SB Nation - Andre Dixon

South Carolina to Take on UConn in the Papa John's Bowl

Gamecock Man — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:50:50 -0000

The bill is finally set: the Gamecocks will take on the Connecticut Huskies in the Papa John's Bowl at 2:00 on January 2.

Here are some quick facts about the Huskies:

UConn is 7-5 and riding a three-game winning streak into the bowl game.
All five of the Huskies' losses came by four or less points. Those were against UNC, Pitt, WVU, Rutgers, and Cincinnati. In other words, one of the ACC's better teams and the all-stars of the Big East.
The Huskies came into the year expecting to win games with their defense. Surprisingly, though, that hasn't happened. The team is 72nd in the country in total defense and 47th in offense, reversing expectations. They're 23rd in scoring offense. The defensive weakness is against the pass.
The Huskies like to run the ball. They have two solid backs in Jordan Todman (1152 yards) and Andre Dixon.(967).
Watch out! UConn is tenth in the nation in kickoff returns; they average 27 ypr as a team with Todman the main guy at 25.5 ypr.
As you've probably heard, the Huskies have dedicated their season to slain corner Jasper Howard, who was murdered during the middle of the season in a campus stabbing.

That's all for right now. We'll have more coverage here at Garnet and Black Attack in the coming weeks. For now, check out more coverage at The State and Leftover Hot Dog. I'll end by saying I'm a little disappointed we didn't get Pitt, but I'll take the challenge UConn brings and hope we can end the season on a positive note.

Postgame Reaction: K-State vs. UCLA

TB — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:43:21 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Daniel Thomas celebrates K-State's only touchdown in a 23-9 loss to UCLA.(AP Photo/Francis Specker)

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About the only good thing I can say today is that I didn't wake up with a hangover.

Our worst fears for this season have been realized, K-State fans. All the hope we had in the offseason, and all the discussion of what could happen if everything went right, has gone out the door. Everything has not gone right. Before the season, Curtis Kitchen put together a list of five things that needed to go right for K-State to reach a bowl game. Instead of listing things I liked and things I didn't, I'm going to take a glimpse at those five things an look at what has transpired in the early going.

1. Stay healthy: Negatory. Our best defensive player, Brandon Harold, hasn't played a down yet. It shows, because our defense has only one sack on the season. Frankly, the secondary has played valiantly with zero pass rush in front of them. In addition, it appears that Alex Hrebec is now injured, too, as he did not play last night against UCLA. In a season where we have zero bye weeks, we have no chance to get healthy.

2. Daniel Thomas: He's been a stud. Unfortunately, he's not getting the ball enough. Last night, he had only 20 touches (15 carries, four receptions, one pass). That needs to be more like 25-30. He is the only consistent threat we have on offense, and we need to ride that horse to the bitter end. Maybe he's a marginal passer, but Carson Coffman doesn't appear to be much better.

3. Vic does his thing: The defense is better than last year. No doubt about that. Last season, we probably would have surrendered 450-500 yards to UCLA, especially after some breakdowns early gave the Bruins big gains. But adjustments were made, the team stood up, and UCLA only picked up 359 total yards on the night (and a big chunk came late on that play-action pass for the final score). We're still not back to the Lynch Mob days, but we're significantly better than the last two seasons.

4. Instant impact: We were talking about Emmanuel Lamur here. Mostly, he's been a disappointment in the secondary. His tackling fundamentals are average, and he got burned on the play-action that scored UCLA's final touchdown last night.

5. Get some help: This part focused on the schedule, and it doesn't appear we're going to get the help we'd hoped for. Missouri is much better than expected, while KU has looked solid in wins over cupcakes. Nebraska was one boneheaded play from winning in Blacksburg yesterday. Texas A&M is probably better than last season, and Texas Tech hasn't fallen off much. Even with the loss of Sam Bradford, nobody can score enough points to take advantage of OU. Even Iowa State appears to be a more game opponent than last season, and Colorado picked up its first win of the season yesterday.

Hit the jump for what it means, where we're going, a look at how our opponents are doing, and the Big 12 roundup.

What it means and where we're going...

In the big picture, it means we now know there is absolutely no chance that we're going to a bowl game this year. Assuming we win against Tennessee Tech this week, we would need five conference wins to get to the seven wins required for bowl eligibility. It's safe to say that I don't see that happening. I fully expect this team to improve with time, but it's going to be improving as the competition gets ever tougher.

On the horizon is an interesting two-week stretch for this team. Next week they return home to face a pretty bad Tennessee Tech team, a team they should beat easily. Unfortunately, I'm guessing that morale in the locker room is pretty low, and despite the athletic department's best efforts, I'm also guessing that attendance next week is going to be pretty poor. It wouldn't be surprising to me if the team is flat and just sort of picks up a routine, unimpressive win. The next week opens conference play in Kansas City, Mo., against one of the few conference teams we have any legitimate chance to play with. With no disrespect intended toward Iowa State, if we can't win that one, we won't win another one the rest of the season, unless Colorado or Texas A&M completely tanks.

What our opponents are doing...

Massachusetts picked up an easy conference win, defeating Rhode Island, 30-10. The Rams were only 3-9 a year ago and are 1-1 on this young season. Meanwhile, Louisiana traveled to Death Valley to take on No. 9 LSU, and was tagged with a 31-3 loss. I suppose we could take some positives from the fact that ULL limited LSU to only 330 yards total offense, but that's sort of a slim silver lining.

Next week's opponent, Tennessee Tech, is 1-1 on the season. In the opener, TTU picked up a 51-10 victory over NAIA Pikeville College. This weekend, the Golden Eagles dropped a 17-7 decision to Eastern Kentucky. In the Ohio Valley Conference, EKU is a pretty solid team, having won the conference twice in a row, and TTU played them tough last week. Still, this is not a team that should be able to come to Manhattan and play with K-State, although with our struggles on offense I hesitate to say that about anyone.

Around the Big 12

KU 44, Duke 16

After hearing that Duke had driven 87 yards in two plays for an early 7-0 lead, I wondered what had happened to KU's defense after last week's impressive outing against UTEP. Turns out, they were apparently just a little slow to wake up for the 11 a.m. kickoff. Despite giving up a lot of yards (394), KU would only yield nine more points. It would be a mistake to call KU's offense balanced, as the beaks picked up 338 of their 490 yards through the air, but after two ground-bound games to start the season, the question had been whether KU's aerial attack would get untracked. Question no more, as Todd Reesing was an efficient 28-41 with three TDs and no INTs. Dez Briscoe may not be a classroom star, but he's a stud on the field, hauling in six receptions for 117 yards and a TD.

For more: Rock Chalk Talk

Next opponent: Southern Mississippi (Lawrence, Kan.), 9/26

Missouri 52, Furman 16

As I was unwilling to fork over $30 to watch this massacre, I didn't see even a single highlight from Mizzou's beatdown of the FCS Furman Paladins. The stats show that the Blaine Gabbert everyone fell in love with after week one returned, going 17-25 with three TDs and no INTs. Mizzou led 42-0 at half as this one was never in doubt. Shockingly, Furman won the time-of-possession battle, and picked up 398 yards. I'll have to defer to the RMN crew as to whether this was a result of defensive breakdowns early or junk yards late.

For more: Rock M Nation

Next opponent: Nevada (Reno, Nev.), 9/25

Colorado 24, Wyoming 0

From the box score, it appears this game was nearly unwatchable. Colorado controlled time of possession and easily outyarded the Cowboys, but only picked up 326 yards on the night. Give some credit to the CU defense for shutting out a Wyoming team that had Texas down early last week, but then remember that this is Wyoming, a team with a first-year head coach that is probably going to end up in the MWC basement. For K-State fans, seeing CU win this one has to be a bit disappointing, because the Buffs were looking like about our only good chance at a conference win.

For more: Ralphie Report

Next opponent: West Virginia (Morgantown, W.Va.), 10/1

Oklahoma 45, Tulsa 0

Are Big 12 defenses getting better this year? Tulsa may not be the team it was last year, but they play in the offense-happy Conference USA and failed to score a point against the Sooners. This one was over early, as OU jumped to a 31-0 halftime lead before coasting to an easy win. Landry Jones had a big day, passing for 336 yards and six touchdowns against the Golden Hurricane, but threw two interceptions in the process. While lacking a dominant back -- no Sooner gained more than 73 yards rushing -- Oklahoma picked up nearly 200 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Sooner defense limited Tulsa to only 269 yards on the day.

For more: Crimson and Cream Machine

Next opponent: Miami (Coral Gables, Fla.), 10/3

Virginia Tech 16, Nebraska 15

As Virginia Tech is apt to do, the Hokies slugged it out in a game with Nebraska that did nothing to advance offensively competent football. It looked for all the world as though Nebraska had this game won, stopping VT on downs with less than two minutes left. However, VT had all its timeouts left and Nebraska failed to pick up a first down, forcing the Huskers to punt back to the Hokies. Inexplicably, NU safety Matt O'Hanlon let Danny Coale get behind him and Tyrod Taylor shockingly completed a pass to him down the left sideline for an 80-yard gain to the Nebraska three. Two plays later, Taylor found Dyrell Roberts for the winning touchdown, undoubtedly causing a short-term spike in the Nebraska suicide rate. After two good outings against Sun Belt teams, quarterback Zac Lee was awful against Va. Tech, going 11-30 with no TDs and two INTs. Nebraska's lone bright spot offensively was running back Roy Helu, Jr., who diced the Hokies for 170 rushing yards, a career high. I don't have the stats, but NU DT Ndamukong Suh was practically unblockable, as usual, shutting down the running game and batting down numerous passes.

For more: Corn Nation

Next opponent: Louisiana (Lincoln, Neb.), 9/26

Connecticut 30, Baylor 22

Those hyping the Bears as a bowl team this season took one on the chin as Baylor lost at home to UConn Saturday. For the second time in as many games, quarterback Robert Griffin III had a subpar outing, passing for only 119 yards and rushing for a measly 20. Unlike two weeks ago against Wake Forest, the rest of the team couldn't pick up the slack, as the Bears gained only 266 yards on the day. Meanwhile, Joe Pawelek and the Baylor defense were not up to the task against UConn, giving up 326 yards, including a whopping 235 rushing yards, as UConn running back Andre Dixon scored three touchdowns.

Next opponent: Northwestern State (Waco, Texas), 9/26

Oklahoma State 41, Rice 24

For a second straight week, the Oklahoma State defense looked deficient, giving up 377 yards and 24 points to anemic Rice. It was bad enough that Rice actually outyarded the supposedly high-flying Pokes, as Okie State only gained 351 total yards. The Cowboys led 21-3 at halftime, but couldn't put Rice away in the second half. T. Boone Pickens needs to put out an APB for the OSU running game, as the Pokes only gained 124 yards rushing with Kendall Hunter on the shelf again. Dez Bryant was back to his usual tricks, catching nine passes for 161 yards and two TDs.

Next opponent: Grambling State (Stillwater, Okla.), 9/26

Texas A&M 38, Utah State 30

After steamrolling New Mexico two weeks ago and taking a week off, A&M came out flat and beat Utah State in unconvincing fashion. While the A&M offense was again impressive, tallying 573 yards, the defense was woeful, yielding 521 yards to the other Aggies. Penalties continue to bug A&M, as the Aggies totaled 16 flags for 147 yards yesterday. Quarterback Jerrod Johnson was mostly impressive, going 21-41 for 322 yards and four TDs, and the A&M rushing game picked up 235 yards. Still, the defensive effort had to bring back some painful memories of last year, against a Utah State team that, frankly, is not very good. In its first game, USU lost to in-state rival Utah, the very same Utah team that Oregon dropped yesterday. Apparently, A&M has a knack for finding opponents with a first-year coach, as Gary Anderson is in his first year with the Aggies, a team that went 3-9 last season.

For more: I Am the 12th Man

Next opponent: UAB (College Station, Texas), 9/26

Iowa State 34, Kent State 14

Much rejoicing will be heard in the streets of Ames, Iowa, this week, as the Cyclones no longer hold the nation's longest road losing streak. Quarterback Austen Arnaud bounced back from a putrid game against Iowa last week to pass for 144 yards on 13-21 passing with one touchdown, while the Cyclones rolled up 234 rushing yards. Alexander Robinson accounted for 143 of those yards for ISU. The Clones' defense also limited Kent State to 302 total yards.

For more: Clone Chronicles

Next opponent: Army (Ames, Iowa), 9/26

Texas 34, Texas Tech 24

Texas Tech ended up on the short end of this decision despite outyarding and out-first-downing the Longhorns. Colt McCoy turned in a pedestrian effort against the Red Raiders, passing for only 205 yards and throwing two interceptions. It's looking more and more each week like RMN's Bill C. was right before the season when he predicted that McCoy's outstanding success last season was likely unsustainable. That's not to say Texas isn't a good team, but I don't think anyone really knows how good the Horns are right now. Also of note, the Texas Tech Running Game Watch is now in full gear, as the Red Raiders actually got further from the 100-yard barrier for the season by posting a -6 in the rushing game total. If you're keeping track, Tech is now at 86 net rushing yards through three games. That's Jocques Crawford-level stats right there, which may be college football's Mendoza Line. Taylor Potts looked pretty good, going 46-62 for 420 yards, two TDs and one INT, but he can't do it all on his own. Captain Leach had better find a running game soon.

For more: Burnt Orange Nation, Double T Nation

Next opponents: Texas (UTEP, Austin, Texas, 9/26), Texas Tech (Houston, Houston, Texas, 9/26)

Three Reasons Every Big East Team Has A Chance To Win The Conference

Sean Keeley — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:42:32 -0000

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The AP Poll doesn't deem any of them worthy. Neither does the Coaches Poll. Hell, even the Bloggers don't have any idea what to do with them. Find ten previews of their conference and you might get ten different answers on who the best ones are.

"They" are the Big East football teams and "they" all seem to be in the discussion for the conference title, or at least a notable bowl bid. Except, of course, Louisville and Syracuse. But even for the conference bottom-dwellers are there unknown knowns, known knowns and unknown unknowns. Who's to say that the middle of the conference won't be so soft that the bottom can't find a way to rise above?

And so, let's take a look at each team and identify three reasons why every single one of them has a chance to win the Big East this season. Some reasons will be better than others, but in a year when there is no clear-cut favorite, all of them are worth noting.

Cincinnatti (2008 Record & Conference Finish: 11-3, 1st)

1. Tony Pike - Arguably the best quarterback in the conference. Coming off a season in which he threw for 2,407 yards with 19 TDs and 11 Ints. He'll have to improve on his late-season swoon from last year (6 Ints in the final two games) but the senior should have the steadiest hand in the conference this year.

2. Marty Gilyard - With their defense being rebuilt on the fly, the Bearcats are going to need to score a lot of points. That's where Gilyard comes in. Last year he led the Big East with 11 receiving touchdowns on 81 catches. He also broke the school record with 1,276 receiving yards. Given the needs of the offense this year, those numbers could all go even higher.

3. Brian Kelly - The reigning Big East Coach of the Year has proven he can turn a team into a winner almost immediately. He doesn't seem like the kind of coach to rest on his laurels and in a place like Cincinnati where it will be easy to fade back into mediocrity, don't expect him to let them.

Connecticut (8-5, 5th)

1. Cause They've Already Done It. - UConn won a share of the 2007 Big East crown. I swear. It happened. They got a taste...now they want more. Two straight seasons with 8+ wins and that might just be enough to win the conference again.

2.Running Backs - Yes, UConn lost ~~Ronald Brown~~ Donald Brown, a huge blow. But they return Andre Dixon, who led the team in rushing in 2007, and Jordan Todman, who averaged over 6 yards per carry last year. Along with a decent O-line, they'll have a lot of options.

3. Muted Expectations. The fact that the Huskies still aren't taken seriously on a national level will continue to work in their favor. A win over Notre Dame late in the season could go a long way towards dispelling that, though it might not be the upset most would paint it as. As Pittsburgh, West Virginia and South Florida battle expectations, the Huskies will be able to float under the radar all season long.

Louisville ( 5-7, T-7th)

1. The Schedule - There's some unwinnable games in there for sure, road trips to Utah, West Virginia and South Florida stand out. Other than that, the OOC is soft. Arkansas State and Indiana State-type soft. The Cardinals could catch some momentum early and topple a couple Big East softees along the way for a surprising finish.

2. Their Running Game - Last year's Big East rookie of the year Victor Anderson returns to build on his 1,000+ season. Expect Anderson to build in that success, something that might surprise unprepared teams who sleep on Louisville.

3. The Surprise Factor - Crazier things have happened, right? What if all the "top tier" teams really are mediocre enough to let the Cardinals sneak up on them? They get Rutgers and Pittsburgh at home, which helps. Perhaps the sports Gods will bestow Louisville with some football success to take the focus off of Rick Pitino as well. Who knows, you might just be hailing the genius of Steve Kragthorpe after all.

Pittsburgh (9-4, T-2nd)

1.The Receiving Corp - Arguably the best in the league. Sophomore Jonathan Baldwin is the deep-threat, Oderick Turner will be the possession go-to guy, and TE Nate Byham might be the best one in the conference. Given that the offensive line should be solid, it's up to QB Bill Stull to sort out his issues. If he does, look out.

2. The Schedule - An extremely favorable schedule sees the Panthers open with Youngstown State, Buffalo, Navy and NC State. They get to host USF and Notre Dame. The season-closer, hosting Cincy, could end up going a long way towards determining the Big East champ.

3. The Wannstache - He's a Panther with nine lives. Despite the mediocre finishes of '05, '06 and '07, Wanny managed to stay alive long enough for last season's 9-4 finish. Has he turned the corner of the program? If they stay on pace, this could definitely be their year to break through.

Rutgers (8-5, T-2nd)

1. The Schedule - Howard, FIU, Texas Southern, Army. That's more likely to come up as the list of Final Four teams from the 1937 NIT Tournament than the out-of-conference schedule for a BCS program in 2009. And yet...here we are. Rutgers also has the the luxury of hosting Cincy, Pitt, West Virginia and South Florida. Honestly, if they don't win the Big East this year, they never will.

2. The Offensive Line - All five starters from last year return, led by left tackle Anthony Davis. Some say Ryan Blaszczyk is the best center in the Big East, while the rest of the line fulfill the desired look and size of a hogmolly. They're going to be formidable.

3. The New York City Factor - If the Knights can make it through October undefeated, get ready for a media blitz unlike anything college football has ever seen in the New York City area. Schedule-aside, Rutgers will be a major talking point for sports fans in NY and NJ and given their proximity to NYC, they'll be a focal point for the #1 media market in the nation. All of the attention will only help the program attract fans and make the home games that much more imposing.

South Florida (8-5, 6th)

1. Matt Grothe - The Bulls will live and die by the arm of Matt Grothe. He's talented enough to be the best player in the league when it's all said and done. The question will be, can he be a replica of Good Brett Favre (creating via passing, running and scrambling) or will be a replica of Bad Brett Favre (forcing things, tons of interceptions, playing too wild).

2. George Selvie - As a sophomore, he put up 14.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss. Last season he was limited by an ankle injury and more double-teams. This season he's set to explode back onto the scene and reinforce himself as the dominant defensive player in the conference. You will be hearing from him.

3. The Schedule - Another Big East team, another cream puff schedule. The Bulls start the year with Wofford, Western Kentucky and Charleston Southern. In Week 4 they finally play an actual team in Florida State. If they can win that game, consider the Bulls for real again. Finally, they might be able to follow through on all that promise.

Syracuse (3-9, T-7th)

1. Greg Paulus - What if...and this is an enormous what if...Paulus, the Gatorade Player of the Year his senior year in high school, is The Natural? What if he can somehow put this ragtag group of misfits on his back and rides the wave of this amazing story to all-time glory. This is the school where Carmelo Anthony won a national title in one season, right?

2. The New Coach Effect - It happens, right? A team gets a new coach, a new attitude and a fresh start and all of a sudden they go from 3-9 to 9-3. It's usually a little less extreme then that, but it happens. If it's possible that Greg Robinson coached Syracuse into losing more games then they should have last season (which I think he did), surely Doug Marrone can coach them into winning a couple they shouldn't, yes? No? Is this thing on?

3. The Big East Is Much Worse Than Thought - What if the league isn't just mediocre, but it's downright awful? To the point where every game is a toss-up and it comes down to sound coaching, conditioning and luck. Unlikely as anything out there...but hey...ya gotta believe.

West Virginia (9-4, T-2nd)

1. The Running Game - Noel Devine. With a name like that he's sure to be a star, right? He's coming off a 1,289 yard season expect more of the same. His backup Mark Rodgers looked sharp in camp and the 'Neers can always throw a little Jock Sandersat you as well. QC Jarret Brown is no Pat White, but he's mobile nonetheless.

2. Lack of Expectations - For the first time in a long time, West Virginia is not the consensus pick to win the Big East. Sure there have been other trendy picks but the Mountaineers have always been among the smart preseason buys. This year, they're just another team in the pack. What does an underrated West Viriginia team without BCS expectations look like? We're about to find out.

3. The Defense - For so long the offense has defined the West Virginia identity. This year it might be the other way around. This is a unit that gave up a mere 17 PPG last year and did it without returning LB Reed Williams, who led the team in tackles two years ago

What to watch for: Louisville vs. Connecticut

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:21:21 -0000

DocCardsFan's exceptional UConn preview earlier this week has afforded us the opportunity to get a little bit more specific as kickoff approaches.

Here are a few items to keep an eye on tomorrow night.

1. Louisville stacking the box

Though it's easy to claim that his stats are inflated because of the number of carries he's received or the defenses he's gone up against, Donald Brown is the real deal, a fact Louisville's Orange Bowl champion defense learned firsthand when the then freshman scampered for 122 yards on 21 carries in the 2006 regular season finale.

Though he stands just 5-10, 208, the Cards haven't seen a back nearly as physical as Brown, who'll provide the biggest test yet for U of L's still inexperienced linebacking corps. Given Tyler Lorenzen's recent struggles, Ron English stacking the box with eight or nine guys until the Huskies prove they can move the ball through the air is just about the safest bet anyone can make over the next 24 hours.

It's a shame that Richard Raglin is almost certainly going to be in street clothes, because this is the type of game where he could have thrived. Instead, it will be Bobby Buchanan and Latarrius Thomas who will be called upon to make plays within five yards of the line of scrimmage. I'm also interested to see if English opts to use a guy like Brandon Heath as a sort of safety/linebacker hybrid, or whether he gives the physical challenge (Double Dare) to the likes of Daniel Covington and Josh Wiley.

2. Pressing Cardinal corners

English and Eric Lewis's stated objective last week was to not let Josh Freeman complete deep passes over the heads of their defensive backs. The result was a lot of early six or seven yard completions in front of Johnny Patrick and Woodny Turenne. With Lorenzen's confidence shaken and him unlikely to throw anything outside of single-digit yard slants, outs or stops early in the game, I think it's safe to assume that the corners are going to be far more aggressive tomorrow night.

Through four weeks, the Huskies still don't have one wideout with more than 100 yards receiving. Things have gotten so bad that cornerback Darius Butler has been brought over to help out.

If the Cards have to decrease the amount of attention paid to Donald Brown because of the effectiveness of the UConn air attack, then they're going to be in trouble.

3. Connecticut bringing pressure in the middle

Maybe the biggest thing the U of L offense has going for it right now is that the Husky defense is coming off of a week in which it spent all its time preparing for a spread attack and trying to contain a world class athlete at quarterback. Even with what Louisville has been able to accomplish in its last two games, Scott Lutrus, Lawrence Wilson and Greg Lloyd have to be excited about the prospects of blitzing and run-stuffing as opposed to covering wideouts and shadowing Robert Griffin. The trio of sophomores are about as talented as any group of middle men in the Big East, and Todd Orlando is likely going to let them test a hobbled Cardinal offensive line from the opening series of the game on.

4. UConn's defensive ends vs. Louisville's offensive tackles

The Huskies possess probably the best bookend tandem in the conference with Cody Brown and Julius Williams. The pair were among the league's top 20 in multiple defensive categories at the end of last season, and have already combined for five sacks (Brown three, Williams two) in 2008.

Greg Tomczyk did a tremendous job supplanting the injured George Bussey a week ago, but Kansas State can't lay claim to a threat off the edge as potent as either Brown or Williams. If the duo has their way on the outside and the middle is opened up for the Husky linebackers to do work, then the Cardinal offense could end up looking more like it did on Sept. 2 than on Sept. 17.

5. Josh Chichester getting increased looks

Butler is among the top corners in the conference and sophomore Jasper Howard has had his moments, but they stand just 5-10 and 5-9, respectively. Husky safeties Robert Vaughn and Dahna Deleston are each talented veterans with big plays to their credit this season, but they're only a couple of inches taller than Butler.

While the group is skilled and athletic enough to potentially put the clamps on a guy like Doug Beaumont, there's absolutely nothing any of them can do if 6-8 Josh Chichester runs a solid route and the ball is put in the correct place. With Scott Long and Troy Pascley both appearing to be no-gos, the spotlight will once again shine a bit brighter on the man who can't be checked on the baseline inside Rupp Arena.

6. The utilization of Andre Dixon

While Brown is currently leading the country in rushing, many seem to have forgotten that he didn't even lead his own team in the category a year ago. That honor belongs to fellow junior Andre Dixon, who has been hampered by an ankle injury since late August and has carried the ball just once in '08.

Dixon, who lit Louisville up for 170 all-purpose yards a year ago, played sparingly against Baylor, but Randy Edsall has hinted all week that his production would be increased in the conference opener. Dixon might be the top dual threat back in the Big East, so don't be surprised if Connecticut subtly tries to slip him into the game and burn an over-aggressive Cardinal rush defense by hitting him in the flats or on a middle screen. If you see No. 2 trotting onto the field, it'd probably be wise to keep the blitzing to a minimum.

7. The continuing emergence of the Zack Stoudt jersey

This kid's on the verge of having one of the greatest redshirt seasons in the history of college football.

8. U of L trying to look like a varsity high school squad on special teams

I've given up on hoping to win the special teams battle, and have moved on to the more realistic option of at least keeping it close. Timmy Dougherty appears composed enough to handle placekicking duties from inside 45 yards or so, and I think being removed from the job is really going to help Chris Philpott on kickoffs. If you noticed, his best kicks came after made extra points or field goals, while his shanks or kicks that didn't make it to the 20-yard line came after he'd missed or had a field goal attempt blocked.

UConn has one of the best punters/kickoff men in the conference in Louisville native Desi Cullen, and placekicker Tony Ciaravino has been solid from inside of 40 yards. Butler is an extremely dangerous return man, and going up against a Cardinal coverage unit that has struggled with tackling opposing players carrying footballs and looking to advance toward the endzone should make him that much more dangerous.

9. Let's talk edges

OK, this isn't something to watch for, but if you want to fight about it, well, I'll probably change it to something else because I like to avoid conflict.

UConn run offense vs. U of L run defense

Edge: CONNECTICUT

The Huskies have a senior-laden offensive line and the leading rusher in the country. And if Andre Dixon is healthy, he's one of the top six or seven backs in the conference.

UConn pass offense vs. U of L pass defense

Edge: LOUISVILLE

Lorenzen's thrown just one touchdown to six interceptions so far this year, and he comes into this game with his confidence especially shaken after a particularly rough night a week ago. While Butler's athletic enough to come in and make some plays down the field, the Huskies don't have the receivers to make life easier for Lorenzen against an experienced U of L secondary.

U of L run offense vs. UConn run defense

Edge: LOUISVILLE

This is a tight one, and could be where the game is ultimately won or lost. Victor Anderson and Brock Bolen are each coming off of monster performances, but Kansas State's front seven is a far cry from what they'll be up against on Friday. Still, U of L's men in the trenches are playing with a great deal of confidence, and the guys they have behind them don't need enormous openings to make plays.

U of L pass offense vs. UConn pass defense

Edge: CONNECTICUT

Butler and Vaughn are outstanding, and Deleston is an imposing figure across the middle who's made a pretty smooth transition from linebacker to safety. Chichester is the wild card, and as we've seen over the first three games, he has the potential to make both the amazing play look routine and the simple play look impossible. This is also the first 4-3 defense the Cards have faced since Kentucky, and one that has comparable talent and a comparable commitment to putting pressure on the quarterback. U of L didn't exactly set the world - or Rhode Island - on fire through the air in their season-opener, so them making the proper adjustments to ensure that Hunter Cantwell has adequate time to release the football is paramount.

U of L special teams vs. Connecticut special teams

Edge: CONNECTICUT

They're a crafty bunch. Is "crafty" the right word?

Intangibles

Edge: LOUISVILLE

Nobody has to go to work the next day, so I'd expect nothing less than a packed house out for blood in what most fans are approaching as a revenge game.

Make it happen, people.