University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Football To Visit Louisville On Friday
9/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, Conn. (Sept. 23, 2008) – Here are the UConn football notes for the Huskies game this Friday night at 8:00 p.m. against Louisville at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
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 54-55 career record in his 10th season at UConn, including wins in 43 of UConn’s last 68 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.
LOUISVILLE HEAD COACH STEVE KRAGTHORPE
Steve Kragthorpe is in his second season as the head coach at Louisville and has an 8-7 record at the school. The Cardinals were 6-6 last year in his first season at the school.
Prior to becoming the head coach at Louisville, he was the head coach at Tulsa for four seasons and had a 29-22 record there, including appearances in three bowl games.
He served as an assistant coach at Northern Arizona (1990-93), North Texas (1994 and ‘95), Boston College (1996), Texas A&M (1997-2000) and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills (2001 and ‘02) before taking over the Tulsa program.
He is a graduate of West Texas State and played his college ball there and at Eastern New Mexico.
RADIO & TV COVERAGE
TV COVERAGE
For the second-straight week, UConn will be part of the ESPN2 Friday night package. Bob Wischusen is on play-by-play while Brock Huard is the color announcer with Rob Stone on the sidelines. Bruce Clark 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. LOUISVILLE ALL-TIME
Friday’s game is the fifth meeting between UConn and Louisville and the Cardinals lead the series by a 3-1 count.
Lousville won the first three meetings between the schools with the first coming in 2000 (41-22 in Louisville) as the Huskies were beginning their transition as a FBS team.
The next three meetings all came as BIG EAST Conference contests with Louisville winning in 2005 (30-20 at Rentschler Field) and in 2006 (48-17 in Louisville). UConn beat Louisville last year for the first time -- 21-17 at Rentschler.
LAST YEAR
UConn’s Andre Dixon scored on a five-yard run with 1:32 left to play to give the Huskies a 21-17 come-from-behind win over the Cardinals at rainy Rentschler Field on Oct. 19.
Louisville led 17-14 late in the fourth quarter, but the Husky defense held the Cardinals on a fourth and three from the Husky 28. Husky quarterback Tyler Lorenzen then engineered a nine-play, 71-yard drive, capped by Dixon’s run, for the win.
Louisville led 17-7 early in the fourth quarter, but UConn cut it to 17-14 on a seven-yard TD pass from Lorenzen to D.J. Hernandez.
Dixon had 115 yards of rushing and three receptions for 55 yards to lead UConn while Lorenzen was 9 of 18 for 130 yards.
LOUISVILLE CONN-ECTIONS
UConn has one player from the state of Kentucky -- starting punter Desi Cullen, who is right from Louisville...Louisville has one player from Connecticut, senior wide receiver Chris Vaughn, who transferred from Notre Dame and is a New Haven native.
Louisville assistant coach Tony Alford was on the staff of Iowa State in 2005 when Husky quarterback Tyler Lorenzen was a Cyclone.
Both UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway and Louisville AD Tom Jurich were the AD at Colorado State before taking their current position.
HUSKIES IN BIG EAST OPENERS
UConn enters Friday night’s meeting with Louisville with an all-time mark of 2-2 in BIG EAST Conference openers. The Huskies defeated Pittsburgh 34-14 last season in the first game of the conference slate and have alternated wins and losses since joining the league for football in 2004.
HUSKIES IN BIG EAST ROAD OPENERS
UConn owns an all-time mark of 1-3 in BIG EAST Conference road openers entering Friday’s game at Louisville.
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 11-16 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 2-11 in BIG EAST Conference road games, since joining the league in 2004, entering Friday’s game at Louisville.
The Huskies posted a 1-1 mark in BIG EAST road games in 2007 with a win over Pittsburgh and a loss at West Virginia.
Connecticut is 0-1 all-time when playing at Louisville with the only other previous meeting coming on Dec. 2, 2006 - a 48-17 victory for the Cardinals.
HUSKIES ON THE ROAD SINCE 2002
The road has not always been kind to the Huskies as they have put together a 13-19 road record since 2002.
In non-conference road affairs over that same span, Connecticut has posted a mark of 12-8 and has won four of its last five 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 33-14 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 nine non-league games overall with the only blemish coming via a one-point loss at Virginia (17-16) in 2007.
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), 4-0 (2008).
The Huskies conclude the non-conference portion of their regular season when they travel to North Carolina next Saturday.
HUSKIES UNDER THE LIGHTS
After defeating Baylor last Friday night 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 5-0
The Huskies will be looking to open the season with five consecutive wins when they play against Louisville on Friday night.
Since Connecticut made the move to the FBS in 2002, last season was the first time the Huskies started the year 5-0.
Previous to 2007, the last time Connecticut was 4-0 was in 1997 -- before joining the FBS.
HUSKIES IN SEPTEMBER
Connecticut boasts a record of 19-8 in games played during the month of September dating back to the 2002 season.
The Huskies enter Friday’s meeting against Louisville having won each of their last nine games played in September by an average margin of 22.3 ppg.
Connecticut last loss in the month of September came on Sept. 30, 2006, when it dropped a 41-17 decision against Navy at Rentschler Field.
UConn’s last road loss in the month of September came during the 2005 campaign, when it slipped up 28-13 at Georgia Tech (Sept. 17, 2005).
HUSKIES EARN POLL VOTES
In the polls for the week of Sept. 21, UConn received 26 points in the Associated Press poll (for 31st overall) and 54 points (for 29th overall) in the USA Today/Coaches poll. UConn has been in the also receiving votes category for all five weeks of the national polls this year.
Last fall, the Huskies were ranked for four weeks in the AP poll and three weeks in the coaches poll, peaking at No. 16 in both on Nov. 4.
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 fifth week.
LONGEST ACTIVE FBS HOME FIELD WINNING STREAKS
19 Oklahoma (Oklahoma Memorial Stadium)
16 Wisconsin (Camp Randall Stadium)
16 Boise State (Bronco Stadium)
15 BYU (Lavell Edwards Stadium)
12 Kansas (Memorial Stadium)
10 CONNECTICUT (Rentschler Field)
10 Missouri (Memorial Stadium)
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 is 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 6th at 279.50
Rushing Defense 22nd at 92.00
Pass Defense 30th at 174.00
Pass Eff. Defense 30th at 103.66
Total Defense 21st at 266.00
Scoring Defense 15th at 12.50
Punt Returns 20th at 16.83
Interceptions t16 at 6
Tackles For Loss t27 at 6.75
Sacks t16 at 2.75
Sacks Allowed t9 at 0.50
TOUGH SLATE IN 2008 FOR HUSKIES
Three of UConn’s non-conference opponents this fall are members of BCS Conferences as the Huskies have already defeated Virginia of the ACC and Baylor of the Big 12 and will face North Carolina of the ACC next week.
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.
SQUAD NOTES
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 five 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 while 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 entering 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 two 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 five tackles in the first three 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 is on the practice squad. 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 then 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).
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).
ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS:
Donald Brown (5), Cody Brown (4), Darius Butler (4), Andre Dixon (3), Scott Lutrus (3), William Beatty (3), Steve Brouse (2), Desi Cullen (2), Robbie Frey (2), Keith Gray (2), D.J. Hernandez (2), Jasper Howard (2), Mike Hicks (2), Terry Baltimore, Tony Ciaravino, Anthony Davis, Dahna Deleston, Alex LaMagdelaine, Tyler Lorenzen, Rob Lunn, Moe Petrus, Anthony Sherman, Lawrence Wilson.
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 WHEN RANKED
UConn is 2-2 all-time when it is ranked nationally.
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.
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).
SWEET 16! HIGHEST AP POLL DEBUT IN 43 YEARS
UConn earned its first ever AP Poll ranking on Oct. 28, 2007 when it checked into the poll at No. 16. That marked the highest debut ranking for a school since Florida State, led by All-American Fred Biletnikoff, first broke into the AP rankings at No. 10 on Oct. 12, 1964.
The AP Poll was just a Top 10 ranking from 1961-67. In the 43 years since Florida State’s AP debut, the closest that any school has come to debuting at No. 16 was when San Diego State debuted at No. 17 on Oct. 24, 1970.
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)
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 (109 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 54-55 career record at UConn, including a 45-31 (.592) mark through the first 76 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 60 scoring drives of at least 80 yards while the Husky defense has surrendered just 32 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 68 games, UConn has outgained its opponent 45 times, including three of four 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 179.00 yards per game.
Javon Ringer of Michigan State is second at 174.75 per game and Shun White of Navy is third at 168.25 per game. The next BIG EAST Conference performer is Vic Anderson of Louisville who is 20th at 107.00 per contest.
Brown is also second in the country in scoring at 15.00 points per game, only trailing Ringer. He is seventh in all-purpose running.
BROWN AND THE BIG EAST
Brown is the leading rusher and scorer in the BIG EAST and is seventh in total offense. He is second in all purpose yards.
BROWN AND THE HUSKY RECORD BOOKS
Here is a summary of where Brown, still a junior, is in the Husky career records books.
His 25 rushing touchdowns places him tied for fourth in school history with Cornell Brockington (2003-05) and Walt Trojanowski (1942, 45-46, 49). Taber Small (1999-01) is third with 26 and Wilbur Gilliard (1992-95) leads the way with 34.
Brown now has 444 career rushing attempts, which places him eighth in school history. Brockington is seventh at 454 and Terry Caulley (2002-06) is the leader with 570.
Brown now has 2,433 career rushing yards, which is already fourth in school history. Caulley is the leader with 3,187 followed by Gilliard with 2,624 and Ed Long with 2,515 from 1991-94.
Just four games into the season, his 10 rushing touchdowns is tied for the ninth-highest in single-season 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 four games this season and 10 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.
BROWN AND MULTIPLE TDS
Donald Brown rushed for two touchdowns in UConn’s win over Baylor last Friday. He has now rushed for multiple TDs in seven games during his career, including four vs. Hofstra in the ‘07 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 the past two weeks and has made the most of it.
Against Virginia, he carried the ball one times for a 13-yard TD run 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.
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 THE LEADING RECEIVER
Redshirt freshman Kashif Moore leads the Huskies in receiving this season with nine catches for 86 yards for an average of 21.5 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 six trips to the red zone against Baylor and scored four touchdowns and had a field goal on those possessions.
Since 2002, UConn has scored on 248 of 294 (84.4 percent) of its red zone possessions. Of the 46 non-scoring drives, 25 have been missed field goals.
FROM IOWA TO CONNECTICUT VIA SAN DIEGO
Tyler Lorenzen took a circuitous route to being named UConn’s starting quarterback. 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
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 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.
DEFENSE AMONGST 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 15th in the country and third in the BIG EAST at 12.50 points per game and is 21st in the nation and third in the BIG EAST in total defense, giving up just 266 yards per game.
The Huskies ranked 37th nationally in total defense yielding just 351.38 yards per game in 2007.
LUTRUS LEADS THE WAY
UConn sophomore Scott Lutrus currently leads the Huskies in tackles with 32 and also had an interception and a pass break-up 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 Darius Butler.
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 four of seven field goal attempts, including a season-long of 39 yards early in the second half of the win over Baylor.
Ciaravino handled UConn’s field goals and extra points as the 2006 season drew to a close, the third Husky to serve in that role in ‘06.
NINE TIMES FOR CIARAVINO
Tony Ciaravino tallied a run of nine consecutive made field goal tries during the 2007 season, bookended by a 52 yard miss at Virginia on Oct. 13 and a 51-yard miss against Maine on Sept. 8.
It was the longest streak by a Husky since Matt Nuzie’s school-record string of 10 consecutive field goals during the 2004 season.
Ciaravino’s run matched David DeArmas’ nine straight in 1994 for the second longest streak in school history.
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 win over Virginia.
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 leads the BIG EAST in punt returns with an average of 16.8 yard per return, which is also good for 22nd in the country.
Howard earned the special teams game ball in the win over Baylor.
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 NORMThe 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.RENTSCHLER FIELD PROVES FRIENDLY FOR HUSKIES
The Huskies went 7-0 at home in 2007 at Rentschler Field and 4-2 in 2005 after compiling a 6-1 home record in 2004.
UConn’s 3-4 mark at home in 2006 was its only sub-.500 record at Rentschler Field.
The seven home wins in 2007 set a school record for a single season which was previously set in 2004. In the process, the Huskies joined the 1993 West Virginia Mountaineers as the only BIG EAST schools to ever post a perfect 7-0 home record.
UConn presently stands at 28-8 all-time at Rentschler Field including a 18-3 mark in non-conference games. Due to the crowd noise, UConn’s opponents have been flagged for a total of 58 false starts and delay of game penalties in the past 26 games at Rentschler Field.
UP NEXTUConn wraps up the non-conference portion of its regular season when it travels to North Carolina. Game time is 7:00 p.m. and will be seen on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.
