+4
After today's loss to Louisville the Huskies must win their remaining two games to become bowl eligible.
The Cardinals took an early 14-0 lead after Adrian Bushell returned the opening kick for a touchdown and Daniel Brown rushed for another touchdown, but UConn has answered with a touchdown and field goal of their own. They outscored the Cardinals 10-0 in the second quarter and go into halftime down only four. A Louisville interception with less than two minutes remaining gave the Huskies a short field, which they capitalized on by scoring a touchdown with 53 seconds remaining.
The total yards tally is 165 for the Huskies and 105 for the Cardinals.
UConn quarterback, Johnny McEntee has completed six of 14 passes for for 106 yards. Running back Lyle McCombs has carried the ball eight times for 34 yards. Both teams have accumulated 20 penalties yards and Louisville has committed the game's only turnover.
The second half of the game can be seen on Gameplan. The Huskies will receive the ball to start the third quarter.
-- For more UConn football coverage, visit our team page, or our blog The UConn Blog.
At 4-5 the Huskies are looking for their first back-to-back wins of the season, but will now have to dig themselves out of a two-touchdown deficit to do so. After one quarter of play the Huskies find themselves down 14-0 to their 5-5 Big East rival, the Louisville Cardinals.
Adrian Bushell of Louisville returned the opening kick 100 yards to give the Cardinals an early seven-point lead. Later in the quarter Louisville running back, Daniel Brown punched another touchdown in from six yards out, which capped a nine play, 81 yard scoring drive.
UConn quarterback has only completed one pass for 14 yards. Lyle McCombs has a long of 22 yards on one carry, but has netted negative two yards on his only other three carries of the quarter. Neither team has committed a turnover.
The remainder of the game can be seen on Gameplan.
-- For more UConn football coverage, visit our team page, or our blog The UConn Blog.
The UConn Huskies continue their quest for bowl eligibility Saturday afternoon against the Louisville Cardinals, needing two wins in their final three games.
Event: Connecticut Huskies (4-5, 1-2 Big East) vs. Louisville Cardinals (5-5, 3-2).
Date/Time: Saturday, November 19, 2011 - 12:00 p.m. EDT.
Location: Rentschler Field (Capacity: 40,000), East Hartford, Connecticut.
Odds: The Huskies are 1-point favorites over the Cardinals.
Broadcast Information: Saturday's game between the Huskies and Cardinals will be televised nationally on ESPN, with Pam Ward providing play-by-play and Dan Hawkins providing analysis.
The game will be re-aired in a condensed mode by SNY on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.
The game can also be heard on WTIC 1080-AM, the home of UConn football.
Series History: UConn and Louisville will be meeting for the eight time Saturday, with the Cardinals holding a 4-3 advantage. Louisville defeated UConn 26-0 last season to notch its first Big East shutout.
Last Time Out: UConn bested Syracuse 28-21 thanks to a pair of freshmen. Lyle McCombs ran for 152 yards and one touchdown, and classmate Scott McCummings ran for two scores of his own after taking over for Johnny McEntee in the fourth quarter.
Louisville was limited to 280 total yards in a 21-14 home loss to Pittsburgh. Freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was 18-26 for 165 yards, and also led the Cardinals with 54 yards rushing on 10 carries.
-- For more UConn football coverage, visit our team page, or our blog The UConn Blog.
(Sports Network) - Louisville will travel to East Hartford to take on Connecticut in Big East action.
The Cardinals' three-game win streak was snapped last week as they fell to Pittsburgh 21-14 in front of the Louisville Faithful. Head coach Charlie Strong is now 12-11 as he nears the end of his second season at the helm of the program. Strong was the 2010 Big East Coach of the Year in his rookie season as a head coach after leading Louisville to a bowl game victory.
Connecticut is now 4-5 after defeating the Orange of Syracuse 28-21 on November 5th. A win over Louisville would bring the Huskies their first winning streak of the season as they have been unable to string together consecutive wins together this season. The Huskies had a bye last week so they should be well rested for this one.
The Cardinals and Huskies are meeting for the eighth time with Louisville winning four of the seven. Louisville recorded its first ever Big East shutout in its victory over Connecticut last year. The Huskies have won three of the last four in the series, including the last two contests in East Hartford. Louisville is 1-2 all-time at Connecticut.
The Cardinals have struggled offensively as their offense is ranked 104th in the nation with 326.6 yards per game. Louisville has averaged just 19.3 points per game this year. The Panthers shut down the Cardinals attack holding Louisville to just 280 yards and 14 points.
Teddy Bridgewater has had an up-and-down rookie year as quarterback. The freshman has thrown for 1440 yards, nine touchdowns, and eight interceptions in his rookie campaign. Bridgewater had his best game of the season in the 38-35 upset win over West Virginia as he completed 21-of-27 attempts for 246 yards and a touchdown. Last week Bridgewater had 219 total yards and one touchdown in the loss to Pittsburgh.
Louisville had a three-headed rushing attack as Vic Anderson, Dominique Brown, and Jeremy Wright have all been involved in the offense. The trio has total of 1051 yards this season.
Louisville's defense is very talented as it is ranked 23rd in the nation with 329.4 yards allowed per game. The Cardinals are holding opponents to just 18.6 points per game. The 7.4 tackles for per game and 14th ranking nationally in sacks per game by the Cardinals exhibits their aggressive nature on the defensive side of the ball. Dexter Heyman and Preston Brown are tied for the team-lead in tackles with 70 a piece. Hakeem Smith tied his career-high with 13 tackles against Pitt. Deiontrez Mount recorded a sack in his first career start last week against the Panthers.
Connecticut has struggled offensively all season as it has scored more than 21 points just three times. The Huskies 318.78 yards per game ranks 107th in the nation. The offense revolves heavily around its star running back Lyle McCombs. The freshman tailback has rushed for over 100 yards in his last three appearances. McCombs enters the Louisville game just 19 shy of 1000 yards for the year.
The Huskies' aerial attack has struggled recently as Johnny McEntee has not eclipsed 200 yards passing in his last five outings. McEntee had a streak of five straight without an interception before throwing two picks against the Orange. The junior signal caller now has 1515 yards this year with nine touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Connecticut defense is allowing 372.4 yards per game. The rushing defense that has been suffocating opposing tailbacks, is ranked sixth best in the nation. Jory Johnson leads the Huskies defense with 74 tackles and Trevardo Williams is ranked third in the Big East with 6.5 sacks.
These squads are very similar in that they both have struggled offensively but are very sound defensively. If Louisville can contain McCombs, it should be able to pull out a victory. However, that is much easier said than done.
DATE & TIME: Saturday, November 19th, 12:00 p.m. (et)
FACTS & STATS: Site: Rentschler Stadium (40,000) -- East Hartford, Connecticut .Television: ESPN. Home Record: UL 3-3, UConn 2-3. Away Record: UL 2-2, UConn 1-3. Neutral Record: UL 0-0, UConn 0-0. Conference Record: UL 3-2, UConn 2-2. Series Record: UL leads, 4-3.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Connecticut 27, Louisville 24.
UConn Vs. Louisville: Huskies Lose to Cardinals 34-20
Although the final score indicates a two-touchdown victory for the Louisville Cardinals, the game was much closer and much more entertaining than the score indicates. Down 11 points with just over two minutes to play, UConn quarterback, Johnny McEntee orchestrated a 75-yard drive that set up a field goal to make it a one-score game. UConn then recovered an onside kick and had one play to go 60 yards and potentially tie the game. After multiple laterals, Louisville ended up with the football and returned it for a touchdown as time expired, making it a two-score game again.
(Here's a video of the aforementioned play.)
McEntee finished the game 18 of 43 for 253 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Lyle McCombs was held to 33 yards on 10 carries.
With the loss, UConn falls to 4-6 on the season. With two games remaining, the Huskies must win both to be bowl eligible. They host Rutgers next week and travel to Cincinnati to finish the season.
-- For more UConn football coverage, visit our team page, or our blog The UConn Blog.
Nov 19 3:53p by Jordan Sams