University of Connecticut Athletics
Football Hopes To Tame Wolfpack on Saturday
10/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
October 6, 2003
THE COACHES
CONNECTICUT HEAD COACH RANDY EDSALL
A veteran of 21 years of major college coaching with three years in the NFL, Edsall has tackled the challenge of bringing a former NCAA Division I-AA team up to par with the BIG EAST in a six year span head on. He has compiled a 19-32 career record in his fifth season at UConn, including wins in eight of UConn’s last 10 games. He has never faced North Carolina State. Immediately prior to becoming UConn’s 27th head coach on December 21, 1998, Edsall served as defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech in 1998 under George O’Leary. Edsall began his coaching career at his alma mater, Syracuse, from 1980-1990, working under Frank Maloney and Dick McPherson in a variety of capacities. Amongst his highlights at Syracuse was being a part of the 1987 team that went undefeated at 11-0-1, tying Auburn, 16-16, in the Sugar Bowl. Edsall moved on to Boston College where he coached defensive backs under Tom Coughlin from 1991-93 before following Coughlin to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, staying on the First Coast through the 1997 season. Edsall is a native of Glen Rock, Pa., and graduated from Susquehannock High School.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE HEAD COACH CHUCK AMATO
Only the fourth coach in ACC history to lead a team to a bowl game in each of his first three seasons, Chuck Amato is 29-15 in his fourth season at NC State. He has never faced UConn. Amato guided the Wolfpack to its first ever 11 win season in 2002, a campaign that included a 28-6 win over Notre Dame in the Toyota Gator Bowl. Amato came to Raleigh in 2000 after 18 years as an assistant coach at Florida State under Bobby Bowden, serving as Assistant Head Coach for 14 of those seasons. The Seminoles went to a bowl game in each of Amato’s 18 seasons in Tallahassee, capturing the 1993 and 1999 National Championships. Prior to FSU, Amato worked as an assistant coach at Arizona (1980-81), NC State (1971-79) and Easton, PA High School (1969-70), from where he graduated in 1964. Amato was a three-year letterman in both football and wrestling at NC State, graduating from the school in 1969.
RADIO/TV COVERAGE NOTES
RADIO COVERAGE
For the 12th consecutive season, WTIC 1080-AM in Hartford serves as the flagship station for the UConn Radio Network. WTIC is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada. Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Bob Joyce on the sidelines. The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff, while at home games, the UConn Tailgate Show will air two and a half hours prior the game with Arnold Dean and Kevin Nathan. The UConn Football Radio Network also includes WILI 1400-AM in Willimantic, WLIS 1420-AM in Old Saybrook and WMRD 1150-AM in Middletown. UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet, with assistance from Yahoo!, at www.UConnHuskies.com.
NO TELEVISION THIS WEEK
For only the second time this season, a UConn football game will not be televised in either of the two team’s markets. UConn’s game at Buffalo also was devoid of live TV.
THE UCONN HUSKIES: MUST SEE TV
UConn will have seven of its 12 games this fall broadcast on live television in Connecticut, for a total of 15 live telecasts over the past two seasons, despite not having a conference television package as an independent school. WFSB-TV 3, Hartford’s CBS affiliate, is carrying five games as the Huskies battle Indiana, Boston College, Kent State, Rutgers and Wake Forest. The Virginia Tech game aired on ESPN Regional as the BIG EAST Conference Game of the Week and aired locally on WTXX TV-20 in Hartford. The YES Network will broadcast the Akron game live from Rentschler Field to its cable audience in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and eastern Pennsylvania. Also, FOX SPorts Net Pittsburgh will pickup WFSB"s feed of the Kent State game. UConn is 5-6 when on Connecticut TV over the past two years.
PLENTY OF FOLKS ARE TUNING IN
The Nielsen numbers continue to grow as WFSB recorded an 8.6 rating and 23 share for its coverage of the UConn-Boston College game on Sept. 13, a UConn football record. The previous high for UConn football on WFSB had been set just two weeks prior when the Indiana game garnered a 6.6 rating and 19 share. UConn’s five games last season on WFSB drew a good crowd to their televisions in the Nutmeg State, averaging a 4.3 rating and an 11.6 share in the Hartford TV market. The highest rated game last fall was against Navy, which despite a 38-0 final score, drew a strong 6.1 rating and a 16 share. Comparing these numbers with typical Connecticut college football TV audiences, on Nov. 16, 2002, the lopsided Navy game saw a 6.1 local rating which blew away ABC’s Big Ten game (Ohio State-Illinois - 1.5) and CBS’s SEC game (Georgia-Auburn - 3.7), each of which went down to the final play and had both national and conference championship implications.
EDSALL ON THE AIR
UConn head coach Randy Edsall will have weekly television and radio shows this year. The television show will air on Sunday nights at 11:45 p.m. on WFSB TV-3 in Hartford with Dina Falco. Edsall, along with a selected player each week, will also be featured on an hour-long radio call-in show Thursday nights from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on WTIC 1080-AM with Joe D’Ambrosio.
SERIES NOTES
UCONN-NC STATE HISTORY
The Huskies and Wolfpack are meeting for the first time on the gridiron this week. NC State is the second of four first-time opponents for UConn this fall, joining Indiana, Western Michigan and Wake Forest. UConn is 0-3 all-time against the ACC, losing to Georgia Tech in 2002, North Carolina in 1990 and Maryland in 1942 - before the formation of the conference. UConn is 0-3 against schools from North Carolina, losing to the Tar heels in 1990 and dropping games against Davidson in 1967 and 1968. While they are new foes in football, UConn and NC State have met in a variety of other sports, most recently on Nov. 24, 2002, when the UConn women’s basketball team posted a 78-50 win in Raleigh in the Jimmy V Classic.
HEY, DON’T I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEWHERE?
NC State cornerbacks coach Greg Williams was UConn’s defensive coordinator from 1992-94 under Tom Jackson and Skip Holtz...UConn tight ends and tackles coach Dave McMichael and NC State assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Doc Holliday were assistants together at West Virginia from 1983-99 under Don Nehlen...UConn does not have any players from North Carolina while NC State does not have players from any New England state...There will be smiles all around in the athletic training room. NC State head football athletic trainer Jamey Coll worked as a graduate assistant at UConn from 1992-93 while Coll’s current graduate assistant, Jim Fernandez, is a 2002 UConn graduate.
SQUAD NOTES
HUSKIES ON ONE OF BEST NINE-GAME STREAKS EVER
UConn has posted an 8-2 record in its past 10 games, marking one of the finest stretches in the program’s football history. UConn has never won 10 consecutive games, but the Huskies had an 8-0-2 stretch under J.O. Christian that spanned portions of the 1923, 1924 and 1925 seasons. UConn also posted 8-2 runs in 1998, and from 1901-02. UConn had an 8-1-1 stretch in 1973 and from 1937-38 while going 9-1 from 1926-27 and 1944-45.
HUSKIES POST LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN EIGHT YEARS
UConn recently had a six-game winning streak snapped, one which ranked as the sixth-longest in the nation at the point of termination with a 24-14 loss to Boston College on Sept. 13. The Huskies won the final four games of the 2002 season, defeating Florida Atlantic, Kent State, Navy and Iowa State, and then captured the first two games of the 2003 campaign with wins over Indiana and Army. UConn’s six-game winning streak was the Huskies’ longest since winning seven in a row between the 1994 and 1995 seasons and tied for the fourth longest in school history. The Husky football squad’s winning streak though pales in comparison to the UConn record for all sports, the NCAA-record 70 consecutive wins rattled off by the women’s basketball team that was snapped in March by Villanova. Also noteworthy is that during UConn’s six-game winning streak, no two wins have come over members of the same conference, as UConn has defeated a foe from the Big Ten (Indiana), Big 12 (Iowa State), Conference USA (Army), Mid-American (Kent State), an Independent (Navy) and a Division I-AA team (Florida Atlantic). During the six-game streak, UConn outscored its opponents 281-86 while holding a 2,830-1,569 yard advantage in total offense, advantages of 32.5 points per game and 210.2 yards per game.
SOME TURNOVER ON TURNOVER DOMINANCE
One critical element to UConn’s 2002 success was it’s large advantage in turnover margin. The 2002 Huskies finished the year +12 in turnover margin and outscored their opposition 110-49 off of turnovers. So far this season, UConn is even in turnover margin and stands at +28 points in scoring margin off of turnovers. In all, UConn holds a staggering 125-14 advantage in points off of turnovers over its last 11 contests. The only scores in this stretch came at Buffalo on Sept. 20 after a muffed punt gave UB the ball deep in UConn territory and on an 84-yard interception return for a touchdown by Eric Green at Virginia Tech.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
The UConn football team has made a habit recently of starting hot, a trend that the Huskies quickly reestablished immediately in the wake of a 14-point first quarter by Boston College on Sept. 13. Continuing back to last season, UConn had outscored its opponents by a combined 89-3 in the first quarter of its last seven games prior to Boston College, with Indiana posting the lone field goal. UConn bounced right back by holding Buffalo scoreless in the first quarter, and UConn presently has posted eight first quarter white-washings in the team’s last 11 games. Prior to the Eagles’ Horace Dodd’s eight-yard TD run, UConn had not allowed an offensive touchdown in the first quarter since Oct. 5, 2002 when Miami’s Willis McGahee scored on a 15-yard run at the Orange Bowl, a stretch that covered 115:44 of first quarter playing time. The last touchdown of any kind scored against UConn in the first quarter of a game prior to BC came when Temple’s Zamir Cobb fell on a muffed punt in the end zone on Oct. 19, 2002. Since the start of the 2002 season, UConn is 9-1 when holding its opponent without a first quarter touchdown and 1-7 when the opponent scores a first quarter touchdown.
2003 SEASON GAME BALLS
After each UConn win, head coach Randy Edsall awards a game ball to an offensive, defense and special teams player of the game in recognition of their efforts. After UConn’s 34-10 win over Indiana in Rentschler Field’s inaugural game, Edsall also presented special game balls in the locker room to both UConn President Philip Austin and Athletics Director Jeffrey Hathaway for their vision and hard work towards making both Rentschler Field and UConn’s Division I-A status a reality.
INDIANA: O’Neil Wilson (offense), Sean Mulcahy (defense), Kinnan Herriott (special teams).
ARMY: Dan Orlovsky (offense), Tyler King (defense), no special teams.
BUFFALO: Offensive line (Ryan Krug, Brian Markowski, Billy Irwin, LeAndre Dupree, Grant Preston), Dan Murray and Terry Caulley (offense), Terrance Smith (defense), Jason Williams (special teams).
LEHIGH: Brandon Young (offense), Justin Perkins (defense), Cedric Baylor (special teams).
EAGLE SCOUTS
Each week head coach Randy Edsall issues an award for the Scout Team Player of the Week on both offense and defense. In recognition of their often-overlooked hard work, those players earn a spot on the Husky travel squad and dress list for that week’s game. The weekly honorees are listed below.
Game Offense Defense
Indiana OT Chad Atwell DE Jason Ward
Army WR Seth Fogarty CB Nick Berube
Boston College TB Jon Wholley LB Ryan Henegan
Buffalo OT Brian Kersmanc LB Christian Helies
Virginia Tech QB Shane Fogarty LB Mike Hall
Lehigh TE Tom Blumenhauer DB Ricky McCollum
HUSKIES RECEIVE FIRST EVER DIVISION I-A POLL VOTES
Connecticut received six votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll on Sept. 1, the first Division I-A votes in the program’s history. The votes were not homegrown either as although he votes in the poll, UConn head coach Randy Edsall did not include the Huskies on his ballot. UConn dropped from the Sept. 7 poll.
HONORABLE HUSKIES
As a team, the 2003 Huskies’ preseason rankings in preseason Top 117 polls were about 30 places better than 2002 on average. Most national publications had the Huskies in the 80s for their rankings, with a high mark of 74th by CBS SportsLine and a low of 98th from The Sporting News. Additionally, the following Huskies received national recognition this preseason:
Terry Caulley: Named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List...Preseason Independent Offensive Player of the Year by ESPN.com and CollegeFootballNews.com...All-Independent by Street & Smith’s and CollegeFootballNews.com...Top Independent NFL prospect by Street & Smith’s...19th best running back in the nation by Lindy’s...Named the second best player overall at an Independent school by CollegeFootballNews.com and also named to their preseason All-America Watch List.
Alfred Fincher: Preseason All-Independent by Street & Smith’s.
Ryan Krug: Named to the Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List...Preseason All-Independent by Street & Smith’s and CollegeFootballNews.com...Named to the CollegeFootballNews.com preseason All-America Watch List.
Maurice Lloyd: Preseason All-Independent by CollegeFootballNews.com.
Brian Markowski: Preseason All-Independent by CollegeFootballNews.com.
Dan Orlovsky: Preseason All-Independent by Street & Smith’s and CollegeFootballNews.com.
Uyi Osunde: Named to the Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List...Preseason All-Independent by Street & Smith’s and CollegeFootballNews.com...Named the third best player overall at an Independent by CollegeFootballNews.com and also named to their preseason All-America Watch List.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Six true freshmen have played for the Huskies thus far in 2003. The secondary has seen the largest infusion of freshman talent as Allan Barnes, Dontá Moore, and Jahi Smith have all gotten into the defensive backfield mix in addition to working on special teams. Offensively Sam Dorvil and Matt Lawrence have been the lone true freshmen to see action, with Dorvil spelling Deon Anderson at fullback and Lawrence stepping up to help fill the void left by Terry Caulley’s injury. Graig Vicidomino has also seen action as a place kicker for the Huskies. Brian Ushler is listed on the UConn two-deep but has yet to play. Overall, seven true freshmen played for UConn in 2002.
OUR OWN LITTLE EPCOT CENTER HERE IN STORRS
While the overwhelming majority of the 2003 UConn football team is comprised of players from the northeastern United States, the Huskies have a far greater foreign influence than your typical college football team with players hailing from three different continents. UConn has five Canadian players, two from Ontario (Hakeem Kashama and O’Neil Wilson) and a trio of Quebecois (Dan Desriveaux, Shawn Mayne and Jason Ward). Although now a Canadian citizen, Kashama was actually born in Zaire. Punter Adam Coles is a native Australian while offensive tackle Aloys Manga is a native of Duana, Cameroon. Although not a foreign nation, UConn’s Conn Davis grew up outside of the 50 states in the Virgin Islands.
CONNECTICUT TRI-CAPTAINS
Senior wide receiver Shaun Feldeisen, defensive tackle Sean Mulcahy and defensive end Uyi Osunde were named as the team’s tri-captains this past spring in a vote of their teammates who could not have chosen better personifications of where the UConn program has gone during their careers. None of the three were heavily recruited - Feldeisen was originally a walk-on and spent a year as a place kicker - but through hard work, all three currently harbor realistic thoughts of playing the NFL.
OFFENSE NOTES
DAN-O STILL PUTTING ON A SHOW
Junior Dan Orlovsky, highly-recruited out of high school, continues to live up to the local hype he generated as a high school All-American and the Connecticut Player of the Year in 2000 at Shelton. In the opening six games of 2003, Orlovsky has hit on 140-of-236 passes (59.3%) for 1,716 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions for a 135.99 rating. This run includes a school-record five touchdown passes in UConn’s 48-21 win at Army. His third career and second consecutive 300-yard passing effort, done at Army, pushed Orlovsky into fourth place on the UConn career passing yardage chart. He has since taken over third place on that listing. He has a total of three 300-yard passing games to his credit this year (Indiana, Army and Virginia Tech). With 16 touchdown passes he has now thrown a whopping 27 during the last 10 games (2.7 per game) and stands in third place in UConn history with 44 career TD strikes. Orlovsky also extended his streak of consecutive games with a TD pass to 18 against Lehigh, the second longest such streak in UConn history. Orlovsky presently ranks 18th in the nation in total offense, 12th in passing and eighth in points responsible for, while his 16 TD passes ties him second in the nation behind only B.J. Symons of Texas Tech who has 24. J.P. Losman of Tulane, Rod Rutherford of Pittsburgh and Jason White of Oklahoma also have 16.
ORLOVSKY’S TURNAROUND
A poised and mature Dan Orlovsky, now a true junior, has seen his statistics make a dramatic improvement of late. Below are his statistics from the first 18 games of his career and the last 10:
TD INT YPG CMP% EFF
First 18 17 20 167.2 52.5% 103.60
Last 10 27 10 256.7 61.7% 144.27
HOKIE HI
By throwing for 316 yards in UConn’s game at Virginia Tech on Sept. 27, Dan Orlovsky joined some elite company. Since the start of the 2001 season, only five quarterbacks have thrown for 300 yards in a game against the Hokies’ stringent defense. In that regard, Orlovsky joins Florida State’s Chris Rix, Miami’s Ken Dorsey, Marshall’s Byron Leftwich, and Syracuse’s Troy Nunes.
CAULL TO THE BULLPEN
A season-ending right knee injury (torn ACL and a posterolateral corner tear) to tailback Terry Caulley created an opening for two freshmen to display their talents for the remainder of the season. Redshirt freshman Cornell Brockington and true freshman Matt Lawrence of Bloomfield will each have an opportunity to both start and rush the ball for the Huskies. Brockington has carried the ball 45 times this year for 169 yards, seeing reserve action in the first five games, missing Lehigh with a sore quad. Lawrence, whom the coaching staff had hoped to redshirt but kept prepared just in case, stepped onto the field for the first time at Virginia Tech and starting against Lehigh. Against the Hokies, the two split time evenly with Brockington making 16 carries for 53 yards and Lawrence carrying the ball 18 times for 48 yards. Lawrence’s starting debut against the Mountain Hawks was a successful one, carrying 19 times for 88 yards with one touchdown.
BUSTING OUT OF THE GATES
The UConn offense has wasted little time in putting points on the scoreboard in 2003, scoring 34 in the opener against Indiana and 48 in the second game of the season, last Saturday at Army. The Huskies scored 82 points through two games in 2003, setting a school record for the most points scored through the first two games of a season. The previous highest scoring start came in 1998 when UConn scored a combined 80 points in wins over Colgate and Maine. Through six games, UConn is 34th in the nation, averaging 30.3 points per game.
HENRY’S HAT TRICK
When he caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky during the second quarter of the Buffalo game, Keron Henry completed a rare career trifecta. Henry has now caught, thrown and rushed for touchdowns in his UConn career. He joins Ken Sweitzer (1978-81) and Tory Taylor (1995-98) as the only Huskies to accomplish this impressive feat.
RECAULLING SOME HIGHLIGHTS
The UConn offense suffered a blow when starting tailback Terry Caulley was lost for the remainder of the season after suffering a right knee injury early in the Virginia Tech game. At the time of the injury, Caulley was leading the nation with 601 rushing yards and ranked second by average at 150.3 yards per game. He stood tied for fourth nationally in rushing touchdowns (seven), fifth in scoring (12.0 ppg), and Caulley also ranked eighth in all-purpose running (170.5 ypg) despite the fact that he does not return either punts or kickoffs. Entering the Virginia Tech game, his 1,848 career rushing yards led all other sophomore rushers in the nation by a margin of 442 yards on the heels of a 2002 campaign in which he was the nation’s leading freshman rusher. Earlier in the season, at Army, Caulley broke Vin Clements’ school record set in 1968 by hitting the century mark on the ground for the sixth consecutive game. Caulley currently has 10 career 100-yard rushing efforts in just 15 career games played, good for a tie for second on the UConn career chart. Caulley had also scored at least one touchdown in each of his last 12 games played prior to the injury.
GOING THE DISTANCE
UConn’s offense has put together some impressive marches of late. The Huskies have made seven touchdown drives of at least 80 yards in the past four games, including three at Buffalo. This continues a trend from last season when UConn had 14 drives of 80-yards or more, including four of 90 yards or longer. UConn’s 25 touchdown drives this year have averaged 64.7 yards.
JUNIORS DOMINATE OFFENSIVE LINE
UConn’s offensive line has a wonderful combination of both youth and experience in 2003. Starting four juniors and a sophomore, the group will all return for the 2004 season, but combined had a total of 79 career starts worth of experience with 84 combined games played between them at the start of the 2003 season.
SHARING THE WEALTH
For the second consecutive season, Randy Edsall hopes to utilize a deep rotation of wide receivers to help the offense flourish. Seven different Huskies caught at least 20 passes in 2002 which tied for the fourth in the nation during the regular season. In 2003, Edsall has a variety of weapons at the position, where Shaun Feldeisen and Brandon Young may be listed as starters, but Edsall considers all within the group worthy of the honor. O’Neil Wilson, Jason Williams, Keron Henry and Matt Cutaia, fully recovered from his 2002 knee injury, form the core of a formidable group. Several other players, including redshirt freshman Dan Desriveaux, make this perhaps UConn’s deepest position group. So far in 2003, 12 players have caught a pass for UConn and six Huskies (Feldeisen, Wilson, Henry, Terry Caulley, Young and Cutaia) have already hit double figures in receptions. The shared receptions also creates an even distribution of receiving yardage. Despite the fact that UConn has thrown for 4,477 passing yards over the past two seasons combined (248.7 ypg), the Huskies have had just two 100-yard receivers, Shaun Feldeisen last year against Georgia Tech and Brandon Young on Oct. 4 against Lehigh.
TIGHT CALL AT TIGHT END
After losing tight end Tommy Collins, the team’s leading receiver in 2002, to graduation, the race at tight end was one of the more difficult to call of the offseason. Sophomore Tim Lassen seemed to step forward as the heir apparent to Collins, but suffered a shoulder injury during fall drills. Senior Terry McClowry edged out redshirt freshman Dan Murray for the starting post although both saw playing time in the season opener against Indiana. Murray started against Army, BC, Buffalo and Virginia Tech when McClowry suffered a shoulder stinger and he was backed up by an interesting combination of fellow redshirt freshmen. Ziggy Goryn played a majority of the downs, but in goal line situations, tackle Craig Berry checked in as an eligible receiver at tight end wearing number 94. McClowry returned for Virginia Tech and started against Lehigh.
YOUTH REIGNS IN CONNECTICUT BACKFIELD
Fullback Deon Anderson and tailback Terry Caulley started last season as true freshmen and with a year of experience, they lead a very talented young backfield. The group will be bolstered by a trio of freshmen this year. True freshman Sam Dorvil has been playing Anderson this fall. Redshirt freshman Cornell Brockington and true freshman Matt Lawrence dueled all season for the top backup role behind Terry Caulley and now both will battle for the starting role in the wake of Caulley’s season-ending injury.
DEFENSE NOTES
POTENT HOKIES SHUTOUT ON THIRD DOWN
A concern for UConn entering the Virginia Tech game was the Hokies’ startling third down efficiency. Virginia Tech had converted on 67% of its third down tries in 2003 entering the contest (26-for-39) but against UConn the Hokies went 0-for-8. It is the second year in a row that UConn has held a team without a third down conversion, after stopping Navy on each of the Midshipmen’s 12 attempts last Nov. 16.
THREE AND OUTS BECOMING COMMON FOR UCONN FOES
The UConn defense forced Indiana into five three-and-outs in the season opener and followed that performance up at Army by making the Cadets go three-and-out on each of its first five possessions on Sept. 6 and six times in the game overall. After forcing Boston College into six three-and-outs and four more at Buffalo, UConn has forced its 2003 opponents to go three-and-out 25 times in 84 possessions, a strong 30-percent. Last year, UConn also forced a three-and-out on 30-percent of opposing possessions, including a season high eight on just 12 possessions at Navy.
HUSKIES SHOW UB PUNTER MILANO WHO’S THE BOSS
The UConn defense swarmed over Buffalo’s offense forcing 11 Bull punts by Dominic Milano out of 13 UB possessions. The lone exceptions came with the end of the first half and a failed fourth-down try late in the game. UConn’s defense was also solid against Virginia Tech in this category. The Huskies forced the Hokies to punt six times in the game, the same number of punts that Virginia Tech had made in its first three games of the year combined. Overall, UConn has forced it’s opponents to punt a staggering 50 times through six games (8.3 per game). Although the NCAA does not keep this as a category leader, on the flip side, only Arizona has made as many as 55 punts as a team in 2003 while Buffalo has made 48 punts and Fresno State 45. By comparison, the UConn offense has punted just 32 times this year.
ON ANY GIVEN OSUNDE
With his two tackles for loss against Lehigh, Uyi Osunde has entered into a three-way tie for the UConn career tackle for loss record with 31. Osunde shares the mark with Razul Wallace (1999-2002) and Jamar Wilkins (1997-2000). Osunde leads the Huskies with four sacks thus far in 2003 and is tied with fellow tri-captain Sean Mulcahy for the team lead with 6.5 total tackles for loss. His 36 tackles on the season leads all UConn defensive linemen.
EXPERIENCE ON THE LINE
UConn boasts a tremendous amount of experience amongst its starters on the defensive line, which includes three seniors and a junior who have all seen considerable playing time in their UConn careers. The unit is further bolstered by the guidance of two of the team’s three captains in Sean Mulcahy and Uyi Osunde. Entering the season, the four starters on the defensive line averaged 21.3 career starts between them. Osunde is tied for first in UConn history with his 31 career tackles for loss, a sum which includes 9.5 sacks in 2002 alone. Osunde’s sack of Bryan Randall is the only one Virginia Tech has yielded thus far in 2003. Tyler King is a perfect complement to Osunde at the other defensive end spot. The 6-6 255 pound junior has an ever-charging motor that propelled him to 37 tackles last year, including six for a loss. The tackles are both seniors in Mulcahy and Ryan Bushey. Bushey missed much of the 2002 season, but hopes to regain his form from 2001 where he started all 11 games. One of the team’s most media-friendly personas, Mulcahy has 121 career tackles to his credit with 17.5 for a loss. With the exception of senior end Hakeem Kashama, the reserves are young though. Sophomores Shawn Mayne and Deon McPhee plus redshirt freshmen Rhema Fuller will look to spell the starters on game day.
DEFENSE RANKS IN THE TOP QUARTER NATIONALLY
Last year the Huskies finished in the top 20 in the nation in total defense, and despite the loss of five starters, the fall off has been minimal. UConn presently ranks 25th in the nation in total defense, out of 117 schools, allowing 312.00 yards per game. UConn is also 19th in passing efficiency defense (100.28 rating) and 12th in passing defense (167.00 ypg). UConn’s lone deficiency has been rushing defense where it ranks 60th (145.00 ypg).
LINEBACKERS LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS
Before the season, it appeared that the UConn linebacking corps would be one of the team’s stronger units and the group has not disappointed thus far in 2003. The three starters on the unit rank first, third and fourth on the team in tackles and are separated by just three stops. James Hargrave, the lone new starter of the bunch, ranks fourth overall with 47 tackles, including four tackles for loss, which trails just Maurice Lloyd’s 4.5 amongst the team’s linebackers. Alfred Fincher is tied with safety Terrance Smith for the team lead with 50 total tackles on the young season. The weakside post has seen not only strong play by Lloyd (48 tackles, 4.5 TFLs), but also exceptional play off of the bench by Taurien Sowell. Starting in place of an injured Lloyd at Army, Sowell led UConn with 14 tackles in the game. He has also made noteworthy contributions on special teams.
SECONDARY TURNS TO SOME SECONDARY PLAYERS
With the unexpected losses of Jason Dellaselva, Marlon Jones and Chris Meyer over the summer, the UConn secondary has some fresh but capable faces in 2003. The unit that ranked fifth in the nation in passing defense last fall has already benefited from the return of a healthy Justin Perkins. Perkins was the Huskies’ top cover corner in 2001 but missed all but the first half of the season opener at Boston College with a knee injury. Ernest Cole won a tight battle with Cathlyn Clarke for the starting role at the other corner, but both will see ample playing time. Terrance Smith is the team’s lone returning starter from 2002 as he is again manning the right safety post. Junior John Fletcher earned the other safety spot during fall camp. A trio of true freshmen, Allan Barnes, Dontá Moore, and Jahi Smith find themselves in the mix for playing time in the defensive backfield along with redshirt freshman safety M.J. Estep.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
THE CROCODILE PUNTER
Senior Adam Coles, a native of Gladesville, Australia and a former Australian Rules Football player, has made a solid transition to the American version of football and is quietly making noise in UConn’s record book. Coles is presently UConn’s career leader with a 39.94 average for a minimum of 80 career punts and holds the school’s career record for both number of punts and yardage. Coles entered his senior campaign off of another consistent season in 2002, kicking for a 39.9 average, including a long of 64 at Miami. He picked up on the right foot (his left) in 2003, punting 31 times thus far for a 41.3 yard average. He has left three punts inside the 20-yard line in each of UConn past two outings.
RETURNERS ROTATE AGAIN
UConn’s return game, both on punts and kickoffs, has seen some personnel adjustments as the 2003 season has progressed. M.J. Estep started the year as the lone deep back for kickoffs and averaged a solid 20.0 yards for the two that he returned. Estep was replaced by Jason Williams for the Boston College game after Williams recovered fully from a shoulder injury suffered during fall camp. Williams has done a solid job in that role, earning a game ball on special teams at Buffalo after an 82-yard kick return that was stopped just shy of becoming UConn’s first kickoff return touchdown since 1998. The punt return chores have already come full circle. David Sanchez began the year in that role but was lifted for Brandon Young when Young recovered from a hamstring injury suffered during fall camp. Young played well against Boston College, averaging 6.5 yards per return, but was replaced by Sanchez at Buffalo after muffing consecutive punts in the second quarter.
START SPREADING THE NUZIE: KICKING JOB FAIRLY OPEN
So far, replacing three-year starting place kicker Marc Hickok has been a chore for UConn. Redshirt freshman Matt Nuzie won the job during fall camp and started out strong in UConn’s wins over Indiana and Army. He has since faltered though, missing seven of his last eight tries, including two each of 34-yards or less against both Boston College and Buffalo. True freshman Graig Vicidomino is also getting a hard look at possibly filling the place kicking post but didn’t help his chances by missing a PAT try against the Hokies and two field goals against Lehigh. Nuzie enters the NC State game as the projected starter after hitting on all four of his point after attempts against Lehigh.
SCHEDULE NOTES
BYE BYE BYE
Weeks off have been a rather foreign concept to the Huskies of late and 2003 is no exception. For the 13th time in the last 21 seasons, UConn will roll through its schedule without a breather. The stretch includes a run of eight straight such seasons from 1983-90. This may not be a bad thing as UConn is 1-4 under Randy Edsall after a bye week and just 2-6 since 1991. UConn is one of eight teams nationally without a bye this year, joining Akron, California, Louisiana-Lafayette, Minnesota, Purdue, Stanford and UCLA.
WHO ARE YOU? WHO? WHO? WHO? WHO?
As a part of their move to Division I-A status the Huskies are facing a revamped schedule. In 2002, the UConn football slate featured six first time opponents for UConn and 2003 is no different as the Huskies will face four opponents for the first time in Indiana, North Carolina State, Western Michigan and Wake Forest. In 2002, the Huskies opposed Georgia Tech, Ohio, Miami (Fla.), Vanderbilt, Florida Atlantic and Iowa State for the first time ever on the gridiron, posting a 3-3 record in these games. In fact, fellow-Division I-A neophyte Buffalo and Rutgers are the only 2003 opponents that UConn had faced more than 10 times. Entering the season, a total of just 61 games had been played all-time between UConn and its 2003 opponents combined. In addition to its new opponents, UConn faced its first ever member of the Big Ten Conference in Indiana and will face its fourth and fifth members of the ACC in North Carolina State and Wake Forest.
HUSKIES PLAY THE BCS FIELD
UConn will face opponents from three different BCS Conferences this season, playing teams from the ACC (NC State and Wake Forest), BIG EAST (Boston College, Rutgers, and Virginia Tech) and the Big Ten (Indiana). Over the past two seasons, UConn has faced members of five of the six BCS conferences, also playing against the Big 12 (Iowa State) and SEC (Vanderbilt) last season. UConn presently has no scheduled games against the BCS’s sixth member, the Pac-10.
MAC-NIFICENT
The Huskies have become quite familiar with the Mid-American Conference and the Huskies play four more teams from the league this fall. UConn posted a 3-1 record in four games against MAC members in 2002, facing Buffalo (W, 24-3), Ohio (W, 37-19), Ball State (L, 21-24 OT) and Kent State (W, 63-21). The Huskies won their 2003 MAC opener, taking a 38-7 decision at Buffalo (Sept. 20). UConn also faced four MAC teams in 2000, posting a 2-2 record, and three MAC schools in 2001, going 1-2. UConn stands at 14-10 all-time against MAC schools. While the Huskies won three MAC games in 2002, six different MAC schools had fewer wins last year within the conference. Seven of UConn’s last 13 wins overall have come against schools from the MAC.
WEEK TWELVE????
For just the third time in school history, and the second consecutive season, UConn will play 12 games in a season this fall. The Huskies are a perfect 2-0 in their previous 12th games. Last year, UConn posted a 37-20 upset win over bowl-bound Iowa State in Ames in the Week 12 season finale. The first such instance at UConn came in 1998 when UConn was chosen for the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs after a 9-2 regular season. UConn defeated Hampton, 42-34, in the first round on Nov. 28 in Storrs in that inaugural 12th game. The Huskies fell at Georgia Southern the following week in its only 13th game to a season. In 2003, as in 2002, schools are allowed by the NCAA to schedule 12 games because there are 14 Saturdays between the first permissible playing date and the last playing date in November.
BIG EAST SCHEDULE TAKING SHAPE
The BIG EAST Conference recently announced its schedule rotation for the 2004 season. Each member of the seven-team league will play three home and three road conference games. The Huskies will welcome Pittsburgh, Temple and West Virginia to Rentschler Field while travelling to Boston College, Rutgers and Syracuse. Because several previously scheduled games must be adjusted to accommodate UConn’s earlier move to the conference, the remainder of UConn’s 2004 schedule will be announced at a later date.
STADIUM/ATTENDANCE NOTES
MOVIN’ ON UP TO THE EAST SIDE
The Huskies moved into brand new Rentschler Field in East Hartford for the 2003 season with the stadium opening its doors on August 30 when UConn defeated Indiana, 34-10. Conveniently located within miles of Interstates 91, 84 and 384, Adriaen’s Landing and downtown Hartford, the new home of the Huskies lies on 75 acres of land donated to the State of Connecticut from the historic Pratt & Whitney Airfield by company founder Frederick Rentschler. The new stadium boasts a capacity of 40,000 with 38 luxury suites in a massive press box tower which helps enclose the natural grass field. The $91.2 million construction project is an integral part of Governor John Rowland’s economic development program for the Hartford metro-area. While UConn football will serve as the primary tenant, the facility will also attract other prominent events to Hartford. Rentschler Field recently hosted two concerts by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, September 16 and 18. The opening ceremonies for the State Games of America were held at Rentschler Field on August 8.
STARTING A COMMOTION
Swelling interest in the Husky football program as it gradually moves up into BIG EAST play can be evidenced by a rise in attendance. For the 2003 season, UConn has sold approximately 24,000 season tickets at Rentschler Field, a staggering sum considering that the 2001 season ticket base was around 5,000. Last year, UConn, fueled by a season-ticket base of 11,300, UConn ranked 23rd in the nation by playing to 97.58% of Memorial Stadium’s 16,200 seat capacity. After just three home games, UConn’s season attendance of 113,431 by far eclipses the previous record of 94,843 set last fall.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
LOOK AWAY (FROM) DIXIELAND
The land of cotton hasn’t been very friendly to UConn historically as the Huskies hope that old times there are soon forgotten. The Huskies are just 8-34-1 all-time in games played south of the Mason-Dixon line, including losses in 10 of the last 11 such games. The Huskies dropped a 47-13 decision on Sept. 27 at Virginia Tech and head south again this week to face North Carolina State. UConn won its last such game in 2002, defeating Navy, 38-0 on Nov. 16 in Annapolis but lost it’s two other southern swings in 2002, falling at Vanderbilt and Miami. All-time, UConn is: 0-1 at Davidson, 2-12 at Delaware, 0-1 at Delaware State, 0-1 at Furman, 0-1 at Georgia Southern, 0-3 at James Madison, 0-1 at Kentucky, 0-1 at Louisville, 0-1 at Miami, 0-1 at Middle Tennessee, 1-3 at Navy, 0-1 at North Carolina, 4-0 at Richmond, 0-1 at South Florida, 0-1 at SMU, 0-1 at Vanderbilt, 0-0-1 at VMI, 0-2 at Virginia Tech and 1-2 at William & Mary.
MAKING A BRAND NEW START OF IT IN OLD NEW YORK
By beating Army on Sept. 6 at Michie Stadium, the Huskies won their road opener for the first time since a 45-35 win at Colgate in 1998. Each of the last four seasons in which UConn has won it’s first road game, that game was played in the state of New York. In addition to the afore mentioned wins over Army (West Point) and Colgate (Hamilton), UConn won its road opener in 1997 at Hofstra (Hempstead) and 1996 Buffalo (Amherst). The Empire State trend stops at 1995 when UConn won its road opener by defeating Yale, 39-20, at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn. Including wins this fall at Army and Buffalo, UConn is now 7-1 overall in the Empire State since 1984.
CONNECTICUT’S NEW CLOTHES
The UConn football team has a new look in 2003 as it moves into its new home at Rentschler Field, one the program will maintain for a while and build a tradition upon for years to come. The simple yet bold monogram "C" on the side of the football helmet harkens back to Connecticut’s athletic heritage from the 1920s through the 1960s when the simple "C" stood as the university’s primary athletic symbol. UConn’s football helmets also featured a version of the letter "C" elongated into a football shape for much of the late 1960s through the mid 1970s. The "C" logo also appears on the sleeves of the uniforms which have been slightly modified for the 2003 season by UConn sponsor Aéropostale. The solid stripe that went across the shoulder in 2002 has been replaced with a set of alternating navy, white and silver bands around the sleeve. Keeping with a notion of the Huskies representing the whole state and not just the university, the word "Connecticut" will again appear on the chest of the jerseys with the font matching that of the "C" on the helmet. The Huskies will continue to wear navy jerseys for home games and white on the road with the team choosing from either navy or silver pants to complete each ensemble.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Up next for the Huskies is their fourth road game in five weeks as the team travels to Kent, Ohio for a 2:00 p.m. game against the Golden Flashes of Kent State. UConn posted a 63-21 win over Kent State on Nov. 9, 2002 in the final game at Memorial Stadium. After next Saturday, UConn will have to take to the highway just once more in 2003, ending the season at Wake Forest on Nov. 15.
