells you he's critical to our success."

After Houston went down with an ankle injury early in the third quarter and FIU seized the momentum with a stop on defense and a touchdown, Rosa produced a 61-yard run down the right sideline, the longest rush of his career. He finished with a career high 89 yards on 16 carries (5.6 average) and crossed the goal line twice on runs of five and four yards

"Pray for Devontae," Rosa said Saturday. "I don't know exactly what happened, but we're all boys and I'm going to have his back. We're all going to have his back. But, next man up mentality. It doesn't matter what age I am, if I'm a freshman or not, I've got to step up and I've got to produce."

Without sophomore defensive back Durante Jones, who has been in concussion protocol since suffering a head injury against Fresno State, the UConn secondary struggled to stop FIU's passing attack.

The Panthers out-gained UConn 409 yards to 402. Quarterback Grayson James threw for 256 yards and a 65% completion rate, running back Lexington Joseph ran for over 100 yards on only seven carries and two receivers totaled 50 yards or more. But the hosts were held to 12 points because Tre Wortham had two interceptions, Jackson Mitchell recovered a fumble and the Huskies forced turnovers on downs on all three of the Panthers' fourth-quarter drives.

FIU was only able to convert on two of its eight third down opportunities and one of its two fourth down opportunities. UConn held its opponent to two touchdowns or fewer for the second game in a row and the third contest this season.

"You're always going to miss a guy like Durante Jones," Wortham said Saturday. "Not just on the field, but his presence, his energy, but at the end of the day this is football. Team defense. We've just got to be better, next man up mentality."

For daily updates on high school sports in JI's coverage area, follow Kyle Maher on Twitter: @KyleBMaher, Facebook: Kyle Maher, and Instagram: @KyleBMaher.