2008 Connecticut Huskies football team

2008 Connecticut Huskies football

International Bowl champion
International Bowl, W 38-20 vs. Buffalo
Conference	Big East Conference
2008 record	8–5 (3–4 Big East)
Head coach	Randy Edsall
Offensive coordinator	Rob Ambrose
Defensive coordinator	Todd Orlando
Home stadium	Rentschler Field (Capacity: 40,000)

2008 Big East football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#17 Cincinnati $		6	–	1		11	–	3
Pittsburgh		5	–	2		9	–	4
#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

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.

Schedule

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

Game notes

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 20's, 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 TD. 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

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

Post Season 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

↑ "www.UConnHuskies.com". University of Connecticut Department of Athletics. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Cumulative Season Statistics". University of Connecticut Department of Athletics. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
↑ Banning, Chuck (December 23, 2008). "UConn Huskies Notebook". New London Day. Retrieved December 24, 2008.

Connecticut Huskies football

Venues	Gardner Dow Athletic Fields (1896–1952) Memorial Stadium (1953–2002) Rentschler Field (2003–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games UCF (Civil Conflict) Rhode Island (Ramnapping Trophy) UMass

Culture & lore	Jonathan the Husky "UConn Husky" University of Connecticut Marching Band

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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