Back on November 7, 2009, the UConn Huskies football team had just lost their third straight close game after the passing of cornerback Jasper Howard on October 18th. It was also their fourth loss in their last five games to drop their record to 4-5 (1-4 in the Big East).
They had a big game coming up with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looming but more importantly a bye week. The Huskies really hadn’t had any time off since the tragic death of Howard so head coach Randy Edsall gave them some extra time off.
That extra time off for them paid great dividends as the Huskies would go on to win their final three games to secure a bowl bid which ended up putting them in the Papajohns.com Bowl against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The emotional season the Huskies went through couldn’t have been scripted to end any better as the Huskies used their strength, the running game, to beat the Gamecocks 20-7 on Saturday in front of a Papajohns.com Bowl-record crowd of 45,254 at Legion Field in Birmingham, AL.
Andre Dixon paced the Huskies rushing attack with 126 yards on 33 carries and a touchdown. His backfield mate Jordan Todman added 36 yards on just nine carries.
While Dixon was doing most of the work on the offensive side of the ball, it was the Huskies defense that also carried them to this win over South Carolina. They had probably their finest game of the season.
UConn changed their defense up a bit on the Gamecocks. They blitzed more than they had all season and South Carolina just didn’t have an answer for this. They held them to season-low 205 total yards of offense.
The Huskies have a lot to look forward to in 2010 as they will return 18 starters next season and could be a force to be reckoned with in the Big East next season.
As fan of this UConn Huskies football team, I couldn’t be any prouder of them for persevering through this emotional, trying season that saw them lose a brother, a friend and a teammate. And kudos to Edsall for providing them the leadership to get through that time.
Scoring:
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| South Carolina Gamecocks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| UConn Huskies | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
1st quarter
CON – Kashif Moore 37 yard pass from Zach Frazer (Dave Teggart PAT) – UConn 7 SC 0
CON – Dave Teggart 33 yard field goal – UConn 10 SC 0
2nd quarter
CON – Dave Teggart 44 yard field goal – UConn 13 SC 0
3rd quarter
None
4th quarter
CON – Andre Dixon 10 yard run (Dave Teggart PAT) – UConn 20 SC 0
SC – Brian Maddox 2 yard run (Spencer Lanning PAT) – UConn 20 SC 7
Offensive Player(s) of the Game:
UConn running back Andre Dixon went out in style as he was named MVP of the Papajohns.com Bowl after rushing for 126 yards on 33 carries with a touchdown.
Defensive Players of the Game:
The whole entire defensive unit of UConn really deserves this honor as they had their best game of the season as a collective unit.
Turning Point(s) of the Game:
- On fourth and short in first quarter, the ol’ ball coach Steve Spurrier decided to go for it on his own 32 yard line. Lindsey Witten stepped up and stopped the Cocks quarterback Stephen Garcia short. The Huskies would end up with a field goal after the turnover on downs.
- In the third quarter, Garcia fumbled the ball on his 32 yard line. It was recovered by Scott Lutrus on the Cocks 35 yard line. UConn then drove 35 yards on 9 plays (8 of them were runs by Andre Dixon) that culminated with Dixon’s 10 yard touchdown run.
Offensive Notes:
- Zach Frazer was 9-of-21 for 127 yards and a touchdown pass
- Andre Dixon had 33 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown
- Jordan Todman had 9 carries for 36 yards
- Marcus Easley had 4 catches for 40 yards
- Kashif Moore had 2 catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown was an amazing one-handed catch.
- Isiah Moore had 2 catches for 26 yards.
Defensive Notes:
- Scott Lutrus had 9 tackles, a sack and fumble recovery
- Twyon Martin had 6 tackles and 1/2 sack
- Jesse Joseph had 5 tackles and a forced fumble
- The Big East’s leading tackler Lawrence Wilson had 4 tackles and a sack
- Robert Vaughn had 4 tackles and an interception
- Kendell Reyes had 3 tackles and a sack.
Special Teams Notes:
- Jordan Todman had one kickoff return for 30 yards
- Robert McClain had six punt returns for 43 yards
- Desi Cullen had five punts for 196 yards with a long of 53. Four of those punts were downed inside the Cocks 20.
- Dave Teggart made both of his PATs and was 2-for-2 on field goals (33, 44)
Injuries:
Andre Dixon hit his funny bone in the first quarter but returned to the game.
Officials:
Referee: Ron Cherry, Umpire: Rich McMahan, Linesman: Troy Gray, Line judge: Todd Lapenta, Back judge: Barry Hendon, Field judge: Jeff Heaser, Side judge: Vince Parker
Game Notes:
UConn Huskies vs South Carolina Gamecocks 1.2.10 Papajohns.com Bowl box score
- The Huskies are now 3-1 in bowl games and have won two straight.
- The Big East has won all four Papajohns.com Bowl games.
- This was also UConn’s first win over an SEC opponent. They had lost in their previous two attempts (lost 45-14 to Kentucky in 1999 and lost 28-24 to Vanderbilt in 2002).
The rest of the game notes are courtesy of the UConn Sports Information Department:
- Both Andre Dixon and Kashif Moore recorded their first career touchdown in a bowl game.
- Dixon reached the 1,000-yard mark for the season becoming the 12th running back in UConn history to reach the mark and joining teammate Jordan Todman who accomplished this feat earlier in the year.
- This is the first time in UConn history that two running backs have rushed for over 1,000 yards in the same season. They join Nevada and Georgia Tech as NCAA Division-I teams that have at least two athletes that have rushed for over 1,000 yards during the 2009 season.
- Dixon’s 33 carries on the day is a Papajohns.com bowl record.
- Dave Teggart’s 44-yard field goal is also a new Papajohn.com Bowl record.
- The crowd of 45,254 was a new Papajohns.com Bowl record.
- Robert Vaughan recorded his 14th career interception at the end of the fourth quarter, ending a South Carolina drive. The 14 INTs places him fourth on the Huskies’ All-Time Career Interceptions List.
Big East Bowl Games and Results:
December 19, 2009
St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef O’Brady’s
Central Florida 24
Rutgers 45
December 26, 2009
Meineke Car Care Bowl
(17) Pittsburgh 19
North Carolina 17
January 1, 2010
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl
(16) West Virginia 21
Florida State 33
Allstate Sugar Bowl
(3) Cincinnati 24
(5) Florida 51
January 2, 2010
International Bowl
South Florida 27
Northern Illinois 3
Things to Work On:
Prepare for the 2010 season
Up Next:
The season is over for the Huskies. Next up will be the Blue/White Game at the end of spring practice.
