Stepping back to look at the Big East, it's hard to imagine a crueler season than Connecticut has endured this fall, mainly with the tragic stabbing death of cornerback Jasper Howard, but also in the way the Huskies have had late leads in all four games they've lost this season.
The latest was Saturday against Rutgers, when Connecticut took a 24-21 lead with 38 seconds left in the game, only to see Rutgers freshman quarterback Tom Savage throw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Tim Brown on the very next play, escaping with a 28-24 win. Again, for the Huskies to lose on a deep pass in their first home game since losing a star cornerback is beyond cruel.
It's happened before for the Huskies -- they led North Carolina 10-3 with three minutes to play, only to lose 12-10. They led West Virginia 24-21 (same score as today) with three minutes to play, only to see Noel Devine score on a 56-yard run for a 28-24 win. And the Huskies led Pittsburgh 21-6 with a minute left in the third quarter, only to see the Panthers rally to win 24-21.
Today's loss leaves UConn at 4-4, with their next two games at ranked teams in Cincinnati and Notre Dame. If they lose those, even a home win against Syracuse will mean the Huskies are playing for bowl eligibility when they host USF on Dec. 5 in the final game of the regular season.
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
Kinda drives me crazy we always play UConn in late November and December when we're on the road, yet we don't get in late September, early October when we're at home. If we have to play them in 20 degree weather on the road, wouldn't it be fair to have them face us in 90 degree heat? The UConn game is a huge trap game IMO. We'll already be bowl signed and sealed, plus coming off a W against Miami... Not going to be pretty at The Rent.
Posted by: Terry Lucas | November 01, 2009 at 08:54 PM
The ending to that was pretty exciting. I was rooting for UCONN, though.
Posted by: David Weber | November 01, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Just saw the replay.
Up 3, 38 seconds, and your opponent has to go 50(?) yards just to get into field goal range, what kind of defense was UCONN playing?
Posted by: DELdaBULL | October 31, 2009 at 05:21 PM