Everything UConn coach Jim Mora said after 59-3 loss at Tennessee
Tennessee football in its 59-3 win over UConn on Saturday went for with 650 yards of total offense — 375 passing yards and 275 rushing — and scored three defensive touchdowns, with Tyler Baron returning a fumble for a score and Jaylen McCollough and Aaron Beasley taking interceptions back for touchdown on consecutive possessions early in the second half.
UConn, on the other hand, managed just 256 yards of total offense, rushing 28 times as a team for only 35 yards while quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson completed 24 of 40 passes for 218 yards with the two interceptions.
Here’s what UConn coach Jim Mora said about the loss during his postgame press conference:
Opening Statement
“The only thing I can say is it was a tough game. I am proud of our guys for the class that they showed on that football field before, during and after the game.”
What UConn can take away from the loss
“How far we have to go to be a good football team.”
What he talked about with UConn sophomore running back Victor Rosa during the game
“Well part of my job is to protect our players from themselves sometimes and he’s a warrior. My concern was that he could not protect himself physically out there because of his ankle. It wasn’t [his ankle], it was his hip. It was just a passing thing, but I think you have to watch closely when you are putting a guy that has the ball, especially, out on the field because there are 11 guys that are trying to get him on every play. So, I am going to protect those guys. I am not going to baby them. I am not going to coddle them, but I wanted to make sure that he was okay. That is my job. That’s part of my job.”
What he liked about UConn’s pass gamein the first half and what he saw from QB Ta’quan Roberson
“I think Ta’quan (Roberson) grew to that. He has grown every week. You see the ability that he has. That’s an excellent run defense. They put us in some tough passing situations, but I like the fact that he reared back and he ripped it. There was no hesitation in where he was trying to go with the ball and you see his arm talent. He is just going to get better and better. Sometimes struggling through a tough day against a really good defense is when you grow the most.”
UConn trying to match Tennessee’s speed
“They got us on the one, the long touchdown. We couldn’t get lined up correctly quick enough. Other than that, the speed of the game and the tempo was not the issue. The speed of the players in just about every sport that you can think of that involves being on your feet or on skates. Speed is an asset that you want to continue to try to add to your program. So, that’s something we have to continue to work on with our current players and continue to try to add to our program because that was a very fast and very talented offensive football team at every position.”
