This was a tale of two halves for both the UConn Huskies and No. 23 Pittsburgh Panthers. In the first half, both defenses dominated the game. In the second half, UConn’s “bend but don’t break” defense allowed a big play by LeSean McCoy while Pitt’s defense allowed a big run by Donald Brown.  But in the end, it was either Pittsburgh’s defense or UConn’s inept quarterbacks (depends on how you want to look at it) that was the difference in the game.

Setup by some good field position by their defense in the 2nd half, Pittsburgh scored 24 third quarter points to put the game out of reach as they went on to beat UConn 34-10 in front of 39,535 on Senior Day at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT.

UConn finishes up the season at 7-5 (3-4 Big East) and could end up in the Motor City Bowl although their destination won’t be known until tomorrow night most likely. On the other side, Pittsburgh finishes the season with their first 9-win season since 1982 at 9-3 (5-2 Big East) and most likely will represent the Big East Conference at the Brut Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX.

So just how bad were UConn’s quarterbacks today? Really, really just awful. Before Tyler Lorenzen was pulled in the 4th quarter, he was 4-of-21 for 4 yards and 2 interceptions. His replacement, Zach Frazer, did complete 3 passes. Unfortunately, they were all to members of the Pittsburgh defense. Lorenzen did return to the game after Frazer’s third interception in as many drives to finish the game 6-of-27 for 80 yards and 2 interceptions. Frazer was 0-for-4 for no yards and 3 INTs.

To Lorenzen’s credit, some of the balls he threw should have been caught but there were some poorly thrown balls and some times where he should have held on to the ball or thrown it away. With Lorenzen graduation, Frazer’s play today doesn’t give us too much confidence. Expect a heated battle between Frazer and Cody Endres during spring ball.

The big matchup between the two stud running backs was won by Brown who finished with 34 carries for 189 yards and 1 touchdown. McCoy ended up with 24 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown. There’s a chance both them could be playing in the NFL next year. Brown also finishes as the FCS leading rusher with 1,822 yards while McCoy’s 21 touchdowns on the season leaves him 1 short of Tony Dorsett’s Pittsburgh record of 22 in one season.

Here’s what Randy Edsall had to say about Brown after the game:

Donald Brown is just amazing. You don’t like to talk about an individual’s performance after a loss but I think it is necessary to talk about his individual performance this year. It has been phenomenal what he did this year, he had more than 180 yards; he had 200 yards but with the losses 180. The leading rusher in the country to be at UConn and no one ever thought that would happen so that says a lot for him

It’s a tough way for the 19 seniors to go out as they’ve always given their all throughout their time spent on the campus in Storrs. They should not be hanging their heads because they’ve helped build a good football program at UConn. They may be a step away but they’ll get their sooner rather than later.

Scoring:

1st quarter

NONE

2nd quarter

PIT – Conor Lee 21 yard field goal – Pitt 3 UConn 0

CON – Dave Teggart 45 yard field goal – UConn 3 Pitt 3

3rd quarter

PIT – LeSean McCoy 47 yard run (Lee PAT) – Pitt 10 UConn 3

PIT – Lee 21 yard field goal – Pitt 13 UConn 3

CON – Donald Brown 57 yard run (Teggart PAT) – Pitt 13 UConn 10

PIT – Bill Stull 61 yard pass to Derek Kinder (Lee PAT) – Pitt 20 UConn 10

PIT – Stull 28 yard pass to Nate Byham (Lee PAT) – Pitt 27 UConn 10

4th quarter

PIT – Greg Williams 20 yard interception return (Lee PAT) – Pitt 34 UConn 10

Offensive Player of the Game:

Well for one thing, it won’t be Tyler Lorenzen or Zach Frazer. I’m going to be a homer here (because I can) and give Donald Brown the offensive player of the game as he had 34 rushes for 189 yards and a touchdown.

Defensive Players of the Game:

The Pittsburgh defense. Despite allowing the 189 yards by Brown, they made life difficult for him at times and also for Tyler Lorenzen. Plus they were able to pick off the UConn quarterbacks 5 times.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

With UConn trailing 13-10, the Panthers scored on their first play from scrimmage as Bill Stull hit Derek Kinder for a 61 yard touchdown. That took the wind out of the sails of UConn and the crowd and Pittsburgh never looked back from there.

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So bad that ESPN’s Rece Davis suggested that UConn Huskies head coach Randy Edsall should head over to the Farmington, CT Mud Hogs youth football team to find a quarterback. Don’t believe me, well you can see it for yourself.

You can’t argue with the fact that Tyler Lorenzen and Zach Frazer were just brutal today. And no matter where they end up for their bowl game, if they don’t get better play from the quarterback position, it won’t matter what Donald Brown does in the game as they’ll probably get smoked like they did today.

Game recap to follow very shortly.

It doesn’t matter if it’s Senior Day for the UConn Huskies football team because head coach Randy Edsall has just pulled his senior QB Tyler Lorenzen from the game. If you saw his numbers you would too.

Lorenzen is 4-for-21 for 21 yards and 2 interceptions. Zach Frazer is in at quarterback for the Huskies as they trail here 27-10 with just over 13 minutes to go in the game.

UPDATE: Frazer’s first drive just ended with an interception on a tipped ball at Pitt’s 20.

UPDATE #2: After UConn recovers a fumble in Pitt’s territory, Frazer’s second drive ends on a interception in the end zone.

UPDATE #3: Frazer’s third drive ended with another interception on a tipped ball that was returned for a touchdown.

UPDATE #4: With 6:45 to go in the game, Lorenzen is back in at quarterback for the Huskies down 34-10.

Could the UConn Huskies end up in Detroit at the Motor City Bowl against a MAC opponent most likely to be the Ball State Cardinals?

Ken Hoffman who is executive director of the Motor City Bowl and International Bowl spoke at halftime and here’s what he had to say courtesy of Chip Malafronte of the New Haven Register.

After speaking with Ken Hoffman, the director of the International Bowl and the Motor City Bowl, it now seems there’s a good chance the Huskies could wind up in Detroit playing Ball State. Hoffman said certain things need to happen in the next 24 hours, mainly with the BCS selections, before he can make any decisions.

It’s quite confusing, but in a nutshell, the BCS still has a hold on Ball State despite the fact that it’s unlikely (read: impossible) for BSU to go to a BCS bowl. When the BCS makes its choices, Hoffman’s two bowls will select based on “the best matchups.” Buffalo is already slotted for Toronto. It seems Ball State is the choice for Detroit. Since Buffalo is expected to bring many fans to Canada, logic dictates a Big East opponent for Ball State in Detroit. Rutgers could still be the team the Motor City is targeting.

The way this is shaping up right now we probably won’t know where UConn is going to end up until tomorrow night.

Let us know where you think UConn might end up by voting in the poll in the sidebar to the left.

Earlier in the week, it was thought a UConn Huskies win today against Pittsburgh would give them a better shot at being the Big East representative in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX. That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore.

From Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant:

Just talked to John Folmer and Bernie Olivas, the Sun Bowl chairman and executive director respectively and they were clear that they want either Pittsburgh or West Virginia no matter what happens and with Rutgers winning six in a row and bombing Louisville on national TV like it did, the Scarlet Knights are an option, too.

Even if the Huskies win, Folmer said, yes, they would go back to the table and discuss what to do but either Pitt or West Virginia is their preference.

It also appears that the PapaJohn’s.com Bowl in Birmingham is off the table for UConn due to the Buffalo Bulls upsetting the Ball State Cardinals in the MAC Championship last night. So it looks like UConn will most likely have a date on with Buffalo on January 3rd at the International Bowl in Toronto.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies football team as they will honor their 19 seniors before today’s game against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Kickoff is at Noon and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

If you missed my Pittsburgh/UConn game preview, don’t forget to check it out.

Here are some video highlights of last year’s 34-14 win over Pittsburgh courtesy of the great Santini.

It’s time for the seniors to say goodbye to UConn.

D.J. Hernandez wants to end his career at UConn on a positive note.

LeSean McCoy will be a handful for the UConn Huskies this afternoon.

The UConn seniors are taking it all in before their final home game.

This is the end of the road for the UConn seniors.

The football team will still be having their banquet this year but it will be scaled back some to save money.

Representatives from the International Bowl will also be on hand for today’s game.

Today’s game between UConn and Pittsburgh will determine where the bowl eligible Big East teams will land.

D.J. Hernandez has some fond memories against Pittsburgh.

John Silver of the Journal Inquirer talks about Dahna Deleston in a blog entry.

UConn could end up in Birmingham, AL playing in the PapaJohn’s Bowl.

Hasheem Thabeet has shown a ton of improvement in his 3 years at UConn.

The UConn men need better play out of their guards when they come out of final exams.

The UConn women’s hockey team beat Boston College 2-1.

The UConn men’s hockey team fell to UMass 5-1.

UConn baseball sophomore Mike Olt has been named to baseball’s 2009 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Pre-Season Watch List as announced by the College Baseball Foundation.