University of Connecticut Athletics
Meet The Press: UConn vs. Buffalo Football
12/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, Conn. (Dec. 17, 2008) – The University of Connecticut held a football media luncheon on Monday for the International Bowl against Buffalo. Here are selected quotes from the event.
Head Coach Randy Edsall
What is your scouting report on Buffalo?
They’re a good football team. They won the east division of the MAC and also beat Ball State in the championship game. They’re a very balanced team offensively: Starks is a 1,300 yard rusher with 15 touchdowns and Willy has thrown for over 3,000 yards this year with only five picks. Defensively they’re very opportunistic as they’re plus 15 in the turnover category. You can see why they won the East and why the beat Ball State. The kids are excited about it.
How does the International Bowl differ from previous bowl games you’ve been a part of?
Every bowl’s different because of when you play and when you arrive at the site. This is the first time we haven’t gone early because of all of the logistics that go on getting in and out of Canada. The structure of practice stays the same, it’s just a little bit more of a puzzle figuring out when to get them home and back (in Storrs) to get things done before we go to Toronto.
After his performance vs. Pittsburgh, what do you expect from your QB Tyler Lorenzen in the International Bowl?
I can guarantee you that Tyler Lorenzen will play well in this game. There’s no doubt in my mind. He’ll go out and have fun, throw the ball with authority, and do the things he’s capable of doing. He didn’t have a good game the last game out, but some of it wasn’t his fault. I think he’ll go out and relax this game and probably throw it better than he has in the two years he’s been here, just because I think I know what makes the kid tick.
Did you meet your expectations for the season?
No, because my expectations were, just like every year, to win the BIG EAST. We didn’t get there so we fell a little bit short. When you look back on it, I thought our guys played hard every game. There are great lessons to be learned however, such as taking advantage of our opportunities in two of the games and limiting turnovers in another. We reached a bowl game, which was one of our goals, but we didn’t win the BIG EAST.
Will (Senior CB/WR) Darius Butler be ready to play on January 3rd?
We need to get his conditioning back first. Whether you play him at cornerback or at wide receiver there is a lot of running going on. He only started last week to start doing planned running. I just hope we can get him ready and cleared by the trainers in time so we can use him the best way we can for however he can contribute.
Players Mentioned
