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Huskies Ice South Florida, 15-10

East Hartford, CT - The South Florida Bulls (6-4,4-2) played UConn (as in Yukon!) in unfamiliar freezing temperatures, and the results were a combination of dropped balls, bone chilling hits, and "brain freeze" that took their toll on the team from Tampa, FL as the Connecticut Huskies (5-5, 2-4) pulled off an upset of mild proportions, 15-10.  The loss by the Bulls ended their challenge to set up a showdown next week with West Virginia for the Big East Championship.   A USF win here and a win against the Mountaineers not only meant an opportunity for the Bulls to win the Conference in its first year of play, but the combination would have catapulted South Florida as a surprise entry into a BCS bowl.   The Huskies win, however, not only ended the Bulls' dream, but it also put them into a position to become bowl eligible now if they can pull an even bigger upset next week in East Hartford against the 8-2 Louisville Cardinals.  UConn scored all their points in the first half, but their defense was key  with several big plays in the second half to thwart any comebacks, aided by a questionable strategic move by the Bulls' coaching staff late in the fourth period.  Collegefootballfan.com recorded our twelfth and final, regularly-scheduled, new 1AA team in 2005 to bring our total number of teams toward The Goal to 105!  Our change in schedule to see the Bulls while we celebrated Thanksgiving in Rhode Island instead of traveling to Syracuse to see the Bulls three weeks ago paid off as we saw an exciting, close game as opposed to the lethargic, 27-0 win USF posted over the 1-10 Orange in the Carrier Dome. 

     Husky FB Lou Allen got his team off to a quick start as he exploded off right tackle to ramble untouched for a 60-yard TD jaunt on his team's first possession one minute and twenty-seven seconds into the game.  As one Husky fan exclaimed, "That was hole and a half!"  The 60 yards accounted for more than half of Allen's 101 rushing yards on 21 carries.  PK Matt Nuzie converted the extra point for the quick 7-0 lead.  The cold weather had its effects early on the Bulls.  The first quarter seemed to last forever as the Bulls used two time-outs to adjust to the noisy crowd of 40,000, and several players went down with stingers never felt in the sunny climes of Tampa Bay.  A sack of QB Pat Julmiste by LB James Hargrave put the Bulls back on their own five-yard line.  The effects of the cold temperature became more evident on the next play when the cold, hard pigskin went straight up through the hands and over the head of the USF QB and into the end zone where he was taken down by UConn DT Deon McPhee for a safety.  The Huskies were up, 9-0.

     In the second period, Husky DE Dan Davis sacked Julmiste once again to force the Bulls to punt from their own four, but Husky return man Brandon McLean misplayed the ensuing punt which hit his foot, and the Bulls recovered on their own 46.  Julmiste eventually fumbled back to the Husky's Rhema Moore at the UC 43.  From there, the home team drove to the visitors 21 where they set up for a FG attempt by the normally reliable Matt Nuzie, but the attempt was no good.  The Bulls took over from there, and made the most of it, but not without creating some difficulties on their own accord.  From the USF 47, RB Andre Hall (93 yards on 21 carries) finally broke loose for 36 yards to get to the UConn 17.  They nudged three yards closer before a crackback block and a procedure penalty on consecutive plays set the Bulls back on the Husky 31.  On third and 24, Julmiste (10 for 26, 168 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs) dropped back to his right and threw a nice pass deep to the left corner of the end zone where WR SJ Green outran DE Shaun Mayne in coverage for a 31-yard TD pass.  Kyle Bronson's extra point put the Bulls in immediate striking distance at 9-7.  Maybe it was the spark that USF needed to show that as poorly as they had been playing, they were still in this game.  However, the Huskies had a quick response to the potential USF threat.  On the ensuing kickoff, returner Darius Butler caught the ball at his own ten, fended off one would-be tackler, dodged and wove among others, made another tackler miss, wove a little more and raced to about the USF four where another tackler missed when he fell off him before he crossed the goal line for a 90-yard TD run!  Rentschler Stadium rocked!  Nuzie, usually reliable, missed the extra point, and the crowd settled down.  UConn led 15-7.  Only a TD and two-point conversion within reach, the Bulls seemed ready to make their move when Julmiste found SJ Green once again on a 58-yard pass play to get to the UC 26.  Two plays later, LB Dan Hargrave single-handedly thwarted the Bulls' threat as he tipped Julmiste's attempted pass to knock it high into the air and caught it before it hit the ground for a great interception.  The Huskies punted away again from their own 17.  On the Bulls next possession, DB Butler,  who had returned the kick-off for a TD, intercepted a Julmiste pass and returned it 18 yards before he fumbled it back to the Bulls who took over on their own 48.  UConn forced a USF punt once again, and with possession with 1:01 left in Q2, Head Coach Randy Edsall had his Huskies run the clock out after a long first half with a 15-7 lead.

     The Husky band performed at halftime.  Also, two former Husky QBs were introduced to the crowd - Matt Gennaro who played for the Huskies on successful teams in the early '90's, and Dan Orlovsky, fresh off the last few plays for the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day in his team's loss to the Atlanta Falcons.  As the third-stringer, he looked pretty good and may start to see some more playing time since Joey Harrington and Jeff Garcia didn't seem to have answers earlier at QB against the Falcons.  CFF saw Orlovsky play for UConn against Utah State, Kent State, Akron and Army from 2001-2004.  He was even pointed out as a recruit a Memorial Stadium to us when we attended the UConn-Middle Tennessee game in 2000 where the Huskies were trounced in their initial 1AA season, 66-10.  It only seems like yesterday! Back then, the Husky fans looked to him with a lot of promise.  Twenty-five 1AA wins, one bowl victory, a Big East Membership, and one new stadium later, Dan Orlovsky has done pretty well for both himself and UConn Husky football.  The UConn football program will continue to benefit with a new on campus Burton Family Football Complex back in Storrs.  $2.5 million comes from the Burton Management Group.  Mike Burton, son of CEO, Robert G. Burton was captain of the 1999 Huskies. We probably saw him in action the previous year when we saw the Huskies host Hampton in the 1AA play-offs in an exciting 42-34 win.

    In Q3, USF scored on its second possession with a 42-yard FG by PK Kyle Bronson to close the score to 15-10.  The two teams exchanged punts.   A big hit by UConn's Tyvon Branch jarred the ball loose from WR Amari Jackson after a reception  where Rhema Fuller recovered his second fumble of the day at the UC 31.  After that turnover, both defenses continued to hold each other well into the final period.

    With 2:53 remaining in the game, the cold game time temperatures began to finally cause "brain freeze" on both sidelines.  UConn had the ball on its own 39 where USF had called time out to stop the clock.  On a day when UConn's punter shanked several punts (as did USF's), P Chris Pavasaris needed all the help he could get.  Final stat indicate a 30.4 average on ten punts.  Most were from deep within Husky territory, a tribute to the Husky defense this day.  After the time-out, the play clock started to tick off 25 seconds.  The game clock would not start until the next play started.  UConn seemed content to let the play clock run out to take a five-yard penalty, but no time came off the game clock!  What was UConn thinking?  With inept punting most of the day, they dug a hole for their punter five yards deeper with no time taken off the game clock!   Pavasaris's punt went for only 10 yards, and the Bulls had the ball at the UC 44.  USF was in the driver's seat with 2:36 remaining.  There was plenty of time to put together a 44-yard drive and eat up plenty of time to leave little opportunity for the Huskies to make a comeback. The Bulls had two time-outs left if needed. But, those cold UConn (Yukon?) temperatures caused even deeper "brain freeze" on the USF sideline.  Instead of getting the ball Andre Hall, the nation's fourth leading rusher coming into the game, and possibly set up some play action passes off that, Head Coach Jim Levitt opted to go for it all on the first play!  Not only was it a poor decision, it was a poorly executed pass play.  Julmiste dropped back and just threw up what looked like a high, pop-up to the far left corner of the end zone.  Husky CB Tyvon Branch had plenty of time to get under the ball before any USF receiver challenged to pick it off for a touch back. It was the fifth and final turnover gotten by UConn on the day.   With possession, the Huskies started their game of keep away from their own 20.  On a third and seven, QB Matt Bonislawski (8 for 26, 81 yards) put it away faking a handoff and bootlegging to the left for a 16-yard run and a first down.  USF spent their final time-out. With 1:31 remaining, UConn kept the ball on the ground to keep the clock moving until time expired.  It was an exciting game with a lot on the line, especially for South Florida.  Not to say that they could have pulled this one out in the last two and a half minutes, but the Bulls didn't give themselves a chance with the call and the execution of the play with possession on the UC 44 with plenty of time remaining.  They took themselves right out of all the potential for a conference title and big bowl pay-off with that one. The UConn defense was stingy, but the strategy to overcome was poor.   The Bulls return to Tampa next week to play BCS-bound WVU where they will try to garner win number seven to determine their bowl bid amongst the Big East contracts.  The Huskies have their work cut out for them against Louisville to get them win #6 for a bowl.  One thing is for sure, the UConn faithful will be their to support the effort no matter how cold it will be!  Despite cold temperatures, a sub-.500 record, local TV coverage, and a holiday weekend, they filled most of the seats at The Rent.   CFF will be at the greatest rivalry in college football - The Army-Navy Game.  With both teams on winning tracks, it should be a great one!

Extra Points - Jim Levitt's name was mentioned as a successor to Bill Snyder at Kansas State.  You wonder if a decision committee will look at his decision-making process during this game.  USF seems to play a straight run-pass type of offense where very little deception is used with play-action passes.

The effects of the cold weather on South Florida makes us wonder how other teams from Southern climes would fare from year to year if they had to play any November games north of the Mason-Dixon line.  One team that has thrived is Miami (F).  We saw them fend off the cold weather in Pittsburgh two years ago in their Big East finale in their win against Pitt. 

Despite the strong Husky fan turnout, a lot left early throughout the second half  despite a close game.  People nearby left when USF had the ball with 2:53 left.  They must have known something we didn't, but why would you sit that long into a game like this before seeing the final outcome?