The UConn football season has not gone up in smoke. But this is a good time to unplug the toaster, and replace the batteries in your alarms. Something is in the air, and it’s not the smell of success.
The Huskies lost in overtime for the second week in a row. The loss at Syracuse was no reason for anyone to hang their head, but the 44-41 loss at Delaware in that Greater-Hartford-Pro-Am of a football game Saturday, defense optional, has put UConn in a place it thought it had left behind, a desolate little town called “Almost.” Twice they’ve almost won; they must win next Saturday to stop what’s smoldering.
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“It comes down to, a broken record,” coach Jim Mora told reporters Saturday. “Again, performing up to our ability, consistently, in critical situations.”
UConn football falls in overtime again, 44-41 at Delaware
That about covers it. UConn’s problem is not on offense, not on defense or special teams, it’s all of the above — when games are on the line. That’s the art of winning. It’s not science or statistics, it’s not what or how much you do, but when. The Huskies are playing some exciting, entertaining football, and a couple of years ago that was good enough, but now that the program is no longer a punchline, it’s the time to make the plays that win games. A couple of those, just a couple, and the Huskies would be 3-0 and heading into a glorious home game against Ball State next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Instead, they are 1-2 and before fans forget the foliage, fold their chairs and put away their grills, they must again be made to believe there is something to see inside Rentschler Field.
Here’s where the “when” comes in. UConn’s defense played marvelously at Syracuse, controlled the game well into the fourth quarter, but could not make a stop, could not cover deep pass plays in the final five minutes and a 17-6 lead disappeared. The offense, productive early, could not run time off the clock when that was all it had to do. A tremendous catch by Skyler Bell and a clutch kick by Chris Freeman forced overtime, but then UConn couldn’t score to keep the game alive. Still, an ACC opponent on the road, the 27-20 loss stung, but did not wound.
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But after winning nine games including a bowl last year, UConn can no longer take group-of-five opponents for granted, especially one like Delaware, which has obviously done an excellent job with the transition from FCS to FBS and Conference USA. Several of the seven group-of-fives UConn defeated in 2024 were left wondering how Mora had pulled the program up so effectively, and for some of them a win over UConn this year will not be routine. Certainly Delaware, after winning its first home game as an FBS program, its first crack at UConn since the Yankee Conference days of 1998, will put that game ball in its trophy case. Now Ball State (1-2) will be desperate to get its season back on course, and the Huskies must match and top their intensity.
“We have a lot of work to do and we have a group that’s willing to do it,” Mora said. “But we have to figure out — and we will — a way to do it more efficiently so when a game comes down to that final moment, we are confident and we execute with discipline.”
This is the correct talk. UConn did not rise to the challenge and walk the walk at Delaware. They piled up 521 yards in offense, but couldn’t make the yard or two that would have salted the game away in the final minutes, couldn’t make the two yards for a touchdown in the overtime possession. “When you can’t get it in from the 2-yard line in overtime, then at that moment, you’re not good enough,” Mora said.
Mora ticked off the several moments in which the Huskies were not good enough, mostly the defensive break-downs that led to 512 yards allowed, but it looked as if UConn, ahead 38-35, would survive this crazy back-and-forth battle when they were on Delaware’s 23-yard line with a 4th-and-2 and little over two minutes left. Mora could have tried a field goal with the rock-solid Freeman and made it a six-point game, but he went for the clincher and I’d agree it was the right call. However, I’ll put on my amateur coordinator cap and say the right play was to run it with Cam Edwards, who has bowled through contact and delivered the yardage in such situations before. The Blue Hens stopped tight end Louis Hansen after his catch in the flat, short of the first down, and gave themselves a last chance.
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UConn had Delaware backed up at its 14-yard line on that last possession, but let the Hens escape. Don’t blame the refs for the pass interference calls, Mora did not. Penalties were about even and Huskies drives were extended by yellow flags during the game. UConn did get five sacks, but couldn’t get one more, or break up one more pass to end it. Delaware kicker Nate Reed, who’d been shaky all season, mastered his clutch moment, the game-tying 43-yard field goal. He made it by inches.
It was a game of inches, and the Blue Hens got them. Lose a game of inches at Syracuse, and it’s exciting, entertaining football. Lose one at Delaware, and it’s, well … is something burning?
Good teams know how to win, know that the “when” is more important than the “what.” The Huskies lost a slew of games like these in 2023, but got this part down last year. Each year is a new team, however, and the art of winning must be re-learned before escape from Almost, Conn. is realized.
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“The problem is the ‘almost,’” Mora said. “The almost, the coulda, woulda, shoulda, might’ve, the what-if plays … ‘If only.’ Those are the plays that hold you back from being a good football team. If you cannot make those plays, then you’re almost good. We’re not really interested in being almost good, that’s not our goal. We have to purge that thought process from this program. Right now, we’re not good enough. ‘Almost’ gets you beat.”
