Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a DAILY basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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UConn Football links

Early Turnover, Lack of Offense Dooms UConn in 17-14 Loss To USF [sox & dawgs]

Video: Highlights From USF’s 17-14 Win Over UConn [sox & dawgs]

Near record offensive struggles dooms UConn [jim fuller – new haven register]

Offense, passing game fizzles [john silver – sny uconn]

UConn Football: USF Post Game Wrap [uconn huskies youtube]

UConn Loses To South Florida, 17-14 [hartford courant]

Jones’ Interception Was Bright Spot [hartford courant]

UConn’s Offense Reported Missing In Florida [hartford courant]

UConn falls short against South Florida [new haven register]

Punchless Huskies fall in the mud to South Florida [waterbury republican-american]

USF beats UConn [tampa times]

Rodney Adams scores memorable TD for USF [tampa times]

USF beats UConn 17-14 in wet AAC opener [tampa tribune]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Auriemma, Moore, Stewart, Taurasi Talk Australia [rich elliott – ct post]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Say A Little Prayer For Me: Dorothy Ollie In Jacobs’ Corner [hartford courant]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. Zuniga’s Equalizer Helps UConn Earn 1-1 Draw Against Iona [uconn huskies]

W. Soccer. UConn Closes Non-Conference Slate With Brown On Sunday [uconn huskies]

W. Soccer. UConn Falls to No. 5 Florida State – Game Wrap [uconn huskies youtube]

M. Tennis. Huskies Sweep Siena, 4-0 [uconn huskies]

W. Volleyball. UConn Drops Columbia in Five Sets On Friday Night [uconn huskies]

Field Hockey. No. 5 UConn Downs UMass, 2-0, On Friday Afternoon [uconn huskies]

UConn Student-Athletes Participate In Husky Reach BBQ Kickoff [uconn huskies]

South Florida running back Marlon Mack finds a hole in the UConn defense on September 19, 2014 at Raymond James Stadium.

Guess what happened again? Yes that is right, an early turnover. And yes, it was converted into seven points.

For the fourth straight game, the UConn Huskies opponent, this time the South Florida Bulls, converted an early turnover into seven points. And unlike the Stony Brook game, UConn couldn’t recover as they fell to USF 17-14 in front of 28,723 rain-soaked fans at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL on Friday night.

The Huskies fall to 1-3 (0-1 American) while South Florida evens up their record at 2-2 (1-0).

The conditions were absolutely brutal with torrential downpours at time. You could say the same thing about UConn’s offensive line as they were brutal with huge gaps allowing USF’s defense to look like the Steel Curtain.

Chandler Whitmer had no chance when he fumbled the ball after being hit by Chris Dunkley, who recovered the fumble at UConn’s 19. Dunkley came in untouched as Gus Cruz didn’t even see him and he walloped Whitmer.

Two minutes later, USF true freshman running back Marlon Mack put the ball into the end zone with a one yard one.

Pre-snap penalties killed UConn’s next drive, you know those things that cause losing.

South Florida then drove the ball down to UConn’s 30 yard line. But the defense toughened up, stopping Mack on first and second down, then they watched, Mike White throw an incomplete pass.

With the rain beating down and a sloppy turf, USF coach Willie Taggert decided to go for it on 4th and 10 instead of having Marvin Kloss try the 47 yard field goal. It turned out to be the right call as Rodney Adams burned Obi Melifonwu for a 30 yard touchdown reception.

“Just, again, no way to start a game.” UConn coach Bob Diaco said. “Hostile territory, on the road, inclement weather, all the challenges, all the adversity.”

“The youth and inexperience and beginnings of our program continue to show themselves, as victimizing moments, in terms of winning and losing. You start the game and a few short minutes it’s fourteen to nothing.”

With the rain and the lackluster performance of the offensive line, Diaco played it conservative. The defense played strongly and kept the Bulls off the scoreboard.

With halftime approaching and USF driving, the Huskies caught a break when a White pass bounced off of Rodney Adams and Byron Jones scooped it out of the air and brought it back 70 yards for a touchdown.

The teams traded punts for the third quarter and then UConn defense came up strong in the 4th when they stopped a goal to go situation and forced a Kloss field goal.

It would turn out to be the difference in the game as the Huskies got the ball back late and went down the field in four plays culminating in a Geremy Davis touchdown reception.

But with no timeouts, it was a little too late as the Bulls recovered the onside kick.

“It was a night of gain a little bit and do something to shoot ourselves in the foot and take a step back.” said Diaco.

Scoring:

1st quarter

USF – 11:22 – Marlon Mack 1 Yd Run (Marvin Kloss Kick)

USF – 3:24 – Rodney Adams 30 Yd pass from Mike White (Marvin Kloss Kick)

2nd quarter

CON – 0:05 – Byron Jones 70 Yd Interception Return (Bobby Puyol Kick)

3rd quarter

NONE

4th quarter

USF – 6:03 – Marvin Kloss 19 Yd Field Goal

CON – 1:19 – Geremy Davis 32 Yd pass from Chandler Whitmer (Bobby Puyol Kick)

Offensive Player of the Game:

USF running back Marlon Mack was the first opposing rusher to get over 100 yards against UConn as he finished with 103 yards and a touchdown.

Defensive Players of the Game:

While they lost, UConn LB Marquise Vann stood out with 14 tackles (nine solo, five assisted) and Byron Jones who had a 70 yard interception return for a touchdown.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

Chris Dunkley‘s sack-fumbled on Chandler Whitmer on UConn’s first drive set the tone for the game.

Offensive Notes:

Chandler Whitmer was 6-of-10 for 88 yards and a touchdown. He was also sacked twice. Max DeLorenzo led the team with 36 yards rushing on 10 carries. Arkeel Newsome had four carries for 30 yards. Deshon Foxx had two catches for 30 yards with Noel Thomas adding two catches for 18 yards. Geremy Davis had a catch for 32 yards and a touchdown.

Defensive Notes:

Marquise Vann had 14 tackles to lead UConn. Graham Stewart added nine tackles while Andrew Adams and B.J. McBryde had six each. Byron Jones had one tackle and an 70-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Special Teams Notes:

Justin Wain averaged 44.5 yards on eight punts. One of those eight went for a touchback. Bobby Puyol converted both of his extra points.  Arkeel Newsome had four kickoff returns for 86 yards with a long of 24.

Game Notes:

UConn Huskies @ South Florida Bulls 9/19/14 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Bob Diaco and South Florida head coach Willie Taggert.

Injuries:

UConn LB Junior Joseph suffered an upper body injury.

ESPN reported UConn QB Tim Boyle was not available for the game. Diaco refuted the report saying Boyle had been cleared but is dealing with a lower leg thing.

AAC Games and Results:

Saturday, September 20

Tulane
Duke, 12:30 p.m.

Delaware State
Temple, 1 p.m.

(6) Texas A&M
SMU, 3:30 p.m.

North Carolina
East Carolina, 3:30 p.m.

Bethune Cookman
Central Florida, 6 p.m.

Miami (OH)
Cincinnati, 7 p.m.

Middle Tennessee
Memphis, 7 p.m.

UNLV
Houston, 8 p.m.

Things to Work On:

• Continue to work with the offensive line as they were ineffective at just about everything
• Continue to eliminate the things that cause losing

Up Next:

UConn returns home to Rentschler Field next Saturday as they’ll host the Temple Owls in an American Athletic Conference game. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

photo credit: brad horrigan – hartford courant

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a DAILY basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies football team as they are in Tampa, FL to take on the South Florida Bulls in an American Athletic Conference game. Kick is scheduled for 8 p.m. If you missed our UConn vs South Florida preview, be sure to check it out.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

First down woes costing UConn [jim fuller – new haven register]

What a difference a couple years makes for UConn [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn and USF Face Off in Conference Matchup [the american]

Win over South Florida will improve UConn season’s disposition [ct post]

UConn Needs Offense To Step Up Against South Florida [hartford courant]

Like UConn, South Florida In Rebuilding Mode [hartford courant]

UConn offensive line has major work to do [new haven register]

UConn football team begins AAC play at South Florida tonight [the day]

Former UConn Husky Danny Lansanah returns an interception for a touchdown [nfl]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Team USA Practices Twice; Set To Play Australia [rich elliott – ct post]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Shabazz Napier’s impressive trick shot [david borges – new haven register]

Other UConn related links

W. Tennis. UConn Women’s Tennis Continue Strong Start with 4-3 Win at Quinnipiac [uconn huskies]

W. Soccer. Hill Nets Two Goals In 3-2 Setback Vs. No. 5 Florida State [uconn huskies]

UConn Club. Paul Samele: UConn Is Family [uconn huskies]

This week:

The UConn Huskies head out on the road for the first time this season as they’ll be in Tampa, FL on Friday night to take on the South Florida Bulls in an American Athletic Conference Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

The Line:

According to Rivals.com odds, South Florida is favored by two points. The over/under is 43.5 points.

Tickets:

According to Ticketmaster.com, there are still tickets available to the game. You can also check TiqIq for secondary market tickets as well.

Getting To The Game:

Here is link for the weather report.

Here is directions to Raymond James Stadium, parking map for Raymond James Stadium, Raymond James Stadium info, seating chart for Raymond James Stadium and their clear bag policy.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television:

Friday’s game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Dave Flemming is on play-by-play with Danny Kanell on color and Allison Williams on the sidelines.

Radio:

The UConn IMG Sports Network is the home of Husky football on the radio. WTIC NewsTalk 1080 in Hartford serves as the flagship station and 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 USF game will also be available on Sirius Radio Channel 92 and XM Channel 101.

Here is a full list of stations on the UConn IMG Radio Network.

South Florida Bulls Radio:

USF game broadcasts will again be aired on 98.7-FM The Fan, the Bulls’ flagship station, along with 1010-AM WHFS with Jim Louk (play by play) and Mark Robinson (analysis) returning for their 17^th season.  The staff welcomes the addition of new sideline reporter Alex Perlman.

Jim Lighthall and Justin Pawlowski will again serve as the USF football broadcast’s pregame and postgame hosts with Paul Roper serving as the network studio host. All games will feature a two-hour pregame show in Tampa and a one-hour pregame show on network affiliates.

USF Radio Network affiliates

Last Week:

UConn lost to Boise State 38-21 while North Carolina State spanked USF 48-17.

History:

Friday’s game is the 12th meeting between UConn and USF and the Bulls lead the series 6-5. For the first time this season, UConn will be playing an opponent it has met before as the BYU, Stony Brook and Boise State games were all first meetings.

Connections:

UConn has 11 players from the state of Florida on its roster –, freshman offensive lineman Ryan Crozier (Plantation), redshirt sophomore John Green (Miami), redshirt freshman Javon Hadley (Miami), freshman Ron Johnson (Naples), redshirt sophomore Ellis Marder (Windermere), freshman Dan Oak (Fort Myers), redshirt senior Bryan Paull (Parkland), redshirt sophomore Bobby Puyol (North Palm Beach), redshirt freshman Kyle Schafenacker (Cooper City), redshirt junior Brandon Steg (Coral Springs) and redshirt sophomore Jhavon Williams (Delray Beach).

The USF roster is dominated by Florida players and does not have any Connecticut natives on it.

UConn Notes:

Here is the video from UConn head coach Bob Diaco’s press conference. Here is a transcript of some his remarks from the press conference.

UConn head coach Bob Diaco made his UConn and collegiate head coaching debut on August 29th vs. BYU. Diaco served on the Notre Dame coaching staff as the defensive coordinator for the past four years and the assistant head coach for the past two. He was the 2012 winner of the Frank Broyles Award, given to the top assistant college football coach in the country and was the first Irish assistant to receive the prestigious award.

Here is UConn’s roster and 2014 schedule.

Here is UConn’s depth chart for the game.

The captains of the 2014 UConn Huskies football team are Geremy Davis, Byron Jones, Alex Mateas and Marquise Vann.

Despite UConn having virtually an entire new staff this year, seven of the Huskies’ full-time coaches have previously worked games at Rentschler Field. Head coach Bob Diaco, defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter and assistant coach Wayne Lineburg were on the Virginia staff for a 45-10 Husky win on Sept. 13, 2008; Assistant head coach Don Patterson was on the Buffalo staff for a 24-17 UConn win on Sept. 29, 2012; Offensive coordinator Mike Cummings was on the Western Michigan staff for a 41-27 UConn win on Nov. 1, 2003; Assistant coach Kevin Wolthausen was on the Louisville staff for a 30-20 UConn loss on Dec. 3, 2005. UConn assistant coach Mike Foley is the lone holdover on the staff and is entering his ninth season.

The Huskies were picked to finish 9th in the American in 2014.

UConn opens its second conference season in the American Athletic Conference on Friday vs. USF. UConn is 0-1 in American league openers as it lost to USF last year to open conference play. UConn had a 3-6 record in league openers as a member of the Big East Conference.

The Huskies played a total of 57 players against BYU and 20 of them (35.1%) where making their first collegiate appearance. Among the highlights were redshirt freshman Joshua Marriner (Chesapeake, Va.) rushing for UConn’s lone touchdown of the night; freshman Arkeel Newsome (Ansonia, Conn.) making an 18-yard reception the first quarter; redshirt sophomore punter Justin Wain (Wilmington, N.C.) averaging 35.8 yards on four punts; redshirt freshman Tommy Myers (Coventry, Conn.) making his first career reception in the third quarter; redshirt freshman linebacker Cameron Stapleton (Staten Island, N.Y.) combining on a second-quarter sack; freshman tight end Alec Bloom (Ligonier, Pa.) having two receptions for 24 yards.

Other Huskies making their collegiate debuts against BYU: redshirt sophomore C Kyle Bockeloh (Houston, Texas), freshman LB Luke Carrezola (Langhorne, Pa.), freshman OL Ryan Crozier (Plantation, Fla.), senior DB Chris DeBerry (Torrington, Conn.), freshman LB Vontae Diggs (Downers Grove, Ill.), redshirt freshman H Blake Feagles (Ridgewood, N.J.), redshirt freshman DL Foley Fatukasi (Far Rockaway, N.Y.), redshirt freshman OL Tommy Hopkins (Hawthorne, N.Y.), redshirt freshman LB Junior Joseph (Sinking Springs, Pa.), freshman TB Ron Johnson (Naples, Fla.), redshirt freshman LB Cole Ormsby (Windsor, Conn.), freshman OL Trey Rutherford (Markham, Ontario) and freshman CB Jamar Summers (East Orange, N.J.).

Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Sean Marinan (Higganum, Conn.) saw his first college action vs. Stony Brook while redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Andreas Knappe (Silkeborg, Denmark) made his debut vs. Boise State.

Geremy Davis is sixth in the American in reception yards per game at 85.3 – which is 46th nationally.

Preseason Award Watch Lists:

Geremy Davis

• Biletnikoff Award Watch List

Casey Cochran

• Allstate AFCA Good Works Team

Notes from this week’s opponent South Florida:

Here is video from South Florida head coach Willie Taggart’s weekly pregame press conference.

Willie Taggart is in his second season as the head coach at USF after serving as head coach at Western Kentucky from 2010-12. He led WKU to a 13-11 record, including 7-5 marks in the final two years and an appearance in the 2012 Little Caesars Bowl. Taggart has an overall record of 19-32 as a collegiate head coach. He served as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky from 1999-2006, ending his tenure as assistant head coach and QB coach. He was the running backs coach at Stanford from 2007-2009 prior to being named the head coach at WKU.

Here is South Florida’s depth chart for the game.

Here are South Florida’s 2014 roster and 2014 schedule.

The USF captains are Reshard Cliett, Andre Davis & Marvin Kloss.

USF is 1-0 in AAC openers and 6-5 all-time in conference openers having been a part of three conferences (BIG EAST, Conf. USA). USF had lost its previous three conference openers prior to last year

USF will be playing its 27th regular season weekday game in program history, all occuring since 2001. The Bulls are 9-17 in weekday appearances, going 7-7 in weekday games in Raymond James Stadium and 2-10 in road weekday games.

USF ranks 2nd in the FBS in turnovers gained (10) and has forced at least two in every game of 2014 and in 7 of the last 8 games dating to last season.

The offense has suffered the loss of three key players in QB Mike White, WR Andre Davis and G Thor Jozwiak.

FR RB Marlon Mack set a USF & AAC record with 275 rushing yards & 4 TD in his debut. He ranks 9th in the FBS in rushing (399) and 13th in rushing TD (4).

RB Marlon Mack leads the AAC in rushing and is 4th in all-purpose yards. He ranks 12th in the FBS in rushing (133 ypg) and 13th in rushing TD (4).

USF ranks 2nd in the AAC 24th in the NCAA with 39 penalty yards per game

USF leads the AAC in sacks.

USF started two true freshman in the opener and have started 9 in the last two years with 17 seeing action over that period.

USF Coach Willie Taggart removed the names from the backs of the Bulls jerseys in 2014 as reflection of the Bulls emphasis on team and unity. The move was fully supported by Bulls players and particularly senior leaders.

WR Andre Davis brings a USF record streak of 31-straight games with at least one reception into the game.

Thursday UConn Football Links:

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Breaking Bread with Bob – 9/15/14 [sox & dawgs]

UConn Football Announces Home-And-Home Series With Missouri [sox & dawgs]

Video: No Regrets For Former UConn QB Casey Cochran [sox & dawgs]

Video: Casey Cochran Talks About His Role As A Coach For UConn [sox & dawgs]

Pruitt, Paull’s Careers Over at UConn Due To Medical Reasons [sox & dawgs]

UConn’s Florida contingent looking forward to homecoming [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn football: Squeezing something out of the OL [john silver – sny uconn]

From The Crowd: Boise State [uconn huskies]

UConn Is On The Road At South Florida, But For Some It Is Home [hartford courant]

UConn Needs Offense To Step Up Against South Florida [hartford courant]

Xavier grad, UConn quarterback Tim Boyle gaining confidence [new haven register]

Jhavon Williams bringing UConn’s No. 6 back to Florida [new haven register]

Next Week:

UConn heads out on the road for the first time this season next Friday night as they’ll be in Tampa, FL to take on the South Florida Bulls in an American Athletic Conference Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a DAILY basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

Today’s UConn football links can be found in the Thursday’s links section of the UConn Huskies vs South Florida Bulls preview.

UConn Women’s Basketball links

USA notebook: Reeve 2, Auriemma 0 [carl adamec – sny uconn]

Team USA Has Arrived In Paris [rich elliott – ct post]

Dupree, Taurasi Added To Team USA Finalists Roster [rich elliott – ct post]

UCLA’s Fields, UConn’s Nurse to meet again [jim fuller – new haven register]

Delle Donne won’t play and Griner iffy to be part of U.S. World Championship team [jim fuller – new haven register]

Stefanie Dolson Survives First National Team Cut; What’s Next? [hartford courant]

Watch the US Marines Train the UConn Women’s Basketball Team [stack]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

‘Born To Lead: Jim Calhoun,’ A New Documentary Film, Coming To Bushnell Oct. 2, and TV [dom amore – hartford courant]

Husky Run set for Oct. 1 [william paxton – ct post]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. UConn Baseball Kicks Off Fall Slate With Scout Day [uconn huskies]

W. Cross Country. Lauren Sara Earns Second-Straight Female Athlete of the Week Accolade [uconn huskies]

UConn Club. Mike Morrison Named Senior Director of Development For Athletics [uconn huskies]

W. Lacrosse. Women’s Lacrosse Adds Forrest Stillwell To Coaching Staff [uconn huskies]

W. Soccer. UConn Primed To Host No. 5 Florida State On Thursday Night [uconn huskies]

W. Volleyball. Volleyball Hosts 2014 Husky Tournament [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. Huskies Featured on Hockey East TV Package [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. Long Island Royals Tage Thompson Commits to UConn Huskies [elite prospects league]

M. Tennis. UConn Earns First Win of Season, 6-1, at Hartford [uconn huskies]

Field Hockey. Field Hockey Geared Up For Two Weekend Road Games [uconn huskies]

M. Soccer. Huskies Return Home To Face Iona On Friday [uconn huskies]

W. Rowing. Gryszkiewicz, McCormick, and Ullinger Named as Rowing Team Captains [uconn huskies]