University of Connecticut Athletics
Football Earns First Ever BCS Ranking
10/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, CONN. (Oct. 21, 2007) – The University of Connecticut football team (6-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) is ranked No. 23 in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings announced on Sunday night by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. It is the first ever appearance by the Huskies in the weekly rankings that ultimately determine which schools play for the national championship.
The BCS rankings are a combination of the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll, the Harris Interactive Poll and the average of six computer rankings (excluding the highest and lowest computer rank). UConn is 29th in the Harris Poll, 28th in the coaches poll and is tied for 16th in the computer rankings, earning the Huskies a BCS average of 0.1360. That average places UConn in 23rd place, just ahead of No. 24 Alabama and just behind the Crimson Tide’s rival Auburn at No. 22.
“It is a nice milestone for our program to be included in the BCS standings for the first time,” UConn head coach Randy Edsall said. “It speaks well to the dedication of our players, coaches and staff, but right now our focus is entirely on Saturday’s game against South Florida.”
The Huskies play host to USF (No. 10 in the BCS standings) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Rentschler Field. The game will be televised regionally by ABC. UConn and USF are joined in the rankings by a third BIG EAST team as West Virginia checks in at No. 7.
UConn stands at 6-1 on the season following Friday night’s 21-17 win over defending BIG EAST and FedEx Orange Bowl Champion Louisville at Rentschler Field. At 2-0 in league play, UConn is the last remaining undefeated team in BIG EAST action. Friday night, UConn rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to earn the victory. Meanwhile, the sixth-ranked Husky defense held Louisville’s vaunted attack to roughly 238 yards and 25 points and below its season average (321 vs. 559.6 and 17 vs. 41.7). UConn’s lone loss on the year came on the road by a narrow 17-16 score at No. 15 Virginia (7-1, 4-0 ACC).
Tickets are still available for all three of UConn’s remaining home games (Oct 27 vs. USF, Nov. 3 vs. Rutgers and Nov. 17 vs. Syracuse). Fans can secure seats for any or all of the three games by either logging onto UConnHuskies.com or calling TicketMaster at (860) 525-4500.
