This week:
After a disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers, the UConn Huskies return home to the friendly comforts of Rentschler Field to take on the Louisville Cardinals Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
Here are the rosters for the Cardinals and the Huskies.
The Line/Prediction:
According to Rivals.com, the Huskies are 13 point favorites. The over/under is 46 points. My prediction is UConn 30 Louisville 17.
Tickets:
The game, which is homecoming for UConn, is sold-out.
Getting To The Game:
Here is link for the weather report. Here is all the parking info you will need for the game, this link includes directions to Rentschler Field. Here is a Rentschler Field seating chart.
The parking lots will open up 4 hours before kickoff. Here is a list of the tailgating rules at the Rent. And some alternative tailgating rules can be found here.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:
Saturday’s game wil be televised by the BIG EAST Network as the BIG EAST Game of the Week and will be seen throughout the Northeast, Midwest and Southern portions of the country.
Mike Gleason is on play-by-play while John Congemi returns once again on color and Quint Kessenich is on sidelines.
The game will be seen locally on MyTV9-WCTX and also on SNY. Other large market live clearances include WPHL-TV in Phildelphia, MASN Regional Sports in Washington, D.C., Brighthouse Regional Sports in Tampa, Fla., WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, Altitude Sports in Denver, WTTV-TV in Indianapolis, WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, WMLW-TV in Milwaukee, WHAS-TV in Louisville and Cox Sports New England in Providence.
Radio:
For the 18th 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 side lines and Eric Davis on production.
The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff, while home games, the UConn Tailgate Show will air two and a half hours prior to the game with Arnold Dean. UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet at WTIC.com. For a full list of stations on the WTIC/UCONN radio network, click here.
Louisville Radio:
Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Craig Swabek (analyst) will call all the action and Doug Ormay will report from the sidelines on WHAS 840 AM. The game will also be available on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Ch. 158, XM Satellite Radio, Ch. 203
Last Week:
The UConn Huskies fell to the Pittsburgh Panthers 24-21 while the Louisville Cardinals beat the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 25-23.
History:
Saturday’s game is the sixth meeting between UConn and Louisville and the Cardinals lead the series by a 3-2 count — although the Huskies have won the past two games.
Connections:
UConn has one player from the state of Kentucky — starting punter Desi Cullen, who is right from Louisville.
Louisville does not have any players from Connecticut.
Both UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway and Louisville AD Tom Jurich were the ADs at Colorado State before taking their current positions.
Other News:
Here are some quotes from UConn head coach Randy Edsall’s press conference and here is the video of Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe’s press conference.
Saturday’s game marks the sixth home opener of BIG EAST Conference play for the UConn football program, dating back to 2004. UConn has a 4-1 record in its previous five BIG EAST home openers with — a 29-17 win over Pittsburgh in 2004, a 26-7 win over Syracuse in 2005, a 37-11 loss to West Virginia in 2006, a 21-17 win over Louisville in 2007 and a 40-16 win over Orange Bowl-bound Cincinnati in 2008
At UConn home games, FanFest takes place from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. outside the stadium between Gates C and D and features entertainment and family activities.
The “Husky Walk” is a chance for fans to welcome the UConn team as they get off the team buses and head to the stadium. That takes place at approximately 9:45 a.m. between Gates A and B. The 1959 Yankee Conference Championship team will be honored at Saturday’s game.
Here are the categories where UConn is in the top 30 in the 2009 NCAA statistics:
- Rushing Defense 19th at 98.60 (Fourth in BIG EAST)
- Total Defense 20th at 283.60 (Second in BIG EAST)
- Scoring Defense 24th at 16.80 (Fourth in BIG EAST)
- Sacks 8th at 3.20 (Fourth in BIG EAST)
In addition, Jordan Todman is 36th in the country in rushing yards per game at 87.80 while Andre Dixon is 29th at 92.60. UConn is the only school to have two rushers in the top 36. Robert McClain and Robert Vaughn are both tied for tenth in interceptions at 0.60 per game and tied for first in the BIG EAST. Desi Cullen is 22nd in punting, and second in the BIG EAST, at 43.42 yards. Lindsey Witten is second in sacks at 1.60 per game. Lawrence Wilson is 19th in tackles. Cody Endres is 28th in the country in passing efficiency.
What’s Holding Up An Annual Battle Between UConn And BC? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
Notice Two Games Not Highlighted On Cincy Sked? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
TheRoundUp: Let’s talk football [TheUConnBlog.com]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…Lutrus out [Neill Ostrout – Connecticut Post]
UConn’s Lutrus out for Louisville game [Connecticut Post]
Louisville at UConn: Who’s got the edge? [Connecticut Post]
No Surprise On UConn Injury Report, Lutrus Out [Hartford Courant]
Louisville Coach Calm Amid Ouster Talk [Hartford Courant]
Lutrus won’t play against Louisville [New Haven Register]
Fans keep heat on Louisville coach [Waterbury Republican-American]
Next Week:
The Huskies head to beautiful Morgantown, WV to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers. The game will kickoff at 12:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
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