East Hartford - UConn's opening series set a mistake-prone tone on Saturday.

Sound familiar?

It should.

For the fourth time in five games, the Huskies committed a turnover on their first drive that led to an opponent touchdown.

On Saturday, their costly early mistake was quarterback Chandler Whitmer's underthrown pass that Temple's Tavon Young intercepted and returned 93 yards for a touchdown, putting a frustrating end to a promising 15-play drive deep into Owl territory.

From there, the Huskies kept stumbling and bumbling their way to a 36-10 loss in American Athletic Conference action before 27,755 fans at Rentschler Field.

The troubling trend has to end for the Huskies (1-4, 0-2), who've lost three straight, to improve.

"It's pretty frustrating," Whitmer said. "We're tired of doing this."

Once again, mistakes contributed to UConn's demise. The Owls (3-1, 1-0) scored 14 points off turnovers and sacked Whitmer for a safety.

"Sixteen uncontested points make it impossible to win, period," coach Bob Diaco said.

Damaging penalties also are killing the Huskies.

Take the second-half kickoff. Temple muffed the return and UConn's Wilbert Lee recovered a fumble in end zone for a touchdown.

The celebration was short-lived, though. The Huskies were offsides, negating the score.

Temple marched right down field, going 75 yards in just six plays. Quarterback P.J. Walker hooked up with Jalen Fitzpatrick on a 42-yard touchdown pass. Instead of leading 10-7, the Huskies trailed 14-3.

"It's just where we're at right now," said Diaco, who added that a freshman committed the penalty. "We're taking turns with young guys doing bonehead things that they're eventually going to stop doing."

Statistically speaking, the Huskies dominated in several categories. They had the edge in first downs (18-15), total offense (307 yards to 272) and time of possession (35:28 to 24:32). They rushed for over 100 yards (133) for the first time this season.

Their dogged defense controlled the game in the first half, allowing just 31 yards, before the big play bug bit after intermission.

"We felt strong and we felt confident after holding them to about 30 yards," said Cole Ormsby, a redshirt freshman defensive tackle. "We went in (the locker room) with our heads held high. We were supposed to come back out and hold them again, but, obviously, that didn't happen."

Temple scored 23 points in the third quarter to extend a 7-3 halftime lead to 30-10. The Owls, who forced 14 turnovers in their first three games, added three more to their total.

UConn's offensive line left Whitmer (12-for-23 163 yards, one TD) little time to throw at times. Midway through the third quarter, Sean Chandler sacked Whitmer, who fumbled. Temple's Praise Martin-Oguike scooped up the loose ball and ran 11 yards for a touchdown for a 28-3 lead.

The Huskies scored their only touchdown on Whitmer's 74-yard screen pass to freshman Arkeel Newsome, a former Ansonia standout who used his blazing speed to outrun the defense. Their other score came on Bobby Puyol's 30-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Overall, it was another demoralizing day for the Huskies, who enter a bye week with plenty to work on. They return to action on Oct. 11 at Tulane.

"We're disappointed but not crushed," Diaco said. "We have a bye week so we are going to practice a bunch and get better. So we are resolute and our spirit is not cracked. The team and coaches are upset but we also know, big picture, where we are going."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe