University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Head South To Face #1 Hurricanes
9/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 30, 2002
THE COACHES
CONNECTICUT HEAD COACH RANDY EDSALL
Randy Edsall has compiled a 11-27 career record in his fourth season at UConn and has never faced Miami. A veteran of 19 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. 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.
MIAMI HEAD COACH LARRY COKER
Larry Coker is a perfect 16-0 in his two years as head coach at Miami. He has never faced UConn. His 16-0 start is the best unbeaten and untied start to a coaching career since Yale’s Walter Camp went 28-0 in 1888-89. Coker guided the Hurricanes to a 12-0 record and the 2001 national championship in his debut season as a head coach and was named the national coach of the year. Prior to becoming the Hurricanes’ head coach he served as offensive coordinator in Coral Gables under Butch Davis from 1995-2000. Prior to coming to Miami, Coker served as an assistant coach at Ohio State (1993-95), offensive coordinator at Oklahoma (1990-92), offensive coordinator of Oklahoma State (1983-89) and he held a variety titles from 1979-82 at Tulsa. A 1970 graduate of Northeastern (OK) State University, Coker coached at high schools in his native Oklahoma from 1970-78.
RADIO/TV COVERAGE NOTES
RADIO COVERAGE
For the 11th consecutive season, WTIC 1080-AM in Hartford will serve as the flagship station for the UConn Radio Network. WTIC is the state’s only 50,000 watt clear channel 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 one hour prior to kickoff while at home games, the UConn Tailgate Show will air two hours prior with Arnold Dean. The UConn Radio Network is comprised of: WILI 1400-AM in Willimantic, WLIS-1420 AM in Old Saybrook, WMRD 1150-AM in Middletown, WICC 600-AM in Bridgeport and WSUB 980-AM in Groton. UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet, with assistance from Yahoo!, at www.UConnHuskies.com.
NO LIVE BROADCAST TELEVISION THIS WEEK
After having its first four games televised, UConn will have no live broadcast TV for the second consecutive week when the Huskies battle Miami. FOX Sports Net Florida will produce the game and air it on a tape delay within the Sunshine State on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. However, the game will air live via ESPN GamePlan.
THE UCONN HUSKIES: MUST SEE TV
UConn will have eight of its 12 games broadcast on live television this year. The BC game was an ESPN Regional production which aired on both NESN and MSG. The YES Network carried UConn’s games against Georgia Tech and Buffalo. WFSB-TV 3, Hartford’s CBS affiliate, is carrying five games as they Huskies battle Ohio, Temple, Vanderbilt, Florida Atlantic and Navy. With eight total TV games, it is by far the most football games that UConn has ever had televised in a single season. Curiously, Don McPherson will serve as UConn’s color commentator for seven of these eight games, appearing on three different networks. McPherson missed the Buffalo game to work the national BET telecast of Jackson State and Tennessee State from the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
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 pm on WFSB TV 3 in Hartford with Eric Clemons and Joe Tessitore. 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 pm on WTIC 1080-AM with Joe D’Ambrosio and Arnold Dean.
SERIES NOTES
UCONN-MIAMI HISTORY
This is the first meeting between the future BIG EAST rivals on the gridiron, not an unusual thing for the Huskies who face six opponents for the first time during the 2002 season in Georgia Tech, Ohio, Miami, Vanderbilt, Florida Atlantic and Iowa State. UConn will return to Miami in 2005 with the Hurricanes making their Rentschler Field debut in 2006.
TO BE THE MAN, YOU’VE GOT TO BEAT THE MAN
The UConn football team has only once previously faced a ranked Division I-A team, falling to No. 9 Virginia Tech last year in Blacksburg, and has never faced the No. 1 team in the land. The Huskies have faced top-ranked teams in several sports besides football and have posted some impressive wins. Perhaps the most memorable of the bunch was the men’s basketball team upsetting No. 1 Duke 77-74 in the 1999 National Championship Game to capture the program’s first title. The women’s basketball team has two wins over a No. 1 ranked team, beating No. 1 Notre Dame in 2001 and knocking off top-ranked Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in 1995 en route to a national championship and undefeated season. Men’s basketball has an overall record of 1-6 against No. 1 teams and the women’s team is 2-3. Other UConn highlights against top-ranked teams are a 19-12 baseball win over No. 1 Notre Dame in 2001; a women’s soccer victory over No. 1 North Carolina, in overtime, in 1990; a 1988 win over Harvard by the men’s soccer team; and a shutout field hockey victory over Penn State in 1999.
HEY, DON’T I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEWHERE?
Miami linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves is a native of New Haven, a two-time All-American for UConn and a member of the Huskies’ 100th Anniversary Team, which was named in 1998. He coached the Husky linebackers from 1985-97 before going to Miami...UConn his 16 players from Florida and nine from Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties (Cathlyn Clarke -Ft. Lauderdale/Dillard, John Fletcher - Miami/Carol City, Rhema Fuller - Cocoa/Cocoa, Mike Henry - Miami/Pace, Michael Kodish - Coral Springs/Taravella, Justin Perkins - Ft. Lauderdale/Plantation, Chandler Pools - Ft. Lauderdale/Western, Terrance Smith - Pompano Beach/Coconut Creek and Jermell Williams - Hollywood/McArthur). Of UConn’s seven non-Miami area Floridians, the lone connection to the ‘Canes is starting WLB Maurice Lloyd who was a teammate of UM backup kicker Dan Lundy at Daytona Beach’s Mainland High School...Also, UConn running backs coach Terry Richardson is a native of Fort Lauderdale.
SQUAD NOTES
UCONN PARTIES LIKE IT’S 1999
The Buffalo game nearly evoked a recurrence of the 1999 season, Randy Edsall’s first at UConn. Just like in 2002, the 1999 Huskies opened 0-2 after losing to a pair of tough teams. UConn fell to I-AA power Hofstra in the season opener and then lost 45-14 at SEC member Kentucky against Hal Mumme’s "Air Raid" offense in 1999. Each time, UConn drew Buffalo in week three and came away with a comfortable win (23-0 in ‘99, 24-3 in ‘02). The 1999 win triggered a three-game winning streak. UConn won two straight in 2002 before a narrow overtime loss to Ball State.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST: HUSKIES PROVING TO BE STRONG FINISHERS...
UConn has scored 59 of its 112 total points (53%) in the fourth quarter of games, outscoring its opposition 52-7 in the final stanza. UConn has not surrendered a score in the fourth quarter since the season opener at Boston College when Brian St. Pierre hit Grant Adams for a 14-yard TD with 3:56 to play. The Husky defense has shutout their opponents for the 63:56 of elapsed fourth quarter time since. Meanwhile, the UConn offense has found resurgences during the final quarter of the last four games, outscoring Georgia Tech 14-0, Buffalo 14-0, Ohio 24-0 and Ball State 7-0. The Huskies’ 24 fourth quarter points against the Bobcats were the most fourth quarter points UConn has ever scored in a game back to 1961, the beginning of the school’s available quarter-by-quarter records. UConn had previously scored 21 points at Boston University on Nov. 7, 1975.
...BUT STUMBLING OUT OF THE GATE
The Huskies have been outscored 35-13 in the first quarter of games this year. Until scoring 13:15 into the Ball State game, UConn’s lone first quarter score came on its opening drive of the season, a 12-play 90-yard march to the end zone at Boston College, with a missed PAT. Until Dan Orlovsky hit Cliff Hill with a 27-yard TD pass against Ball State, UConn had been shutout in the first quarter for an elapsed time of 67:55.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES!
Thus far in 2002, Connecticut has shown a marked improvement over it’s five game totals from the 2001 season in almost every major category. An impressive facet of this dramatic improvement is that the first five games of 2002 have been played against a harder schedule to the first five games of the 2001 slate. The 2002 slate features two 2001 bowl teams in BC and Georgia Tech plus three MAC schools. Last year to date UConn had faced just one national power in Virginia Tech and also lost at home to Divison I-AA Eastern Washington.
Category Last Year This Year Passing Efficiency 78.85 116.64 Passing Yardage 128.0 ypg 219.4 ypg Rushing Yardage 92.4 ypg 114.4 ypg Total Offense 220.4 ypg 333.8 ypg Passing Efficiency Def. 127.53 106.77 Passing Defense 247.2 ypg 160.4 ypg Total Defense 395.0 ypg 308.0 ypg Total Plays 304 357 Total Plays Against 380 323 First Downs 69 92 First Downs Allowed 110 77
HUSKIES SHOW VAST IMPROVEMENT AT BOSTON COLLEGE
Throughout the course of its 24-16 loss at Boston College on August 31, UConn demonstrated dramatic improvements over its 55-3 loss at the Heights on Oct. 7, 2000. In its first apples vs. apples comparison game (same opponent, same stadium) since beginning its march to Division I-A, the 2002 Huskies came out ahead in this, their first season with a full compliment of 85 available scholarships. Below are some major categories that demonstrate a more potent Husky defense in particular:
Category 2000 2002 Halftime Score BC, 41-3 UC, 16-10 Completion Pct. 50% (20-40) 63% (24-38) >Rushing Defense 361 114 Total Defense 635 353 BC First Downs 25 18 Time of Possession 18:25 30:58 Turnover Margin -3 +1 Scoring Margin -52 -8 Longest UConn Drive 50 yds. 90 yds.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Five true freshmen appeared in the Huskies season opener at Boston College, including an all-true freshman starting back field featuring fullback Deon Anderson and tailback Terry Caulley. Overall, seven true freshman have played for UConn this season. Brandon Young earned a slot in the wide receiver rotation while also serving as UConn’s top punt returner and a gunner on the team’s punt unit. James Hargrave plays a backup role at Husky linebacker and on special teams. He started for the injured Jamal Lundy against Ohio and led UConn with 17 tackles. Ernest Cole has also seen time, mainly on special teams, while Rhema Fuller and Cathyln Clarke made their Husky debuts against Georgia Tech.
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
Boston College RB Cornell Brockington DB Ryan DeRubertis
Georgia Tech WR Joe Villapiano LB Darius Leak
Buffalo WR Conn Davis LB Kinnan Herriott
Ohio FB Gary Whitehill LB Justin Quinn
Ball State OG LeAndre Dupree DB M.J. Estep
YOUNG GUNS
Frequent redshirting of players over the past couple of seasons and drastic expansion in the total number of available scholarships to 85, has enabled head coach Randy Edsall to put together a fairly young team. This is especially true on the offensive side of the ball. UConn has just four offensive scholarship seniors and 70% of scholarship players are sophomores or younger on offense.
2002 Scholarship Chart
Class Off. Def. Spec.
Sr. (12) 4 7 1
Jr. (21) 9 11 1
So. (17) 10 7 0
RFr. (13) 10 3 0
TFr. (21) 10 10 1
Total (84) 43 38 3
OUR OWN LITTLE EPCOT CENTER HERE IN STORRS
While the overwhelming majority of the 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). 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 as a native of the Virgin Islands.
CONNECTICUT TRI-CAPTAINS
Senior tight end Tommy Collins, senior linebacker Jamal Lundy and senior defensive tackle Greg Smoot are the Huskies’ three captains for the 2002 season. All three have been regular contributors since their true freshmen year in 1999 and eventually developed into regular starters and team leaders. Smoot has started 36 of his 37 career games as a Husky while Lundy has been the first or second leading tackler in each of the past two years. Showing their team-first mentalities, all three have had a position change during their UConn careers with Collins shifting from fullback to tight end, Lundy moving from safety to linebacker and Smoot pushing inward from defensive end to defensive tackle.
OFFENSE NOTES
WHO YOU GONNA CAULLEY?
True freshman tailback Terry Caulley has eclipsed the 100-yard rushing plateau in each of UConn’s last three games, becoming the first Husky to post three straight 100-yard rushing games since Wilbur Gilliard ran for over 100 yards in the first four games of the 1995 season. His 111.5 ypg average ranks 21st in the nation overall and second amongst freshmen, behind only Ohio State phoneme Maurice Clarett (143.8). After rushing for 62 yards in his debut against BC and missing the Georgia Tech game with a shoulder injury, Caulley had his breakthorugh game at Buffalo, rushing for 136 yards, a performance he followed up with 117 yards against Ohio and 131 against Ball State. Called both "Mighty Mouse" and "Squeak" by his teammates for his 5-7 frame, Caulley has also caught 11 passes out of the backfield for 64 yards, even leading UConn with five receptions during the win at Buffalo. UConn now has three running backs on its team with a 100-yard game to their credit as joining Caulley and Chandler Poole (100 vs. MTSU, 2001) and Evan Benson (119 vs. USF, 2000).
DAN-O PUTTING ON A SHOW
Sophomore Dan Orlovsky, a high school All-American and the Connecticut Player of the Year in 2000 at Shelton High School, has been steady as the Huskies’ starting quarterback this season, posting solid numbers. Orlovsky has hit on 93-of-158 passes (58.9%) for 1050 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. His 118.80 passing efficiency rating ranks 67th in the nation. He had a streak of 77 consecutive passes without an interception snapped when throwing the ball up for grabs on a Hail Mary play at the end of the first half of the Ohio game. Orlovsky started the season off on the right foot as he showed great poise in leading UConn on a 12-play, 90-yard TD drive on the game’s opening possession at Boston College’s Alumni Stadium. That drive was UConn’s longest TD drive since going 92 for a score against Northeastern on Sept. 23, 2000 and for Orlovsky was part of a monster half that saw him hit on 14-of-17 attempts (82%) for 132 yards. He also led UConn in two 95-yard touchdown drives against Ball State, the latter one tying the game with 0:29 to play. Helping make Orlovsky more effective has been his improved running ability and UConn’s ability. Orlovsky’s positive rushes (non-sacks/TFLs) have accounted for 67 yards so far this season after rushing positively for just 43 yards in all of 2001. He has also rushed for three touchdowns in 2002.
HUSKY GROUND GAME SHUFFLES THROUGH BUFFALO
When UConn posted 187 rushing yards in its 24-3 win at Buffalo on Sept. 14 it proved to be a pretty significant total in the program’s recent history. The sum marks the best single-game rushing output for the Huskies since running for 192 in a triple overtime loss to Villanova on Oct. 16, 1999. It marked the most rushing yards for UConn in a road game since racking up 203 in a triple-OT game at Maine on Oct. 11, 1997. For a higher total from a regulation road game you only have to go back a couple of weeks from there to when UConn rushed for 283 at Hofstra in a 35-31 win on Sept. 20, 1997.
CALLING CAPTAIN COLLINS
Senior tri-captain Tommy Collins has been an integral part of the UConn passing attack from his tight end post this season. Collins leads the Huskies with 17 receptions, 232 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Collins’ 232 receiving yards and 17 receptions already establishes a new career seasonal highs. His team-high five catches against Ball State was also a career high. Doing a little bit of everything, Collins has also done a fine job as a blocker at tight end, serves as the punt team’s long snapper and has made five tackles on special teams, including four solos.
FELDEISEN SLICIN’ AND DICIN’
Shaun Feldeisen had a breakout game against Georgia Tech hauling in six passes for 101 yards with a long play of 49 yards, all comfortably career highs. The performance matches UConn’s 100-yard game total from all of last season with the lone century-mark receiving effort coming from Wes Timko with his 109 yard day at Cincinnati on Nov. 3. Feldeisen, a redshirt junior, walked on to the team in 1999 and was rewarded with a scholarship on August 26, 2002, just five days before catching his first career touchdown at Boston College, less than an hour from his Stow, Mass., home.
YOUTH REIGNS IN CONNECTICUT BACKFIELD
UConn is starting true freshmen at both fullback and tailback in Deon Anderson and Terry Caulley, respectively. The diminutive, 5-7 Caulley dazzled in the fall camp, demonstrating the solid instincts that led him to be named last years’ Maryland offensive player of the year. Anderson took charge early on at the fullback spot. The three sport (football, wrestling and track) standout at Providence’s Hope High School and Connecticut’s Avon Old Farms Prep picked up the Husky offense quickly and won a starting nod. In addition to the young running backs, both of the team’s top two quarterbacks, Orlovsky and Henry, are true sophomores.
DEFENSE NOTES
HUSKY DEFENSE AMONGST THE TOP THIRD IN NCAA
A much-improved UConn defense is starting to ascend up the NCAA leaderboard. At 308.0 ypg in total defense, UConn ranks 28th in the nation while the Huskies check in at No. 17 in passing defense (160.4 ypg) No. 36 in scoring defense (20.2 ppg) and 37th in passing efficiency defense (106.73). The Huskies would rank second in the BIG EAST in passing defense behind only Miami and fourth in passing efficiency defense behind Miami, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.
UCONN FORCES BUFFALO TO GO THE DISTANCE
Critical to the success of the Husky defense at Buffalo was its good work on first and second down in forcing the Bulls into several third-and-long situations. UB was forced to convert on third-and-10 or more eight times against UConn and were denied on all eight attempts. Against BC and Georgia Tech combined, UConn’s foes only faced double-digit distances on third down five times (converting two). The Bulls faced third-and-15 or more four times. UB was 1-for-14 overall on third down (7%) after BC and Georgia Tech converted on a combined 32% (9-for-28) of its total tries. As a result of their tough defense, UConn forced six three-and-outs at Buffalo, a percentage that represents 40% of UB’ 15 possessions. UConn forced five more three-and-outs against Ohio.
RUNNING OF THE BULLS ONLY IN PAMPLONA, NOT BUFFALO
UConn’s defense stuffed Buffalo’s rushing offense that had rushed for a solid 284 yards in its first two games. The Bulls posted just 45 yards on the ground, the fewest allowed by UConn since Eastern Michigan was held to 31 last year. Buffalo did not gain yardage on 13 of its 25 rushing attempts against UConn with six rushes for loss and UConn stopping UB for no gain seven times.
FINCHER PHENOMENAL IN NEW STARTING ROLE
Sophomore Alfred Fincher, a native of Norwood, Mass., made the most of his opportunity after beating out incumbent middle linebacker Razul Wallace this fall. Fincher leads UConn with 55 total tackles on the year and has three tackles for loss. At BC, in his first career start, Fincher tied for the team lead with seven solo tackles and was credited with a team-best 15 total to accompany a pair of tackles for loss, a pass deflection and his first career interception which he ran back 19 yards to the BC 42 yard line late in the third quarter.
MY OH MEYER
Junior safety Chris Meyer has made his presence known both with some hard hits and also with the sheer quantity of them. Meyer leads the team with 38 solo tackles on the year and is second to Alfred Fincher with 47 total tackles. Meyer has two interceptions. His first of the year plus a 17-yard return, coming late in the Ohio game, was one of the most important factors in the momentum swing that secured a Husky victory. Meyer also had 10 solo tackles against the Bobcats.
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN
UConn welcomed back 10 of its 11 defensive starters from the 2001 season and each of its top eight tacklers. Amongst the returnees is strong safety and 2001 team MVP Chris Meyer who led UConn with 94 tackles and four interceptions last year. Senior Jamal Lundy leads the defense from his husky (strongside) linebacker post. Lundy topped all Huskies with his 102 tackles as a sophomore in 2000 and last year claimed the team lead in solo tackles (66) and tackles for loss (eight).
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
CONNECTICUT KICKERS READY FOR ACTION
The Huskies have a matter of continuity in their kicking game as UConn returns both its starting punter and place kicker from a year ago. Senior Marc Hickok handles all placement kicks after going 18-of-19 on PAT tries last year and 12-of-17 on field goal tries, including a 4-for-5 mark from between 40 and 49 yards. Hickok continued his good field goal work at Boston College where he his a career-long 48 yarder in his first attempt of the season. His previous career-long of 47 yards with 3:04 to play at Rutgers gave UConn its first ever win over a BIG EAST team, 20-19. He was a perfect 3-for-3 against Ohio, including a crucial 47-yarder with 3:32 to play that made it a two-score lead for UConn. Junior Adam Coles returns to punt for UConn this year, the tall, 6-5, former Australian Rules Football player from Gladesville kicked for a 39.2 average on 81 punts last year. Coles booted a 71-yarder against Middle Tennessee (sixth longest in school history) and placed 32 balls inside the 20 yard line. Coles appears on several seasonal and career punting record charts at UConn. He has hit for a 41.1 average so far in 2002.
COLES NAMED TO RAY GUY AWARD WATCH LIST
Junior Adam Coles was named to the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award on August 27. The award is given annually by the Augusta (GA) Sports Council to the top collegiate punter and named for Guy, the former Southern Miss. All-American, Oakland Raiders’ Pro Bowl selection and native Georgian. The 34 preseason candidates will next be pared to 10 semifinalists in October.
SCHEDULE NOTES
WHO ARE YOU? WHO? WHO? WHO? WHO?
As a part of their move to Division I-A status the Huskies will face a revamped schedule in 2002, one which features six first time opponents for UConn. The Huskies oppose Georgia Tech, Ohio, Miami (Fla.), Vanderbilt, Florida Atlantic and Iowa State for the first time ever on the gridiron this season. In fact, fellow-Division I-A neophyte Buffalo is the only 2002 opponent that UConn has faced more than 10 times with the Huskies and Bulls playing for the 13th time on Sept. 14. Entering the season, a total of just 36 games had been played all-time between UConn and its 2002 opponents combined, fewer than its series with six individual schools, a list led by Rhode Island with 92 meetings. In addition to its new opponents, UConn will face its first ever member of the Big 12 Conference (Iowa State) and only its second ever foe from the Southeastern Conference (Vanderbilt). UConn travelled to SEC member Kentucky in 1999. The Georgia Tech game marked UConn’s second ever game against an active Atlantic Coast Conference opponent with the Huskies having faced North Carolina in 1990. UConn also played then-Southern Conference member Maryland in 1942 prior to the ACC’s formation in 1953.
HUSKIES PLAYING THE BCS FIELD
UConn faces opponents from four different conferences this season that are amongst the six members of the Bowl Championship Series as the Huskies face foes from the ACC (Georgia Tech), BIG EAST (Boston College, Miami, Temple), Big 12 (Iowa State) and SEC (Vanderbilt). Facing four different BCS conferences ties UConn for the most of any school in the nation in the 2002 season joining Florida State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Virginia and Virginia Tech. The one common denominator is that all seven schools play at least one ACC team while all but the Red Raiders face a BIG EAST squad.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN...AND AGAIN
With the decrease in regional scheduling brought about by UConn’s independent status, the Huskies will make some historic road trips in the program’s lineage which dates back to 1896. UConn’s game at Miami will mark the furthest south the team has ever travelled for a game, eclipsing its trip to Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium for a game last year against South Florida. This mark should hold forever as the Orange Bowl is the southernmost stadium in the continental United States for a I-A school although it is a couple of miles north of the actual UM campus in Coral Gables. UConn’s game at Iowa State in Ames just narrowly misses being its furthest ever western destination, a nod that goes to Dallas, Texas where the Huskies faced SMU in 1989.
SET YOUR WATCHES
The team’s games at Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.) and Iowa State (Ames, Iowa) are significant as they mark just the third and fourth times, respectively, that UConn will ever play outside of the Eastern time zone. Both schools are located in the Central time zone. The Huskies have twice previously played an hour behind Storrs, losing at SMU in Dallas in 1989 and at Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro in 2001. UConn has never played in either the Mountain or Pacific time zones.
MAC-NIFICENT
The Huskies have become quite familiar with the Mid-American Conference as Uconn faces four teams from the league in 2002 in Buffalo (W, 24-3), Ohio (W, 37-19), Ball State (L, 21-24 OT) and Kent State. UConn also faced four MAC teams in 2000, posting a 2-2 record, and three MAC schools in 2001, going 1-2. The Huskies will play four MAC teams in both 2003 and 2004 as well. With their 2-1 mark so far in 2002, UConn now stands at 12-10 all-time against MAC schools. Five of UConn’s last six wins have come against schools from the MAC.
LOOKING AHEAD
The 2003 and 2004 Connecticut football schedules feature teams from the BIG EAST, Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conferences and also include a home-and-home series with Army. The schedules, which were announced in mid-September, will mark the first two years of play for UConn at Rentschler Field in East Hartford and are also the final schedules before the Huskies enter BIG EAST Conference play in 2005. Of the 23 games UConn will play in 2003 and 2004, ten of them will be against teams from Bowl Championship Series Conferences, while two others will be the Army series. The complete 2003 and 2004 Husky football schedules are shown to the right with times and television information to be announced at a later date.
STADIUM/ATTENDANCE NOTES
MEMORIAL STADIUM SOON A MEMORY
The 2002 season is the Huskies’ final at Memorial Stadium after a 50 year run. UConn has posted a 129-101-4 (.560) record all-time in the 16,200 seat facility that opened on October 10, 1953 with a 26-6 win over St. Lawrence. UConn has not been shutout at Memorial Stadium since 1978, a 30-0 loss to Navy. Memorial Stadium will soon be torn down to make room for the Burton Family Football Complex which will house coaches’ offices, meeting rooms, locker rooms and other football-related facilities. To help recognize the 50th and final season at Memorial Stadium, UConn is wearing commemorative patches (pictured) on the right chest of their 2002 game uniforms.
MOVIN’ ON UP TO THE EAST SIDE
The Huskies will move into brand new Rentschler Field in East Hartford for the 2003 season with the stadium set up open its doors on August 30 for a game against the Big Ten’s Indiana Hoosiers. 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 will hold approximately 40,000 seats and 40 luxury suites in a massive press box tower which will help enclose the natural grass field. The $91 million construction project, part of Governor John Rowland’s economic development program for the Hartford metro-area, is currently past the half way mark and on schedule.
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. The Ball State game drew 16,849 fans to Memorial Stadium, the most in the facility’s 50-year history, breaking a mark set on Sept. 7 when 16,751 came out for the Georgia Tech game. The Ohio game drew 15,901, the tenth most ever at Memorial Stadium. UConn’s season-ticket base for 2002 stands at a school record of approximately 11,300 while the Huskies have also sold a record of approximately 600 student season-tickets.
SURE COULD USE THOSE EXTRA SEATS RIGHT ABOUT NOW
Operating at 101.85% of capacity at 16,200 seat Memorial Stadium this season, the Huskies presently rank 15th in the nation in average attendance based on percentage of capacity. UConn is one of 20 schools in the nation to average at least 100% of its stadium’s capacity. While UConn is not yet a member of the conference, no BIG EAST school is amongst the 20 schools averaging a sellout or better while Notre Dame is the only other independent.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
CONNECTICUT’S NEW CLOTHES
The Huskies have been sporting completely new ensembles this season. Blue and white with silver trim, the fashionable look was designed by new sponsor Aéropostale. The uniforms also bear a patch on the right chest commemorating the team’s 50th and final season at Memorial Stadium before moving into Rentschler Field in East Hartford next season. Additionally, this season’s helmets will include a white interlocking "UC" logo on a blue background. The uniforms feature the players’ names on the back for the first time under head coach Randy Edsall’s watch. The red accents commonly found on UConn uniforms have been replaced with silver accents on the 2002 football jerseys. Instead of white uniform pants for home games this year, UConn will don silver britches. Also, the front of the jerseys will say "Connecticut" instead of "UConn," a point that Edsall was especially passionate about. At the team’s August 9th media day he said "We’re Team Connecticut. From Greenwich to Torrington and Norwich to Danbury, we want everybody to know that we’re your team. We want people from all those areas to come up and experience the things that we’ve got going." UConn and Aéropostale recently announced a new corporate partnership that will see the company provide practice and sideline apparel for football and 18 other UConn sports. Aéropostale will also be involved in a number of campus activities.
TAKE A HISTORY LESSON BEFORE HUSKY HOME GAMES
Start off your Connecticut football home game days by touring the new 2,700 square foot J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Museum. Located in the newly expanded UConn Alumni Center and within shouting distance of Memorial Stadium, the museum is the ultimate living document to UConn’s many athletic successes. Long time Husky Sports Information Director Tim Tolokan serves as the museum’s curator and director. Banners, memorabilia and NCAA championship trophies line the display cases while video monitors perpetually replay glorious moments from UConn’s athletic past. The Connecticut Basketball Rotunda is a can’t-miss for any Huskies fan, preserving the memory of the school’s national championships in both men’s and women’s basketball.
WELCOME TO MIAMI...BIENVENIDO A MIAMI
UConn will charter to Miami on Friday at noon and walk through at the Orange Bowl at 4:00 p.m. The team will stay at the Miami Airport Marriott (305-649-5000) and charter home after the game.
BRING ON THE BAND, IT’S HALFTIME
With six games down and six to go, UConn will have its bye week next weekend. The Huskies will practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. Up next for UConn a Homecoming matchup with BIG EAST Conference member Temple.
