This week
The UConn Huskies will host the Syracuse Orange on Saturday at 12 Noon at Rentschler Field.
Here are the rosters for the Huskies and the Orange.
The Line/Prediction
According to Yahoo Sports Odds, UConn is favored by 19 points. The over/under is 46 points.
My prediction is UConn 38 Syracuse 14
Tickets
As of the time of this post, there is still tickets to available.
Tickets to game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.
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.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television
After two straight weeks on ESPNU, the Huskies are back on basic cable this week as ESPN2 airs the game live. Pam Ward (play-by-play), Ray Bentley (color) and Rob Simmelkjaer (sidelines) have the call. Four years into the BIG EAST’s TV contract, remarkably it is UConn’s first ESPN or ESPN2 game that has not been called by either Sean McDonough, Trevor Matich or Holly Rowe, or a combination of the three.
Radio
For the 16th 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 sidelines. The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff and is hosted by Bob Joyce, while at 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.
Syracuse Radio:
The flagship station for the Syracuse ISP Sports Network is TK-99.5FM. Sirius Radio will also broadcast the game and it can be found on Channel 127.
Last Week
UConn lost to Cincinnati 27-3. South Florida beat Syracuse 41-10.
History
The two teams have only met three times with Syracuse leading the series 2-1. The home team has won all three meetings.
Connections
- UConn head coach Randy Edsall played for Syracuse in the late 1970s. He was also an Orange assistant from 1983-90.
- Connecticut running backs coach Terry Richardson also played his college ball at Syracuse. Richardson wore the famed #44 jersey for the Orange from 1990-93 and helped SU to three bowl victories in four seasons.
- UConn defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos was a graduate assistant coach for Syracuse during the 1992 and 1993 seasons.
- UConn strength and conditioning coordinator Jerry Martin is a 1978 Syracuse graduate and a four-year letterman for the Orange.
- Syracuse operations director Desmond Robinson was an assistant at UConn from 1982-87. He also coached at West Virginia from 1988-91 and 1995-96 alongside current Husky tight ends coach Dave McMichael.
- The Huskies have seven native New Yorkers, five of which hail from upstate. Tyvon Branch is from Syracuse suburb Cicero, Brandon Dillon is from Rochester, Rob Lunn and Kevin Poles are from Penfield in the Rochester area and Yianni Apostolakos is from Pittsford, also near Rochester.
- The Orange have two native Nutmeggers in Mike Chambrello (Plantsville) and Max Meisel (Weston)
Other News:
Saturday is Senior Day for the Huskies and they will honor 11 members of the team before the game.The honorees are Joe Akers, Lou Allen, Tyvon Branch, Dan Davis, Donnell Ford, Ryan Henegan, Danny Lansanah, Gary Mack, Zak Penwell, Larry Taylor and Donald Thomas. UConn is 4-1 on Senior Day in the FBS/I-A era, losing only last year to Cincinnati, 26-23.
The likely bowl appearance will be the second for the senior class.
It looks as though UConn could be heading to the Sun Bowl in El Paso if they win this week and lose next week in West Virginia. Of course that hinges upon West Virginia beating Cincinnati tomorrow as well as UConn winning.
Despite losing last week, UConn is still ranked in the USA Today Poll at #25. They dropped out of the AP Poll but are the first team receiving votes. They are also ranked #24 in the BCS standings.
UConn is 6-0 at Rentschler Field this season. Only one team in Big East history has gone undefeated at home (West Virginia in 1993).
UConn’s 8-2 record is tied for the best 10-game record in their history (1901, 1998). Since moving up to Div 1, their best start was 7-3 back in 2003.
Randy Edsall will be going for his 50th win as head coach at UConn on Saturday. His record is 49-52.
UConn is 1-1 as a ranked team this year.
Next Week
UConn takes to the road for their final regular season game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday November 24th. Kickoff is TBA. This game could be for the Big East’s BCS berth depending on the outcome of UConn’s game vs Syracuse and West Virginia’s game vs Cincinnati.
