University of Connecticut Athletics
Football Faces Third Straight MAC Opponent in Western Michigan
10/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
October 27, 2003
THE COACHES
CONNECTICUT HEAD COACH RANDY EDSALL
A veteran of 21 years of major college coaching with three years in the NFL, Edsall has tackled the challenge of bringing a former NCAA Division I-AA team up to par with the BIG EAST in a six year span head on. He has compiled a 21-33 career record in his fifth season at UConn, including wins in 10 of UConn’s last 13games. He has never faced Western Michigan. 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.
WESTERN MICHIGAN HEAD COACH GARY DARNELL
Gary Darnell is 43-33 in his seventh year as head coach at Western Michigan and 46-37 overall in his collegiate coaching career. He has never faced Connecticut. Amongst his top accomplishments at WMU, Darnell guided the Broncos to the MAC Championship Game in 1999 and 2000. Prior to coming to Kalamazoo, he served as John Mackovic’s assistant head coach at Texas from 1992-96. He was Lou Holtz’s defensive coordinator at Notre Dame from 1990-91. Darnell served as defensive coordinator at Florida in 1988-89 and became the interim head coach for the final seven games of the 1989 season, going 3-4 and helping the Gators to a Freedom Bowl berth. Darnell has also coached at Wake Forest (1986-87), Tennessee Tech (1983-85), Kansas State (1978-82), North Carolina (1976-77), SMU (1973-75) and his alma mater, Oklahoma State (1970-72). A native of Moore, Okla., Darnell was a three-year letterwinner for the Cowboys and was named to OSU’s All-Century team by the Daily Oklahoman.
RADIO/TV COVERAGE NOTES
RADIO COVERAGE
For the 12th consecutive season, WTIC 1080-AM in Hartford serves as the flagship station for the UConn Radio Network. WTIC is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada. Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Bob Joyce on the sidelines. The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff, while at home games, the UConn Tailgate Show will air two and a half hours prior the game with Arnold Dean and Kevin Nathan. The UConn Football Radio Network also includes WILI 1400-AM in Willimantic, WLIS 1420-AM in Old Saybrook and WMRD 1150-AM in Middletown. UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet, with assistance from Yahoo!, at www.UConnHuskies.com.
BETTER BUY A TICKET BECAUSE WE’RE NOT ON TV
For the first time, a game from Rentschler Field will not be televised. WFSB TV-3 in Hartford broadcasted the Indiana and Boston College games. Lehigh broadcasted its game against UConn back to Pennsylvania while the YES Network broadcasted last week’s contest against Akron.
THE UCONN HUSKIES: MUST SEE TV
UConn will have seven of its 12 games this fall broadcast on live television in Connecticut, for a total of 15 live telecasts over the past two seasons, despite not having a conference television package as an independent school. WFSB-TV 3, Hartford’s CBS affiliate, is carrying five games as the Huskies battle Indiana, Boston College, Kent State, Rutgers and Wake Forest. The Virginia Tech game aired on ESPN Regional as the BIG EAST Conference Game of the Week and aired locally on WTXX TV-20 in Hartford. The YES Network will broadcast the Akron game live from Rentschler Field to its cable audience in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and eastern Pennsylvania. Also, FOX Sports Net Pittsburgh picked up WFSB’s feed of the Kent State game. UConn is 6-6 when on Connecticut TV over the past two years.
PLENTY OF FOLKS ARE TUNING IN
The Nielsen numbers continue to grow as WFSB recorded an 8.6 rating and 23 share for its coverage of the UConn-Boston College game on Sept. 13, a UConn football record. The previous high for UConn football on WFSB had been set just two weeks prior when the Indiana game garnered a 6.6 rating and 19 share. UConn’s five games last season on WFSB drew a good crowd to their televisions in the Nutmeg State, averaging a 4.3 rating and an 11.6 share in the Hartford TV market. The highest rated game last fall was against Navy, which despite a 38-0 final score, drew a strong 6.1 rating and a 16 share. Comparing these numbers with typical Connecticut college football TV audiences, on Nov. 16, 2002, the lopsided Navy game saw a 6.1 local rating which blew away ABC’s Big Ten game (Ohio State-Illinois - 1.5) and CBS’s SEC game (Georgia-Auburn - 3.7), each of which went down to the final play and had both national and conference championship implications.
EDSALL ON THE AIR
UConn head coach Randy Edsall will have weekly television and radio shows this year. The television show will air on Sunday nights at 11:45 p.m. on WFSB TV-3 in Hartford with Dina Falco. Edsall, along with a selected player each week, will also be featured on an hour-long radio call-in show Thursday nights from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on WTIC 1080-AM with Bob Joyce.
SERIES NOTES
UCONN-WESTERN MICHIGAN HISTORY
Connecticut and Western Michigan are meeting for the first time ever in football this week. The Broncos are the third of four first time opponents for the Huskies this fall, joining Indiana, NC State and Wake Forest. UConn is 1-1 all-time against schools from Michigan, having split a home-and-home series with Eastern Michigan, losing 32-25 on Sept. 2, 2000 in Ypsilanti and shuting out the Eagles, 19-0, on Oct. 6, 2001 at Memorial Stadium in Storrs.
MAC-NIFICENT
The Huskies have become quite familiar with the Mid-American Conference over recent years and the Huskies play four more teams from the league this fall. The Huskies are 3-0 thus far against the MAC in 2003 beating Buffalo (38-7 in Sept. 20), Kent State (34-31 in overtime on Oct. 18) and Akron (38-37). Of the 14 MAC schools, 12 have three or fewer conference wins so far this year. UConn posted a 3-1 record in four games against MAC members in 2002, facing Buffalo (W, 24-3), Ohio (W, 37-19), Ball State (L, 21-24 OT) and Kent State (W, 63-21). UConn also faced four MAC teams in 2000, posting a 2-2 record, and three MAC schools in 2001, going 1-2. UConn stands at 16-10 all-time against MAC schools and has won six of its last seven meetings with MAC schools. Nine of UConn’s last 16 wins overall have come against MAC schools.
HEY, DON’T I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEWHERE?
Western Michigan running backs coach Pete Cordelli was an assistant coach at Minnesota from 1984-85 while UConn offensive coordinator Norries Wilson was playing for the Golden Gophers...One Husky hails from Michigan in Dearborn’s Terry McClowry who played at Divine Child High School before coming to Connecticut to prep at Milford Academy. UConn’s Sam Dorvil and WMU’s Justin LeMay were teammates at Fort Lauderdale’s Cardinal Gibbons High School while UConn’s Cathlyn Clarke and WMU’s Ernest Osburne played together at Dillard High School which is also in Fort Lauderdale. UConn’s Darius Leak and WMU’s Brandon James were teammates at Virginia’s Fork Union Military Academy in 2001.
SQUAD NOTES
UCONN OFF TO BEST START OF EDSALL ERA
In the fifth year of head coach Randy Edsall’s tenure in Storrs, UConn is by far off to its best start of a season with a 6-3 record. In 1999, UConn’s final Division I-AA campaign, the Huskies opened at 4-5 en route to a 4-7 season. During the transition years of 2000 and 2001, UConn started the seasons at 3-6 and 2-7 respectively before finishing with 3-8 and 2-9 records. Last fall, UConn’s first season with a full Division I-A compliment of 85 scholarships, the Huskies stood at just 3-6 after nine games before winning three straight to end the season at an even 6-6.
CONNECTICUT FOOTBALL: GOOD TO THE LAST DROP
Fans who left any of UConn’s last three games early missed a treat. Each of the Huskies’ last three contests have been settled on the final play from scrimmage. On Oct. 11 at NC State, the Wolfpack escaped with a 31-24 win when Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay returned an intercepted pass for a touchdown with five seconds to play. At Kent State on Oct. 18, UConn won the game in overtime when Dan Orlovsky hit O’Neil Wilson for a 14-yard touchdown. Then, on Oct. 25, UConn defeated Akron, 38-37 when Matt Nuzie nailed a 27-yard field goal as time expired.
UCONN TO FINISH .500 OR BETTER FOR SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON
By winning their sixth game of the year, UConn has secured finishing the 2003 season no worse than .500 at 6-6. Coupled with last year’s 6-6 record, the Huskies will finish consecutive seasons at .500 or better for just the second time since 1990. UConn went 7-4 in 1997 and 10-3 in 1998 in its only other such instance since a run of five straight winning seasons from 1986-90.
HUSKIES ON ONE OF BEST 13-GAME STREAKS EVER
UConn posted a 10-3 record in its last 13 games, marking one of the finest stretches in the program’s football history. UConn has never won 12 consecutive games, but did go 12-1 over a stretch of the 1942-44 seasons. UConn has had an 11-2 stretch in 1986-87, three 10-3 stretches (1901-02, 1926-27, and 1988) and a 10-2-1 stretch (1936-37).
SOME TURNOVER ON TURNOVER DOMINANCE
One critical element to UConn’s 2002 success was it’s large advantage in turnover margin. The 2002 Huskies finished the year +12 in turnover margin and outscored their opposition 110-49 off of turnovers (+61). So far this season, UConn is -4 in turnover margin and stands at just +14 points in scoring margin off of turnovers. In all though, UConn still holds a staggering 139-42 advantage in points off of turnovers over its last 14 contests. Three of the six scores against UConn came directly on the turnover. At Virginia Tech, Eric Green returned an interception 84 yards for a touchdown, while Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay scored twice on fumble and interception returns for touchdowns at NC State.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Continuing a trend of strong starts that the Huskies began last fall, UConn has posted nine first-quarter shutouts in its last 14 games and held its opponents without a touchdown in the opening stanza 11 times in that span. Only Boston College, Virginia Tech and Akron have reached the end zone over that span which started on Oct. 26, 2002 at Vanderbilt. Prior to the Eagles’ Horace Dodd’s eight-yard TD run on Sept. 13, UConn had not allowed an offensive touchdown in the first quarter since Oct. 5, 2002 when Miami’s Willis McGahee scored on a 15-yard run at the Orange Bowl, a stretch that covered 115:44 of first quarter playing time. The last touchdown of any kind scored against UConn in the first quarter of a game prior to BC came when Temple’s Zamir Cobb fell on a muffed punt in the end zone on Oct. 19, 2002. Since the start of the 2002 season, UConn is 10-2 when holding its opponent without a first quarter touchdown and 2-7 when the opponent scores a first quarter touchdown. The losses came on the road at Vanderbilt (Oct. 26, 2002) and NC State (Oct. 11, 2003) while the lone wins came against Akron (Oct. 25, 2003) and Ohio (Sept. 21, 2002).
DID YOU KNOW???
At 6-3, UConn presently has more wins than Notre Dame (2-5) and Alabama (3-6) combined. Between them, those two storied programs have won a total of 23 national championships
HUSKIES POST LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN EIGHT YEARS
UConn had a six-game winning streak snapped, one which ranked as the sixth-longest in the nation at the point of termination with a 24-14 loss to Boston College on Sept. 13. The Huskies won the final four games of the 2002 season, defeating Florida Atlantic, Kent State, Navy and Iowa State, and then captured the first two games of the 2003 campaign with wins over Indiana and Army. UConn’s six-game winning streak was the Huskies’ longest since winning seven in a row between the 1994 and 1995 seasons and tied for the fourth longest in school history. The Husky football squad’s winning streak though pales in comparison to the UConn record for all sports, the NCAA-record 70 consecutive wins rattled off by the women’s basketball team that was snapped in March by Villanova. Also noteworthy is that during UConn’s six-game winning streak, no two wins have come over members of the same conference, as UConn has defeated a foe from the Big Ten (Indiana), Big 12 (Iowa State), Conference USA (Army), Mid-American (Kent State), an Independent (Navy) and a Division I-AA team (Florida Atlantic). During the six-game streak, UConn outscored its opponents 281-86 while holding a 2,830-1,569 yard advantage in total offense, advantages of 32.5 points per game and 210.2 yards per game.
2003 SEASON GAME BALLS
After each UConn win, head coach Randy Edsall awards a game ball to an offensive, defense and special teams player of the game in recognition of their efforts. After UConn’s 34-10 win over Indiana in Rentschler Field’s inaugural game, Edsall also presented special game balls in the locker room to both UConn President Philip Austin and Athletics Director Jeffrey Hathaway for their vision and hard work towards making both Rentschler Field and UConn’s Division I-A status a reality.
INDIANA: O’Neil Wilson (offense), Sean Mulcahy (defense), Kinnan Herriott (special teams).
ARMY: Dan Orlovsky (offense), Tyler King (defense), no special teams.
BUFFALO: Offensive line (Ryan Krug, Brian Markowski, Billy Irwin, LeAndre Dupree, Grant Preston), Dan Murray and Terry Caulley (offense), Terrance Smith (defense), Jason Williams (special teams).
LEHIGH: Brandon Young (offense), Justin Perkins (defense), Cedric Baylor (special teams).
KENT STATE: Chris Bellamy (offense), Uyi Osunde (defense), Jeff Fox (special teams).
AKRON: Shaun Feldeisen and Dan Orlovsky (offense), Tyler King (defense), Matt Nuzie (special teams).
HUSKIES RECEIVE FIRST EVER DIVISION I-A POLL VOTES
Connecticut received six votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll on Sept. 1, the first Division I-A votes in the program’s history. The votes were not homegrown either as although he votes in the poll, UConn head coach Randy Edsall did not include the Huskies on his ballot. UConn dropped from the Sept. 7 poll.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Six true freshmen have played for the Huskies thus far in 2003. The secondary has seen the largest infusion of freshman talent as Allan Barnes, Dontá Moore, and Jahi Smith have all gotten into the defensive backfield mix in addition to working on special teams. Offensively Sam Dorvil and Matt Lawrence have been the lone true freshmen to see action, with Dorvil spelling Deon Anderson at fullback and Lawrence stepping up to help fill the void left by Terry Caulley’s injury. Graig Vicidomino has also seen action as a place kicker for the Huskies. Brian Ushler is listed on the UConn two-deep but has yet to play. Overall, seven true freshmen played for UConn in 2002.
OUR OWN LITTLE EPCOT CENTER HERE IN STORRS
While the overwhelming majority of the 2003 UConn football team is comprised of players from the northeastern United States, the Huskies have a far greater foreign influence than your typical college football team with players hailing from three different continents. UConn has five Canadian players, two from Ontario (Hakeem Kashama and O’Neil Wilson) and a trio of Quebecois (Dan Desriveaux, Shawn Mayne and Jason Ward). Although now a Canadian citizen, Kashama was actually born in Zaire while Uyi Osunde was born in Nigeria. Punter Adam Coles is a native Australian while offensive tackle Aloys Manga is a native of Duana, Cameroon. Although not a foreign nation, UConn’s Conn Davis grew up outside of the 50 states in the Virgin Islands.
CONNECTICUT TRI-CAPTAINS
Senior wide receiver Shaun Feldeisen, defensive tackle Sean Mulcahy and defensive end Uyi Osunde were named as the team’s tri-captains this past spring in a vote of their teammates who could not have chosen better personifications of where the UConn program has gone during their careers. None of the three were heavily recruited - Feldeisen was originally a walk-on and spent a year as a place kicker - but through hard work, all three currently harbor realistic thoughts of playing the NFL.
OFFENSE NOTES
DAN-O STILL PUTTING ON A SHOW
Junior Dan Orlovsky, highly-recruited out of high school, continues to live up to the local hype he generated as a high school All-American and the Connecticut Player of the Year in 2000 at Shelton. In the opening nine games of 2003, Orlovsky has hit on 213-of-368 passes (57.9%) for 2,607 yards with 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a 135.08 rating. This run includes a school-record five touchdown passes in UConn’s 48-21 win at Army, a total that he equalled against Akron. Those games have helped him to a total of 27 on the year which already stands as a seasonal school record. His third career and second consecutive 300-yard passing effort, done at Army, pushed Orlovsky into fourth place on the UConn career passing yardage chart. He has since taken over third place on that listing. He has a total of three 300-yard passing games to his credit this year (Indiana, Army and Virginia Tech) with two 299-yard efforts (NC State and Akron). Orlovsky has now thrown a whopping 38 during the last 13 games (2.9 per game) and stands in third place in UConn history with 55 career TD strikes. Orlovsky also extended his streak of consecutive games with a TD pass to 21 against Akron, tying for the longest such streak in UConn history. Orlovsky presently ranks 16th in the nation in total offense, seventh in points responsible for, tied for ninth in passing and sixth in passing yards, while his 27 TD passes rank second in the nation.
HOKIE HI
By throwing for 316 yards in UConn’s game at Virginia Tech on Sept. 27, Dan Orlovsky joined some elite company. Since the start of the 2001 season, only five quarterbacks have thrown for 300 yards in a game against the Hokies’ stringent defense. In that regard, Orlovsky joins Florida State’s Chris Rix, Miami’s Ken Dorsey, Marshall’s Byron Leftwich, and Syracuse’s Troy Nunes.
CAULL TO THE BULLPEN
A season-ending right knee injury (torn ACL and a posterolateral corner tear) to tailback Terry Caulley created an opening for two freshmen and one junior to display their talents for the remainder of the season. Junior Chris Bellamy, redshirt freshman Cornell Brockington and true freshman Matt Lawrence of Bloomfield each have had an opportunity to rush the ball for the Huskies. Brockington has carried the ball 45 times this year for 169 yards, seeing reserve action in the first five games behind Caulley. Lawrence, who the coaching staff had hoped to redshirt but kept prepared just in case, stepped onto the field for the first time at Virginia Tech and started against Lehigh and NC State. Lawrence’s starting debut against the Mountain Hawks was a successful one, carrying 19 times for 88 yards with one touchdown. Against NC State though, Bellamy asserted himself, gaining a career-high 166 yards on 29 carries and he has since continued to be the team’s top rusher.
THAT NAME RINGS A BELLAMY
A wide receiver on opening day, Chris Bellamy has rushed for over 100 yards in each of UConn’s last three games. Bellamy played in nine games as a redshirt freshman in 2001 with one start, and five more last year, including a start against Georgia Tech, before Terry Caulley blew past him on the depth chart, running to Freshman All-America honors. With strong depth in the preseason at tailback compliments of Caulley and promising freshmen Cornell Brockington and Matt Lawrence, Bellamy moved to wide receiver, where he worked until Caulley’s Sept. 27 knee injury. Bellamy was quickly switched back to tailback and played well in relief of Lawrence a week later against Lehigh, picking up 42 yards on eight carries, including his first career touchdown. Although not even listed on the two-deep that week, Bellamy was given an opportunity to see significant playing time at NC State, and he seized the moment, rushing for 166 yards on 29 carries (5.7 avg.). He followed up that performance with a 33-carry 212-yard game (6.4 avg.) at Kent State and a 101-yard rushing day against Akron. Bellamy’s performance against the Golden Flashes was the first 200-yard game by a UConn runner, other than Caulley, since Tory Taylor ran for 256 yards against Boston University on Nov. 4, 1995.
HISTORIC 200-YARD TWOSOME
Terry Caulley rushed for 234 yards at Buffalo on Sept. 20 and Chris Bellamy ran for 212 at Kent State on Oct. 17. This marks the second time in school history that UConn has had two 200-yard rushing performances in the same season and the first time that two different backs have ever gone over 200 in one year. In 1989, Kevin Wesley ran for 272 yards against Massachusetts on Oct. 14 and 223 against Boston University on Nov. 11 in UConn’s only previous instance of a season with two 200-yard rushing games. Prior to this year, no Husky had gone over 200 yards on the ground in a game since Tory Taylor rushed for 256 against Boston University on Nov. 4, 1995. In total there have been 14 200-yard rushing games in the nation this fall and UConn joins Oklahoma State (Tatum Bell) and North Texas (Patrick Cobbs) as the only schools with two such games.
RECAULLING SOME HIGHLIGHTS
The UConn offense suffered a blow when starting tailback Terry Caulley was lost for the remainder of the season after suffering a right knee injury early in the Virginia Tech game on Sept. 27. At the time of the injury, Caulley was leading the nation with 601 rushing yards and ranked second by average at 150.3 yards per game. He stood tied for fourth nationally in rushing touchdowns (seven), fifth in scoring (12.0 ppg), and Caulley also ranked eighth in all-purpose running (170.5 ypg) despite the fact that he does not return either punts or kickoffs. Entering the Virginia Tech game, his 1,848 career rushing yards led all other sophomore rushers in the nation by a margin of 442 yards on the heels of a 2002 campaign in which he was the nation’s leading freshman rusher. Earlier in the season, at Army, Caulley broke Vin Clements’ school record set in 1968 by hitting the century mark on the ground for the sixth consecutive game. Caulley currently has 10 career 100-yard rushing efforts in just 15 career games played, good for a tie for second on the UConn career chart. Caulley had also scored at least one touchdown in each of his last 12 games played prior to the injury.
HENRY’S HAT TRICK
When he caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky during the second quarter of the Buffalo game on Sept. 20, Keron Henry completed a rare career trifecta. Henry has now caught, thrown and rushed for touchdowns in his UConn career. He joins Ken Sweitzer (1978-81) and Tory Taylor (1995-98) as the only Huskies to accomplish this impressive feat.
BALANCED ATTACK STRIKES BACK
Head coach Randy Edsall preaches a balanced offensive attack, evenly mixing rushing and passing plays throughout his tenure at UConn. The 2003 season has been no exception. The Huskies have 376 passing plays to their credit this fall and 348 rushing plays.
MUST BE WAYNE GRETZKY FANS
Members of the UConn offense have narrowly missed milestone games three times this year due to their final numbers ending with the number 99. In two of the past three games (NC State and Akron) Dan Orlovsky has thrown for 299 yards. In the sandwich game, at Kent State, Orlovsky was similarly clipped narrowly short of the 300-passing yard plateau when he finished the game with 293. Also, against Boston College on Sept. 13, Terry Caulley had a string of six consecutive 100-yard rushing games snapped when he finished the game with 99 yards. On the receiving end, Shaun Feldeisen was stopped with 98 yards at Army on Sept. 6.
LOOKING FINE AFTER NINE
Through the ninth game of the year, the UConn offense has made a marked improvement from its nine game totals from 2002.
2002 2003
Total Offense 336.6 ypg 478.3 ypg
Passing Offense 216.6 ypg 299.7 ypg
Rushing Offense 120.0 ypg 178.7 ypg
GOING FOR TWO IS SOMETHING NEW
When Dan Orlovsky hit Keron Henry to tie the Huskies’ game at Kent State 28-28 late in the fourth quarter, you can’t fault the Golden Flashes for not having scouted UConn’s two-point conversion plays. It was the first time UConn had attempted a two point conversion in its last 22 games, dating back to the Nov. 17, 2001 contest at Middle Tennessee when Dan Orlovsky connected with Cliff Hill.
GOING THE DISTANCE
UConn’s offense has put together some impressive marches of late. The Huskies have made eight touchdown drives of at least 80 yards this season, including three at Buffalo. This continues a trend from last season when UConn had 14 drives of 80-yards or more, including four of 90 yards or longer. With the exception of overtime play, UConn’s 36 touchdown drives this year have averaged 63.8 yards.
100-YARD TWO-PACK AGAINST WOLFPACK
In UConn’s Oct. 11 game at NC State, Chris Bellamy gained 166 yards rushing while O’Neil Wilson gained 106 receiving yards. This was the 29th time that UConn had a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver in the same game, and the first such instance in a regulation contest since Oct. 10, 1998 when Barry Chandler ran for 130 and Carl Bond picked up 104 through the air against Hofstra. In a three-overtime game against Villanova on Oct. 16, 1999, Taber Small rushed for 175 yards while John Fitzsimmons gained 107 through the air.
LASSEN LASSOES TOUCHDOWNS
UConn tight end Tim Lassen has made the most of his six career receptions. Four of the six have been good for touchdowns, including one during the second half of UConn’s comeback win over Akron.
SHARING THE WEALTH
For the second consecutive season, Randy Edsall hopes to utilize a deep rotation of wide receivers to help the offense flourish. Seven different Huskies caught at least 20 passes in 2002 which tied for the fourth in the nation during the regular season. In 2003, Edsall has a variety of weapons at the position, where Shaun Feldeisen and Keron Henry may be listed as starters, but Edsall considers all within the group worthy of the honor. O’Neil Wilson, Jason Williams, Brandon Young form the core of a formidable group that will be without the services of Matt Cutaia who hurt his left hand during practice on Oct. 8. So far in 2003, 14 different players have caught a pass for UConn and eight Huskies have already hit double figures in receptions. The shared receptions also creates an even distribution of receiving yardage. Despite the fact that UConn has thrown for 5,368 passing yards over the past two seasons combined (255.6 ypg), the Huskies have had just three 100-yard receivers, Shaun Feldeisen last year against Georgia Tech, Brandon Young on Oct. 4 against Lehigh and O’Neil Wilson on Oct. 11 at NC State. Also, nine different Huskies have caught a touchdown pass in 2003.
BUSTING OUT OF THE GATES
The UConn offense wasted little time in putting points on the scoreboard in 2003, scoring 34 in the opener against Indiana and 48 in the second game of the season, coming at Army. The Huskies scored 82 points through two games in 2003, setting a school record for the most points scored through the first two games of a season. The previous highest scoring start came in 1998 when UConn scored a combined 80 points in wins over Colgate and Maine. Through nine games, UConn is 32nd in the nation, averaging 30.9 points per game.
JUNIORS DOMINATE OFFENSIVE LINE
UConn’s offensive line has a wonderful combination of both youth and experience in 2003. Starting four juniors and a sophomore, the group will all return for the 2004 season, but combined had a total of 79 career starts worth of experience with 84 combined games played between them at the start of the 2003 season.
TIGHT CALL AT TIGHT END
After losing tight end Tommy Collins, the team’s leading receiver in 2002, to graduation, the race at tight end was one of the more difficult to call of the offseason. Sophomore Tim Lassen seemed to step forward as the heir apparent to Collins, but suffered a shoulder injury during fall drills. Senior Terry McClowry edged out redshirt freshman Dan Murray for the starting post although both saw playing time in the season opener against Indiana. Murray started against Army, BC, Buffalo and Virginia Tech when McClowry suffered a shoulder stinger and he was backed up by an interesting combination of fellow redshirt freshmen. Ziggy Goryn played a majority of the reserve downs, but in goal line situations, tackle Craig Berry checked in as an eligible receiver at tight end wearing number 94. McClowry returned for Virginia Tech and started against Lehigh. Lassen recovered from his injury in time to make his debut at NC State where he started along with McClowry as UConn opened the game in a two tight end set.
YOUTH REIGNS IN CONNECTICUT BACKFIELD
Fullback Deon Anderson and tailback Terry Caulley started last season as true freshmen and with a year of experience, they lead a very talented young backfield. The group will be bolstered by a trio of freshmen this year. True freshman Sam Dorvil has been playing Anderson this fall. Redshirt freshman Cornell Brockington and true freshman Matt Lawrence dueled all season for the top backup role behind Terry Caulley and now both are battling for playing time in the wake of Caulley’s season-ending injury.
DEFENSE NOTES
THREE AND OUTS BECOMING COMMON FOR UCONN FOES
The UConn defense forced Indiana into five three-and-outs in the season opener and have followed that performance up with several similar showings throughout the season. UConn has forced its 2003 opponents to go three-and-out 36 times in 123 possessions, a strong 31-percent. Last year, UConn forced a three-and-out on 30-percent of opposing possessions, including a season high eight on just 12 possessions at Navy.
HUSKIES SHOW UB PUNTER MILANO WHO’S THE BOSS
The UConn defense swarmed over Buffalo’s offense forcing 11 Bull punts by Dominic Milano out of 13 UB possessions. The lone exceptions came with the end of the first half and a failed fourth-down try late in the game. UConn’s defense was also solid against Virginia Tech in this category. The Huskies forced the Hokies to punt six times in the game, the same number of punts that Virginia Tech had made in its first three games of the year combined. Two weeks later, NC State had to punt nine times against the Huskies, the Wolfpack’s most punts in a game since at least 1999. Overall, UConn has forced it’s opponents to punt a staggering 69 times through nine games (7.6 per game). Although the NCAA does not keep this as a category leader, on the flip side, only Buffalo has made as many as 70 punts as a team in 2003 while Arizona has made 63 punts and UNLV 61. By comparison, the UConn offense has punted just 47 times this year.
LINEBACKERS FINALLY JOIN SACK ATTACK
Linebacker James Hargrave’s sack of NC State quarterback Philip Rivers on third-and-10 on the UConn 11 yard-line with seconds remaining in the first half was critical as it held the Wolfpack to a field goal. However, it was also noteworthy. Coming at the mid point of the seventh game of the year, it was UConn’s 17th sack of the year, but its first sack by someone other than a defensive lineman. To date, UConn has made 31 sacks this year with 28 of them coming from the defensive line. Last year, non-linemen recorded 7.5 of UConn’s 23 sacks with the linemen making the other 15.5.
PRESSURE PUSHING DOWN ON QUARTERBACKS
The UConn defense has been doing a much better job this season of pressuring opposing quarterbacks. UConn has been credited by the coaches with 100 pass pressures through nine games this fall. All of last year, UConn was credited with 76 pass pressures. At this juncture last fall, UConn had just 59 pass pressures. Not surprisingly, UConn has held its opponents to a .500 completion percentage and 106.90 efficiency rating where as at this junction last year, UConn foes had hit on .538 percent of their passes with a 116.99 rating. Meanwhile, UConn’s 31 sacks to date is 55% more than its 17 through nine games in 2002.
RIVERS DOESN’T FLOW AGAINST HUSKIES
NC State quarterback Philip Rivers, a prime Heisman Trophy candidate who Dan Orlovsky called "far and away the best quarterback in the country" during a recent live chat on UConnHuskies.com, found himself stifled by the Husky defense. The efficient Rivers, who entered the game with an amazing .751 completion percentage, was held to a season-low .548 (23-for-42) by the Huskies. It was his lowest completion percentage of the season and the senior’s lowest ever in a non-conference game, including three bowl appearances. Rivers’ 234 passing yards against UConn was also a season low.
ON ANY GIVEN OSUNDE
With his sack at NC State, Uyi Osunde became UConn’s all-time career tackles for loss leader. He presently has 42 after making a career high-five against Akron. The previous record of 31 was shared by Razul Wallace (1999-2002) and Jamar Wilkins (1997-2000). Osunde leads the Huskies with eight sacks thus far in 2003 and 13.5 total tackles for loss. His 63 tackles on the season leads all UConn defensive linemen.
A KING AIN’T SATISFIED UNTIL HE RULES EVERYTHING
As defenses have tried to clamp down on Uyi Osunde, Tyler King has been able to rise to the occasion on the opposite end. After making 66 tackles, 13 TFLs and 6.5 sacks in his first two seasons combined, King has recorded 60 tackles in the first nine games this year with 12.5 TFLs and seven sacks, ranking second only to Osunde for UConn in the later two categories. King announced his presence with authority at the end of a critical series late in the first half against Akron. The Zips drove to the UConn 19 with about 4:00 to play in the second quarter already holding a 28-21 lead. King saved the Huskies from an imposing halftime deficit by sacking Akron quarterback Charlie Frye on both first and second down, followed by a stop on Frye for a gain of just two yards. The resulting negative yardage forced Akron to punt on their red zone possession and kept UConn in a game the Huskies would rally to win 38-37.
POTENT HOKIES SHUTOUT ON THIRD DOWN
A concern for UConn entering the Virginia Tech game was the Hokies’ startling third down efficiency. Virginia Tech had converted on 67% of its third down tries in 2003 entering the contest (26-for-39) but against UConn the Hokies went 0-for-8. It is the second year in a row that UConn has held a team without a third down conversion, after stopping Navy on each of the Midshipmen’s 12 attempts last Nov. 16.
CONSISTENCY IN STARTING LINEUP
UConn has started the exact same defensive lineup in each of its nine games this year with the exception of just one player for one game. Taurien Sowell started for a banged up Maurice Lloyd at Army, but otherwise the lineup has been perfectly constant. The four down linemen have been Tyler King, Ryan Bushey, Sean Mulcahy and Uyi Osunde in each contest. Alfred Fincher, Lloyd and James Hargrave have served as the starters at linebacker while Justin Perkins, Terrance Smith, John Fletcher and Ernest Cole have comprised the starting backfield eight times in eight games. UConn has yet to open a game in its nickel package.
EXPERIENCE ON THE LINE
UConn boasts a tremendous amount of experience amongst its starters on the defensive line, which includes three seniors and a junior who have all seen considerable playing time in their UConn careers. The unit is further bolstered by the guidance of two of the team’s three captains in Sean Mulcahy and Uyi Osunde. Entering the season, the four starters on the defensive line averaged 21.3 career starts between them. Osunde is first in UConn history with his 42 career tackles for loss, a sum which includes 9.5 sacks in 2002 alone. Osunde’s sack of Bryan Randall is the only one Virginia Tech has yielded thus far in 2003. Tyler King is a perfect complement to Osunde at the other defensive end spot. The 6-6 255 pound junior has an ever-charging motor that propelled him to 60 tackles this year, including 12.5 for a loss. The tackles are both seniors in Mulcahy and Ryan Bushey. Bushey missed much of the 2002 season, but hopes to regain his form from 2001 where he started all 11 games. One of the team’s most media-friendly personas, Mulcahy has 133 career tackles to his credit with 20.5 for a loss. With the exception of senior end Hakeem Kashama, the reserves are young though. Sophomores Shawn Mayne and Deon McPhee plus redshirt freshmen Rhema Fuller will look to spell the starters on game day.
DEFENSE RANKS IN THE TOP QUARTER NATIONALLY
Last year the Huskies finished in the top 25 in the nation in total defense, and despite the loss of five starters, the fall off has been minimal. UConn presently ranks 25th in the nation in total defense, out of 117 schools, allowing 321.89 yards per game. UConn is 20th in passing efficiency defense (106.90 rating) and also 19th in passing defense (184.78 ypg). UConn’s lone deficiency has been rushing defense where it ranks 45th (137.11 ypg). The Huskies also rank 63rd in scoring defense (25.00 ppg) although UConn has surrendered seven non-offensive touchdowns in 2003.
LINEBACKERS LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS
Before the season, it appeared that the UConn linebacking corps would be one of the team’s stronger units and the group has not disappointed thus far in 2003. The three starters on the unit rank first, second and fifth on the team. James Hargrave, the lone new starter of the bunch, ranks fifth overall with 62 tackles, including seven tackles for loss, which is second amongst the team’s linebackers. Alfred Fincher is second on the team with 83 total tackles on the season after making a whopping 17 (11 solo) at NC State. The weakside post has seen not only strong play by Maurice Lloyd (team-high 85 tackles, plus 8.5 TFLs), but also exceptional play off of the bench by Taurien Sowell. Starting in place of an injured Lloyd at Army, Sowell led UConn with 14 tackles in the game. He has also made noteworthy contributions on special teams.
SECONDARY TURNS TO SOME SECONDARY PLAYERS
With the unexpected losses of Jason Dellaselva, Marlon Jones and Chris Meyer over the summer, the UConn secondary has some fresh but capable faces in 2003. The unit that ranked fifth in the nation in passing defense last fall has already benefited from the return of a healthy Justin Perkins. Perkins was the Huskies’ top cover corner in 2001 but missed all but the first half of the season opener at Boston College with a knee injury. Ernest Cole won a tight battle with Cathlyn Clarke for the starting role at the other corner, but both will see ample playing time. Terrance Smith is the team’s lone returning starter from 2002 as he is again manning the right safety post. Junior John Fletcher earned the other safety spot during fall camp. A trio of true freshmen, Allan Barnes, Dontá Moore, and Jahi Smith find themselves in the mix for playing time in the defensive backfield along with redshirt freshman safety M.J. Estep.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
THE CROCODILE PUNTER
Senior Adam Coles, a native of Gladesville, Australia and a former Australian Rules Football player, has made a solid transition to the American version of football and is quietly making noise in UConn’s record book. Coles is presently UConn’s second in UConn history with a 40.0 average for a minimum of 80 career punts and holds the school’s career record for both number of punts and yardage. Coles entered his senior campaign off of another consistent season in 2002, kicking for a 39.9 average, including a long of 64 at Miami. He picked up on the right foot (his left) in 2003, punting 46 times thus far for a 40.9 yard average. At Kent State, he masterfully killed two of his three punts at the Kent State two yard line.
RETURNERS ROTATE ONCE MORE
UConn’s return game, both on punts and kickoffs, has seen some personnel adjustments as the 2003 season has progressed. M.J. Estep started the year as the lone deep back for kickoffs and averaged a solid 20.0 yards for the two that he returned. Estep was replaced by Jason Williams for the Boston College game after Williams recovered fully from a shoulder injury suffered during fall camp. Williams has done a solid job in that role, earning a game ball on special teams at Buffalo after an 82-yard kick return that was stopped just shy of becoming UConn’s first kickoff return touchdown since 1998. Due to a nagging injury, Williams was replaced as the kickoff returner at NC State by true freshman Allan Barnes so he could get some more plays in as a wide receiver. Barnes shined brightly in his collegiate kickoff returning debut, averaging 39.5 yards on his two kickoff returns. Starting with the Akron game though, UConn switched to a two-deep formation on kickoffs with Barnes and Brandon Young as the returners. Meanwhile, the punt return chores have already come full circle. David Sanchez began the year in that role but was lifted for Young when Young recovered from a hamstring injury suffered during fall camp. Young played well against Boston College, averaging 6.5 yards per return, but was replaced by Sanchez at Buffalo after muffing consecutive punts in the second quarter. Sanchez is presently the team’s top punt returner.
START SPREADING THE NUZIE: MATT RETAKES PK JOB
Replacing three-year starting place kicker Marc Hickok, redshirt freshman Matt Nuzie has had a roller-coaster ride of a season of epic proportions. Nuzie started out strong in UConn’s wins over Indiana and Army. He then faltered, missing 10 of his next 12 field goal tries, including two each of 34-yards or less against both Boston College and Buffalo. True freshman Graig Vicidomino was also given a hard look at this point of possibly filling the place kicking post but didn’t help his chances by missing a PAT try against the Hokies and two field goals against Lehigh. Nuzie secured the starting role after hitting on all three of his point after attempts against NC State and adding a 21-yard field goal. He then hit on two of his three field goal tries at Kent State and both of his extra point attempts. Nuzie’s season to date reached a crechendo against Akron when he drilled a 27-yard field goal as time expired to give UConn a 38-37 win, earning him a lift on his teammates’ shoulders off of the field and a gameball in the locker room. In addition to improved field goal work, Nuzie has now hit on each of his last 27 PAT tries, tying for the third longest streak in school history.
SCHEDULE NOTES
BYE BYE BYE
Weeks off have been a rather foreign concept to the Huskies of late and 2003 is no exception. For the 13th time in the last 21 seasons, UConn will roll through its schedule without a breather. The stretch includes a run of eight straight such seasons from 1983-90. This may not be a bad thing as UConn is 1-4 under Randy Edsall after a bye week and just 2-6 since 1991. UConn is one of eight teams nationally without a bye this year, joining Akron, California, Louisiana-Lafayette, Minnesota, Purdue, Stanford and UCLA.
WHO ARE YOU? WHO? WHO? WHO? WHO?
As a part of their move to Division I-A status the Huskies are facing a revamped schedule. In 2002, the UConn football slate featured six first time opponents for UConn and 2003 is no different as the Huskies will face four opponents for the first time in Indiana, North Carolina State, Western Michigan and Wake Forest. In 2002, the Huskies opposed Georgia Tech, Ohio, Miami (Fla.), Vanderbilt, Florida Atlantic and Iowa State for the first time ever on the gridiron, posting a 3-3 record in these games. In fact, fellow-Division I-A neophyte Buffalo and Rutgers are the only 2003 opponents that UConn had faced more than 10 times. Entering the season, a total of just 61 games had been played all-time between UConn and its 2003 opponents combined. In addition to its new opponents, UConn faced its first ever member of the Big Ten Conference in Indiana and is facing its fourth and fifth members of the ACC in North Carolina State and Wake Forest.
HUSKIES PLAY THE BCS FIELD
UConn will face opponents from three different BCS Conferences this season, playing teams from the ACC (NC State and Wake Forest), BIG EAST (Boston College, Rutgers, and Virginia Tech) and the Big Ten (Indiana). Over the past two seasons, UConn has faced members of five of the six BCS conferences, also playing against the Big 12 (Iowa State) and SEC (Vanderbilt) last season. UConn presently has no scheduled games against the BCS’s sixth member, the Pac-10.
WEEK TWELVE????
For just the third time in school history, and the second consecutive season, UConn will play 12 games in a season this fall. The Huskies are a perfect 2-0 in their previous 12th games. Last year, UConn posted a 37-20 upset win over bowl-bound Iowa State in Ames in the Week 12 season finale. The first such instance at UConn came in 1998 when UConn was chosen for the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs after a 9-2 regular season. UConn defeated Hampton, 42-34, in the first round on Nov. 28 in Storrs in that inaugural 12th game. The Huskies fell at Georgia Southern the following week in its only 13th game to a season. In 2003, as in 2002, schools are allowed by the NCAA to schedule 12 games because there are 14 Saturdays between the first permissible playing date and the last playing date in November.
HUSKIES TO JOIN BIG EAST FOR 2004 SEASON
After playing for the past four years as an independent, UConn will become a member of the BIG EAST Football Conference for the 2004 season. UConn was originally scheduled to enter the league in 2005 but the program was accepted for early admission into the league on July 10.
STADIUM/ATTENDANCE NOTES
MOVIN’ ON UP TO THE EAST SIDE
The Huskies moved into brand new Rentschler Field in East Hartford for the 2003 season with the stadium opening its doors on August 30 when UConn defeated Indiana, 34-10. Conveniently located within miles of Interstates 91, 84 and 384, Adriaen’s Landing and downtown Hartford, the new home of the Huskies lies on 75 acres of land donated to the State of Connecticut from the historic Pratt & Whitney Airfield by company founder Frederick Rentschler. The new stadium boasts a capacity of 40,000 with 38 luxury suites in a massive press box tower which helps enclose the natural grass field. The $91.2 million construction project is an integral part of Governor John Rowland’s economic development program for the Hartford metro-area. While UConn football will serve as the primary tenant, the facility will also attract other prominent events to Hartford. Rentschler Field recently hosted two concerts by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, September 16 and 18. The opening ceremonies for the State Games of America were held at Rentschler Field on August 8.
RENTSCHLER FIELD NATION’S NEWEST STADIUM
Rentschler Field is the only new stadium in the country to open for college football this year. Prior to UConn, the last Division I-A team to open a new facility was Pittsburgh which inaugurated Heinz Field, along with the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, in 2001. The last opening of a true college football facility came in 2000 when SMU began play at 32,000-seat Gerald J. Ford stadium after years of using the Cotton Bowl for home games.
STARTING A COMMOTION
Swelling interest in the Husky football program as it gradually moves up into BIG EAST play can be evidenced by a rise in attendance. For the 2003 season, UConn has sold approximately 24,000 season tickets at Rentschler Field, a staggering sum considering that the 2001 season ticket base was around 5,000. Last year, UConn, fueled by a season-ticket base of 11,300, ranked 23rd in the nation by playing to 97.58% of Memorial Stadium’s 16,200 seat capacity. It took UConn just three games in its new home to post a season attendance total of 113,431 by far eclipsing the previous record of 94,843 set last fall.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
CONNECTICUT’S NEW CLOTHES
The UConn football team has a new look in 2003 as it moves into its new home at Rentschler Field, one the program will maintain for a while and build a tradition upon for years to come. The simple yet bold monogram "C" on the side of the football helmet harkens back to Connecticut’s athletic heritage from the 1920s through the 1960s when the simple "C" stood as the university’s primary athletic symbol. UConn’s football helmets also featured a version of the letter "C" elongated into a football shape for much of the late 1960s through the mid 1970s. The "C" logo also appears on the sleeves of the uniforms which have been slightly modified for the 2003 season by UConn sponsor Aéropostale. The solid stripe that went across the shoulder in 2002 has been replaced with a set of alternating navy, white and silver bands around the sleeve. Keeping with a notion of the Huskies representing the whole state and not just the university, the word "Connecticut" will again appear on the chest of the jerseys with the font matching that of the "C" on the helmet. The Huskies will continue to wear navy jerseys for home games and white on the road with the team choosing from either navy or silver pants to complete each ensemble.
SENIOR DAY NEXT SATURDAY
UConn will conclude a season-long three-game homestand at Rentschler Field next Saturday at 12:00 p.m. when the Huskies welcome BIG EAST Conference foe Rutgers to East Hartford. Eighteen seniors will be honored prior to the game for their contributions to building the UConn program throughout its transition from Division I-AA to Division I-A, a growth process that saw a major building block laid with a 20-19 win at Rutgers in 2001. Tickets can be purchased either by calling the UConn Ticket Office at (877) AT-UCONN, logging on to TicketMaster.com, or by stopping by the UConn Ticket Office in Storrs. The Rentschler Field box office is only open on game days.
