UConn had a chance to steal one at the finish in Oxford, but the final push stalled and Miami, Ohio walked away with a 24-21 win on Saturday.
The Huskies moved the ball late, trying to answer a go-ahead field goal, but the drive ended at the Miami, Ohio 38 when UConn needed 4th-and-10 and couldn’t connect on a deep shot. That miss closed the book on a game that slipped away after UConn opened with a 14-0 lead and then watched the RedHawks stack up 21 straight points.
Kalieb Osborne was the engine for UConn early and the source of its biggest sparks all afternoon. He finished 17 of 32 for 215 yards and a touchdown, added 68 rushing yards, and scored another touchdown on 13 carries. His best work came with his legs and on shots downfield, including an early connection with Javon Brown that helped the Huskies get on the board and pushed them to a perfect 10-for-10 in red zone opportunities this season.
Osborne also delivered the second UConn touchdown himself after Jason Candle decided to roll the dice on 4th-and-1 from the 38-yard line. Osborne faked the handoff, got to the edge and raced in for his fifth rushing score of the season.
Miami answered with its own aggressive call on 4th-and-1, but K’Von Sherman blew it up with a stop for a loss. The RedHawks kept coming anyway.
Quarterback David McComb picked apart UConn’s young secondary, finishing 19 of 29 for 312 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game injured. He also led Miami in rushing with 33 yards and a score on three carries.
The RedHawks’ first touchdown came on McComb’s 10-yard option run after a sideline completion on fourth down kept the drive alive. Later in the quarter, he hit Brendan Loftus on a 57-yard touchdown catch, with Loftus hauling it in one-handed to tie the game.
After both teams traded missed field goals from beyond 40 yards, Miami struck again. McComb guided an 83-yard drive and found Scoop Smith in the corner of the end zone from 11 yards out to give the RedHawks the lead.
UConn answered after sitting quiet for about a quarter and a half. Osborne launched a 53-yard deep ball to Shamar Porter, then shook off tacklers on the run before the Huskies punched it in from the 1 with Cyncir Bowers to tie things back up.
The fourth quarter brought more defensive stands and more mistakes. Hayden Pegg, the walk-on linebacker who has carved out a major role, erased a touchdown in coverage and helped force Miami into a 40-yard field goal try that missed short. Pegg led UConn with eight tackles.
Then the game got messy. A holding penalty wiped out a big Kenji Christian run, forcing a punt.
McComb then left with a noncontact injury on the Miami sideline. Soon after, Osborne threw across his body and was intercepted for his second pick of the season.
“Maybe the moment got to us a little bit there. We got affected up front, we didn’t protect the quarterback how we needed to,” Candle said.
“We’ve got some young players in key positions and they haven’t been in those types of situations before, and they’ll be in them again. So they’ve got to respond better next time we get into those spots.
We’ve got some growing pains that we’ve got to address and fix on tape and that starts with me and the staff.”
With backup Caleb Heavner in at quarterback, Miami used the short field, converted on 4th-and-1 and set up the 33-yard field goal try that ended up deciding it. After missing its first two kicks, Miami coach Chuck Martin went with true freshman Brady Stidham, and that kick held up as the difference.
UConn is now 2-2 through four games for the third straight year and will head back to Rentschler Field to face Syracuse at Noon on Saturday.
In Other News...
Jason Candles Ohio Return Gives UConn An Early Road Test
Jason Candles first road trip back into familiar Mid-American Conference territory comes with a little extra edge, and UConn will get a useful early read on where it stands under its first-year head coach. Candle spent a decade leading Toledo, so a matchup with Miami (Ohio) brings him back to a league and a setting he knows well, even if the Huskies are the ones now absorbing the lessons of an early-season test away from home.
Miami, too, offers a clean measuring stick because the RedHawks have been part of the MAC backdrop Candle lived in for years. UConn will be looking to see how it handles the pace, physicality and game-day environment on the road, and Candles own history against this conference adds another layer to a game that already carries some intrigue for a program trying to establish its identity. [Read more 🡒]
UConns Conference Future Just Got A Lot More Complicated
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But the UConn side of the story is still murky. Athletic director David Benedict said he was never contacted about the report and was unaware of any such plans, leaving the Huskies with no clear indication that a move is actually in motion. For now, football remains independent while the rest of UConns programs continue in the Big East, and the gap between speculation and reality is still wide. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Hurley Has One Big Challenge In UConns Title Push
Dan Hurleys latest offseason reset has given UConn a very different-looking roster, one that will lean heavily on newcomers as the program keeps chasing the standard it has built. The Huskies brought in 10 new players, including seven transfers, and the incoming class is ranked No. 18 nationally, with additions from high-major programs already giving the group a more proven feel on paper.
The mix includes Nik Khamenia from Duke, Oskar Giltay from Stanford and Elmir Dzafic from Arkansas, a signal that UConn did not simply fill gaps but added talent from ambitious places. Hurley has stressed that the culture and expectations remain the same, but the real question now is how quickly all of those pieces, especially the younger top-end talent, can be pulled together into something that looks like a title team again. [Read more 🡒]