Connecticut Preview
October 21, 2009 10:05 AM | General
October 21, 2009
GAME NOTES | GAME INFORMATION
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Connecticut is trying to get back to normal following the tragic stabbing death of starting cornerback Jasper Howard last weekend. The Huskies practiced for the first time Tuesday afternoon in preparation for Saturday’s game against West Virginia at Milan Puskar Stadium.
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| Jock Sanders had a pair of rushing touchdowns in last year's win at Connecticut.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
The two schools have planned a brief tribute for Howard, one of the Big East’s top punt returners last season. West Virginia coach Bill Stewart on Tuesday said that West Virginia players will wear Howard’s No. 6 on their helmets and the two teams will line up on the hash mark before the start of the game for a brief moment of silence. Afterward, players will shake hands and then play some football.
“We’ve got a group of great young men that are saddened by this situation. But after that coin toss the Mountaineers need to be ready to play football,” said Stewart. “We need to be ready to coach football, play football and go play a football game. Make no mistake, this is a business. Our guys have to know - and do know - that this is round two (second game of the Big East season).”
The Huskies are 4-2 following last Saturday’s 38-25 victory over Louisville. UConn shows road wins over Ohio and Baylor, and a difference of only five points separates the Huskies from an undefeated record.
Connecticut’s losses were by two points at home (12-10) to North Carolina and by three points on the road at Pitt (24-21). At one point in the Pitt game UConn had a 21-6 lead midway through the third quarter.
Coach Randy Edsall has always prefers a strong running game to compliment a sound defense, and he has got another high quality runner in senior Andre Dixon. The senior has rushed for 616 yards and scored seven touchdowns in six games this season. Dixon ran for a season-high 153 yards last weekend against Louisville, and also had a 149-yard performance at Baylor on Sept. 19.
“He is a good football player,” said Stewart. “He will run over you, around you; he is fast and tough. At 202 pounds he is a big back – he is a big back and he will hurt you.”
Once Connecticut establishes its running game the Huskies will play action pass off of it. Sophomore Cody Endres has emerged as the team’s No. 1 quarterback after starter Zach Fraser was injured in the North Carolina loss.
Endres has completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 936 yards and four touchdowns. More importantly, he has only thrown one pick in 104 pass attempts this season.
“He can beat us,” said Stewart.
Sophomore Isiah Moore leads the Huskies with 16 receptions and is one of five players to have at least 10 catches so far this year. Senior Marcus Easley is the team’s home run hitter, averaging 23.4 yards per catch and scoring a team-best two touchdowns through the air.
Up front, Connecticut boasts a big, physical offensive line that is one of the largest West Virginia will face this year. Four players – Mike Ryan, Erik Kuraczea, Zach Hurd and Mike Hicks – each weigh more than 315 pounds.
Connecticut is also big and physical on defense. Weakside linebacker Lawrence Wilson leads the team in tackles with 66, while middle linebacker Greg Lloyd, Jr. – son of former Pittsburgh Steelers standout linebacker Greg Lloyd – shows 54 tackles, two tackles for losses and a sack.
Lloyd has stepped in for Scott Lutrus, who missed the North Carolina, Baylor and Rhode Island games. Lutrus came back to play against Pitt but went down again in the first half against the Panthers.
“You go look at their defense and of about 350 plays, about 289 or 290 are base defenses. This isn’t a smoke and mirror attack. This isn’t some, come-seven, come-11, roll it out there and go deal,” said Stewart. “These guys are sound. Randy learned that at Boston College. He learned that in the pros.”
The Husky secondary is led by senior corner Robert McClain’s four interceptions. Senior safety Robert Vaughn shows three picks. In all, the Connecticut secondary has managed 10 interceptions and 16 total turnovers this season.
West Virginia (5-1) has won all five previous meetings against Connecticut, including a 35-13 victory at Connecticut last year. In that game, West Virginia got 109 yards rushing from quarterback Pat White and a pair of rushing touchdowns from Jock Sanders.
Two years ago in Morgantown, West Virginia beat No. 20 UConn 66-21 in a battle for first place in the Big East. The Mountaineers had 624 yards of offense including 517 on the ground in what turned out to be former coach Rich Rodriguez’s last win at WVU.
Noel Devine had 118 yards rushing on only 11 carries against the Huskies in 2007, and he figures to have a big role on Saturday with the uncertain status of starting quarterback Jarrett Brown, knocked out of last weekend’s Marshall game with a concussion. Brown practiced and wore a green jersey (no contact) on Tuesday, and Stewart said they will reevaluate Brown’s status after Wednesday’s practice.
True freshman Geno Smith stepped in for Brown last Saturday against Marshall and performed well, particularly in the second half by leading the Mountaineers to three touchdowns and a 24-7 victory over the Herd.
Smith finished the game 15 of 21 for 147 yards and a touchdown pass to Alric Arnett, who had three catches for a team-best 55 yards.
Devine shows 734 yards rushing and nine touchdowns for the year. Sanders continues to lead the receivers with 45 catches for 433 yards and two scores, while Brad Starks and Arnett show 17 catches each. Arnett has a team-best three TD catches.
Redshirt freshman fullback Ryan Clarke, held out of the Marshall game with a pinched nerve in his neck, should be fine for Connecticut on Saturday, Stewart said.
The West Virginia defense has played well in its last two games against Syracuse and Marshall, holding both teams to less than 222 yards of total offense. The Orange got 222 yards at the Dome on Oct. 10 and was 0 for 11 on third-down tries.
Last Saturday, Marshall managed only 207 yards and was 4 of 15 on its third down tries. Darius Marshall, the nation’s No. 2-ranked rusher heading into the West Virginia game, was held to 82 yards on 25 carries against the Mountaineer defense.
Junior linebacker J.T. Thomas leads West Virginia with 35 tackles, 4 ½ tackles for losses, an interception and a ½ sack.
Sophomore defensive end Julian Miller shows six tackles for losses and 4 ½ sacks, while sophomore safety Robert Sands leads the secondary with three picks.
Eight different players have at least 20 tackles for the Mountaineers.
Scooter Berry, who saw action in last Saturday’s game against Marshall coming back from a shoulder injury suffered against East Carolina, has been suspended from the team indefinitely for a violation of team rules, Stewart announced Tuesday.
Kickoff is set for noon and the game will be televised on ESPNU (Clay Matvick and David Diaz-Infante). MSN’s radio coverage begins at 11 a.m. with the Mountaineers Today (Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace, Jed Drenning and Hoppy Kercheval).
Fans can access the MSN radio broadcast on Sirius 127 and XM 203.
