NEFJ Correspondent

HARTFORD — The opportunities were there for the UConn Huskies, but they were just unable to put it all together as they fell to 1-6 after a tough, 24-21 loss at the hands of South Florida.

Mistakes were the story of the day and that was driven home further when Huskies quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson scrambled on third and six looking to extend the drive with 2:11 left in regulation, but fumbled on the play, essentially putting an end to the night for the Huskies.

The Huskies, despite having a lead late into the fourth quarter, whether it was a turnover, or a stale offensive drive, simply could not hold on long enough to secure their second win of the season.

Coach Jim Mora spoke briefly postgame but his tone and demeanor said it all.

“Gut wrenching, gut grinders, you play your ass off, our players played as hard as they could play, and when it came down to it, we didn’t do enough as a team to get a win,” Mora said. “A very painful loss.”

The Huskies started the game by playing from behind, when USF running back Nay’Quan Wright scored from a yard out with 10:21 left in the first quarter.

Scoring early on was at a premium early before the dam broke when Roberson called his own number from 24 yards out to tie the game with 14:04 left in the first half.

The Bulls took the lead back when they tacked on three with a 44-yard field goal. The Huskies responded back for their first lead of the game by way of Cam Edwards’ first of two touchdowns on the day, from six yards out with 3:40 left in the half.

Despite his two touchdown day and the feeling of validation after making a switch back to running back this season, Edwards had a sense of bitter sweetness in his responses to the media following the loss.

“I feel great right now, but unfortunately we couldn’t get a W,” Edwards said.

When asked about the feeling in that locker room, Edwards summed up all of Huskies Nation’s feelings.

“Everybody knows it was a disappointing loss, but coach Mora said it, we’re going to come back to work Monday and get back at it,” Edwards said.

The second half was a defensive struggle with the first three drives of the half being three straight three-and-outs followed by an interception thrown by the USF, followed by a Huskies punt.

However, the start of the fourth quarter looked promising for the Huskies as Edwards struck again, this time from 33 yards out on the ground to extend their lead to 21-10 with 12:45 left.

The two-score lead was short-lived however, as USF went on to score 14 unanswered points in the final seven minutes of the game, first by way of quarterback Byrum Brown on a keeper from six-yards out, followed by Wright’s 4-yard touchdown run with 4:02 left.

The Huskies will need to regroup and quickly as things do not get any easier. Next up is a road matchup with the Boston College Eagles which promises to be another battle for the Huskies.