University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies to Make Last Stand Against Louisville
11/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
The University of Connecticut Football team will finish out its 2005 regular season in East Hartford, Conn. when it takes on No. 16 Louisville. The game will be televised on ESPN and start at 7:45 p.m. Randy Edsall and the Huskies will look to upset the Cardinals to become bowl eligible for the third time in a row.
THE COACHES
CONNECTICUT HEAD COACH RANDY EDSALL
A veteran in his 23rd year 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, guiding the Huskies to victory in the 2004 Motor City Bowl. He has compiled a 37-42 career record in his seventh season at UConn, including wins in 26 of UConn’s last 38 games. He is 0-1 vs. Louisville. Immediately prior to becoming UConn’s head coach in 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 MacPherson in a variety of capacities. Among 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. Last winter, he was inducted into the York Area Sports Hall of Fame.
LOUISVILLE HEAD COACH BOBBY PETRINO
Bobby Petrino is 28-7 in his third season at U of L in a brilliant start to his head coaching career. After landing in the 2004 Liberty Bowl as Conference USA Champions, and the 2003 GMAC Bowl, the Cardinals will likely head to the Gator Bowl this season. Petrino came to Louisville from Auburn where he served as offensive coordinator in 2002 on the Tigers’ 9-4 Citrus Bowl Championship team. Petrino gained NFL experience with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2001) and worked collegiately as an assistant at Louisville (1998), Utah State (1995-97), Nevada (1994), Arizona State (1992-93), Idaho (1989-91), Weber State (1984, 1987-88) and Carroll College (1983, 1985-86). He served as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at most of those stops. Born in Lewiston, Montana, Petrino was a two-time NAIA All-American at quarterback and four-year basketball letterman at Carroll College in Helena, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1983. Petrino attended Capital High School in Helena.
RADIO & TV COVERAGE
SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALL RIGHT
On Saturday night UConn will appear on either ESPN or ESPN2 for the eighth time over the past two seasons. While it will be UConn’s sixth primetime appearance out of those eight, it will be its first one not on a week night. Ron Franklin (play-by-play), Bob Davie (color) and Holly Rowe (sidelines) will call the action.
RADIO COVERAGE
For the 14th 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 to the game with Arnold Dean and Kevin Nathan. The UConn Football Radio Network also includes WILI 1400-AM in Willimantic, WXLM, 102.3-FM in New London, WLIS 1420-AM in Old Saybrook, WMRD 1150-AM in Middletown and WLAD 800-AM in Danbury. UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet at WTIC.com.
SERIES NOTES
SEARCHING FOR A WIN IN THE COLD KENTUCKY RAIN
The Huskies are 1-2 all-time against teams from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. UConn is 0-1 all-time against Louisville, dropping a 41-22 decision at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on Sept. 30, 2000 during the first year of UConn’s Division I-A transitional period. The Huskies dropped a 45-14 decision to Kentucky in Lexington on Sept. 11, 1999 when UConn was still amongst the Division I-AA ranks. The Huskies defeated Division I-AA member Murray State, 52-14, on Sept. 4, 2004 at Rentschler Field. UConn is 1-1 against the “new” BIG EAST schools thus far in 2005, defeating South Florida at home but losing at Cincinnati.
MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME
No Huskies hail from Kentucky and no Cardinals are Connecticut natives. In its football history, UConn has had one Kentuckian earn a varsity letter, Louisville’s Corey Taylor (Trinity Catholic HS) who played in nine games as a running back in 1995...Four different Cardinals (Jeremy Seguin, Antoine Sharp, Brandon Sharp and Jason Spitz) played at The Bolles School in Jacksonville with UConn co-captain Deon McPhee...UConn wide receiver Ellis Gaulden and Louisville DB E.K. Sawyerr were teammates at Godby High School in Tallahassee...Randy Edsall (1994-97) and Bobby Petrino (1999-2001) both served as assistants under Tom Coughlin with the Jacksonville Jaguars...Both UConn AD Jeff Hathaway and Louisville AD Tom Jurich served as AD at Colorado State immediately prior to taking their current jobs....U of L Director of Marketing and Louisville native Teresa Lowry worked at UConn from 2002-04 and, behind the scenes, was instrumental in helping build sufficient enthusiasm to see UConn’s average attendance rise from an average of 15,807 in its last year of play at Memorial Stadium (2002) to an average of 37,059 in 2003 during Rentschler Field’s inaugural season. As a trade, UConn’s football marketing staff is now bolstered by U of L graduate Lisa Turner.
HUSKIES VS. RANKED TEAMS
This week, UConn is facing a ranked Division I-A team for the seventh time overall and looking for its first such win. It is the third time this year that UConn has faced a ranked team, curiously all of which stood at No. 16 at game time. On Nov. 2, UConn lost by a 45-13 score at No. 16 West Virginia in its last encounter with a top 25 foe. Earlier this year, on Sept, 17, UConn lost by a 28-13 score at No. 16 Georgia Tech. Louisville is presently No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 17 in the coaches poll. The Huskies have only once seen a ranked team at Rentschler Field, falling, 31-19, to No. 17 West Virginia on Oct. 13, 2004. UConn has also lost twice to ranked Virginia Tech teams on the road, and fell at No. 1 Miami on Oct. 5, 2002 at the Orange Bowl. Coupled with their earlier meetings this season with Georgia Tech and West Virginia, this marks the first time that the Huskies have ever faced more than one ranked team in the same Division I-A season.
IT’S CALLED TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA
In three of its last four losses to ranked teams, including both of its losses this year, UConn has scored 13 points. UConn lost at No. 5 Virginia Tech, 47-13, on Sept. 27, 2003, lost at No. 16 Georgia Tech, 28-13, on Sept. 17, 2005 and lost 45-13 at No. 16 West Virginia on Nov. 2, 2005. The gap in this string is a 31-19 loss to No. 17 West Virginia on Oct. 13, 2004. Whether the opponent is ranked or not, the number has not been a good one to the Huskies. UConn has not won any game in which it has scored 13 points since a 13-3 win at Richmond on Oct. 28, 1989. UConn has not won on the 13th day of a month since beating Northeastern on Sept. 13, 1997, losing each of its five such games since.
SQUAD NOTES
IT’S HARD TO KEEP GOOD MEN DOWN
UConn is now 9-4 in games following a loss since Oct. 26, 2002. The Huskies returned triumphantly to Rentschler Field last week after a 24-0 shutout loss at Pittsburgh two weeks prior in its last action. UConn did not avenge its previous three losses as the Huskies lost to Rutgers, 26-24, on Oct. 22 a week after falling, 28-13, at Cincinnati on Oct. 15. UConn followed the Rutgers loss with a 45-13 defeat at No. 16 West Virginia on Nov. 2 and another at Pittsburgh a week later. The other exception during this stretch was last Nov. 13 when Georgia Tech beat UConn after an Oct. 30 loss at Syracuse. Prior to this year, UConn had not lost four games in a row since dropping four straight from Sept. 28-Oct. 26, 2002, losing successive games against Ball State, Miami, Temple and Vanderbilt.
BOWL ELIGIBILITY, WINNING RECORD, IN THE CARDS???
With a win this week against Louisville, UConn would improve to 6-5 on the seasona nd become bowl eligible for the third consecutive season. The Huskies were bowl eligible in 2003 with a 9-3 record but, as an independent, were not selected for an at-large bowl bid. Last year, UConn completed its regular season at 7-4 and, with the benefit of BIG EAST bowl connections, went on to both earn a berth in, and win, the Motor City Bowl. The Huskies have never finished a season below .500 in the Division I-A era. In 2002, UConn went 6-6 during its inaugrual Division I-A campaign. The Huskies have not finished four consecutive seasons with a .500 or better record since a run of five straight seasons from 1986-1990.
KINGS OF PAIN
Although head coach Randy Edsall has refused to use it as a crutch 18 players on UConn’s preseason two-deep have missed at least one game this season due to injury. The latest addition was backup left tackle Matt Wood who hurt his knee in practice prior to the Pittsburgh game. The epidemic crested (hopefully) during consecutive games against Syracuse (Oct. 7) and Cincinnati (Oct. 15) when UConn lost a total of eight starters (QB Matt Bonislawski - collarbone, CB Ernest Cole - arm, DE Dan Davis - ankle, QB D.J. Hernandez - wrist, LB Danny Lansanah - stinger, LB Taurien Sowell - ankle, KR/PR Larry Taylor - knee and WR Brandon Young - ankle) to injury, several of them for the season. In addition to these eight, starting free safety M.J. Estep saw only limited action during the month of October with a broken thumb suffered at Georgia Tech on Sept. 17. Starting fullback Lou Allen was added to the list after breaking a finger against West Virginia. UConn has spent the entire season without six members of its preseason two-deep in center Joe Akers (neck), DT Afa Anoai (knee), PK Tony Ciaravino (thigh), FS Ricky McCollum (shoulder), LB Julius Williams (knee). Additionally, in practice the week following against Buffalo, UConn lost WR Ellis Gaulden for the year with a knee injury. Starting right tackle Craig Berry only played on three place kicks at Georgia Tech due to pneumonia and key special teamer Jahi Smith missed the Liberty game with a concussion. In part due to these injuries, UConn has seen 21 different players make their first career start during the 2005 season, including three quarterbacks and 12 in all on offense.
NOVEMBER REIGN
The Huskies are 10-3 in November over the past four seasons combined, its entire tenure in Division I-A. The Huskies have never lost at home in November as a Division I-A program, compiling a 2-0 mark at Memorial Stadium and a 4-0 record at Rentschler Field. UConn’s loss at Georgia Tech on Nov. 13, 2004 snapped a winning streak in the month of November that dated back to 2001, as UConn had posted a perfect 7-0 mark in the calendar’s penultimate month over the combined 2002 and 2003 seasons. In 2003, the Huskies were a perfect 3-0 in November with wins over Western Michigan (Nov. 1), Rutgers (Nov. 8) and Wake Forest (Nov. 15). Those wins came on the heels of a 4-0 November in 2002 as the Huskies topped Florida Atlantic (Nov. 2), Kent State (Nov. 9), Navy (Nov. 16) and Iowa State (Nov. 23). The Huskies defeated Buffalo (Nov. 20) and Rutgers (Nov. 25) in November of 2004. The Huskies went 1-2 in 2005, beating South Florida (Nov. 26) but losing road games in tough environments at No. 16 West Virginia (Nov. 2) and Pittsburgh (Nov. 12). UConn’s last November loss, prior to Georgia Tech in 2004, came on Nov. 24, 2001 when the Huskies lost to Temple at Franklin Field in Philadelphia in a contest that was rescheduled after the September 11 terrorist attacks. In addition to its 10-3 November mark, UConn is 1-0 in December play after defeating Toledo, 39-10, in the 2004 Motor City Bowl.
BETTER NOT POUT, I’M TELLING YOU WHY
On September 1, UConn stared down the nation’s longest schedule and, 94 days later, is ready to wrap it up against Louisville. It marks the second consecutive season, and third time overall, that the Huskies have played in December, but the first time in which the game was planned. UConn is 1-1 all-time in December and 1-0 in the Division I-A era. Last year, UConn made its bowl game debut, defeating MAC Champion Toledo, 39-10, in the 2004 Motor City Bowl on Dec. 27. In 1998, UConn qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs for the first and onyl time. The Huskies advanced to the quarterfinal round but lost, 52-30, at Georgia Southern on Dec. 5, 1998. As the 2005 season has played out, UConn now shares the distinction of playing on both the first permissible regular season competition date and the last with UCF. The Golden Knights faced South Carolina in Columbia on Sept. 1 and following one of the biggest turn-arounds in NCAA history, will play host to the Conference USA Championship Game on Saturday.
HUSKIES EARN HIGH MARKS AT OBEDIENCE SCHOOL
UConn is the least penalized team in the BIG EAST in terms of both penalties (64) and yards (475). At 47.5 penalty yards per game, UConn ranks 25th nationally.
LET IT SNOW. LET IT SNOW. LET IT SNOW.
Against South Florida on Nov. 26, UConn improved to 5-1 since 1994 in games played below 40-degrees, including a 3-0 mark as a Division I-A program and a 4-0 record at home overall. The 33-degree game time temperature against USF was UConn’s lowest since a 30-degree game against UMass on Nov. 18, 1995 at Memorial Stadium in Storrs. Saturday’s long-range forecast is for a high of 39 degrees, dipping to a night-time low of 23.
DATE TEMP OPPONENT SITE RESULT 11/18/95 30 Massachusetts Storrs, Conn. W, 20-7 11/15/97 38 Massachusetts Amherst, Mass. W, 49-16 11/18/00 33 Ball State Muncie, Ind. L, 0-29 11/2/02 37 Florida Atlantic Storrs, Conn. W, 61-14 11/8/03 39 Rutgers East Hartford, Conn. W, 38-31 11/26/05 33 South Florida East Hartford, Conn. W, 15-10HUSKIES HOPE TO CONTINUE REVERSING TRENDS
It has been a tale of two seasons so far for UConn in 2005 as the Huskies rolled to a 4-1 start behind the nation’s leading defense and a ferocious rushing attack, but the team faltered, losing four straight. UConn improved in many facets of the game at Pittsburgh on Nov. 12, despite losing the game, and the Huskies built upon that performance in their win against USF on Nov. 26. UConn made good progress against USF in the italicized categories below.
STAT FIRST 5 NEXT 4 VS. USF Rushing Offense 251.8 104.2 160 Total Offense 381.4 269.2 241 Scoring Offense 36.6 13.5 15 Rushing Defense 95.6 191.2 83 Passing Defense 129.8 163.8 168Total Defense
225.4 355.0 251 Scoring Defense 9.6 30.8 10 Turnover Margin +8 -5 +3HOMEWARD BOUND
UConn is playing each of its final two games at home after playing just two games at Rentschler Field between Sept. 10 and Nov. 26, a span of 77 days. This will mark the first time that UConn has finished a season with consecutive home dates since 1984 when the Huskies lost to Boston University and Rhode Island at Memorial Stadium to wrap up their campaign. It is the second time in school history that UConn will play twice after Thanksgiving, joining the 1998 season which saw the Huskies advance to the quarterfinals of the Division I-AA playoffs.
ONLY SECOND TIME FOR CONSECUTIVE 4-1 STARTS
UConn began the season at 4-1 for the second consecutive year after also starting the 2004 season on a 4-1 clip. The only other instance of UConn winning four of its first five games in consecutive seasons came in 1997-98.
100-0 RUN
The Huskies opened their 2005 season by outscoring their opposition 100-0 over a span of 122:27. UConn shutout Buffalo, 38-0, and Liberty, 59-0, to open the season, and scored a field goal on its opening drive at Georgia Tech in week three. The Yellow Jackets soon scored though when Taylor Bennett hit Calvin Johnson for a 42-yard touchdown on Tech's first play from scrimmage at 12:13. Stretching from Sept. 17 back to the 11:47 mark of the third quarter of the 2004 Motor City Bowl, UConn scored a total of 110 unanswered points over a span of 149:14.
SUMNER'S TIME DONE COME AND GONE, MY OH MY
With UConn’s win over USF, head coach Randy Edsall passed Sumner Dole for fourth place on UConn's all-time coaching wins list with 37. Dole recorded of 36 wins from 1923-33. Also a renowned baseball coach who led UConn to the College World Series in 1957 and 1959, J.O. Christian is the torchbearer for UConn gridiron mentors with 66 career wins from 1939-49. Tom Jackson won 62 games from 1983-93 while Robert Ingalls' teams beat 49 foes from 1952-63.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!!!
UConn held a five-game winning streak prior to its loss at Georgia Tech on Sept. 17, one which stood tied with Oregon State for the fifth-longest in the nation at the time. This string (from Nov. 20, 2004-Sept. 11, 2005) was UConn's third winning streak of at least five games during its brief 42-game Division I-A existence. The Huskies rattled off seven straight wins from Oct. 18, 2003-Sept. 11, 2004 and six straight from Nov. 2, 2002 to Sept. 6, 2003. Prior to these three runs, UConn hadn't strung together five consecutive wins since taking seven straight from Nov. 19, 1994 to Oct. 14, 1995.
CONN-TROLLING THE FLOW OF THE GAME
A telling sign of UConn's strong performance on both sides of the ball during its brief tenure as a Division I-A program has been its ability to both record and prevent long drives. Since the start of the 2002 season, UConn's offense has strung together 39 scoring drives of at least 80 yards while the Husky defense has surrendered just 19 such marches. UConn also holds an 8-3 advantage over its opponents in the number of 90-yard and over drives since becoming a I-A program.
CONNECTICUT'S MOST SUCCESSFUL THREE-YEAR RUN EVER
The Huskies have posted .500 or better seasons in each of their past three campaigns, the school's first three Division I-A seasons, finishing at 6-6 in 2002, 9-3 in 2003 and 8-4 in 2004. The 23 combined wins over the 2002-04 seasons mark the winningest three-year span in school history. UConn had previously won 22 games over a three-year period three times, from 1996-98, 1987-89 and 1986-88. The school-record for most wins over a four-year span is 30, set from 1986-89 and matched from 1995-98. UConn would equal that mark with seven wins in 2005.
HUSKIES DOMINATING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
Over the past 38 games, UConn has outgained its opponent 30 times. The first exception came when UConn was outgained by Rutgers 455-321 on Nov. 8, 2003 in its home finale, a game the Huskies won 38-31. It happened three times in 2004, coming on Sept. 17 at Boston College when the Eagles held a 334-291 edge, on Oct. 13 when West Virginia held a 462-365 advantage and on Nov. 13 when Georgia Tech outgained UConn 410-225. The Yellow Jackets repeated the feat on Sept. 17, 2005 as did Rutgers on Oct. 22 and WVU on Nov. 2. In a losing effort, USF outgained UConn 251-241 on Nov. 26. This stretch, like many UConn trends, dates back to a disheartening 28-24 loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 26, 2002. Over this 38 game span, UConn has averaged 419.8 yards per game of total offense and 310.7 yards per game of total defense.
GAME BALLS
After each UConn victory, head coach Randy Edsall awards game balls for the team’s top performer on offense, defense and special teams. This year’s game ball recipients will receive a slightly different prize. UConn has switched to Nike 3005 model game balls from the Wilson GST model balls that the team used from 2002-04. In addition to the regular 2005 recipients listed below, Edsall presented a special game ball to strength and conditioning coordinator Jerry Martin after the Huskies defeated Syracuse, his alma mater.
Buffalo: Matt Bonislawski (offense), Deon McPhee (defense), Larry Taylor (special teams).
Liberty: Matt Bonislawski (offense), Danny Lansanah (defense), Matt Nuzie (special teams).
Army: Terry Caulley (offense), Darius Butler (defense), Graig Vicidomino (special teams).
Syracuse: D.J. Hernandez (offense), Shawn Mayne (defense), Larry Taylor (special teams).
South Florida: Lou Allen (offense), Entire Unit (defense), Darius Butler (special teams).
Active Career Game Ball Leaders: Terry Caulley (5), Larry Taylor (5), Cornell Brockington (4), James Hargrave (3), Matt Nuzie (3), Matt Bonislawski (2), Darius Butler (2), Dan Murray (2), Jason Williams (2), Lou Allen, Allan Barnes, D.J. Hernandez, Shane Hussar, Danny Lansanah, Shawn Mayne, Deon McPhee, Grant Preston, Graig Vicdomino, Brandon Young.
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 the dress list for that week’s game. The weekly honorees are listed below.
Game Offense Defense Buffalo OL Jared Pratt DB Terry Baltimore Liberty WR Todd Dorcelus DL Brandon Dillon Georgia Tech OL Dan Ryan LB Rob Theoudele Army OL Lawrence Green LB Bernie Huzar Syracuse FB Stanley Williams LB Rob Theoudele Cincinnati OL Alex LaMagdelaineLB Bernie Huzar
Rutgers TE Rob Getek LB Carl Teague West Virginia RB Donald Brown II DE Nate Tucker Pittsburgh WR Matt D’Agata LB Matt Ashmead South Florida OT Bobby Fry DB Kitt PommellsAN ELITE EIGHT
UConn finished the 2004 season ranked 19th nationally in total offense (429.8 ypg) and 27th in total defense (327.42 ypg). Nationally, UConn was one of only eight well-balanced teams to rank in the top 27 of both categories, joining Auburn, California, Louisville, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and USC. All but No. 23 Virginia finished the year ranked in the top nine of both polls, while the Cavaliers did climb as high as number six during the season. The elite octet also includes three of the four BCS bowl game winners (USC - Orange, Auburn - Sugar and Texas - Rose).
NFL UPDATE
A total of six members of the 2004 UConn football team, and eight former Huskies overall, worked their way into NFL training camps this fall. Three Huskies have made their respective squads, giving UConn three active players in the league for the first time since 1989 when Glenn Antrum (New England), John Dorsey (Green Bay) and Eric Napolski (Indianapolis) all carried the UConn flag in the professional ranks. Alfred Fincher was a third round selection of the New Orleans Saints and was joined there by free agent signee Keron Henry. Fincher broke his right hand in a preseason game but made his NFL debut on Oct. 9 at Green Bay. Henry was cut on Sept. 3 but briefly retained for the Saints’ practice squad. Dan Orlovsky was a fifth round selection of the Detroit Lions and made the club as the number three quarterback behind the struggling tandem of Joey Harrington and Jeff Garcia. Tyler King (Arizona), Ryan Krug (New England) and Justin Perkins (Kansas City) all signed free agent deals but did not make their respective teams. Krug and King are presently serving their second tours with the Patriots and Cardinals practice squads, respectively. Uyi Osunde, a team captain in 2003, was in Buffalo’s camp after spending the 2004 season on the Bills’ practice squad, but was cut by the team on Aug. 28. Brian Kozlowski is suiting up at tight end for the Washington Redskins in 2005, his 12th season in the NFL. Every one of these players, except for Kozlowski, have returned for a UConn game this fall.
FEWER FRESH FACES
With the development of the Husky program the past few seasons, UConn has been able to redshirt more players and rely less on true freshmen to make an immediate impact just months removed from high school. Only six true freshmen have seen action so far in 2005 (Anthony Barksdale, Cody Brown, Dennis Brown, Jimmy McClam, Courtney Robinson and walk-on Anthony Rouzier), almost all of them in either reserve roles or on special teams. However, while the number of true freshmen playing has been small, their roles have expanded due to UConn’s injury issues. Four different true freshmen have started a game for UConn in 2005. Cody Brown started at defensive end at Cincinnati and Dennis Brown started at quarterback against Rutgers. Injuries forced Dennis into action while ramping up Cody’s role. Rouzier started at middle linebacker at Pittsburgh and Barksdale took over at fullback due to injury. Eight true freshmen appeared for UConn a year ago while six true freshmen played for the Huskies in 2003.
WE ARE THE WORLD
While the overwhelming majority of the 2005 UConn football team is comprised of players from the northeastern United States and Florida, the Huskies have a far greater international influence than a typical college football team with players hailing from three different foreign countries. UConn has two Canadian players, in the Quebecois duo of Shawn Mayne and Jason Ward. Offensive tackle Aloys Manga is a native of Duana, Cameroon while defensive tackle Deon McPhee is from the Bahamas.
CONNECTICUT CO-CAPTAINS
Senior linebacker James Hargrave and defensive tackle Deon McPhee were named as team captains prior to the start of spring drills. It marked a departure for UConn which typically names captains after the conclusion of spring ball, but Randy Edsall thought it was a better idea to have a leadership group in place earlier with such a young team. With only 51 varsity letters earned by the combined 2005 Husky squad, it ranks as the fifth least experienced in the nation.
FULLER EARNS COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONOR
Junior Rhema Fuller was recently named to the ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District I team. Fuller is the second Husky in the Division I-A era to be so honored, joining Shaun Feldeisen who earned the honor in 2003. Feldeisen went on to earn second team Academic All-America accolades that season. Fuller has started every game this year at defensive tackle and made 33 tackles, 4.5 of the for a loss, while maintaining a 3.56 GPA as a finance major. The District I team covers all Division I-A and I-AA teams in New England and New York. Fuller now qualifies for inclusion on the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.
HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
UConn will recognize the contributions of 13 seniors prior to the Louisville game during the Hartford Courant CareerBuilder.com Senior Salute. Student-athletes being recognized are QB Shane Fogarty, TE/FB Ziggy Goryn, FB James Hargrave, LB Bernie Huzar, OT Aloys Manga, DE Shawn Mayne, DT Deon McPhee, OT Grant Preston, WR David Sanchez, WR Aaron Smith, LB Taurien Sowell, QB Peder von Harten and WR Jason Williams. UConn is 3-0 on Senior Day in the Division I-A era.
OFFENSE NOTES
BONES BREAKS BACK INTO THE STARTING LINEUP
Junior Matt Bonislawski recovered quickly from a cracked collarbone and made a surprise return to the UConn starting lineup on Nov. 12 at Pittsburgh. Despite being shutout, the Huskies moved the ball better than they had in recent weeks as the Pittsburgh-area native completed over 50-percent of his passes at Heinz Field, home of his beloved Steelers, and personally accounted for 191 yards of total offense. In UConn’s next game, he took several hard hits and fought through tremendous pain to guide the Huskies to victory over USF. Bonislawski started each of UConn's first five games this year before being injured against Syracuse on Oct. 7. Redshirt freshman D.J. Hernandez started the following week at Cincinnati, but broke a bone in his left (non-throwing) wrist during that contest and true freshman Dennis Brown was pressed into action on Oct. 22 against Rutgers. Brown played valiantly both against both the Scarlet Knights and on the road at No. 16 West Virginia, but couldn't pull out a win.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU-CONN???
Against Rutgers on Oct. 22 UConn started its third quarterback in as many games as true freshman Dennis Brown stepped under center following injuries to Matt Bonislawski and D.J. Hernandez. For the second straight Saturday, a Husky signal caller made his first career start. Matt Bonislawski started each of the first five games of the year, but cracked his left clavicle against Syracuse on Oct. 7. Eight days later, redshirt freshman D.J. Hernandez made his starting debut at Cincinnati but fractured a bone in his left (non-throwing) wrist and missed the Rutgers game. Brown’s debut was steady even though it came is a losing effort. He completed more than half of his passes (18-of-35) for 192 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception, thrown deep down field in desperation with seconds remaining in the game. He also showed good mobility. Prior to this year, no quarterback had made a first career start for the Huskies since 2001. Dan Orlovsky had provided ample stability, starting each of UConn's last 41 games entering the 2005 season, including all 36 contests of the Division I-A era.
QUARTERBACKS IN FIRST CAREER START SINCE 1999
Name Date A-C-I Yds. TD Result Ryan Tracey 9/2/00 49-23-1 340 3 L, 25-32 at EMich Luke Richmond 11/4/00 20-8-2 113 1 L, 10-66 vs. MTSU Chris Willis 11/11/00 28-20-2 168 1 L, 21-26 vs. URI Keron Henry 9/1/01 29-10-1 110 0 L, 10-52 at VTech Dan Orlovsky 10/6/01 32-14-1 180 1 W, 19-0 vs. EMich Matt Bonislawski 9/1/05 18-11-1 121 2 W, 38-0 vs. Buffalo D.J. Hernandez 10/15/05 43-19-1 191 2 L, 17-28 at Cincy Dennis Brown 10/22/05 35-18-1 196 2 L, 24-26 vs. Rut.D.J. TURNS IT UP
Redshirt freshman D.J. Hernandez was elevated to starting quarterback in the wake of Matt Bonislawski cracking his left clavicle (collar bone) on Oct. 7. Bonislawski suffered the injury in the first quarter against Syracuse and Hernandez came on to guide the Huskies to a 26-7 victory, largely on the heels of his 86 rushing yards, averaging 5.7 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown. He made his first career start the following week on Oct. 15 at Cincinnati and completed 19 of his 43 passes for 191 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a 28-17 UConn loss. He also gained 70 yards rushing in a gutsy performance as he played most of the game with a fractured bone in his left wrist that presently has him sidelined. Had the Cincinnati game gone differently, Hernandez would have became the first Husky signal caller to win on the road in his first career start since Sept. 30, 1995 when Shane Stafford led UConn to a 39-20 win at Yale. Just like Hernandez against Syracuse, Stafford saw his first significant game action in relief of an injured starter (Brandon Bailey), leading the team to 26 points in a home victory (26-25 vs. Buffalo) as a freshman. He went on to set many school seasonal and career passing records that stood until the Dan Orlovsky era.
BONES' BREAKTHROUGH
Against Buffalo on Sept. 1, Matt Bonislawski became the sixth quarterback to make his first career start under Randy Edsall and just the second to win that game, joining Dan Orlovsky. Completing 11-of-18 passes, he was also only the second to complete over 50-percent of his passes, joining Chris Willis, and the second to throw multiple touchdowns, joining Ryan Tracey's three. Against Liberty on Sept. 10, he became the first Husky quarterback to win his first two starts since Brian Hoffmann won three straight to begin his tenure as a starter in 1998.
NEBRASKA IN BLUE????
While UConn has featured a balanced attack the past three years, tilting slightly in favor of passing the ball, the trends have been drastically shifted in 2005. The Huskies have 448 running attempts to their credit at the moment, opposed by just 275 passing attempts for a ratio of 62-percent runs. In 2002, UConn was the epitome of balance, running both 421 passing and rushing plays after adjusting the team's sacks allowed, which the NCAA counts as rushing plays. UConn ran for 290 yards on 55 carries against Buffalo in the season opener on Sept. 1, both of which were highs for the Division I-A era, and has yet to look back. The Huskies surpassed each total a week later when UConn gained 376 yards on 62 carries against Liberty. The 376 yards on the ground against Liberty was the third best performance in school history and the best since gaining 394 at Yale on Sept. 30, 1995. UConn had not rushed for more than 290 yards in a game since scampering for 317 in a 45-7 win against Boston University on Nov. 1, 1997 during the Terriers' sad final days as a varsity program. The Huskies turned around and nearly topped the 300 mark again on Oct. 7 when they ran for 297 in a win over Syracuse on 58 attempts. Conversely, UConn's 15 passing attempts in the Syracuse game were its fewest since attempting just 13 passes against Massachusetts on November 18, 1995. UConn ranks 33rd in the nation in rushing offense at 183.60 yards per game. The Huskies have not averaged more than 200 yards per game on the ground for a season since 1995 when UConn averaged 229.9 ypg.
A BONUS FROM BONES, D.J. AND DENNIS
On the season, UConn has received 443 yards rushing from Matt Bonislawski, D.J. Hernandez and Dennis Brown combined. Bonislawski's 26-yard touchdown run against Buffalo was the first by a UConn quarterback in 27 games, stretching back to Nov. 9, 2002 when Dan Orlovsky scored from one-yard out against Kent State in the final game at Memorial Stadium. It was the longest TD run by a UConn signal caller since Peter Lane scored on a 30-yard rush against Northeastern on Sept. 14, 1985 at Memorial Stadium. Hernandez's 86 rushing yards against Syracuse nearly made him the first Husky quarterback to cross the century mark since Oct.25, 1980 when Ken Sweitzer rushed for 120 yards against Maine.
TOTAL RE-CAULL
UConn welcomed the return of junior tailback Terry Caulley in 2005. With his knee not yet 100-percent recovered from a serious injury suffered on September 27, 2003 at Virginia Tech, head coach Randy Edsall decided prior to the start of fall 2004 drills to air on the side of caution and redshirt Caulley for the season. Caulley, who played as a true freshman in 2002 when he was named to the Freshman All-America team, has two years of eligibility remaining. The shifty Caulley was leading the nation with 601 rushing yards in 2003 when he suffered a season-ending knee injury on a non-contact play as he made a cut on only his second carry of the game against the Hokies.
CAULL-ECTING 100-YARD GAMES
Terry Caulley has reached the century mark in 11 of his 25 career games played. His 11 career 100-yard rushing games rank second in school history, just one shy of equaling the benchmark number of 12 set by Vinny Clements from 1968-70.
LONG DISTANCE CAULLEY
Until last week, Terry Caulley is one of only nine players in the country to average over 100 rushing yards per game (minimum 2,000 career yards. Caulley saw his average dip to 99.8 yards per game as a Husky this week (2495 yards in 25 games). DeAngelo Williams of Memphis leads the nation with an average of 134.6. Cornell Brockington is 28th on the list, averaging 68.7 ypg for his career.
HUSKIES CELEBRATE Y2K
UConn is one of just four schools in the nation to have two active players with over 2,000 career rushing yards. Terry Caulley has 2,495 to his credit while Cornell Brockington has gained 2,198 career yards on the ground for the blue and white. UConn is joined in this regard by North Texas (Jamario Thomas and Patrick Cobbs), Oklahoma (Adrian Peterson and Kejuan Jones), TCU (Lonta Hobbs and Robert Merrill) and USC (Reggie Bush and LenDale White).
EDSALL'S RUNNING NON-ISSUE
While the depth chart includes an "or" at tailback between team-players Cornell Brockington and Terry Caulley, head coach Randy Edsall views this as a strength of his entire team as opposed to a lightning rod for controversy. Mutually respecting each other, both players are content to share time and Edsall will use both regularly, citing the creativity it will allow the offense to have by using the two weapons either situationally or in tandem. In releasing the depth chart on August 25, Edsall said "to me, we really don't have a starter in the traditional sense of the role. I feel totally confident in both (of their) abilities which they have each demonstrated consistently both in games the past few years and practices this fall. They are both going to get a significant amount of playing time this year. There isn't a true starter there. I look at them as equals for the most part and they can both do many things to help this team." A quick glance at the stats enforces this assessment. Entering the 2005 season, Brockington had 1,861 career rushing yards while Caulley had 1,854. Caulley had rushed for 22 touchdowns while Brockington had rushed for 21. Brockington had 41 career receptions for 295 yards and two touchdowns while Caulley had 39 catches for 286 yards and two touchdowns.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
UConn has an aggregate total of just 18 varsity letters earned by its current offensive players, tying for the second fewest of any team in the nation. Navy returns just a combined total of 17 offensive letters while UConn's 18 equals Louisiana-Lafayette. Although inexperienced, the current two-deep is loaded with some of the most talented players to ever come into the Husky program. UConn's recruiting has advanced dramatically with the ever-improving stature of the team and UConn's facilities. Proof positive that a low number of returnees can still be reason for optimism is the team in fourth place directly behind UConn and ULL...near-unanimous No. 1 Southern California.
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL
A year ago, UConn was benefiting from an offensive line that combined to start an incredible 174 career games and powered the Huskies to the BIG EAST's top spot in both scoring and total offense. In 2005, seven of the 10 student-athletes on UConn's opening day two-deep had never played a single down on the Huskies' offensive line prior to this season. Grant Preston (45 career starts) and Craig Berry (19 career starts) are the two veteran members of the line corps and have shifted roles to anchor the group from the tackle sports. Those two are being asked to help bring the unit along, in addition to position coaches Norries Wilson (centers and guards) and Dave McMichael (tackles). Randy Edsall has taken non-line duties off of the plates of both assistants so that they can focus more on the daily development of the linemen. Reports out of both spring practice and fall camp were that the group was progressing quickly, but practice experience is no substitute for game experience, something the group sorely lacked heading into the season. In 2005, UConn started redshirt freshmen making their UConn debuts at both center (Trey Tonsing) and right guard (Immanuel Hutcherson) on opening day. The starting left guard was junior Matt Applebaum, a converted defensive lineman who had played sparingly in eight career games on defense. Of the five backups, three are redshirt freshmen and only sophomore left guard Brian Kersmanc (three games played) had ever seen action for the blue and white prior to the season opener against Buffalo. Redshirt freshman William Beatty made his first career start at Georgia Tech on Sept. 17 when Berry was slowed by pneumonia and has since supplanted him as a starter. Additionally, Keith Gray has taken over the starting role at center after spending his entire UConn career, prior to August, as a defensive tackle.
LET'S GET IT STARTED
UConn scored on its opening drive in each of its first four games this year, none of the last five, and then got back on board the quick start wagon against USF. UConn is 4-1 when scoring on its opening drive and 1-4 when it does not.
FINISHING IN THE RED IS GOOD
You wouldn't want your financial ledgers to be full of red ink, but UConn's 2004 late season success was in part due to finishing its time in the red zone in style. After going 5-for-5 in the regular season finale at Rutgers with all five scores being touchdowns and 6-of-7 in the Motor City Bowl, UConn scored on 43 of its 48 total red zone possessions last season (90%) with 27 touchdowns. UConn went on a similar tear to wrap up the 2003 season. The Huskies entered the Duke game on Sept. 11, 2004 having scored on each of its last 29 possessions in the red zone, dating back to its Oct. 18, 2003 game at Kent State. In the Division I-A era, UConn has tallied on 160 of 185 (86%) of its red zone possession with only two turnovers during that span. Of the 25 non-scoring drives, 16 came as a result of a missed field goal attempt. UConn’s recent outing at Pitt though was its worst of the I-A era in the red zone. UConn was 0-for-3 at Pittsburgh on Nov. 12 with a blocked field goal, interception and the expiration of the first half. The Pitt game was just the fourth time in 46 I-A games that UConn has failed to score twice after reaching the red zone.
SHARING THE WEALTH
Edsall has made a point of having a deep rotation at wide receiver throughout his time at UConn. The plan is the same for this year with senior Jason Williams the most experienced of a group that includes junior Brandon Young and several promising freshmen and sophomores. In fact, eight different Huskies caught a pass in the season opener against Buffalo even though UConn completed just 14 passes in the game. Through nine games, 13 different Huskies have caught a pass in 2005 while UConn's 11 TD passes this year have been spread out to six different receivers. Regardless of who ends up in the mix, Edsall will keep them involved. During the 2004 season, 13 different Huskies caught a pass, nine hit double digits in receptions and nine different UConn players have caught a touchdown pass. In 2003, 15 different players caught a pass for UConn and eight Huskies hit double figures in receptions. A total of 10 different Huskies caught a touchdown pass in 2003. The stats were similarly diverse in 2002 when seven different Huskies caught at least 20 passes which tied for the fourth in the nation during the regular season. The shared receptions has also created an even distribution of receiving yardage. Despite the fact that UConn has thrown for 11,009 passing yards over the past three-plus seasons combined (239.3 ypg), the Huskies have had just 11 100-yard receiving games, with six different receivers reaching the plateau (Shaun Feldeisen, Keron Henry, Dan Murray, Williams, O'Neil Wilson and Young).
DAN-IMAL HAS NOSE FOR THE END ZONE
Dan Murray caught a pair of passes from his tight end position on Sept. 1 against Buffalo, both of them good for touchdowns. With 7:50 to play in the second quarter, Murray used his 6-5, 244 pound frame to pull down a 15-yard touchdown pass over an undersized Bull defender. Just minutes later, Murray repeated his feat at 4:15 on a 22-yard TD grab in the end zone. It marked consecutive regular season games with two touchdown catches for Murray. He put up career highs with six catches for 135 yards and two TDs on Thanksgiving Day, 2004, helping UConn cap its regular season with a 41-35 win at Rutgers. It was the first 100-yard receiving game by a UConn tight end since Brian Kozlowski had 151 at Boston University on Nov. 14, 1992. Murray's nine career touchdown receptions rank fourth in UConn history amongst tight ends.
YOUNG IS RESTLESS
The Huskies welcomed back one of their top wide receivers for the 2005 season. Junior Brandon Young suffered a foot injury in a bad automobile accident in his native Maryland the weekend before fall 2004 training camp started and missed the entire season. In addition to his 28 receptions and four touchdowns as a sophomore in 2003, Young also contributed as a kickoff and punt returner. He returned triumphantly to the starting lineup against Liberty, leading UConn with four catches, 61 yards and a touchdown. He also led the Huskies in receiving the following week at Georgia Tech. Young had one catch for 15 yards in the season opener against Buffalo.
DEFENSE NOTES
HUSKIES STILL AMONGST TOP DEFENSES IN NATION
UConn ranks amongst the top 10 nationally in several defensive categories. UConn is second in the nation in passing defense (147.20 ypg), fourth in passing efficiency defense (93.97 rating) and the Huskies are also sixth in the nation in total defense, averaging 281.00 yards per game. The Huskies lead the BIG EAST in all of these categories. UConn is trying to become the first active member of the league to top the conference in total defense in consecutive seasons. UConn led the nation in total defense entering both the Syracuse (Oct. 7) and Cincinnati (Oct. 15) games. Two games ago at Pittsburgh, the Huskies held a team under 200 yards of total offense for the third time this season. After a steady 79-yard opening drive, Pitt had just 113 yards of total offense in the final three and a half quarters. Last week against USF, UConn held the Bulls to a season-low 83 yards rushing. USF entered the game ranked 12th nationally at 229.8 yards per game.
THIRD DOWN INEFFICIENCY
UConn's opponents have found third downs this year to be a tough row to hoe. UConn leads the nation in third down conversion defense at 23% (32-for-141). USF is second in the nation behind UConn with a rate of 26-percent. Helping UConn to this has been steady first and second down defense, forcing teams to convert from longer distances on third down. Only 24 times this year has UConn's defense faced a third down and three yards or less (2.4 per game). Of 141 third down conversion attempts faced by the Huskies this year, 85 have been of seven yards or longer (60%). Teams haven't fared much better when going for it on fourth down against UConn either as the Huskies are 4-for-17 (24%) in fourth down defense, ranking the Huskies sixth in the nation.
A SICKENING EIGHT-FOR-EIGHT
In each of the last eight games, an injury-riddled UConn has featured a different starting lineup on defense. UConn started a different middle linebacker in each of four straight games from Oct. 15-Nov. 12, a position that saw current New Orleans Saint Alfred Fincher start 35 of UConn’s 36 games between 2002-04. Taurien Sowell (Cincinnati), Danny Lansanah (Rutgers), Ryan Henegan (West Virginia) and Anthony Rouzier (Pittsburgh) were those four starters. Sowell returned from his ankle injury to start against USF on Nov. 26.
UCONN DEFENSE RECORDS (DUNKIN') DONUTS
UConn's 38-0 shutout of Buffalo on Sept. 1 and 59-0 shutout of Liberty on Sept. 10 were historic on several fronts. Coupled with its 29-0 shutout of Buffalo on Nov. 20, 2004 in its home finale, UConn recorded shutouts in consecutive home games for the first time since a run of three straight home shutouts from 1967-1968. The Huskies closed their 1967 home slate with a 3-0 win over Holy Cross on Nov. 25 and began their 1968 home schedule with shutout wins over Vermont (21-0 on Sept. 20) and Maine (29-0 on Oct. 19)…The 59-0 margin was UConn's most lopsided shutout since the school's 125-0 victory over the Newport Naval Training Station in 1949…It marked the first time that UConn has opened its season with consecutive shutouts since 1928 when the Huskies rolled through their first seven games without allowing a score, before dropping a 51-13 contest at Boston College on Nov. 24, 1928...The Buffalo game marked UConn's first shutout in a home season opener since a 7-0 whitewashing of Vermont on Sept. 23, 1972…UConn now has at least one shutout in three of its four Division I-A seasons, along with the blankings of Navy in 2002 and Buffalo in 2004. UConn has not recorded a shutout in three out of four seasons since 1967-70…Prior to Buffalo, UConn last shutout the same team in consecutive seasons by stopping Maine in both 1967 and 1968…Looking beyond the borders of the Nutmeg State, the Buffalo game marked only the second time ever that a BIG EAST school has opened its season with a shutout of a Division I-A opponent, the other being West Virginia's 34-0 win at Pittsburgh on Aug. 31, 1996.
MOST DOMINANT DEFENSE IN A DECADE
UConn is the first school in a decade to open its season with consecutive shutouts. The last time any team shutout each of its first two opponents was in 1996 when Auburn beat UAB 29-0 and Fresno State 62-0 to open the season. This early success though isn't a harbinger of great things to come for the Huskies as that Tiger team, under coach Terry Bowden, went 5-4 the rest of the regular season, surrendering a pedestrian average of 27.7 points per game. The closest any team had come to matching those 1996 Tigers since then were Texas Tech (1998), Virginia Tech (1998) and Kansas State (2002), each of which allowed just three points in its first two games combined, each throwing a shutout in one game and yielding only a field goal in the other. With another shutout this season, UConn would be the first team since 2002 to record three shutouts in a single season. Kansas State, North Texas and Texas all accomplished that feat in 2002.
FOUR HOURS BETWEEN SCORES
When freshman Nicholas Chestnut scored for Syracuse on a 33-yard pass from Perry Patterson with 9:24 to play in UConn's 26-7 win over the Orange it did more than just break up a shutout for that particular game. It snapped a shutout streak of 170:36 to open the season at Rentschler Field and an overall home shutout streak of 233:27 of game action that covered almost four full games. Before the Chestnut score, UConn had posted three consecutive home shutouts as the last time visitors had tallied at Rentschler Field came when Temple's Phil Goodman caught a six-yard TD pass from Walter Washington with 2:51 to play in a 45-31 Husky win on Oct. 23, 2004. Had UConn held on to the shutout for the remaining 9:24 of the Syracuse game, the Rentschler Field shutout steak would have reached a full calendar year as the Huskies' next home game is on Oct. 22 vs. Rutgers. UConn also held an overall shutout streak of 149:14 earlier this year, dating back to the 2004 Motor City Bowl's third quarter, that was snapped at Georgia Tech.
THE QUARTERBACK MUST GO DOWN
One of the many benefits of the two lopsided season-opening wins was that it allowed head coach Randy Edsall to use many of his young players in game situations and let them gain experience. Not only did they figuratively get their feet wet, but they also performed well once they got on the field, something that has helped the team through its recent rash of injuries. A total of 21 different UConn defenders have factored in a tackle for loss this year and 13 different Huskies recorded at least a half of a sack. All of last season, 17 different UConn players recorded a TFL and nine different players had a sack, numbers that UConn eclipsed after just four games this fall.
USUALLY NO NEED FOR THE RED ALERT SIREN
In eight of UConn’s 10 games this year (excluding Cincinnati and West Virginia), UConn's opponents reached the red zone just 11 times out of a total of 116 drives One of the 11 possessions resulted in seven points for the Huskies when Darius Butler ran an interception back 86 yards for a touchdown at Army. In the other two games, UConn hasn’t fared as well. The Bearcats found the red zone four times and West Virginia seven.
KING JAMES XXXII
Senior James Hargrave has done a solid job leading by example as the team’s lone returning starter at linebacker and a co-captain. Hargrave tops the Huskies in 2005 with 12 tackles for loss while ranking second with four sacks. He is third overall with 55 total tackles. When UConn seemed to lack fire at Cincinnati on Oct. 15, Hargrave responded with a career-high 3.5 TFLs in a 28-17 loss to the Bearcats. Hargrave ranks third in UConn history with his 41.5 career TFLs after passing Tyler King (2001-04) during the South Florida game. He has 251 total tackles in his Husky career.
BROWN NOSING A STARTING ROLE
Steady play by true freshman Cody Brown at defensive end this year earned him a start at Cincinnati, making him the first true freshman on either the offensive or defensive line to start a game in the Division I-A era. His play was one of the brighter spots for UConn defensively against the Bearcats as he made six tackles, including one for loss, and broke up a pass. For the season, Brown has 20 tackles, including five for a loss, with a sack, two pass break-ups and a forced fumble. He is by far the leading true freshmen tackler for UConn this year, as Jimmy McClam is second with just seven, mainly coming on special teams.
THE BUTLER DID IT. THE BUTLER DID IT. THE BUTLER DID IT.
Darius Butler tied a school, BIG EAST, and Michie Stadium record when he intercepted three passes in UConn's win at Army on Oct. 1. It is one of just five three-interception games in the nation this year to date and the first at UConn since 1984. Butler returned his interceptions for a school-record 122 yards, including an 86-yard touchdown. That run back was the third longest in school history and UConn's longest interception return since Dave Korponai ran one back 100 yards against Rhode Island on Nov. 17, 1962. Butler's 122 total return yards is the second-best effort in BIG EAST history, trailing only the 172 by Vann Washington of West Virginia on Oct. 29, 1994 against Louisiana Tech. The three interceptions tied, and the 122 yards broke, facility records for Army's fabled Michie Stadium which has seen many of college football's finest since it opened in 1924.
IT'S NO RUSE
True freshman walk-on Anthony Rouzier saw a start to his Husky career that none expected. A starter on the team's kickoff coverage unit, Rouzier played 23 snaps as a reserve linebacker late in routs of Liberty (14 plays) and Army (9). On those 23 defensive snaps, Rouzier made two interceptions, returning one 51 yards for a touchdown at Army. It was the longest interception return by a UConn linebacker since Jamal Lundy scored from 62 yards out against Temple on Oct. 19, 2002. His touchdown at Army, coupled with Darius Butler's 86-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Cadets, marked the first time that UConn has ever returned two interceptions for a touchdown in the same game. With a rash of injuries, Rouzier was promoted to the regular back-up at middle linebacker prior to the West Virginia game and saw ample game action against the Mountaineers. At Pittsburgh on Nov. 12 he became the first true freshman walk-on to start a game for UConn in the I-A era and picked up his first career sack.
BUFFALO AND LIBERTY NOT GIVEN FREEDOM TO MOVE
During the Buffalo game, the Bulls did not run a single offensive play from UConn territory while Liberty ran just four plays (all in the first quarter) from UConn territory. Neither team even got close enough to attempt a field goal. This was made possible by UConn forcing punts on 17 of Buffalo and Liberty's combined 24 possessions, including 10 three-and-outs.
THEY CALL IT FOOTBALL FOR A REASON
In the past two-plus seasons, UConn's defense has done a far better job than its opponents of forcing punts as the Huskies have been able to receive 226 punts while booting the ball away just 174 times. In 2003, UConn forced its opponents to punt a staggering 85 times (7.1 per game). By comparison, the UConn offense punted just 60 times in 2003. Amongst the seasonal highlights, the UConn defense swarmed over Buffalo's offense forcing 11 Bull punts out of 13 UB possessions. The trend continued in the 2004 season opener as UConn forced Murray State to punt 11 times on its 15 possessions. In all, UConn forced 73 punts in 2004 (6.0 per game) while the Huskies punted 54 times. UConn looks to see more of the same in 2005 as for the second consecutive year, UConn forced 11 punts on opening day, this time the victim was Buffalo. A turnover on downs was all that prevented UConn from a perfect 12-for-12 mark in punt forcing against the Bulls on Sept. 1. UConn forced another six punts the following week against Liberty, seven at Georgia Tech and eight at Army. West Virginia’s six punts against UConn tied a season-high for the Mountaineers. USF’s eight punts at UConn on Nov. 26 matched a Bull season high set at Penn State and equalled at Miami.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
TAYLOR MADE RETURNS
Larry Taylor hurt his knee in UConn’s game at Cincinnati on Oct. 15 and the loss will be felt in the team’s return game. Taylor ranked 18th in the nation in punt returns (12.30 average) and seventh in kickoff returns (34.2 avg.), but has since fallen below the national minimum to be ranked because of time missed due to injury. Prior to the Army game on Oct. 1, Taylor was one of only two versatile players in the nation to rank in the top 20 of both kickoff and punt return yards, joining Brandon Williams of Wisconsin. He started the 2005 season off on the right foot with 118 punt return yards against Buffalo on Sept. 1, marking the eighth-best performance in BIG EAST history and the second-best ever by anyone not wearing either a Miami or Virginia Tech uniform. Taylor was not far off of the UConn record of 145 yards set by Joe Markus at Maine on Oct. 20, 1979. Taylor returned this fall after an electrifying true freshman season in 2004 during which he became only the second Husky ever (and the first since 1975) to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same season. Behind Taylor, UConn ranked 18th in the nation in punt returns in 2004 after finishing the previous season ranked 116th out of 117 Division I-A teams. Individually, he ranked second in the nation last fall by averaging 31.3 yards per kickoff return.
McCLAM ROLLS
Diminutive true freshman Jimmy McClam saw his role grow over the course of the 2005 season both due to his progression on the field and UConn’s rash of injuries, a bug that claimed his 2005 season at West Virginia (knee). In the wake of Larry Taylor’s season-ending injury at Cincinnati on Oct. 15, he took over kickoff return duties and was an instant success in his first career start as a kick returner seven days later against Rutgers. McClam returned five kicks for 148 yards (29.6 average). The 148 yards tied for the fourth best single game performance in UConn lore and was not far off of the school benchmark of 165 yards set by George Boothe against Maine on Oct. 25, 1986.
NO IFS ANDS OR BUT-LERS ABOUT IT
UConn has gained more depth in recent years as the program’s consistently growing stature improves recruiting classes and special teams has benefited most. Darius Butler became a third option at kickoff returner recently afterwards injuries to both Larry Taylor and Jimmy McClam. Against USF he joined them as Huskies with 100-plus yard return games to their credit this year as he ran back four kickoffs for 148 yards, including a 90-yard return for a touchdown that made ESPN SportsCenter’s Plays of the Day. Coupled with his 86-yard interception return touchdown at Army on Oct. 1, Butler becomes the first UConn player to ever have a defensive touchdown and a special teams touchdown in the same season.
GOOD NUZIE, BAD NUZIE, YOU KNOW I’VE HAD MY SHARE
Having rode the rails through a roller coaster career, junior place kicker Matt Nuzie broke every major school career kicking and scoring record over a one-week span covering the Army (Oct. 1) and Syracuse (Oct. 7) games. Following an uneven freshman season and a slow start to his sophomore campaign, Nuzie caught fire and, by the end of the 2004 season, he was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award and second-team All-BIG EAST. Nuzie ranked first in the BIG EAST, and eighth in the nation, in 2004 by averaging 1.67 field goals per game. His 20 made field goals set a UConn seasonal record. Nuzie capped a school-record streak of 10 consecutive made field goals with a 51-yard boot at Georgia Tech on Nov. 13, UConn’s longest since 1998. Against Duke on Sept. 11, 2004, he hit the game-winning field goal with 3:40 to play in UConn's 22-20 win. After a key miss at Boston College a week later, he rebounded. Against Pittsburgh he kicked his way to BIG EAST Player of the Week honors and a game ball. Nuzie hit on all three of his field goal tries and both of his extra point attempts. The highlight of the field goals was the 49-yard boot he hit as time expired in the first half after two "icing" time outs called by Pittsburgh.
HUSKIES GET THEIR KICKS ON ROUTE 6
During the first half of the West Virginia game on Nov. 2, sophomore walk-on Chris Pavasaris took over the punting chores from fellow sophomore Shane Hussar and had not given a reason to switch back until the USF game. Troubled by nagging injuries as a true freshman last year, Hussar punted 46 times for a 36.9 yard average, playing in 11 of the team’s 12 games. He kicked 50 times in 2005 for a 39.2 average when Edsall made the switch. At WVU, Hussar only kicked for a 34.2 average on five punts in a game where excellent field position enabled the Mountaineers to secure victory. Pavasaris averaged 41.0 yards on his three punts in Morgantown in relief of Hussar. He then posted a 41.3 yard average per punt at Pittsburgh, booting the ball six times. UConn did have one partially-blocked team punt in the Pittsburgh game. Against the Bulls two weeks later, Pavasaris punted inconsistently for a 30.6 average. Competition for the job is again open.
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 former Governor John Rowland’s economic development program for the Hartford metro-area. While UConn football serves as the primary tenant, the facility also attracts other prominent events to Hartford. Rentschler Field hosted two concerts by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, September 16 and 18 of 2003 and one by the Rolling Stones on Aug. 26, 2005. Several prominent international soccer contests have been played on the pitch at Rentschler Field, most notably a World Cup Qualifier between the United States and Trinidad & Tobago on Aug. 17, 2005. Famed British clubs Liverpool and Glasgow Celtic played a match at Rentschler Field in July, 2004 while the soon to be gold medal winning United States Olympic women’s soccer team played its final state-side exhibition in East Hartford on August 1, 2004 when the Americans defeated China, 3-1.
STARTING A COMMOTION
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