said senior safety Patrick Tafua.
There was plenty of excitement at Peden Stadium as the game got underway. There was hardly any after.
A record-setting crowd of 24,617 had dispersed by the fourth quarter, and when the game ended with Ohio losing to Connecticut 23-16, there were more empty seats in the student section than people.
While the fans were boiling over with anticipation as Ohio looked to knock off a Big East foe to open the season, the players were even more eager - maybe too much.
The excitement of the game kind of got the best of (us) sometimes said senior safety Patrick Tafua.
The jitters showed as Ohio (0-1) suffered mental lapses that resulted in touchdowns, turnovers that stifled drives and penalties that cost yards.
I thought that we would have to play well and I don't know that we played all that well
coach Frank Solich said.
The offense never got into a rhythm. Ohio only rushed for a total of 61 yards - Connecticut (1-0) more than quadrupled that total with 259.
Quarterbacks Boo Jackson and Theo Scott combined for 186 passing yards and each threw a touchdown, but they weren't consistent.
Scott started the game but Jackson took over after the third possession, a decision the coaching staff made beforehand. Jackson stayed in the game until the middle of the fourth quarter when he left the game because of an injury.
We weren't able to get going offensively to establish any kind of momentum on the offensive side of it during the game
Solich said.
Ohio's defense was on the field for long stretches and the combination of Connecticut's running attack and no-huddle offense wore Ohio down. It allowed a touchdown on the ground as the Huskies had two rushers rack up more than 100 yards.
Sometimes we just got some guys out of position
redshirt senior linebacker Lee Renfro said. UConn
they just want to line up there and get those huge offensive linemen and just try to move us.
They were getting us early and I think the pace of the game was just kind of getting to us well.
Ohio intercepted three passes
but gave up two touchdowns through the air. One of those came at a critical juncture in the game. Ohio had just tied the game at seven after Jackson hit Taylor Price for a 44-yard touchdown pass with 3:58 remaining in the half.
On the seventh play of the ensuing drive
Connecticut quarterback Zach Frazer completed an easy touchdown pass to Brad Kanuch
who was running down the field completely uncovered
putting Connecticut back up 14-7.
It was just a mental breakdown on the defensive side, Tafua said.
After Tafua intercepted a pass and returned it to Connecticut's 6-yard line
