Zach Collaros threw for 480 yards and a
score and ran for two more touchdowns, as fourth-ranked Cincinnati held on for
a 47-45 win over Connecticut to stay undefeated.
Collaros started in place of Tony Pike, who is still recovering from surgery
on his non-throwing arm, for the third straight game and kept the Cincinnati
offense rolling.
He completed 29-of-37 passes and finished with 75 rushing yards on 13 carries
for the Bearcats (9-0, 5-0 Big East), who totaled a school-record 711 yards of
offense. Isaiah Pead ran for 67 yards and a pair of scores on 10 attempts,
while Mardy Gilyard caught 12 passes for 172 yards.
Armon Binns ended with five catches for 108 yards and a score, while Jacob
Ramsey ran for a team-high 91 yards for Cincinnati, which matched the 1951
team for the best start in school history.
"How was that? Was that exciting football? That is going to age me quickly,"
Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly said.
Jordan Todman powered Connecticut (4-5, 1-4) with 162 yards and four TDs on 26
carries, as the team finished with 462 total yards. Zach Frazer ended with 261
yards and a score on 19-of-32 completions, but the Huskies missed a potential
game-tying two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter and fell to their
third consecutive loss.
"It's just the same old story again, in terms of our five losses," UConn head
coach Randy Edsall said. "We just got ourselves in a situation early on that
wasn't good. This team is full of grit, determination, any adjective you want
to use, but we just keep coming up short."
UConn trailed 40-24 after Jake Rogers connected on a 35-yard field goal nine
seconds into the fourth quarter, but trimmed its lead by responding with a TD.
Frazer had the big play -- a 52-yard pass to Kashif Moore -- to get the ball
to the one-yard line, and Todman plunged into the end zone from there to make
it a 40-32 game with a little more than 13 minutes left.
After the Bearcats went three-and-out, the Huskies started a long scoring
drive at their own 38. They went the distance in 14 plays, eating up 6:42 of
the clock in the process. Among the plays was a four-yard run by Todman on
4th-and-1 to keep the drive going.
Todman continued to carry UConn downfield, and he plowed into the end zone
from two yards out on fourth down. The Huskies then went for the two-point
conversion, but Frazer was sacked to keep it a 40-38 contest with 5:03 left.
But Cincinnati thwarted the comeback with a scoring drive of its own. Collaros
completed four consecutive passes for 33 yards to get the ball across
midfield, and Pead ended the march with a 14-yard run across the goal line.
The score put the Bearcats up 47-38 with 1:52 on the clock.
"There was definitely a sense of urgency," Collaros said of the drive. "There
was most of the second half. We really shot ourselves in the foot a couple of
times in the third. The last drive, everybody cowboyed up and we did it."
Connecticut drove for a quick score, a nine-yard pass over the middle from
Frazer to Marcus Easley, but Cincinnati recovered the onside kick to seal the
victory.
Pead's one-yard TD run capped the opening drive of the game, an eight-play,
80-yard progression. UConn responded with an 11-play, 79-yard march that
Todman ended with a six-yard run to make it a 7-7 game midway through the
first.
Rogers connected on a 41-yarder on the Bearcats' ensuing drive, and they
scored again on a drive that spanned the first two quarters. Collaros' four-
yard run 48 seconds into the second frame made it a 17-7 game.
The teams then traded field goals, as Dave Teggart hit a 42-yarder for UConn
and Rogers booted a 27-yarder for a 20-10 lead.
Gilyard fumbled on a punt return after the Huskies went three-and-out, but
Cincinnati recovered and got another score -- this time a 41-yard Collaros
pass to Binns.
Rogers connected on a 34-yarder with time running out to make it a 30-10 game
at halftime.
Todman recorded a 46-yard TD run with just under 10 minutes left in the third
quarter, but the Bearcats responded with another touchdown, a 28-yard run from
Collaros.
Cincinnati was forced to punt later in the stanza, but Robert McClain returned
it 87 yards for a score to make it a 37-24 game going to the fourth.
Game Notes
Cincinnati has won 15 consecutive regular season games...The Bearcats lead the
all-time series, 5-1, including 4-0 at Nippert Stadium...Easley finished with
six catches for 87 yards...Cincinnati hosts West Virginia on Friday...UConn
has off next weekend before playing at Notre Dame on November 21.
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