Nate Carter, Michigan State Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/29/22 - RB Nate Carter, rJr/2026, Michigan State

That was fun to watch. It was entertaining. For a time Saturday, UConn football seemed to have an upset in the making. Trending on Twitter, the Huskies were. For a time. That time began to run out when Nate Carter, running wild in the Utah State secondary and bidding to build on a two-touchdown lead, was stripped of the ball and lost it. The game turned dramatically on that play, less than a minute into the second quarter, which an experienced onlooker could have anticipated. Importantly, it turned back later. So the Huskies offered a spark, if they did not get a win in Jim Mora's first game as coach, a win that would have lit a fire in the hearts of a long-suffering bunch of fans in Connecticut. Those hearts, instead, should ache over the loss of quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson and receiver Keelan Marion, likely for the season, with injuries sustained even as the Huskies were building their startling first-quarter lead.

But neither hearts nor spirits should be broken by this 31-20 loss on the road to a Utah State team that finished 2021 in the Top 25. Better days do seem to be coming, if maybe not tomorrow. Carter gained 147 yards, surpassing his career high, in the first half and he finished with 20 carries for 190 yards. The Huskies, who averaged 265 total yards per game last year, had 234 by halftime Saturday. The Huskies weren't embarrassed here, they moved the ball, looked like they belonged - especially before players started getting hurt. "We're disappointed," Mora said, "but we're not discouraged. I saw things today in the group that leads to encouragement. Disappointed. Bitter defeat. Nobody wants to lose. But I'm encouraged by the way they competed 'til the end." - Hartford Courant

rJr/2026