The Aftermath: Huskies Lose a Thriller To The Tar Heels

What a game the Huskies came out and played Saturday afternoon. 

For three quarters, they executed on offense and defense to perfection; leading 10-0, who would of thought the tables would have turned so quickly.

This loss stings for the simple reason that now UConn is 1-13 all time against ranked opponents. 

A program that is still searching for that marquee win that proves they are the real deal.  Anything can happen playing in the Big East, but beating a 19th ranked North Carolina team at home would have been a statement.

Then again, the wackiness of this game was unlike any game I have ever seen in person.

The Huskies had the crowd rocking and were in total control. Even after starting quarterback Zach Frazier went down with a knee injury, the Huskies managed a touchdown drive off a North Carolina turnover led by back Cody Endres.

In the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels faced a 3rd and 18 from inside their own ten yard line; but they kept getting backed up from penalties.

This was the beginning of the comeback no Husky fan wanted to see. A prevent coverage allowed an opening in the field, and UNC converted the first down on a 21 yard completion from Yates to Highsmith.

Then a consistent running game up the middle, and pass plays over the middle, turned into first downs and led to a touchdown on second and goal from the four. It was a ball towards the outside caught by tight end Zack Pianalto.

This was the beginning of some very bizzare plays. Pianalto dislocated his right foot while jumping up and down in celebration.

A snap over the end of Endres in the shotgun resulted in a 12 yard loss. Then, faced with a 3rd and 22 from the fourth, the Huskies were two minutes from overtime. The only problem- a screen pass of 20 yards was called back due to a holding call in the endzone on tackle Dan Ryan; the result was a safety.

So now, North Carolina had the ball and they would run out the clock right? Wrong!

UConn did the unthinkable in recovering the onside kick. They had new life with 90 seconds left in the game. After a couple completions, the Huskies had the ball at just past midfield.

Then there were a couple of questionable pass interference calls- combined with a decision by Edsall not to use a timeout before 3rd down- in which UConn lost about thirty seconds off the clock. Instead, they used it before 4th down, and UNC blitzed resulting in a sack on Endres and all hopes of a comeback were erased.

The end of this game left just over 38,000 fans stunned in what they had just witnessed. The feeling in the stadium was complete shock and disbelief that the Huskies had let a 10-0 lead vanish in the fourth quarter.

That is football and the Huskies did not get the job done. They had 3 three and outs, and key conversions by the UNC offense left a winded UConn defense on the field. 

Coach Edsall said it best after the game: "There is no moral victories in football". 

Yes, this loss stings unlike any this team has suffered before. But it's football and Saturday is a new game. Going to play Baylor in Waco, Texas is going to be a tough environment. The Huskies are going in with a new starter in Cody Endres. It isn't going to be easy, but its a great chance to redeem the loss to North Carolina.

Edsall will have his team ready to go on the road this Saturday. Every week is a new week in college football. 

After all, the Huskies are one of only three teams going out of conference to play three BCS teams in UNC, Baylor, and Notre Dame. It shows this team is committed to success and they will not let one game dictate the rest of the season.