Dixon Carries Huskies Past Cardinals

Andre Dixon had 153 yards rushing and three touchdowns as he led the UConn Huskies to a 38-25 win in Big East action on Saturday at Rentschler Field.

The Huskies improve to 4-2 (1-1 Big East) while the Cardinals fall to 2-4 (0-2).

While Dixon was the main story on the offensive side of the ball, the emergence of Marcus Easley at wide receiver could easily be as well. Easley has pretty much come out of no where on the UConn depth chart to take over the top spot at wide receiver. For the second straight week he caught a touchdown pass from Endres and also had a career-high six catches for a career-high 108 yards.

After a quick 3-and-out to start the game, Endres settled down and got the offense moving like a well oiled machine. You could see why UConn head coach Randy Edsall elevated him to the top spot at QB. He’s gotten better over the course of the season and with him at the helm the offense is clicking right now. He was 14-of-21 for 273 yards and had an interception to go along with the TD pass to Easley. He also hooked up with Kashif Moore for a 67 yard completion.

The Huskies racked up 481 yards of total offense on Saturday afternoon with 208 of it coming on the ground. Jordan Todman had eight carries for 63 yards and a touchdown as well.

What’s a little disconcerting is the fact that UConn gave up 457 yards to Louisville’s offense. Cardinals QB Adam Froman had 295 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions. Bilal Powell paced the Cardinals ground attack with 95 yards and two touchdowns.

Lawrence Wilson seemed to be everywhere on the field as he finished with 16 tackles and a fumble recovery.

But the main problem is the 457 yards allowed. The Huskies will need to tighten up the defense if they want to have any chance of beating West Virginia, a team who has beaten UConn badly the past two years.

Scoring:

1st quarter

CON – Andre Dixon 16 Yd run (Dave Teggart kick) – UConn 7 Louisville 0

2nd quarter

LOU – Bilal Powell 1 Yd Run (Ryan Payne Kick) – UConn 7 Louisville 7

CON – Andre Dixon 1 Yd Run (Dave Teggart Kick) – UConn 14 Louisville 7

LOU – Bilal Powell 3 Yd Run (Pat Failed) – UConn 14 Louisville 13

3rd quarter

CON – Marcus Easley 16 Yd Pass From Cody Endres (Dave Teggart Kick) – UConn 21 Louisville 13

CON – Dave Teggart 30 Yd field goal – UConn 24 Louisville 13

CON – Andre Dixon 1 Yd Run (Dave Teggart Kick) – UConn 31 Louisville 13

4th quarter

LOU – Victor Anderson 2 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed) – UConn 31 Louisville 19

CON – Jordan Todman 2 Yd Run (Dave Teggart Kick) – UConn 38 Louisville 19

LOU – Blayne Donnell 4 Yd Pass From Adam Froman (Pat Failed) – UConn 38 Louisville 25

Offensive Player of the Game:

Andre Dixon had 153 yards rushing on 33 carries tying his career-high with three touchdowns.

Defensive Players of the Game:

Lawrence Wilson had 16 tackles including one for a loss and also had a fumble recovery.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

In the third quarter, Aaron Bagsby forced a fumble by Powell that was recoverd by Wilson. The UConn offense went 67 yards in five plays that ended with a 16 yard touchdown pass by Endres to Easley.

On Louisville’s next two possessions, the Huskies forced two turnovers into 10 points and never looked back.

Offensive Notes:

Cody Endres was 14-of-21 for 273 yards with a touchdown and interception. Andre Dixon had 33 carries for 153 yards and a career-high tying three touchdowns. Jordan Todman had eight carries for 63 yards and a touchdown. Marcus Easley had six catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. Kashif Moore had two catches for 73 yards. Tight end Ryan Griffin had two catches for 35 yards.

Defensive Notes:

Lawrence Wilson had 16 tackles, including one for a two yard loss. He also had a fumble recovery. Jasper Howard had 11 tackles, a forced fumble that he also recovered. Greg Lloyd had ten tackles including one for a two yard loss. Lindsey Witten was credited with 1.5 sacks while Kendall Reyes had one and Twyon Martin was credited with a 1/2 sack.

Special Teams Notes:

David Teggart was 1-of-2 on field goals. He missed from 27 yards while hitting from 30 yards. Desi Cullen had two punts in the game and finished with a 47 yard average.

Injuries:

There were no major injuries to report.

Officials:

Referee: Jeff Maconaghy; Umpire: Greg Brenner; Linesman: T. Considine; Line judge: John Salmon; Back judge: Bryan Platt; Field judge: Glenn Crowther; Side judge: George Liotus; Scorer: Andrew Prince;

Game Notes:

• Louisville Cardinals @ UConn Huskies 10.17.09 box score
• The Huskies have won the last three meetings with the Cardinals
• UConn is now 5-1 in BIG EAST home openers winning their last three in a row.
• Andre Dixon recorded three touchdowns for the second time this season. (3 TD vs. Baylor, 9/19)
• Andre Dixon had a career-high 33 carries
• Andre Dixon’s 153 yards rushing is the 7th time in his career that he has gone over 100 yards rushing, the 3rd time this season gaining 100 or more
• Blidi Wreh-Wilson recorded his first career interception in the 1st quarter
• Reggie McClain intercepted his 4th pass of the season, the 10th of his career. He is now tied for 8th all-time at UConn
• Marcus Easley has caught for more than 100 yards in two consecutive games
• Kashif Moore’s 67 yard reception was the longest of his career
• Lindsey Witten had 1.5 sacks in the game, he now has 9.5 on the season
• Lawrence Wilson’s 16 tackles is his season high
• The failed two-point conversion attempt by Louisville was the first two-point conversion attempt defended in the UConn FBS era.
• Three fourth down conversions were attempted on the day, two by Louisville and one by the Huskies, all were successful.
• The Huskies were 6-of-7 in the red zone with the Teggart’s missed goal the only time they didn’t convert there.
• Scott Lutrus missed the game after reinjuring his shoulder in last week’s loss to Pittsburgh.

Big East Games and Results:

10/15:
Cincinnati 34
South Florida 17

10/16:
Pittsburgh 24
Rutgers 17

10/17:
Marshall 7
West Virginia 24

Things to Work On:

1. If the Huskies want to beat West Virginia next weekend, they will need to really tighten up the defense. If they allow that many yards (457), West Virginia will crush them.
2. Continue to finish games. Saturday’s game was a start even though they allowed a meaningless touchdown at the end. They need to do it against a better team though.
3. Continue to work on their tackling. Too many times they try to force a fumble instead of just tackling the ball carrier.

Up Next:

The Huskies head to Morgantown, WV next Saturday to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers at 12:00 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.