University of Connecticut Athletics
Football Downs Louisville 21-17 for Homecoming Win
10/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (Oct. 19, 2007) -Redshirt sophomore running back Andre Dixon (New Brunswick, N.J.) bulled his way in from the five-yard line with the winning touchdown with 1:32 to play to give Connecticut a scintillating 21-17 come-from-behind football victory over league foe Louisville Friday evening before a sellout crowd of 40,000 at Rentschler Field.
The win improves the Huskies’ overall record to 6-1 and strengthens their outright lead in the BIG EAST standings where they now have a 2-0 record. The Cardinals drop to 4-4, 1-2 in conference play.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Huskies trailing 17-14, Connecticut took over on downs after holding the Cardinals on fourth-and-three from the Husky 28. Junior quarterback Tyler Lorenzen (Fremont, Iowa) led the Huskies on a beautiful nine-play, 71 yard drive to the victory. Lorenzen started the drive with a 17-yard completion to Brad Kanuch (Johnstown, Pa.), and after three runs by Lorenzen and Dixon, Lorenzen hooked up with Terrence Jeffers (Lawrenceville, Ga.) on an 18-yard pass to give the Huskies a first-and-10 at the Louisville 24. After a short pass completion to Jeffers, Dixon put the Huskies on his back and into the lead. A 12-yard run gave UConn a first-and-goal at the Cardinal five, and two plays later, Dixon would not be denied as he carried several Cardinal defenders into the end zone with the winning score.
Louisville had one final chance, as Brian Brohm (29 of 41, two interceptions, 228 yards and a touchdown) marched the Cardinals into Husky territory but linebacker Danny Lansanah (Harrisburg, Pa.) intercepted Brohm at the UConn 20 with 15 seconds remaining.
Dixon paced the Husky offense, running for 115 yards on 22 carries. It was the third time in his brief UConn career he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a game. Lorenzen tied his career-best with 56 rushing yards and threw for 130 more and a touchdown.
The Huskies appeared to be in big trouble in the fourth quarter when Earl Heyman picked up a Donald Brown (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) fumble and raced 32 yards for a Louisville touchdown to put the Cards ahead, 17-7. The Huskies answered right back, kick started by a 29-yard kickoff return by Larry Taylor (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) that gave the Huskies the ball at midfield. Five plays later, Lorenzen found D.J. Hernandez (Bristol, Conn.) with a seven-yard touchdown to set the stage for Dixon’s heroics.
The first half was a defensive battle as Louisville scored the only points of the opening 30 minutes on the last play of the first quarter on a pass from Brohm to Scott Kuhn. The Huskies were held scoreless until early in the third quarter when Taylor took a Cory Goettsche punt at his own 26 and raced 74 yards for a score. Taylor appeared to call for a fair catch, but no whistle blew and the Huskies had knotted the score.
In addition to his game-high 115 rushing yards, Dixon led the Huskies with three catches and 55 receiving yards. Jeffers also caught three balls for 40 yards.
The Huskies defense was immense all night, keeping the high-powered Cardinal offense off-balance. Linebacker Scott Lutrus (Brookfield, Conn.) had 18 tackles, while Lansanah had 15 tackles. Both linebackers had interceptions.
The Huskies will return to the gridiron next Saturday, October 27, when they entertain #2-nationally ranked South Florida at Rentschler Field. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and the game will televised regionally by ABC.
Game Notes
- With the win UConn moves to 6-1 on the season.
- With the win UConn is now Bowl Eligible for the third time in school history (2003, 2004 and 2007).
- With the win UConn is now 22-8 at Rentschler Field all-time.
- With the win UConn is now 2-0 against BIG EAST schools this season, the only undefeated team in the league.
- With the win UConn is now 3-2 in Homecoming games at Rentschler Field.
- With the win UConn is now 3-1 in BIG EAST home openers at Rentschler Field.
- With the win UConn is now 1-3 all-time against Louisville.
- With the win UConn is now 6-3 in night games played at Rentschler Field.
- With the win UConn is 2-2 in games played on Friday night games televised by ESPN or ESPN2.
- UConn has worn blue jerseys with blue pants in the last five homecoming games.
- Larry Taylor’s 74 yard punt return for a touchdown was the longest of his career
- Larry Taylor’s 74 yard punt return for a touchdown is the fourth longest in school history.
- Larry Taylor now has tied for the most punt returns in BIG EAST history with 84, he is even with former Miami standout and NFL Pro-Bowler Santana Moss.
- Larry Taylor’s three career punt returns for touchdowns ties him with the most in school history with Jordan Younger(1996-99) and Matt Latham (1982-84).
- UConn has 15 interceptions this season. It had 12 in 2006 and 14 in 2005.
- Darius Butler’s interception was the 10th of his career. This ties him for eighth on the all-time school list with Dwayne Miller (1984, 1986-1988), Roy Hopkins (1998-2002) and Scott Daniels (1984-1987).
- Scott Lutrus’ 18 tackles is a career high.
- Scott Lutrus’ interception was the third of his career.
- Andre Dixon’s 115 rushing yards is the third 100-yard rushing game of his career.
- Tyler Lorenzen’s 62 yards rushing is a career-high.
- Louisville’s 321 offensive yards is the smallest output the Cardinals have had all season.
- Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm’s 228 yards passing is the fewest he has thrown in a game this year. And his lowest since throwing for just 163 at Rutgers last Nov. 9.
Post Game Quotes
University of Connecticut
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Opening Statement:
“It was a total team victory for us tonight. I thought that all three phases of our team really did a great job and contributed in every aspect. I’m just proud of the coaches, I’m just proud of the kids for what they did. The one thing is that a mentor of mine was here to see it, Gary Blackney, who’s a UConn grad. He told the players and me in the locker room that it was just a great win, and I’m so proud of the players and coaches.”
How did the offense, which had trouble getting into the red zone all game, get into the end zone on that final drive?
“I don’t know. They’re amazing at times. They hit stretches where they look like they’re unstoppable, and then we have some stretches where it looks like we haven’t practiced for a week. It’s just a belief - it’s an attitude of never saying die and never believing the game is over until the last whistle blows, great leadership out there and just the guys willing to not want to lose. To go through what we did last week, and I always sat last week doesn’t matter this week, but I think you have to bring up the fact what happened last week – for the kids to come out and go through what they did today is just a tremendous statement of their character and their heart. I’m just so proud of them.”
Can you talk about what you saw Larry Taylor do in his punt return?
“I saw he caught the ball, ran down the left sideline, and then scored a touchdown. Until I see the film, that’s what I saw on the field.”
Can you rank this win?
“It’s just one of the six we have this year.”
Can you talk about how the defense was able to be effective against an outstanding offensive team?
“I thought we had an excellent plan in place. We played within our limits against an outstanding quarterback and an outstanding offensive team. I thought our defense really played well and I thought it was appropriate they ended the game on the field with the interception. I’m so proud of my Harrisburg buddy, Danny Lansanah,. I thought they really executed the plan we had and I thought [defensive coordinator] Todd [Orlando] called an excellent game.”
Can you talk about the game Scott Lutrus and Darius Butler had?
“I thought Scott player very well. He’s a redshirt freshman that is getting better with each game and really understands what it’s all about and goes hard. Darius atoned for the mistake he made last week with the interception right before the half. They basically tried to run the same play, just a little bit different in terms of how they ran it. It goes to show you he made a mistake last week, but he didn’t make the same mistake this week. Again, overall I think everyone on defense played well. I thought the defensive line was really good on that last drive forcing pressure.”
The emotion on the field and in the crowd as the game ended suggested that this was more than just one of the six wins.
“Do you think I’m going to say anything different than that? It’s hard for me to say certain things because as a coach - and I had the opportunity today to listen to Joe Torre at his press conference - you don’t realize when you’re involved in this, you don’t get a chance to enjoy this game. You really don’t. When you’re retired you might, but we’re moving along to the next game and I mean that. I think it’s a great win for our kids and for our assistant coaches. Where [this win] ranks is for you people to decide, but that’s not for me. All we’re looking forward to is winning as many as we can and to me they all mean the same. This is no disrespect, but they all mean the same. This win doesn’t count anymore than Temple, it doesn’t count anymore than Maine, and it doesn’t count anymore than any of the other games that we won. It just goes into the win column and if we’re going to allow this to affect us any differently than we did with any of those other wins we have, we’re not going to be the kind of team we want to be. We have to stay hungry, we have to continue to work our tails off because this is how we got in the position we’re in right now. For it to be any other way, at least coming from me, I’m not doing my job in my opinion. You may disagree but that’s who I am.”
Where does this win rank?
“It is up there, becoming 2-0 in the Big East. It’s a great feeling to hear the fans out there, with these conditions and come out with a win”
Being down 17-7, what is your mentality?
“It’s 60 minutes, the whole week we knew that it was going to be a 60 minute battle and it isn’t over until it is over. We finished the game and the defense helped us out playing very well. It was a total team effort.”
How did you turn around after being down 17-7?
“It’s a 60 minute game and we had to keep going at it. We did and we were all focused. We know that we are capable of putting drives together and it was about doing the little things and we did them.”
QB,
Did you guys get down after they returned that fumble for a touchdown?
“We have a mature team and they realize that you can’t flinch, can’t ever think negatively. You just have to respond, keep your nose up and realize that there is more minutes left in the game and we have to capitalize on the next drive.”
On Andre Dixon:
“Andre did great, he is a great running back and made plays whether it is running the ball or catching passes out of the backfield. He is a great running back, great teammate and great friend. If I have to give the ball to him 100 times to win, I will.”
DT, S
Do you think about being first in the Big East?
“Yes, you can’t say you don’t. Obviously we knew what we had to do but there is more than that. Yes we are first in the Big East now but its game seven and there are five more to go. We just have to take it one game at a time and see where we end up.”
What did you see when you saw LT (Larry Taylor) return that punt?
“I saw him take it for a touchdown; I saw what I needed to see. I don’t care how he did it, he did it. We talked at half time and said that we need a big play from each side of the ball, offense, defense and special teams. Larry looked at me and gave me a wink so I knew something was coming up. He gave me that wink and I knew it was something.”
Sophomore TB
Talk about your touchdown run.
“That run was crazy, but I give a lot of credit to my line. They made a nice hole and I knew I had to hit that hole and continue to keep my legs driving in the red zone.”
How did you feel when you knew you were in the end zone?
“I had a feeling of relief. You want to do best on every play and I felt that I did my best. The results showed that.”
Coach said that he was not going to look at the BIG EAST standings, are you going to?
“No, not at all. We are not going to look at the BIG EAST standings. We are just going to continue to prepare and do what we have to do to face South Florida.”
Where does this rank in terms of the games you’ve played in?
“It’s the best because we came down to the end and won. It is the best game so far.”
Senior LB
Where does this win rank?
“Like coach said, we are just putting deposits in the bank. We had the chance to play on national television even though a lot of people don’t respect us. We don’t care about what other people think, but they got a chance to see us today and we came out and won. Louisville is a very good team, they came out to play everyday and we beat them.”
Is this win more special to you than others?
“It’s a different team but it just comes down to us doing our job and playing every play. That’s what we did today. We gave all we had for the whole sixty minutes and we came out on top.”
On the defensive performance
“We have a lot of pride in what we did tonight. It’s our job to support our offense and put our offense in positions where they can score. Our offense was in a tough position late in the game when we were down seventeen to seven and we came up with the stops. Football is made up of three things, special teams, offense and defense and all three contributed tonight.”
University of Louisville
HEAD COACH STEVE KRAGTHORPE
On the disputed fair catch call that resulted in UConn’s first touchdown:
“The explanation they gave me is that he didn’t make a fair catch signal. The back judge told me he did not make a fair catch signal. I called timeout and I asked the head official if I can review that [play] and he said, ‘I’m not sure.’ Quote. Un-quote. He said, ‘I’m not sure.’ My personal opinion is that there was absolutely no question he called for a fair catch. The next time he called for a fair catch was not as good a signal as the time when they didn’t allow it to be called a fair catch. But that’s my personal opinion. That and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee, if you’re lucky.”
The coaching philosophy before UConn’s last drive for the winning touchdown:
“We just had to come up with a stop. I thought our defense did a nice job all night. They played hard but you got to give UConn some credit. They made some plays down the stretch that they needed to win the football game. I thought our defense stepped up and made a lot of plays, obviously the one with Earl [Heyman] picking up the fumble and returning it to give us a 17-7 lead. At that point in time, it should have been 17-0. We did some good things on defense but again, you got to give UConn credit because they did a nice job at the end of the game.”
The driving rain & wind in first half, and its effect on playing conditions & the Louisville offense:
“It was more the wind and rain combination than it was just the rain. The wind kind of died down a little bit in the third quarter but the wind was pretty significant. The wind blowing the rain right into your face, and it was swirling a little bit. So, I think it was a combination of the rain and the win than just the rain itself.”
DT EARL HEYMAN
On the level of talent on the UConn Huskies & more specifically, the Big East Conference:
“There is a reason why [UConn is] at the top of the conference. It’s hard to be at the top of the conference in the Big East. I don’t think people give us enough credit. We have a lot of great football teams in this conference. We beat Cincinnati but then South Florida loses to Rutgers or then Cincinnati beats someone else. The Big East is so competitive. It’s anybody’s league. The championship can go any way. We just have to wait to see how it unfolds… We have a lot of talented teams. The Big East is tough. I know everybody talks up the SEC, the Pac-10, the Big 10 and the Big 12 but the Big East is tough. You always see somebody getting upset. We got the toughest teams in the conference coming up but we just played the number one team in the conference.”
On the disputed fair catch call that resulted in UConn’s first touchdown:
“The referee’s do their job. Its part of the football game. Good calls, bad calls. It’s not my job. I’m just a football player, so regardless of what call they make my personal opinion doesn’t really matter because the call sticks. I didn’t even see [the fair catch call]. I just saw him running down the sideline.”
On Louisville’s defensive & offensive approach to this game:
“We approach every game like we approached this one. It’s just the amount of plays that are made. Coach always preaches that there are five plays in the course of a game that determine the outcome. When we lose, we usually come up short in three of those five plays. We approach every play like that it could be that play that determines the course of a game.”
