University of Connecticut Athletics
Football Prepares For Trip To Rutgers
10/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, Conn. (Oct. 14, 2008) – Here are the UConn football notes for the Huskies game this Saturday against Rutgers.
THE COACHES
CONNECTICUT HEAD COACH RANDY EDSALL
A semifinalist for the 2007 Bryant and Munger Coach of the Year Awards, Randy Edsall has tackled the challenge of bringing a former NCAA Division I-AA team up to par with the BIG EAST in a brief 10-year span head on, guiding the Huskies to the 2007 BIG EAST Championship and its first two bowl games.
He has compiled a 55-56 career record in his 10th season at UConn, including wins in 44 of UConn’s last 70 games.
Immediately prior to becoming UConn’s head coach in 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 MacPherson in a variety of capacities. 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. He was inducted into the York Area Sports Hall of Fame.
RUTGERS HEAD COACH GREG SCHIANO
Greg Schiano is in his eighth season as the head football coach at Rutgers. He entered the 2008 season with a mark of 38-46 at the school. He has led the Scarlet Knights to bowl wins in each of the past two years - a first in school history - and to three-straight bowl appearances -- another school first.
Schiano was the defensive coordinator at Miami (Fla.) from 1999-2000 and spent 1996-99 as an assistant coach with the NFL’s Chicago Bears. He was an assistant at Penn State from 1990-96. Schiano is a 1988 Bucknell graduate and was a linebacker for the Bison.
RADIO & TV COVERAGE
TV COVERAGE
The UConn vs. Rutgers game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Dave Armstrong is on play-by-play while former Miami (Fla.) head coach Larry Coker is the color announcer. Melissa Knowles is on the sidelines while Todd Jones is the producer.
RADIO COVERAGE
For the 16th 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 Kevin Nathan on the sidelines and Eric Davis on production.
The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff and is hosted by Bob Joyce, while at home games, the UConn Tailgate Show will air two and a half hours prior to the game with Arnold Dean.
The UConn Football Radio Network also includes WILI 1400-AM in Willimantic, WINE 940-AM in Danbury and WPUT-1510 AM in Brewster, N.Y. UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet at WTIC.com.
SERIES NOTES
HUSKIES VS. RUTGERS ALL-TIME
Saturday will mark the 28th meeting between UConn and Rutgers in a series that dates back to 1940. The Scarlet Knights hold an 18-9 edge, but the Huskies have won four of the six meetings in recent years. Four of the six recent meetings have been settled by a touchdown or less. Since UConn joined the BIG EAST in football in 2004, the teams have split their four meetings with 1-1 marks at both Rentschler Field and Rutgers Stadium.
UConn and Rutgers renewed its series in 2001 as the Huskies transitioned to a FBS program. On Sept. 29, 2001, the teams met for the first time since 1983, and the Huskies produced a thrilling, 20-19, win in Piscataway. That win was UConn’s first ever over a member of the BIG EAST Conference. Prior to the 2001 contest, Rutgers had won six straight meetings dating back to a 9-7 UConn win in 1974.
RUTGERS CONN-ECTIONS
The UConn roster features eight players from New Jersey in Donald Brown (Atlantic Highlands), Andre Dixon (New Brunswick), Dwayne Gratz (Piscataway, N.J.), Alex LaMagdelaine (Rumson), Kashif Moore (Burlington, N.J.), Scott Schultz (Wayne), Jerome Williams (Burlington Township) and Ryan Wirth (Medford)...The Scarlet Knights have one player from Connecticut in Marcus Cooper (Bloomfield)... There are also a combined 23 Floridians between the two teams, most of them hailing from Dade and Broward Counties (metro Miami/Fort Lauderdale)...In addition to the many Florida and New Jersey-based connections, UConn’s William Beatty and Rutgers’ Richard Muldrow both played line at William Penn HS in York, Pa....Amongst coaching staff connections, UConn defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos coached at Rutgers from 2001-03...Rutgers offensive coordinator John McNulty was an assistant at UConn from 1995-97 under Skip Holtz...UConn offensive line coach Mike Foley worked alongside RU linebackers coach Bob Fraser at Colgate from 1998-2005.
SQUAD NOTES
HUSKIES MAKE NATIONAL POLLS
Connecticut earned a spot in both national polls on Sunday, Sept. 28 following its win at Louisville. UConn was ranked 23rd in the USA Today coaches’ poll and 24th in the Associated Press poll. The Huskies fell out of both polls following the loss to North Carolina.
In the latest set of polls, UConn did not receive any votes in the Associated Press poll and three points in the USA Today poll. The Huskies had been in the also receiving votes category of the first five weeks of this year’s poll before being ranked.
UConn earned its first national rankings last year as it appeared in four AP polls: 16 on Oct. 28, 16 on Nov. 14, 25 on Nov. 11 and 20 on Nov. 18. It also appeared in three USA Today polls: 20 on Oct. 28, 16 on Nov. 4 and 21 on Nov. 18.
HUSKIES WHEN RANKED
UConn is 2-3 all-time when it is ranked nationally after its loss to North Carolina.
UConn made its debut as a ranked team on Nov. 3, 2007 when the Huskies downed Rutgers, 38-19, at Rentschler Field. At the time, UConn was ranked No. 16 by the AP and No. 20 by the coaches.
The Huskies lost, 27-3, on Nov. 10, 2007 at Cincinnati when they were ranked No. 16 in both polls.
UConn was ranked No. 25 by the AP for its win over Syracuse on Nov. 17, 2007 and was ranked No. 20 entering its loss at West Virginia on Nov. 24, 2007.
FASTEST FROM DIVISION I-AA TO THE POLLS
SCHOOL I-A DEBUT FIRST RANKING
Marshall 1997 Two years, four weeks (9/12/99)
CONNECTICUT 2002 Five years, 10 weeks (10/28/07)
South Florida 2001 Six years, three weeks (9/9/07)
Boise State 1996 Six years, 13 weeks (11/10/02)
HUSKIES IN BIG EAST OPENERS
With a win over Louisville on Sept. 26, UConn now has a 3-2 mark in BIG EAST Conference openers. The Huskies defeated Pittsburgh 34-14 last season in the first game of the conference slate after winning just one of its first three conference openers.
HUSKIES IN BIG EAST ROAD OPENERS
UConn owns an all-time mark of 2-3 in BIG EAST Conference road openers after the win over Louisville on Sept. 26. The Huskies dropped their first three such games after joining the conference in 2004, before rebounding to post a 34-14 at Pittsburgh in 2007.
HUSKIES VS. THE BIG EAST
UConn owns an all-time mark of 12-16 in BIG EAST Conference games since joining the league for football in 2004.
The Huskies posted their best conference record with a 5-2 mark in 2007 after tallying a combined mark of 6-14 over their first three seasons in the league.
HUSKIES ON THE BIG EAST ROAD
UConn owns an all-time mark of 3-11 in BIG EAST Conference road games, since joining the league in 2004, after the win at Louisville.
The Huskies posted a 1-2 mark in BIG EAST road games in 2007 with a win over Pittsburgh and losses at West Virginia and Pittsburgh.
HUSKIES ON THE ROAD SINCE 2002
The Huskies have put together a 14-20 road record since 2002.
In non-conference road affairs over that same span, Connecticut has posted a mark of 12-9 and has won four of its last six such games, including this season’s win against Temple.
The Huskies posted a 1-1 mark in non-conference road games in 2007 with a win at Duke and a loss at Virginia.
In 2006, the Huskies won at Indiana and in 2005 they defeated Army and lost at Georgia Tech.
HUSKIES VS. NON-CONFERENCE FOES SINCE 2002
Connecticut boasts a 33-15 record against non-conference opponents in the regular season since making the move to Division I-A in 2002.
The Huskies have won eight of their last 10 non-league games overall with the only blemishes coming via a one-point loss at Virginia (17-16) in 2007 and the loss to North Carolina this year.
UConn has posted the following records in non-conference games: 6-6 (2002), 9-3 (2003), 4-1 (2004), 3-1 (2005), 3-2 (2006), 4-1 (2007), 4-1 (2008).
HUSKIES UNDER THE LIGHTS
After defeating Baylor on Sept. 19 at Rentschler Field, the Huskies are boasting an all-time mark of 10-3 when playing under the lights at Rentschler Field.
The Huskies have won each of their last six night games played at Rentschler Field with wins over Rutgers, Louisville, Hofstra, Maine, Virginia and Baylor during the stretch.
Connecticut last dropped a home night game on Oct. 20, 2006 against West Virginia.
LOOKING TO OPEN 6-1
The Huskies will be looking to open the season with a 6-1 record when they play against Rutgers on Saturday.
Since Connecticut made the move to the FBS in 2002, the only other time UConn started a year 6-1 was last year. Prior to 2007, the last 6-1 start for UConn football was in 1998.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Huskies are presently riding a 10-game winning streak at Rentschler Field and have won those games by an average margin of 20.1 ppg.
The Huskies joined the 1993 West Virginia Mountaineers in 2007 as the only teams in BIG EAST history to ever record a perfect 7-0 home record.
UConn’s streak is amongst the longest active ones in the nation as the 2008 season enters its sixth week.
LONGEST ACTIVE FBS HOME FIELD WINNING STREAKS
20 Oklahoma (Oklahoma Memorial Stadium)
17 Boise State (Bronco Stadium)
16 BYU (Lavell Edwards Stadium)
13 Kansas (Memorial Stadium)
10 CONNECTICUT (Rentschler Field)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY COACH EDSALL
Wednesday, August 27 marked head coach Randy Edsall’s 50th birthday. Much like his team the past few seasons, Edsall is young but experienced as he enters his 10th year at the helm of the UConn program at just 50 years old.
He is tied for the 12th longest tenured FBS coach at his current job.
In addition to Edsall, Clemson’s Tommy Bowden, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (a UConn graduate), Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville were all hired for their current jobs heading into the 1999 season.
The entire nation of course trails Joe Paterno who is in his 43rd year as head coach at Penn State.
LONG ROAD AHEAD
For the third time in four years, UConn is playing on both the first and last permissible playing dates in a season.
The Huskies started off the Thursday before Labor Day (Aug. 28) with a 35-3 win against Hofstra and will finish up on the first Saturday of December (Dec. 6) when they play host to Pittsburgh.
UConn is one of three teams nationally facing this type of schedule along with Cincinnati and Troy.
Several teams can join the Huskies, Bearcats and Trojans if they reach their respective conference championship games.
UConn also went the distance in 2005 and 2006. In each case UConn won its opener, defeating Buffalo in 2005 and Rhode Island in 2006, but lost its finale, falling twice to Louisville.
HUSKIES IN TEAM NCAA STATISTICS
Here’s the categories where UConn is in the top 30 in the latest NCAA statistics:
Rushing Offense 11th at 240.50
Pass Defense 28th at 176.67
Scoring Defense 29th at 18.17
Interceptions t18th with 9
Sacks t29th with 2.33
Sacks Allowed t14th at 1.00
TOUGH SLATE IN 2008 FOR HUSKIES
Three of UConn’s non-conference opponents this fall were members of BCS Conferences as the Huskies defeated Virginia of the ACC and Baylor of the Big 12. but lost to North Carolina of the ACC.
UConn is one of just three schools who are members of a BCS conference to play three fellow BCS conference members out of league, joining Baylor and Wake Forest.
BIG EAST COACHES TAB HUSKIES SIXTH
Despite UConn earning a share of the conference title in 2007 and returning a total of 35 lettermen and 19 starters from that championship squad, the BIG EAST coaches have tabbed the Huskies to finish sixth in the preseason poll.
Connecticut garnered a total of 97 points, just one shy of fifth-place choice Cincinnati (96) and 28 in front of seventh-place Louisville (69).
West Virginia (189), USF (149) and Pittsburgh (128) were ranked 1-3 according to the preseason list.
UConn will be hoping for a repeat of 2007, when it was able to prove the prognosticators wrong by capturing a piece of the league crown after being selected to finish seventh in the conference in the preseason by the coaches.
HUSKIES IN THE NFL
UConn currently has six former players that are currently on NFL rosters.
The veterans of the group are both entering their fourth year in the league. Quarterback Dan Orlovsky is in his fourth year with the Detroit Lions and made his first NFL career start last Sunday and threw for 150 yards and a TD in a loss to Minnesota. Linebacker Alfred Fincher is in his first year with the Washington Redskins after playing his first three years with New Orleans.
Fullback Deon Anderson is in his second year with the Dallas Cowboys after starting four games for the team last year before an injury ended his season.
UConn currently has three rookies on NFL rosters: offensive lineman Donald Thomas with the Miami Dolphins – a sixth round draft pick who started opening day but suffered a season-ending injury -- and defensive back Tyvon Branch of the Oakland Raiders – a fourth round pick who has made 10 tackles in the first five weeks of the season and has also had an interception. Danny Lansanah was a free agent signee of the Green Bay Packers last year and was placed on the 53-man roster on Oct. 7 and made his NFL debut vs. Seattle on Sunday.
Defensive tackle Dan Davis was in camp with the Indianapolis Colts, but was released.
HUSKIES IN THE CFL
In addition, there are six former Huskies currently playing in the Canadian Football League – O’Neill Wilson (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and Jordan Younger (Edmonton Eskimos), who are both in their fifth year in the league.
Maurice Lloyd (Saskatchewan Roughriders) who is in his third year with the team after earning a Grey Cup ring with the team last year; Terry Caulley (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) is in his second year; Shawn Mayne (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), in his second year and Larry Taylor (Montreal Alouettes) enters the season as a rookie.
SCOUT TEAM PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Each week head coach Randy Edsall issues an award for the Scout Team Players of the Week.
In recognition of their often-overlooked hard work, those players earn a spot on the Husky travel squad and the dress list for that week’s game. The weekly honorees are listed below.
HOFSTRA
Ben Chapman (offense), Dwayne Gratz (defense), Sio Moore (special teams).
TEMPLE
Corey Manning (offense), Ryan Wirth (defense), Jerome Williams (special teams).
VIRGINIA
Erik Kuraczea (offense), Blidi Wreh-Wilson (defense), Jerome Junior (special teams).
BAYLOR
Isiah Moore (offense), Beau Brunelli (defense), Dwayne Gratz (special teams).
LOUISVILLE
Joss Tillard (offense), Sio Moore (defense), Jerome Williams (special teams).
NORTH CAROLINA
Adam Masters (offense), Sio Moore (defense), Blidi Wreh-Wilson (special teams).
GAME BALLS
After each UConn victory, head coach Randy Edsall awards game balls for the team’s top performer on offense, defense and special teams. The 2008 recipients are listed below.
HOFSTRA
Donald Brown (offense), Cody Brown (defense), Robbie Frey (special teams).
TEMPLE
Donald Brown (offense), Darius Butler (defense), Jasper Howard (special teams).
VIRGINIA
Will Beatty, Moe Petrus, Keith Gray, Mike Hicks, Zac Hurd, Steve Brouse, Anthony Sherman, Anthony Davis (offense), Scott Lutrus (defense), Desi Cullen (special teams).
BAYLOR
Donald Brown (offense), Jasper Howard (defense), Robbie Frey (special teams).
LOUISVILLE
Darius Butler (offense), Lawrence Wilson (defense), Desi Cullen (special teams).
ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS:
Donald Brown (5), Darius Butler (5), Cody Brown (4), Andre Dixon (3), Scott Lutrus (3), William Beatty (3), Desi Cullen (3), Steve Brouse (2), Robbie Frey (2), Keith Gray (2), D.J. Hernandez (2), Jasper Howard (2), Mike Hicks (2), Lawrence Wilson (2), Terry Baltimore, Tony Ciaravino, Anthony Davis, Dahna Deleston, Alex LaMagdelaine, Tyler Lorenzen, Rob Lunn, Moe Petrus, Anthony Sherman.
UCONN ASSISTANTS KNOW HOW THE “HEAD” GUY FEELS
Three members of Connecticut’s coaching staff boast head coaching experience from previous stops in their coaching career.
Offensive Coordinator Rob Ambrose was the head coach at Catholic University (Washington, D.C.) in 2001 just prior to his arrival at UConn in 2002.
Offensive line coach Mike Foley was the head man at Colgate from 1987-92 and current Director of Football Operations Tim Pendergast served as head coach at Cornell from 2001-03 and Hamilton College (N.Y.) in 2000.
HUSKIES NINE WINS IN 2007 NEAR 109-YEAR MARK
UConn’s 9-4 record in 2007 tied for the second-winningest season in the school’s 109 years of football.
UConn won a school-record 10 games in 1998 as it advanced to the Division I-AA Quarterfinals.
The Huskies also won nine games in 2003. UConn had previously won eight games in a season six times (1901, 1973, 1986, 1989, 1995 and 2004).
THE QUEST FOR A BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
With a 5-2 record last season in BIG EAST play, the Huskies earned a share of the 2007 BIG EAST Title with West Virginia.
The five wins were just one shy of the six total BIG EAST wins by the Huskies since joining the league in 2004.
In 2004, UConn went 3-3 in its inaugural league slate while the Huskies won two league games in 2005 and just one in 2006.
Prior to 2007, when the Huskies stood at 4-0 in league play heading to Cincinnati on Nov. 10, UConn had never even started a BIG EAST slate at 2-0.
The last time UConn won more than five league games in a year was in 1998 when UConn went 6-2 in the Atlantic 10.
The Huskies have not won a league championship outright since taking the Yankee Conference crown in 1973. UConn last shared in a conference championship in 1989 when it was YanCon Tri-Champion.
HUSKIES ON THE REBOUND
UConn is now 17-10 in games following a loss since Oct. 26, 2002, with its 35-3 win over Hofstra on August 28.
The Huskies posted a 3-1 in such games in 2007. The Huskies downed Duke to open the 2007 season on the heels of a three-game losing skid to end the 2006 campaign.
The team later beat Louisville six days after losing at Virginia on Oct. 13. The Huskies downed Syracuse, 30-7 on Nov. 17 a week after losing at Cincinnati. UConn went 4-4 following a loss in 2006.
EDSALL ERA HITS THE CENTURY MARK
Connecticut’s win over USF on Oct. 27, 2007 was the 100th game in Randy Edsall’s 10-year tenure as head coach at Connecticut. Edsall (111 games) is the fourth coach to lead the Huskies into 100 career games, joining J.O. Christian (121), Tom Jackson (119) and Robert Ingalls (106).
On a national level, his 10-year tenure at UConn is tied for the 13th-longest tenure at his current school of any coach at an active FBS school.
Within the BIG EAST, only USF’s Jim Leavitt at 12 years has been in his current position longer than Edsall.
EDSALL HITS 50-WIN MARK - AND COUNTING....
Randy Edsall currently owns a 55-56 career record at UConn, including a 46-32 (.590) mark through the first 77 games of UConn’s tenure at the FBS (Division I-A) level.
By beating Syracuse on Nov. 17, 2007, for his 50th win at UConn, Edsall became just the third Husky mentor to ever win 50 games at the school, joining J.O. Christian (66) and Tom Jackson (62).
BALL CONTROL IS THE KEY
A telling sign of UConn’s strong performance on both sides of the ball during its brief tenure as a Division I-A program has been its ability to both record and prevent long drives.
Since the start of the 2002 season, UConn’s offense has strung together 61 scoring drives of at least 80 yards while the Husky defense has surrendered just 34 such marches.
UConn also holds a 16-5 advantage over its opponents in the number of 90-yard and over drives since becoming a I-A program.
HUSKIES DOMINATING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
Over the past 69 games, UConn has outgained its opponent 45 times, including four of six games in 2008.
This stretch, like many UConn trends, dates back to a disheartening 28-24 loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 26, 2002.
CONNECTICUT’S FOUR CAPTAINS
The UConn team selected four team captains for the 2008 season, Darius Butler, Donald Brown, Tyler Lorenzen and D.J. Hernandez.
Butler and Hernandez will be serving as captains for the second season, after also holding the responsibility during their junior campaigns.
OFFENSE NOTES
BROWN LEADS THE NATION IN RUSHING
UConn junior running back Donald Brown currently leads the nation in rushing yards at 177.83 yards per game.
Javon Ringer of Michigan State is second at 158.86 per game and Kendall Hunter of Oklahoma State is third at 143.67. The next BIG EAST Conference performer is Noel Devine who is 16th at 107.00 per contest.
Brown is also tied for third in the country in scoring at 12.00 points per game, trailing Derrick Washington (13.0) of Missouri and Josh Freeman of Kansas State with 12.33. He is tied for third with He is Ringer and Antone Smith of Florida State. He is fifth in all-purpose running.
BROWN AND THE BIG EAST
Donald Brown is the leading rusher and scorer in the BIG EAST and is sixth in total offense. He is also first in all purpose yards (186.8) per game.
BROWN AND THE HUSKY RECORD BOOKS
Here is a summary of where Donald Brown, still a junior, is in the Husky career records books.
His 27 rushing touchdowns places him third in school history. Wilbur Gilliard (1992-95) leads the way with 34 and Terry Caulley (2002-06) is second with 31.
Brown now has 510 career rushing attempts, which places him fourth in school history. Tony Jordan (1978-80) is third with 515 while Ed Long (1991-94) is second with 524. Caulley is the leader with 570.
Brown now has 2,784 career rushing yards, which is already second in school history. Caulley is the leader with 3,187.
Just six games into the season, his 12 rushing touchdowns is tied for the sixth-highest in single-season history.
Against North Carolina, he rushed for 161 yards to go over 1,000 rushing yards for the season - marking the tenth time this has happened.
His 1,067 rushing yards this season is the eighth-highest in school history.
In the win over Temple on Sept. 6, his 36 carries was the fourth-highest total in school single-game history while his 214 yards was the ninth-highest.
BROWN FOR 100, BROWN FOR 200
Donald Brown has rushed for 100 yards in all six games this season and 12 in his career.
He has rushed for 200 yards in two games this year (214 vs. Temple and 206 vs. Virginia) and now has three 200-yard rushing games, the other vs. Pittsburgh in 2006 with 205.
BROWN HONORED BY BIG EAST
For his effort against Virginia, Donald Brown was honored by the BIG EAST as the league’s offensive player of the week. In the first two weeks of the season, Brown was named to the weekly honor roll and he was also named in the fourth week for his performance against Baylor, the fifth week for his effort vs. Louisville and also the sixth week for his games against UNC.
BROWN AND MULTIPLES TDS
Donald Brown rushed for two touchdowns in UConn’s win over Baylor on Sept. 19. He has now rushed for multiple TDs in seven games during his career, including four vs. Hofstra in the ‘08 opening and three vs. Virginia two weeks later.
TWO-WAY DARIUS
UConn senior cornerback Darius Butler had been working with the Huskies’ offensive unit during spring drills and also through fall camp. He has seen time on offense in the past three games and against North Carolina he started on both offense and defense.
He now has eight receptions on the year for 107 yards and a TD. In the win over Louisville, he earned the UConn’s offensive game ball, as he made three receptions for 40 yards -- including the first TD reception of his career. That catch was a 13-yard reception from QB Zach Frazer, which was also the first TD throw of his collegiate career. The score came with 4:19 left in the third quarter to make it 21-17 Louisville.
Against Virginia, he carried the ball one time for a 13-yard TD run in the second quarter Butler also had two receptions for 40 yards, including a 29-yarder.
On defense, he made four tackles with half a tackle for a loss.
He was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll for those efforts.
In the win over Baylor, he made two catches for 24 yards on offense, had four tackles and also had two kickoff returns for 47 yards.
HERNANDEZ HAS CAREER HIGHS
UConn senior wide receiver and captain D.J. Hernandez was the Huskies leading receiver against North Carolina with seven reception for 103 yards -- both career highs. It marked the first time a Husky receiver had 100 yards of receiving in a game since Keron Henry (109) in the 2004 Motor City Bowl against Toledo
Prior to the UNC game, Hernandez had made just four receptions for 58 yards in the Huskies’ first five games.
GAULDEN BACK IN ACTION
UConn senior wide receiver Ellis Gaulden tallied a career-high 62 yards against Hofstra on four catches. He was also tied for the team lead in receptions with two against Temple.
Gaulden has had an often-injured career with knee issues as he missed the first three games of 2007, the entire 2006 season and played in just one game in 2005.
Gaulden entered the Hofstra game with five career receptions for 29 yards. He almost doubled his reception number and did double his yardage number.
A versatile athlete, Gaulden is a two-time BIG EAST Conference high jump champion.
MOORE IS SECOND-LEADING RECEIVER
Redshirt freshman Kashif Moore is second for the team lead in receiving this season with 13 catches for 122 yards for an average of 20.3 yards of receiving per game.
Moore had four receptions in his first college game vs. Hofstra and then had three against Virginia.
Moore, a native of Burlington, N.J., was a second team All-State player as a senior at Burlington Township High School and a two-time All-conference pick.
HUSKIES AND THE RED ZONE
The Huskies made three trips to the red zone against Louisville and scored two touchdowns and had a field goal on those possessions.
Since 2002, UConn has scored on 251 of 297 (84.5 percent) of its red zone possessions. Of the 46 non-scoring drives, 25 have been missed field goals.
FRAZER MAKES COLLEGIATE DEBUT
Zach Frazer made his collegiate debut on Friday night as UConn’s quarterback. He came into the game late in the first half after starting QB Tyler Lorenzen suffered a broken foot.
Frazer is scheduled to make his first collegiate start this week against North Carolina. He originally attended Notre Dame in 2006 and did not play for the Fighting Irish. He sat out last season as a transfer at UConn and finally returned to the playing field last Friday.
He was eight of 15 in the air for 90 yards and a touchdown -- despite not having played in an organized football game since his high school senior year of 2005 in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
FROM IOWA TO CONNECTICUT VIA SAN DIEGO
Tyler Lorenzen took a circuitous route to being named UConn’s starting quarterback before breaking his foot in the Louisville game. The native Iowan and first-team All-State quarterback signed with Iowa State out of high school. The Cyclones tried to switch him to wide receiver, Lorenzen, wanting to play quarterback, transferred to Palomar Community College near San Diego where he was named a first-team JuCo All-American in 2006. Lorenzen joined UConn in January and was named the starting quarterback on August 14.
DEFENSE NOTES
WILSON HONORED BY BIG EAST
Husky sophomore linebacker Lawrence Wilson had a career moment on Sept. 26 when he returned an interception 45-yards for the winning touchdown against Louisville. He was honored by the BIG EAST as the Defensive Player of the Week.
Wilson leads the Huskies in interceptions this year with three and is second in the BIG EAST at 0.6 per game. He is 18th in the country in interceptions.
He is third on the Husky team in tackles with 33. He has started all 19 games of his UConn career after being redshirted in 2006.
DEFENSE DOESN’T LET TURNOVERS PAY
Although the UConn offense committed five turnovers in the opening win over Hofstra, the Husky defense only allowed three points to be scored off those turnovers.
The UConn defense forced a punt, got the ball back on downs, had an interception and the game ended on the other possessions after turnovers.
In the Temple game, the Husky defense only allowed three field goals.
In the win vs. Virginia, UConn gave up its first TD of the year in the 12th quarter of the season.
In the win vs. Baylor, UConn gave up its first passing TD of the year in the 13th quarter of the year. It also marked the first TD that the UConn defense gave up coming off a turnover.
Against Louisville, UConn had one turnover, but the Husky defense then forced a three and out.
That trend changed in the North Carolina game when the Huskies had three interceptions and the Tar Heels converted them to two TDs.
DEFENSE AMONG THE NATION’S BEST
UConn’s defensive unit was amongst the best in the nation in 2007. In 2008, the UConn scoring defense is ranked 29th in the country and second in the BIG EAST at 18.17 points per game and is 33rd in the nation and fourth in the BIG EAST in total defense, giving up just 305.83 yards per game.
The Huskies ranked 37th nationally in total defense yielding just 314.40 yards per game in 2007.
LUTRUS LEADS THE WAY
UConn sophomore Scott Lutrus currently leads the Huskies in tackles with 45 and also had an interception and two pass break-ups this year.
He had 12 tackles vs. Temple and was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll. Lutrus also led UConn in tackles in the win vs. Virginia with six and had 10 tackles and 2.5 for a loss in the win over Baylor.
As a redshirt freshman last year, he make an immediate impact at the strongside linebacker post in 2007. He was third on the squad with 107 tackles, eight of which were for a loss.
He also had four interceptions on the year, returning two for touchdowns to tie both UConn’s season and career records. Lutrus’ four interceptions in 2007 tied for the most in the nation by a linebacker.
YOUTH ON DEFENSE
The Husky defense is a young group as it develops into one of the top units in the country and the BIG EAST.
Of UConn’s top six tacklers this season, four are in their second year of eligibility (Scott Lutrus, Greg Lloyd, Lawrence Wilson and Jasper Howard) while another is in his third (Robert Vaughn). The only senior among UConn’s top six tacklers is Cody Brown.
CODY BROWN IS BIG EAST SACK LEADER
Husky senior defensive end Cody Brown has five sacks on the season for a total loss of 34 yards. He is second in the BIG EAST in that category and is 19th in the NCAA.
He is tied for sixth in the BIG EAST in total tackles for loss (1.0 per game).
Brown has played in 35 games over the past four seasons and was the first true freshman at UConn during its FBS era to start on either the offensive or defensive line.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
CIARAVINO KICKS HIS WAY INTO RECORD BOOK
Tony Ciaravino is in his second year as the starting kicker for the Huskies on field goals and extra points.
His 22 field goals in 2007 broke the UConn single-season record and represent the fifth-most in BIG EAST history.
This season he has connected on eight of 11 field goal attempts, including a season-long of 47 yards early in the game against Louisville.
KENTUCKY HAMMER NAILS HIS AUDITION
Louisville native Desi Cullen, the self-proclaimed “Kentucky Hammer,” solidified his role as the team’s starting punter and kickoff specialist in 2007 and received a game ball in his first collegiate game -- a win over Duke. He also earned a game ball this season in the wins over Virginia and Louisville.
Last season, Cullen averaged 40.7 yards on his 75 punts and also handled kickoffs with 11 touchbacks on 74 kicks.
Cullen has also showed a tendency towards not staying back in coverage as he has aggressively made five tackles on the season and already has four this year.
JASPER THE RETURNER
UConn sophomore cornerback Jasper Howard is also the Huskies punt returner. He currently is second in the BIG EAST in punt returns with an average of 11.78 yards per return, which is also good for 29th in the country.
Howard earned the special teams game ball in the win over Baylor.
Defensively, he had a career-high nine tackles against Louisville on Sept. 26.
STADIUM/ATTENDANCE NOTES
RENTSCHLER FIELD
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, the home of the Huskies lies on 75 acres of land donated to the State of Connecticut from the historic Pratt & Whitney Airfield.
The stadium, like the former airfield, is named for that company’s founder, Frederick Rentschler. The stadium boasts a capacity of 40,000 with 38 luxury suites in a massive press box tower which helps enclose the natural grass field. While UConn football serves as the primary tenant, the facility also attracts other prominent events to Hartford.
Rentschler Field hosted two concerts by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, one by the Rolling Stones and one by The Police. Several prominent international soccer contests have been played on the pitch at Rentschler Field, most notably a World Cup Qualifier between the United States and Trinidad & Tobago on Aug. 17, 2005.
A HOT TICKET
Swelling interest in the Husky football program as it gradually moved up into BIG EAST play can perhaps be best evidenced by the rise in attendance.
UConn sold 28,000 season tickets in 2008 and sold its entire allotment of student season tickets at 4,700. The opening game against Hofstra saw over 5,000 Husky students attend the game.
These figures are staggering sums considering that the entire 2001 season ticket base was around 4,000. In 2002, the number reached 11,300 in the final season of Memorial Stadium. The burgeoning season ticket base more than doubled to 24,000 for the inaugural season at Rentschler Field and rose to 28,000 a year later in 2004. UConn reached an all-time high of 32,000 season tickets in 2005.
SELLOUTS THE NORM
The Huskies have sold out 23 of their first 36 dates at Rentschler Field, including a stretch of 12 in a row.
UConn has played to 96-percent of capacity all-time in East Hartford, drawing 1,385,049 fans, or an average of 38,474 per game.
