Wake Forest University
Connecticut
Wake Forest Drops Connecticut, 24-13, To Remain Undefeated
9/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 16, 2006
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EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Wake Forest defensive end Jeremy Thompson says he's still not back at full speed after tearing up his left knee last October.
But he was fast enough to outrun the entire Connecticut offense Saturday, taking a first-quarter interception 86 yards for a touchdown, as Wake beat UConn 24-13 to earn its first 3-0 start since 1987.
Thompson, 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, outran everyone down the right side, avoiding several defenders who tried to push him out of bounds at about the UConn 30 yard line. It was the second-longest interception return in team history. Tommy Whims went 90 yards in 1955.
"I'm just thinking run as fast as I can," Thompson said. "I ran out of gas and was just easing to the sideline, but I don't know. I got a quick burst of energy and decided I couldn't get taken out by a quarterback."
Connecticut (1-1) outgained Wake Forest 324 yards to 209, but was hurt not only by the interception but a missed extra point and missed 28-yard field goal.
"In the game of football, there are anywhere from five to six plays that will determine the way of the game," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "When you make the kind of mistakes that we made today, you really limit your opportunities to win when you're playing against a very fundamentally sound football team. That's why statistics mean nothing."
Terry Caulley ran for 81 yards for the Huskies, becoming the school's career leading rusher. He surpassed Wilbur Gilliard's school record of 2,624 set in the early 1990s.
But Caulley left in the fourth quarter with a rib injury. Edsall said Caulley was taken to a hospital for X-rays to check his spleen. Caulley, a fifth-year senior, missed last season and part of 2003 after suffering a knee injury.
On Wake's second offensive play, quarterback Riley Skinner scrambled and was stripped of the ball by UConn safety Marvin Taylor, setting up the Huskies on the Deacons' 22. On third down, UConn quarterback D.J. Hernandez threw into the left flat. The ball hit Thompson in the chest, and he was off down the sideline.
"You're on the road, the crowd's pumped up and things seem to be going the other way. And just in one play, now it's your side that's pumped up," said Wake coach Jim Grobe. "On the road, that's huge."
Micah Andrews ran for 73 yards on 21 carries, including six consecutive runs on a fourth-quarter drive that helped Wake eat up the clock with a 17-13 lead.
"We knew we had to get first downs. There was still a lot of time on the clock," Skinner said. "Our o-line kind of gritted their teeth, and we just started pounding the ball."
After Thompson's return, Connecticut came back on its next possession, driving 80 yards on 10 plays. Hernandez hit wide receiver Brandon Young over the middle for a 6-yard touchdown.
But Wake Forest responded with a 77-yard drive. Andrews made it 14-7 on a 6-yard touchdown run, one play after wide receiver Willie Idlette took a reverse 30 yards around the right side.
Connecticut pulled within a point on a 15-yard run that capped a 63-yard drive that took 6:11 in the second quarter. But Matt Nuzie's extra point hit the left upright. Nuzie also missed a 28-yard field goal attempt after an 11-play drive at the start of the second half.
"Bottom line is I didn't do my job," Nuzie said. "If I did my job I would have put my team in a better position, but the great thing about me is that the only reason I'm here today still kicking for this team is because I have determination and perseverance."
Sam Swank hit a 43-yard field goal at 8:15 of the fourth quarter to give Wake a 17-13 lead. The Demon Deacons scored again on a 6-yard run by fullback Rich Belton, after UConn turned the ball over on downs on its final drive at its own 6.
Hernandez completed 19 of 32 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. Skinner was 7 of 16 for 110 yards for Wake Forest.
Wake Forest's Jon Abbate had 10 tackles, the eighth time in his career he has done that.
The Demon Deacons are now just three wins from being bowl eligible after the third game of the season.
"I think we can do a lot of good things," Thompson said. "This is the first time since I've been here that we've had a full team - the offense picking up the defense, the defense picking up the offense. I think with the family environment of our teams, we can do a lot of things. We're trying to go to a bowl game."
