Even under the best of circumstances, night games on the road can rupture athletes’ schedules, as UConn football coach Randy Edsall likes to point out. During Saturday night’s return trip from Greenville, N.C., Edsall’s Huskies did not experience the best of circumstances.
“We get to the airport and there was an issue with the plane,” Edsall said Sunday on his weekly conference call. “So we sat in Greenville at the airport for probably two, three hours waiting for another plane.”
Edsall said UConn finally touched down back in Hartford at 5:30 or 5:45 a.m., more than seven hours after the final whistle of a 55-21 loss to East Carolina.
“To go along with the game, we also had that issue,” Edsall said.
Saturday marked UConn’s sixth and final road game of the season and the fifth (including fourth in conference play) scheduled for 7 p.m. or later.
Edsall has cited the recurring late kickoffs as evidence that the college sports establishment doesn’t particularly care about player well-being. In his view, early-morning return trips inhibit athletes’ ability to be productive the day after games, thereby sapping time they might be able to spend on school, football or leisure.
After relaying the story of UConn’s plane troubles Sunday, Edsall briefly recapped Saturday’s game, which was close early before East Carolina pulled away to send the Huskies to their eighth consecutive loss.
“I thought we started off the game real well offensively,” Edsall said. “Three touchdowns. Then we just couldn’t get anything going. I thought the fumble and the interception [from quarterback David Pindell] before the half really hurt us, and then we weren’t able to do anything.
“Defensively, it’s kind of just the same old story of the whole year. We have opportunities to get off the field and to make plays, and we just don’t make them.”
The Huskies gave up 657 yards to East Carolina, increasing their season average to 636.6. That figure ranks worst in FBS by more than 85 yards per game.
UConn stands 1-10 on the season with one game left on the schedule: Senior Day at Rentschler Field next Saturday against Temple, kicking off at 3:30 p.m.
