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Preview: Louisville (2-3) at Connecticut (3-2)
Posted October 14, 2009
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FACTS & STATS: Site: Rentschler Field (40,000) -- East Hartford, Connecticut. Television:BEN. Home Record: Louisville 2-1, UConn 1-1. Away Record: Louisville 0-2, UConn 2-1. Neutral Record: Louisville 0-0, UConn 0-0. Conference Record: Louisville 0-1, UConn 0-1. Series Record: Louisville leads, 3-2.

GAME NOTES: The Louisville Cardinals and Connecticut Huskies will take another stab at notching their first Big East win of the season, as they collide at Rentschler Field this weekend.

The Cardinals are coming off their first win over a FBS program, using a late field goal to capture a 25-23 decision over Southern Miss this past weekend. The triumph snapped a three-game losing skid for Louisville, which picked up its only other win over Indiana State to kick off the season. The Cardinals now turn their focus back to the Big East, where they lost their lone outing to Pittsburgh (35-10) on October 2nd.

As for UConn, it also lost to Pitt in its lone Big East game, dropping a 24-21 decision on a last-second field goal this past weekend. The setback snapped a string of two straight wins, as the Huskies dipped to 3-2 overall.

UConn and Louisville are meeting for the sixth time, with the Cardinals clinging to a 3-2 edge in the series. However, the Huskies took last season's meeting by a final score of 26-21.

After giving up the lead to Southern Miss with just over two minutes to play, Louisville's Trent Guy returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards and that helped set up the game-winning 32-yard field goal by Ryan Payne with 30 seconds remaining. It was a thrilling finish for the Cardinals, who amassed 439 total yards of offense, well above their season average of 360.4 ypg. Adam Froman got the start under center once again and he threw for 248 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-26 tosses. It was a solid effort from the juco transfer and former wideout, who was taking the place of Justin Burke. Slowed by a bruised sternum, Burke was actually available to play last weekend and could return to play against UConn. Scott Long though, enjoyed a big day with Froman calling the shots, as he hauled in five balls for 146 yards, including a 92-yard touchdown catch. He now tops the roster with 23 catches and 410 receiving yards for the season. In the backfield, Victor Anderson is the team's top rusher with 366 yards and four scores and he had 90 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries last weekend.

The Cardinals had some issues trying to slow down Southern Miss last weekend, allowing 410 total yards. The defense, which is giving up just 335.4 total ypg on the year, was exploited for 181 yards on the ground. The unit did limit Southern Miss to only 23 yards, but it also allowed the Eagles to put together an 89-yard drive late in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score. The defense also failed to come up with a turnover, after forcing nine through the first four games, so it clearly wasn't the best effort from the group. L.D. Scott did his part in the win, as he paced Louisville with 10 stops, three TFLs and a sack. He now has two of the team's eight sacks on the season.

The Huskies' offense relies heavily on their ground game, but the run attack, which is averaging 174.2 ypg on the year, managed only 106 yards in last weekend's narrow loss. The offense accounted for only two touchdowns in the setback against Pitt and finished the day with a modest 303 total yards. Andre Dixon headed the way with 95 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while Jordan Todman added 43 yards on 12 totes. The duo have split carries all season and have combined for 902 yards and nine scores on the ground. At quarterback, Cody Endres made his third start of the season and threw for 197 yards and a touchdown on 17-of-23 tosses. Endres has been playing for Zach Frazer, who was available after being limited by a knee injury, and he has done a decent job in completing 66.3 percent of his pass attempts with no interceptions thus far. He, nor Frazer are big time passers, so expect UConn to continue to grind in out on the ground.

UConn's strength comes on defense, where the unit is holding foes to just 283.6 total ypg, including a mere 98.6 rushing ypg, on the season. Last weekend, however, the group was torched for 489 yards by Pitt, which scored 21 points after the break. The defense was abused for 221 yards on the ground and spent over 35 minutes of the game on the field, including 12 minutes in the decisive fourth quarter. On a positive note, the Huskies did pick off two pass to bring their season total to eight and one of those interceptions was even returned for a touchdown. Robert Vaughn accounted for both interceptions and he now has three, to go with 25 stops on the season. Another player to keep an eye out for this weekend is Lindsey Witten, who is a premier pass rusher with eight sacks to his credit.

The Huskies should be able to control Louisville with their defense, while the ground game runs wild en route to a home victory this weekend.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Connecticut 30, Louisville 13


 
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