ESPNU Video: Student Reaction to UConn’s BCS Birth

UConn secured the school’s first ever BCS bowl bid with a win over South Florida on Saturday in Tampa. The Huskies will face Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Marcus Lynam on the campus reaction.

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UConn Lights Up the Big East Postseason Awards Scoreboard

UConn won a share of the Big East Conference and will head out to Arizona to take on Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, but the Huskies continue to get good news this week.

It was announced on Wednesday that running back Jordan Todman was unanimously chosen as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the second Connecticut running back in the last three years to earn the conference’s top offensive honor. Todman joins 2008 winner Donald Brown as the only Connecticut players to be named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. Todman finished the regular season ranked second nationally in rushing, averaging 143.1 yards per game. He ran for 1,574 yards and 14 touchdowns, leading the BIG EAST in both categories, and went for at least 100 yards nine times in 11 games.

Todman was not the only Husky to earn top honors however. Head coach Randy Edsall was voted Big East Coach of the Year, along with Louisville head coach Charlie Strong. Edsall and Strong tied in the voting for BIG EAST Coach of the Year, marking the first tie since the award was first presented in 1991. Both coaches are first-time winners of the award. Edsall rallied the troops after a 3-4 start, and the Huskies finished the regular season on a 5 game winning streak. He has UConn heading to a bowl game for the fourth straight season.

Other Huskies were also honored by the Big East on the postseason all conference teams. UConn had a total of eight players on the first and second All-Big East Teams. UConn players who made the First Team were Offensive lineman Zach Hurd and Mike Ryan, Running Back Jordan Todman, Kicker Dave Teggart, Defensive Lineman Kendall Reyes, and Linebacker Lawrence Wilson. Offensive lineman Moe Petrus and Return Specialist Nick Williams made the Second Team.

Here is the complete list of Big East Postseason Awards:

2010 BIG EAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL AWARDS

BIG EAST CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut (Jr., North Dartmouth, Mass.) *

BIG EAST CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh (Sr., Hollywood Hills, Fla.)

BIG EAST CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Lindsey Lamar, WR, USF (So., Tampa, Fla.)

BIG EAST CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Hakeem Smith, S, Louisville (RFr., Jonesboro, Ga.)

BIG EAST CONFERENCE COACHES OF THE YEAR

Randy Edsall, Connecticut

Charlie Strong, Louisville

ALL-BIG EAST CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
WR	Armon Binns	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-3	210	Pasadena, Calif./Pasadena
WR	Jon Baldwin	Pittsburgh	Jr.	6-5	230	Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa
OT	Mike Ryan	Connecticut	Jr.	6-5	332	Tamaqua, Pa./Marian Catholic
OT	Jason Pinkston	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-4	305	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
OG	Zach Hurd *	Connecticut	Sr.	6-7	323	Waterford, Conn./Waterford
OG	Mark Wetterer *	Louisville	Sr.	6-5	306	Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson
C	Sampson Genus	USF	Sr.	6-1	314	Lake City, Fla./Columbia
TE	Cameron Graham	Louisville	Sr.	6-4	242	Inglewood, Calif./Inglewood
QB	Zach Collaros *	Cincinnati	Jr.	6-0	216	Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville
RB	Jordan Todman *	Connecticut	Jr.	5-9	190	North Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth
RB	Bilal Powell	Louisville	Sr.	6-0	204	Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson
K	Dave Teggart	Connecticut	Jr.	6-0	209	Northborough, Mass./Algonqun
RS	Lindsey Lamar	USF	So.	5-9	160	Tampa, Fla./Hillsborough
DEFENSE
Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
DL	Kendall Reyes	Connecticut	Jr.	6-4	287	Nashua, N.H./Nashua North
DL	Jabaal Sheard *	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-4	260	Hollywood Hills, Fla./Hollywood Hills
DL	Terrell McClain	USF	Sr.	6-3	302	Pensacola, Fla./Pensacola
DL	Chris Neild	West Virginia	Sr.	6-2	301	Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg
LB	Lawrence Wilson	Connecticut	Sr.	6-1	217	Tuscaloosa, Ala./Paul W. Bryant
LB	Doug Hogue	Syracuse	Sr.	6-2	226	Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt
LB	J.T. Thomas	West Virginia	Sr.	6-2	225	Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Ely
CB	Johnny Patrick	Louisville	Sr.	6-0	186	Deland, Fla./Deland
CB	Keith Tandy	West Virginia	Jr.	5-10	198	Hopkinsville, Ky./Christian County
S	Dom DeCicco	Pittsburgh	Sr.	6-4	230	Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson
S	Robert Sands	West Virginia	Jr.	6-5	221	Carol City, Fla./Miami-Carol City
P	Dan Hutchins	Pittsburgh	Sr.	5-11	195	Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township
* unanimous selection
ALL-BIG EAST CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
WR	D.J. Woods	Cincinnati	Jr.	6-0	172	Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville
WR	Dontavia Bogan	USF	Sr.	6-1	188	Thomasville, Ga./Central County
WR	Tavon Austin	West Virginia	So.	5-9	173	Baltimore, Md./Dunbar
WR	Jock Sanders	West Virginia	Sr.	5-7	179	St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg Catholic
OT	Justin Pugh	Syracuse	So.	6-5	287	Holland, Pa./Council Rock South
OT	Don Barclay	West Virginia	Jr.	6-4	304	Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley
OL	Jason Kelce	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-4	283	Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights
OL	Byron Stingily	Louisville	Sr.	6-5	300	Country Club Hills, Ill./Joliet CC
OL	Jacob Sims	USF	Sr.	6-5	290	Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park
C	Moe Petrus	Connecticut	Jr.	6-2	292	St. Laurent, Que./Vanier Prep
TE	Ben Guidugli	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-1	240	Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands
QB	Geno Smith	West Virginia	So.	6-3	210	Miami, Fla./Miramar
RB	Isaiah Pead	Cincinnati	Jr.	5-11	194	Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor Academy
RB	Delone Carter	Syracuse	Sr.	5-10	215	Copley, Ohio/Copley Senior
K	Ross Krautman	Syracuse	Fr.	5-7	154	Franklin Lakes, N.J./Ramapo
RS	Nick Williams	Connecticut	So.	5-9	182	East Windsor, N.J./The Hun School
DEFENSE
Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
DL	Brandon Lindsey	Pittsburgh	Jr.	6-2	250	Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa
DL	Chandler Jones	Syracuse	Jr.	6-5	251	Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott
DL	Scooter Berry	West Virginia	Sr.	6-1	287	North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon
DL	Bruce Irvin	West Virginia	Jr.	6-3	235	Walnut, Calif./Mt. San Antonio CC
LB	JK Schaffer	Cincinnati	Jr.	6-1	228	Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle
LB	Jacquain Williams	USF	Sr.	6-3	216	Tampa, Fla./Riverview
LB	Derrell Smith	Syracuse	Sr.	6-1	232	New Castle, Del./Paul Hodgson
CB	Mistral Raymond	USF	Sr.	6-2	192	Palmetto, Fla./Palmetto
CB	Brandon Hogan	West Virginia	Sr.	5-10	189	Manassas, Va./Osbourn
S	Hakeem Smith	Louisville	RFr.	6-1	174	Jonesboro, Ga./Riverdale
S	Jared Holley	Pittsburgh	So.	5-10	180	Easton, Pa./Easton Area
S	Joe Lefeged	Rutgers	Sr.	6-1	205	Germantown, Md./Northwest
P	Rob Long	Syracuse	Sr.	6-3	190	Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West

UConn Heading to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

The UConn Huskies will be heading to Glendale, Arizona to take on the Big-12 Champion Oklahoma Sooners. This will be the Huskies first ever trip to a BCS Bowl game, and will be the first match-up between UConn and college football powerhouse Oklahoma.

UConn finished the regular season with a bang, as a Dave Teggart 52-yard field goal with 17 seconds left in the game, gave the Huskies a 19-16 win over South Florida on Saturday night. UConn made their first appearance in the rankings this season, as they sit at Number 25 in this week’s AP Poll. The Huskies end the regular season with a 8-4 (5-2 in the Big East) record. Randy Edsall’s team has rolled off five straight wins and won the Big East due to head-to-head wins over Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Courtesy of the Hartford Courant

Oklahoma (11-2, 6-2 Big 12), who is ranked #7 in the final BCS rankings, won its seventh Big 12 title on Saturday night (more than twice as many as any other school in Big-12 history). Led by head coach Bob Stoops, the Sooners use a great defense and a high-flying offense, led by quarterback Landry Jones, to over power opponents.

Randy Edsall knows how special this game is for the entire UConn community: “Remarkable of what’s taken place. Memorial Stadium is a reminder of where we were and where we’ve come from. We’re extremely excited happy and proud to be playing in Fiesta Bowl Jan. 1: A tribute to these young men, but it will be a tremendous challenge.”

Courtesy of the Hartford Courant

The game will kickoff at 8:30pm ET on January 1st on ESPN. For tickets and travel information visit UConnBowl.com

Four Downs with Marcus Lynam: UConn One Win Away From BCS

UConn Football is one win away from winning the Big East Championship and heading to its first ever BCS Bowl Game. Marcus Lynam and Ryan Grace break down the Huskies chances.

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UConn News and Notes: Novemeber 29, 2010

Football:

- UConn extended their winning streak to 4 games on Saturday, when they defeated defending Big East Champ Cincinnati 38-17. They improve to 7-4 (4-2 in the Big East) on the year. The win also puts them one win away from heading to the program’s first ever BCS bowl (most likely the Fiesta Bowl out in Arizona). UConn heads down to Tampa to take on South Florida this Saturday to finish up the regular season. USF is coming off an impressive win at Miami, and would love nothing more than to ruin UConn’s BCS dreams. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 8pm.

- Jordan Todman had another great game on Saturday, as he rushed for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns on 31 carries. Todman has gone over 100 yards rushing in every game this season except one (@ Louisville). For his efforts Todman was named Big East Offensive Player of the Week. “Our coaches do a heck of a job, and me, I just pretty much do what they say,” Todman said after Saturday’s game. “I’ve got the talent and the ability and that helps, but they do the studying, they do all the work and they put us in a situation, a position to make plays and be successful.”

- UConn picked up two more commitments this weekend for their 2011 recruiting class. Deshon Foxx, a running back from Lynchburg, Virginia and offensive lineman Dalton Gifford of North Bridgton, Maine both committed to play for the Huskies next season.

- In Big East news, the conference announced on Monday that Texas Christian University (TCU) will join the Big East Conference in all sports starting in 2012. This is a major development in the realm of college football. TCU is currently ranked number three in the nation. TCU will bring the Big East big time television money because the Dallas/Fort-Worth television market (which is currently the 5th largest in the nation) will now be in play. This will give the Big East nine football-playing members and 17 basketball playing members. Most likely another football-playing school will be added, and there is a possibility of the Big East getting rid of a few basketball-only schools.

 

 

Basketball:

-In the latest College Basketball rankings, UConn sits at #7 in the AP poll. UConn has been unranked all year until now, but after winning the Maui Invitational last week, voters thoughts on the Huskies have changed. The only bigger jump by an unranked school since the poll went to 25 teams was by Kansas. It went to No. 4 after winning the 1989 Preseason NIT. The Maui Invitational Championship included three wins for UConn, over Missouri-Valley conference favorite Wichita State, second ranked Michigan State, and finally ninth ranked Kentucky. UConn was led by junior guard Kemba Walker, who is averaging 30 points per game this season, the best in college basketball.

- UConn is ranked number 9 in this week’s ESPN/USA Today Poll.

- UConn returns to the court tomorrow night when they take on New Hampshire at 7:30pm at Gampel Pavilion.

Thank You West Virgina…

UConn is very thankful for Bill Stewart and his West Virgina Mountaineers. West Virginia beat Pittsburgh this afternoon 35-10 at Heinz Field, which means Pitt, West Virginia, and UConn are all currently tied for first place in the Big East. UConn holds the tie-breakers over both teams due to their head-to-head wins. All the Huskies have to do is take care of business against Cincinnati on Saturday at the Rent, and down in Tampa on December 4th against South Florida, and the Huskies will win the Big East and head to their first ever BCS Bowl (most likely in Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl).

UConn News and Notes: Novemeber 18, 2010

Kemba Walker - Courtesy of the Hartford Courant

Basketball:

- UConn defeated Vermont on Wednesday night, 89-73, behind a career high 42 points for junior guard Kemba Walker. Walker, who was 15-24 from the field, added 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 assists. The 42 points tied Cliff Robinson’s record for a UConn game played in Hartford.

- Coming into the season everyone knew Kemba Walker would be THE GUY for the Huskies, and it was uncertain who his “wingmen” might be. Through two exhibition games and the first two real games, Alex Oriakhi, Jeremy Lamb, and Roscoe Smith have all shown they could possibly fill the role of the number two go-to scorer. Oriakhi has been impressive with his improvement from last year. Through two games he is averaging 11 ppg, 12.5 rpg, and 3.5 blocks per game. Lamb, who was very impressive in the second exhibition game when he scored 17 points, has shown he is not afraid to fire up a shot…or 10. He’s a natural scorer, who will provide the Huskies with a great outside presence if he can consistently hit jump shots. Smith finally had a so-called “coming-out performance” on Wednesday night against Vermont. He finished with 15 points (including 3-3 from three-point range), 3 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. He was the highest ranked recruit for the Huskies, and will look to live up to his unbelievable potential the rest of the season.

- The Huskies will now head to Hawaii, for the annual Maui Invitational which kicks off on Monday. UConn’s first round game is against Wichita State on Monday Nov. 22. at 3pm on ESPN2. UConn could possibly match up with #2 Michigan State in the semifinal and even John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats in the Final.

 

Football:

- UConn heads up to Syracuse this Saturday when they take on the Orange at 7pm on ESPNU. Syracuse (7-3, 4-2 in the Big East) is 0-2 in Big East home games this season, while UConn (5-4, 2-2 in the Big East) is 0-4 away from home this season. One team will break their streak this weekend.

- Jordan Todman is currently 2nd in the nation in rushing with over 140 ypg, but was left off the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nation’s top running back, list of 10 semi-finalists, which is ridiculous (It’s the second time in the last three seasons that the voters for this award have left a well-deserving UConn running back off the list, as they did the same to Donald Brown during the 2008 season.) Todman showed his gracious side and strong personality by saying: “It doesn’t bother me. That’s something based on everybody else’s opinion.”

- UConn needs just one more win this season to become bowl eligable for the fourth straight season. The Huskies have three games left to get win number six.

- UConn senior linebacker Lawrence Wilson was named the BIG EAST Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday for his performance in last Thursday’s victory over Pittsburgh. Wilson had 11 tackles, including a sack, to lead a Connecticut defense that forced four turnovers and had three sacks in a 30-28 win against first-place Pittsburgh. Wilson is currently leading the BIG EAST in tackles with 95. He was also the leading tackler last season.

UConn Football: BCS Hopes Still Alive

Coming off a 26-0 drubbing by Louisville on October 23rd, the UConn Huskies looked all but dead for the season. Their record stood at 3-4 (0-2 in the Big East),and with West Virginia and Pittsburgh coming up next on the schedule, hopes for just a bowl appearance were dwindling for the UConn faithful. But once again, like he has multiple times over his 11 seasons in Storrs, head coach Randy Edsall rallied the troops and when no one was giving the team a chance, led his Huskies to two straight wins over two Big East powerhouses.

With the win this past Thursday over Pittsburgh, which saw Jordan Todman rush for a career high 222 yards, UConn put itself into a possible position to reach a BCS bowl for the first time in school history. The Huskies also received some help this weekend when Syracuse beat Rutgers (who had beaten UConn already) and South Florida beat Louisville. These two games, along with the UConn win over Pitt, have basically made the Big East a 5-team race.

Pittsburgh has a one-game lead, and UConn, Syracuse, South Florida and West Virginia are all within striking distance. One thing that MUST happen for any team besides Pittsburgh to win the conference, is the Panthers must lose one more game. Pitt has 3 games remaining, 2 of which are on the road, and the third against rival West Virginia. For UConn to win the conference and go to a BCS bowl, the Huskies need to win its three remaining games (@Syracuse, vs. Cincinnati, @South Florida) and have Pitt lose just once. UConn currently holds the tie-breaker over West Virginia and Pitt, and if they win out, would hold the tie-breaker over Syracuse and South Florida.

So as crazy as this season has been, and as awful as the Huskies have looked (a la @Michigan, @Temple, @Louisville), UConn still has a chance to reach its goal of gaining that automatic bid into a BCS game.

The Huskies continue their quest for the BCS birth, this Saturday (November 20th) when they travel to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse to take on the Orange. Syracuse has trouble winning at home (0-2 in Big East games), and UConn has trouble winning on the road (0-4 on the year) so it will be interesting to see what team can play the best football down the stretch.

UConn News and Notes: Monday, November 8th

Football:

*UConn has had another player suspended and now arrested. Junior defensive end Marcus Campbell, 22, of Bloomfield, was arrested this morning outside of the Family Studies Building and charged with fifth degree larceny, police reports said. Campbell, who has been out all year due to a torn ACL, was suspended last week by Coach Randy Edsall. According to the Daily Campus,”Campbell had a warrant out for his arrest stemming from the theft of a backpack containing a laptop and other goods valued at $825.”

*In some on the field news… Randy Edsall announced that Senior Quarterback Zach Frazer will start this Thursday, when the Huskies take on Big East rival Pittsburgh. Frazer, who started the first four games for UConn before being benched in favor of Cody Endres, will now make his 6th start of the season. Coming off a decent performance in the win vs. West Virginia, where he didn’t have a turnover, Frazer hopes to keep the team rolling. “I’m not going to put pressure on myself or the team,” Frazer said. “I’m going to have fun.”

*UConn sits at 4-4 (1-2 in the Big East) right now. Besides Pittsburgh, every team in the Big East has at least 2 losses. As crazy as it sounds, the Huskies actually have a chance at winning the conference still. All the Huskies have to do is when their remaining four games, and have Pitt lose at least one more time. Hopefully the Huskies can pull-off the four game winning streak, which is how they finished last season.

 

Basketball:

Ryan Boatright

*UConn received an oral commitment from Ryan Boatright, a highly-touted point guard from Aurora, Ill. He is the 48th best player in the class of 2011, and the 11th best point guard, according to rivals.com. Boatright chose the Huskies over UNLV and Oklahoma, after de-committing from West Virginia last month. According to the Chicago Tribune, he averaged 26.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.3 steals last season as a junior. Boatright is stepping into a situation that might allow for him to play a major role at point guard for UConn next season as a freshman. Most likely, Shabazz Napier will be the only returning point guard for the Huskies, as Donnell Beverly is graduating, and Kemba Walker will most likely leave early for the NBA.

*UConn opens up the season on Friday night when they take on Stony Brook at Gampel Pavilion.

Four Downs With Marcus Lynam: Big Win for Huskies Over WV

The Huskies got back to their winning ways this past weekend with a solid victory over Big East Rival West Virginia. Marcus Lynam and Ryan Grace discuss the win and other topics on UConn Football.

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