2008 Connecticut Huskies football team

The 2008 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big East Conference. The team was coached by Randy Edsall and played its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.

2008 Connecticut Huskies football
International Bowl champion
International Bowl, W 38–20 vs. Buffalo
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	8–5 (3–4 Big East)
Head coach	Randy Edsall (10th season)
Offensive coordinator	Rob Ambrose (3rd as OC; 7th overall season)
Defensive coordinator	Todd Orlando (4th as DC; 10th overall season)
Home stadium	Rentschler Field
Seasons ← 2007 2009 →

2008 Big East Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 17 Cincinnati $		6	–	1					11	–	3
Pittsburgh		5	–	2					9	–	4
No. 23 West Virginia		5	–	2					9	–	4
Rutgers		5	–	2					8	–	5
Connecticut		3	–	4					8	–	5
South Florida		2	–	5					8	–	5
Louisville		1	–	6					5	–	7
Syracuse		1	–	6					3	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 28^[1]	7:00 pm	Hofstra*		Rentschler Field East Hartford, Connecticut	ESPN+	W 35-3	37,583^[2]
September 6	12:00 pm	at Temple*		Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia	ESPNU	W 12–9 ^OT	17,194^[2]
September 13	7:30 pm	Virginia*		Rentschler Field East Hartford, Connecticut	ESPNU	W 45–10	40,000^[2]
September 19	8:00 pm	Baylor*		Rentschler Field East Hartford, Connecticut	ESPN2	W 31–28	38,870^[2]
September 26	8:00 pm	at Louisville		Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, Kentucky	ESPN2	W 26–21	42,523^[2]
October 4	7:00 pm	at North Carolina*	No. 24	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, North Carolina	ESPN2	L 38–12	59,500^[2]
October 18	12:00 pm	at Rutgers		Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, New Jersey	ESPNU	L 12–10	42,491^[2]
October 25	12:00 pm	Cincinnati		Rentschler Field East Hartford, Connecticut	BEN	W 40–16	40,000^[2]
November 1	12:00 pm	West Virginia		Rentschler Field East Hartford, Connecticut	BEN	L 35–13	40,000^[2]
November 15	7:00 pm	at Syracuse		Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York (rivalry)	ESPNU	W 39–14	28,081^[2]
November 23	8:00 pm	at South Florida		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida	ESPN	L 17–13	42,422^[2]
December 6	12:00 pm	No. 23 Pittsburgh		Rentschler Field East Hartford, Connecticut	ESPN	L 34–10	39,535^[2]
January 3	12:00 pm	vs. Buffalo*		Rogers Centre Toronto (International Bowl)	ESPN	W 38–20	40,184^[2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Hofstra

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hofstra	0	0	3	0	3
Connecticut	14	14	0	7	35

Making their 2008 season debut, the Huskies came out strong scoring 14 points in each of the first two quarters en route to a 35–3 victory against FCS opponent Hofstra. In the game, Donald Brown rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns before giving way to Robbie Frey who added a score of his own. UConn also extended their home winning streak to 8 games extending back to last season.

Temple

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Connecticut	0	0	0	6	6	12
Temple	3	3	0	0	3	9

As UConn took the show on the road, conditions were less than ideal as Hurricane Hanna (in a weakened state) made her presence felt in Philadelphia. The game which was billed by Temple as UConn/Temple II didn't really live up to the hype of the controversial game last year. In a game which was largely played within the 20s, Donald Brown rushed for a career-high 214 yards, and the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Place kicker Tony Ciaravino added two field goals to give UConn their twelve-point total for the day.

Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Virginia	0	0	3	7	10
Connecticut	7	21	14	3	45

Junior tailback Donald Brown rushed for over 200 yards for the second consecutive week and senior quarterback Tyler Lorenzen had a terrific game running the Connecticut offense as the Huskies manhandled Virginia, 45–10, in a non-conference football game played before a sellout crowd of 40,000 at Rentschler Field.

Baylor

	1	2	3	4	Total
Baylor	7	7	7	7	28
Connecticut	0	14	10	7	31

Junior tailback Donald Brown scored on a three-yard run with 6:04 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Connecticut defense held Baylor on fourth down with less than a minute to play as the Huskies hung on to defeat the Bears, 31–28, before a crowd of 38,870 at Rentschler Field.

Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Connecticut	3	7	7	9	26
Louisville	0	14	7	0	21

The Huskies took the show on the road to start a very long, and potentially very rewarding three game road trip. The defense for UConn was less than stellar allowing 508 yards of offense, almost double their own output. The shining light for the Huskies was Donald Brown, who rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown. When he was given the ball, he made things happen time and time again. The injury bug also hit the Huskies and hit them hard. Starting quarterback Tyler Lorenzen suffered a broken foot early in the second quarter paving the way for Notre Dame transfer Zach Frazier to take over the helm. Later in the third quarter, senior tight end Steve Brouse suffered a broken fibula. Despite the injuries to two of their senior offensive leaders, the Huskies rallied late behind Frazier and two way player Darius Butler. Trailing by one point with 2:45 left in the game, Linebacker Lawrence Wilson picked off Cardinal's quarterback Hunter Cantwell and went 45 yards the other way to put UConn up 26–21, with the two-point conversion being unsuccessful. The UConn defense held strong on the ensuing possession, sealing the victory, and the Huskies second consecutive 5–0 start.

International Bowl

Main article: 2009 International Bowl

The Huskies had a great season and were invited to their third bowl game in school history for the second straight year. On January 3, 2009, they played the University of Buffalo Bulls in the International Bowl in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Huskies started off committing sloppy turnovers in the first half but would go on to win the game 38–20. Steve Brouse caught the only touchdown pass of the game while running back Donald Brown rushed for 261 yards on 29 carries and one touchdown. He was named the MVP of the game and after the game he decided to forgo his senior season to enter the 2009 NFL Draft.

2009 Draft

Four players on the 2008 UConn football team were selected in the 2009 NFL Draft on April 25, 2009. Donald Brown was selected at #27 by the Indianapolis Colts, Darius Butler was selected by the New England Patriots at #41, Will Beatty and Cody Brown were selected late in the 2nd round at #60 (Will Beatty, New York Giants) and #63 (Cody Brown, Arizona Cardinals).

After the Draft, four other Huskies signed free agent contracts with NFL Teams. Those Huskies include: Julius Williams (Jacksonville Jaguars), Dahna Deleston (Chicago Bears), Tyler Lorenzen (Jacksonville Jaguars), and Keith Gray (Carolina Panthers)

On May 2, 2009, Senior Martin Bédard was taken in the second round of the CFL Canadian Football League Draft by the Montreal Alouettes

Rankings

See also: 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	24	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	23	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Harris	Not released					24	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released
BCS	Not released								—	25	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Team awards

The 2008 Connecticut Huskies post season team awards were handed out during their annual team banquet.^[3] The award winners were:

• Most Valuable Player

Donald Brown

• Offensive Player of the Year

Donald Brown

• Defensive Player of the Year

Cody Brown

• Special Teams Player of the Year

Robbie Frey

• Joseph M. Giannelli Unsung Hero Award

William Beatty and Dahna Deleston

• John L. Toner Scholar Athlete Award

Keith Gray

• Football Alumni Award

Tyler Lorenzen and Steve Brouse

• Kendall Madison Award

Darius Butler

• Brian Kozlowski Award

Julius Williams

Roster

UConn Huskies Roster
Quarterbacks 12 Cody Endres 10 Zach Frazer 4 Tyler Lorenzen Running backs 34 Donald Brown 2 Andre Dixon 44 Robbie Frey 23 Jordan Todman 49 Anthony Sherman FB Wide receivers 87 Ellis Gaulden 82 Kashif Moore 14 D.J. Hernandez 3 Brad Kanuch 1 Darius Butler 19 Erik Muschette 29 Marcus Easley 85 Kevin Poles Tight ends 90 Steve Brouse 91 Martin Bédard 84 Yianni Apostolakos		Offensive linemen 64 Will Beatty LT 73 Dan Ryan LT 57 Moe Petrus LG 69 Trey Tonsing LG 68 Keith Gray C 70 Gary Bardzak C 78 Zach Hurd RG 66 Matheiu Oliver RG 79 Mike Hicks RT 72 Mike Ryan RT Defensive linemen 45 Julius Williams DE 9 Lindsey Witten DE 65 Rob Lunn DT 4 Twyon Martin DT 54 Alex Polito DT 99 Kendall Reyes DT 50 Cody Brown DE 26 Marcus Campbell DE Linebackers 32 Scott Lutrus Husky LB 10 Greg Robinson Husky LB 19 Kijuan Dabney Husky LB 95 Greg Lloyd MLB 31 C.J. Marck MLB 8 Lawrence Wilson WLB 18 Aaron Bryant WLB		Defensive backs 1 Darius Butler CB 20 Terry Baltimore CB 33 Robert Vaughn S 27 Aaron Bagsby S 36 Dahna Deleston S 7 Glen Mourning S 6 Jasper Howard CB 42 Robert McClain CB Special teams 97 Tony Ciaravino K 38 David Teggart K 13 Desi Cullen P

References

1. . University of Connecticut Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
2. "Cumulative Season Statistics". University of Connecticut Department of Athletics. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
3. Banning, Chuck (December 23, 2008). "UConn Huskies Notebook". New London Day. Retrieved December 24, 2008.