Dumpster Fire 24 - Buffalo 17

I'm running out the door, so here our some quick thoughts, we'll break the game down more later:

• This season has gone from bad to worse. Yes UConn won, but it was a seven point win over Buffalo at home. Against almost any other opponent UConn would have lost.
• The injuries to the defensive line look like a fatal flaw. In the past two weeks UConn has not been able to get into the backfield nearly as much as they did against UMass or N.C. State. The lack of pressure is showing up in the passing game where it's becoming clear that anyone who wants to throw deep on UConn can.
• Chandler Whitmer was a bright spot -- or he would be if anyone but George DeLeone was calling the plays. UConn, with this offense, should be passing on 65% of its plays. The Huskies are nowhere close to that. I railed about this in the OpenThread but on UConn's first 10 first downs the Huskies ran the ball 10 times. That's absurd, and the conservative play calling put UConn in a position to lose the game late.
• Also absurd? The insistence on constantly running 5'8" Lyle McCombs up the middle. He's fast as all hell but he doesn't have the size to bang around in the middle. It was nice to see Martin Hyppolite with a breakout run though, I'd like to see more of him going forward.
• UConn heads to Rutgers next weekend and if the same team that showed up today shows up then the Huskies will get crushed. Looking ahead I think there is a good chance UConn beats Temple but you can't feel good about any other game on the schedule. Syracuse and USF are both dumpster fires so the Huskies may get lucky and split those games, but we're looking at a four- or five-win team at best.