Grading UConn football's performance in loss to Air Force

UConn knew stopping Air Force’s triple option offense was going to be a challenge. But the Falcons’ offense might have been even better than what the Huskies saw on film this week. Air Force rushed for 366 yards and five touchdowns in UConn’s 35-26 loss on the road. Quarterback Kemper Hodges finished with four touchdowns in a dominant win. Here’s how we graded UConn in its loss on Saturday afternoon: Highlights: UConn football vs Air Force | Huskies can’t stop Falcons’ rushing attackOffense: C UConn’s offense relied heavily on the big plays, recording six plays of 15 or more passing yards and three plays of 10 or more rushing yards. But that strategy worked in Air Force’s favor as the Falcons simply ran out the clock, leaving the Huskies with no chance to find a rhythm to mount a real comeback when it mattered most. Trey Cornist and Kenji Christian were solid in the rushing game, helping UConn rush for a total of 114 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. While the numbers will reflect that UConn’s offense was good on paper, the Huskies stalled on multiple key drives that could have helped them flip the momentum. Defense: C With an offense so reliant on the run, Air Force was going to rack up a ton of yards on the ground regardless of what UConn tried to do to stop it. The question was going to be if the Huskies could stop Air Force in big moments. That didn’t happen. UConn’s defense needed to find a way to either stop Air Force or limit the Falcons to a field goal early in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Huskies allowed Air Force to burn almost 12 minutes off the clock and gave up a touchdown that pushed the Falcons’ advantage to nine. Special teams: D UConn’s special teams unit had a bad day. Freshman kicker Jack O’Connor missed a key extra-point that would have brought the Huskies within seven late in the third quarter. Punter Tommy Warner had been one of the Huskies’ best weapons throughout this season but had two punts that landed near midfield. The Huskies also gave up a fake punt that helped set up a touchdown later in the drive. It was a bad showing all around. Coaching: C UConn cleaned up its penalties, but the rest of the game was marred in unforced special teams errors and stalled offensive drives. Candle couldn’t help getting the running game going until the second half, and the defense was beat up all game. UConn knew what Air Force was going to bring but still couldn’t stop it in a game that would have gone a long way in getting to the six-win bowl eligibility threshold. Game MVP: Kalieb Osborne Just when it looked like Huskies couldn’t move the ball, Osborne saved UConn’s offense from stagnation time and again. Osborne finished Saturday’s game completing 17-of-33 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 10 yards on eight attempts. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Grading UConn football's performance in loss to Air Force