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UConn rally falls short in loss to Utah State

UConn’s Victor Rosa ran for 92 yards on 15 carries in Saturday’s loss to Utah State.

EAST HARTFORD, Sept. 30, 2023 – Utah State’s Ike Larson blocked an attempted extra point with 40 seconds left in regulation to help the visiting Aggies beat Connecticut, 34-33 on Saturday at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.

The Huskies (0-5) scored with 40 seconds left on a one-yard run from Jelani Stafford to pull within a point of Utah State (2-3). But Larsen broke through off the right end to preserve the win by blocking Joe McFadden’s kick.

UConn trailed by seven when QB Ta’Quan Roberson put together a nine-play drive to drive the Huskies to the Utah State one-yard line, hitting junior Cam Ross three times including a 35-yard strike to open the drive.

A 25-yard pass up the left sideline to Brett Buckman set up a first and goal at the two-yard line.  After getting denied on first down, the Huskies went back to Stafford who barreled in for his second score of the day to cut the lead to one.

UConn (0-5) had their best offensive outing of the season, totaling 473 yards of offense with 218 coming on the ground and 255 through the air.

UConn built a 17-0 lead late in to the first half and were dominating with 254 total yards to 22 for Utah State while holding the ball for 24 of 30 minutes in the first half. The Huskies looked headed to the locker room pitching a shutout

But the Aggies had other ideas, striking for a 63-yard score on a McCae Hillstead to Colby Bowman pitch-and-catch up the middle of the field to make it 17-7 at the break.

That touchdown ignited their offense who scored on six-straight drives into the fourth quarter.  Hillstead was forced to leave the game on the first possession of the second half and back-up quarterback senior Cooper Legas came in and finished 11-of-13 for 204 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way to a win.

Junior wideout Jalen Royals, who had two catches for seven yards in the first half, was Legas go-to man in the second half as the duo hooked-up five times for 176 yards and three scores.  He finished with seven catches on seven targets for 185 yards and touchdowns.

Royals caught his first touchdown to on the first drive of the third quarter, pulling the Aggies within 17-14.  After a Utah State field goal tied the game at 17-17 at 6:56, Royal hauled in a 71-yard pass from Legas to give the Aggies their first lead of the day, 24-17, with 3:52 left in the third.

UConn tied the game at 24-24 on Geordon Porter’s first career TD reception, capping an eight play, 88-yard drive at 14:17 of the fourth.  Roberson was 23-of-32 for 255 yards and one touchdown.

Legas to Royals struck again on the next drive, hooking-up on a 52-yard score to put Utah back in front, 31-24.  The two teams traded field goals on their next possessions and the Husky defense held late to get the ball back with 2:41 left, down 34-27.

For the Huskies, Ross caught seven passes for 70 yards while tight end Nick Harris caught his first career touchdown.

Leading the UConn running game was sophomore Victor Rosa (Bristol) with 92 yards on 15 carries and Cam Edwards (Norwalk) who ran for a career-high 73 yards on 13 carries.

Stafford, a defensive lineman, carried the ball five times for 11 yards and caught his first career TD pass (10 yards).

Defensively, Jackson Mitchell (Ridgefield) had a season-high 15 tackles for the Huskies and an interception. Chris Shearin also had an interception.\

Information from UConn Sports Information included in this report

Utah State 34, UConn 33
At East Hartford
Utah State (2-3)         0  7  17  10  — 34
UConn (0-5)               7  10  0  16  — 33
First quarter
C: Jelani Stafford 1 run (Joe McFadden kick), 1:14
Second quarter
C: Nick Harris 4 pass from Ta’Quan Roberson (McFadden kick), 14:12
C: McFadden 36 FG, 0:37
U: Colby Bowman 63 pass from McCae Hillstead (Elliott Nimrod kick), 0:23
Third quarter
U: Jalen Royals 15 pass from Cooper Legas (Nimrod kick), 12:21
U: Nimrod 37 FG, 6:56
U: Royals 71 pass from Legas (Nimrod kick), 3:52
Fourth quarter
C: Geordon Porter 28 pass from Roberson (McFadden kick), 14:17
U: Royals 52 pass from Legas (Nimrod kick), 12:36
C: McFadden 38 FG, 10:29
U: Nimrod 24 FG, 5:20
C: Stafford 1 run (kick blocked)

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