UConn Sweeps Big East Awards After Huge Win

Photo © 2010 by Vito J. Leo for HTNP.com Sports

For the past 6 years, when the UConn vs. West Virginia game pops up on the Huskies schedule, I have a gut feeling that the game will end poorly. For 6 years now, I have been right. In 2009, the Huskies gave up a huge 50+ run to Noel Devine in the final minutes to blow their lead and for the 6th straight time, my hopes were shattered. On Friday night on ESPN2, I had a gut feeling again that maybe this was exactly the game the Huskies needed to turn their below .500 record around and make a push for a bowl game. With 1st string, relegated to 3rd string, back to 1st string QB Zach Frazer and a plethora of injuries throughout the club, the team needed to play a solid game on both offense and defense. After falling behind 10-0, the Huskies defense gained momentum and stepped up when they needed them the most for a thrilling OT victory, 16-13. It is now official, in it's short span in Division 1/FBS, UConn has beaten every team in the Big East at least once. (more after the jump)


The game was more than just a win on the stat sheet and a return to a .500 record at 4-4, it was the come-from-behind, tough it out type of contest this team is capable of in Big East play. Although the league is as weak as it has been in years, the West Virginia Mountaineers are still a feared team as well as UConn's next opponent in 2 weeks on ESPN, the Pittsburgh Panthers. Confidence is running high in Storrs, CT and now the Huskies have 2 weeks to work hard and get prepped for their Pitt match-up, the toughest test this season. After all the controversy with spying in practice and the media calling for Edsall's head, the Huskies seemed to shut everyone up and can now set their sights on the potential this season and not just look to rebuild for 2011. Even better, the Big East recognized the Huskies for their great performance, by giving UConn the Offensive Player of the Week (Jordan Todman), Defensive Player of the Week in Sio Moore and the Special Teams Player of the Week (Dave Teggart). Not a bad week, eh?

The best part of Friday night's victory is the fact that QB Zach Frazer was able to get back on the field as the starter and with limited reps in practice sitting 3rd on the depth chart the past few weeks, successfully lead the team to victory against the tough Mountaineer defense. As a Senior, Frazer was given the opportunity to start, but was so ineffective, was benched after 3+ games at the helm of the offense. There were mixed reports of attitude issues with Frazer, but on Friday he came ready to play, settling in the second half and moving the offense down the field. No thanks to some of Edsall's poor play-calls on 3rd down, Frazer was able to do just enough for the victory. If Frazer continues to produce, he will likely reclaim his starter role, given QB Mike Box's concussion and inexperience. In that same vein, once Box is healthy, Frazer better continue to perform, because he is going to be on a short leash and pulled if things spiral in the wrong direction.

Let's go back to the play-calling during the 1st half of Friday's game and take a look at why the UConn fans at The Rent were booing. They were upset about the same thing I was in my living room, the ultra-conservative play-calling from the UConn coaching staff on 3rd down. Almost regardless of distance-to-go, Edsall chose to run the ball, rarely picking up enough yardage to move the chains. In a 3rd and 8 situation, the offense was completely stalled by a draw-run play or a simple power run up the gut. Earth to Randy, it doesn't work. The opponent loads the box and usually stops the run for a yard or 2 max, if not a loss on the play. I understand that RB Jordan Todman and the running game is the Huskies' bread and butter, but on 3rd a long? Really? Edsall has a tendency to be too conservative at times in the game, leading to a stalled offensive drive that is frustrating.

It isn't a coincidence that the best few offensive drives on Friday for UConn were in the end of the 1st half and into the 2nd half when Edsall let Frazer loose to throw short and mid-level passes. The only way to have an effective running-game against top notch opponents is to also have a mid and long-level passing game to open up the defense and allow for an extra few yards on each run. If the defense is forced to play the pass as well, they can't load the box as much and it allows speedy Jordan Todman to get a few extra yards and a chance to break a longer gain as he accelerates and penetrates the 2nd level of the defense. If UConn continues to run on every 3rd down, they will continue to be stopped on most of them and drives will stall because Edsall won't take a risk and let Frazer or Box to throw a 10-15 yard pass for a 1st down. UConn isn't always going to have as many offensive opportunities as they did on Friday and if they convert the same amount on 3rd down against Pitt, it won't a good game for the Huskies.

All in all, it was a huge win to turn around this season and in the history of the program. The Huskies have now gotten over the West Virginia hump and now set their sights to their 2nd straight national TV game against Pitt on Veteran's Day, November 11th. No better way to honor those who served this country than to beat the Pittsburgh Panthers at home on a Thursday night. Bring it on.

Box Out, Frazer to Start

Photo: Autumn Driscoll / Connecticut Post

After suffering a head injury during the Louisville game last week, QB Mike Box was unsure about his playing status for this Friday night’s contest against the West Virginia Mountaineers. We found out today that in fact Mike Box is out for this week's game and Zach Frazer will return to the field and take snaps under center once again. After starting the first 3 games for the Huskies in 2010, Frazer was replaced by Cody Endres during the Buffalo game. Since that point, Frazer fell to 3rd on the depth chart and is now returning due to suspension and injury. There was a report that Frazer was dropped on the depth chart due to his poor attitude when he was benched on September 25th, but regardless, he now needs to step up and lead this team to victory.

One of the issues with Frazer before he was benched was his immobility and poor decision making in the pocket. Frazer has only completed just over 53% of his passes this season and has only thrown 2 TDs and 1 INT on the season. He struggled to make the big play when the team needed it the most and will need to be more aggressive and controlling with the ball on Friday to throw off the West Virginia defense. At this point, Frazer has everything to gain and nothing to lose because he only has a handful of games remaining in his college career. The ball is his to own, the offense is his to own, now he just needs to go out and grab it. Who doesn’t want to go out with a bang?

Box isn’t the only player out or probable for Friday. The UConn special teams’ crew is taking a hit with return man Nick Williams out with an upper extremity injury and Robbie Frey probable with a leg injury. Frey’s injury along with a head injury for D.J. Shoemate that has him out and Kelmetrius Wylie’s season ending knee injury, the Huskies are still crazy thin at RB. Edsall and his coaching staff would prefer not to use Jordan Todman as much as they have, especially given his arm injury this season, but they really haven’t had much of a choice. The injuries at RB make an even bigger case for a more aggressive passing game to open up the lanes for the run inside and relieve some of the pressure on Todman.

The West Virginia defense has allowed just 13.3 points per game so far in 2010. That is good for 5th in all of the FBS, posing a tough test for a struggling offense with a new, old QB under center. UConn is a run-first offense, but has yet to really settle in to a comfortable feel and rhythm, which is a source of concern. It will be almost impossible to beat West Virginia and then Pitt without a strong offensive identity and efficiency on that side of the ball. In the same vein, the Mountaineer offense scores over 26 points per game, which is troubling for the defensive squad of UConn that has lacked the hard-hitting style that we have seen over the past few years. If the Huskies are going to win Friday, they need to play strong bend-don’t-break defense and gain and offensive rhythm from the 1st play any carry it through with 40,000 fans cheering at their backs.

I can feel the excitement and nervous energy mounting…Let’s Go Huskies!

Spy Forces UConn to Practice Indoors

In a ridiculous twist, the UConn football team had to practice indoors the last few days, but not because of inclement weather. Randy Edsall moved his practice indoors because some information from a practice earlier in the week was posted publicly without permission from the University. It appears someone has been spying on the UConn practices and has been coming away with some in-depth information about plays and formations. In a week leading up to the biggest game of the year for the Huskies on Friday night on ESPN2 against West Virginia, this is a scary and disturbing revelation. This is not the 1st or last time a team will spy on another team (if in fact it is another team spying on them), but it is a dirty and troubling act. Edsall has moved his practices indoors for the time being and is trying not to let this story distract his team. (more after the jump)

Later in the press conference Edsall was asked about the future of practicing outside and he said, "We'll just see but hey, you know, I'll tell you what: technology these days everybody wants to let everybody know everything." Edsall seemed to try and downplay the incident as much as possible, but clearly he was unhappy with what was going on. "We got an issue where we have somebody that wants to write everything we do from the dorm room so...we have to look at that now." With injuries galore and his team on a 2-game losing streak with 2 tough games coming up the last thing Edsall wanted to be doing was addressing spying issues. 

Check back for injury updates for Friday nights game.

Nagy Gets Nod in Arizona

The UConn baseball program has never been a force in NCAA athletics with the exception of a few strong seasons and some individual stars mixed in over the years. One of the most well-known UConn baseball products is 14-year major league veteran Charles Nagy, who retired from playing in 2003. Since 2009, Nagy has been the pitching coach for the Columbus Clippers (Cleveland's AAA affiliate), but has just gotten his break in the majors. Nagy was named the Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach on Tuesday and will look to take the knowledge he gained from his 297 major league starts and apply it to a fairly young pitching staff. Born in Bridgeport, Nagy is not only a UConn alum, but a home grown CT product and in the baseball world, there aren't many that fit into that category.

In the history of the UConn baseball program, 135 players have been drafted or signed as free agents in professional baseball, just 11 players have appeared in the majors and only 3 of those have had a 10+ year career (Roberto Hernandez, Walt Dropo and Charles Nagy). For a program with limited exposure on a high level, Nagy has been a point of pride for years. While in college, Nagy played 2 seasons with the Huskies (1987 and 1988) and sits 2nd in single-season strikeouts all-time with 113 and was voted an All-American in the 1988 season. After that year, Nagy was drafted 17th overall in the 1st round of the amateur draft and spent the next 2 seasons working up to his debut in June of 1990. In a sport where players get traded and released on a whim, Nagy spent 13 seasons as a major leaguer for the Cleveland Indians, before ending his career with 1 season in San Diego playing for the Padres.

In his 14 major league seasons, Nagy went 129-105 with a 4.51 era and collected 1,242 strikeouts. He became a household name in the Cleveland area and was selected to 3 All-Star games (1992, 1996 and 1999) and was the AL starter in the 1996 game. He finished in the top 7 in Cy Young award voting 3 times (1992, 1995 and 1996) and appeared in 15 post-season games throughout his career. Nagy was a solid MLB player for an extended period of time and deserves the chance he is getting in Arizona. As a UConn alum and CT native, Nagy holds a special place in my heart and I wish him the best of luck with the D-Backs.

UConn Goes Hunting for Mountaineers

With their season on the rocks after 2 tough losses in the Big East, the UConn Huskies have an opportunity to jump right back to .500 overall and 1-2 in the conference on Friday night. The catch? West Virginia is coming to town and in the 6 years these 2 teams have matched up, UConn is a whopping 0-6. Not a great omen for a team that is struggling at the moment and is currently starting their 3rd different QB this season, but a home game on a Friday night on national TV (ESPN2) may be just the right recipe for their 1st victory against the West Virginia Mountaineers and their 1st victory in the conference in 2010. Long shot? Perhaps, but if the team comes in with the relaxed, have fun attitude I keep hearing about this week, they have a chance.
Let's look at the Huskies' opponent for a minute. The Mountaineers began the 2010 season with hopes of a BCS bid and another Big East championship and with the absolute embarrassing play in the conference this season, they sit at 5-2 and 1-1 in the league. Their record is good enough for 3rd in the Big East behind Syracuse and Pitt. Pitt is no surprise to anyone, but Syracuse at 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference? (Check back soon for my full report on the Orangemen) Back to Friday night's opponent. The biggest concern if you are a West Virginia fan is their recent play, scoring just 14 points in a losing effort against the Orangemen this past weekend at home. Either it is a sign that Syracuse is that good, or proof that WVU has some glaring weaknesses that were exposed.

What gives me hope for Friday night's game are the holes in the play of the WVU QB Geno Smith. On Saturday he threw for 178 yards and 1 TD, while essentially handing the game to Syracuse with 3 interceptions. In their 2 losses this season, Smith threw 3 TDs and 4 INTs and had a completion percentage of 48.3 and 54.1 in each contest. The UConn secondary has 9 INTs this season in their 3 victories and 0 in their 4 losses. An even greater disparity comes with yards allowed, no surprise. DB Blidi Wreh-Wilson is licking his lips as we speak, as he looks to add to his 2 INTs and 1 fumble recovery on the season. Another big indicator of success is yards allowed per game. The UConn defensive unit has allowed 409+ yards per game in their 4 losses and just 287+ yards in their 3 victories. It's common sense, but if UConn can take care of the ball and force a few turnovers, they can compete with any team in the Big East, including WVU and their interception-prone QB.

The big issue for me surrounds offensive output. QB Mike Box got thrown into the fire last week in his 1st collegiate start after QB Zach Frazer was benched and QB Cody Endres was suspended indefinitely and Box only attempted 12 passes, 4 completed for just 35 yards before being knocked out of the game. If he plans to be the starter for this club in the future, he needs to settle his nerves and be more intelligent and patient with his decision making. He has the legs to pick up a few yards if nothing is available and if he can use that to his advantage, can be dangerous. UConn is historically a run-first offense, but they have had some of their greatest success this year when Endres was moving around in the pocket and taking some shots mid-field and down-field to WR Michael Smith and WR Kashif Moore. A team must have the balance of a strong running game and short and long passes to open up the defense if they want to be successful. If the opponent's defense is looking run, use play-action and put pressure on the opponent down-field.

Personnel has certainly also been an issue for the Huskies in 2010, with LB Scott Lutrus being limited by his stinger and clearly not being the force Randy Edsall had hoped as well as a plethora of RB injuries and the afore mentioned QB issues. It is extremely difficult for a team to gain rhythm and momentum when there is a new face under center seemingly each week and the offense is purely based on timing. Edsall has been taking a lot of heat lately because of the high expectations this season, but many of his players have not been playing up to their abilities and although the coaching staff is partially responsible, they can't go out on the field and play for their guys. There has been a lack of leadership, I think partially because there has been a lack of a consistent offensive leader at QB, and without a vocal leader in the locker-room and on the field, the team will never reach the next level. Frazer was supposed to be the leader, but was disappointing both in that respect with his attitude and on the field.

Friday night will be a fun atmosphere at The Rent almost guaranteed. Personally, I think most of the UConn home games should be at night, because their is a more electric feeling and the team seems to be more amped-up. If the Huskies are planning on making a bowl game this season, their turnaround has to start Friday, because their next game only gets bigger and more difficult with another prime-time match-up on ESPN against Pitt on November 11th. This is a tough test and after the butt-kicking shutout last week they endured, it is a gut-check time for this UConn squad.

I'm Back! Who's Excited?

It's been a long time since I post unique content here on The Life of a Sportsaholic. I have been, and still am, writing over at BoSoxInjection.com focusing on the Boston Red Sox, but felt a void in my life. Being a fan of many different sports and teams, just writing about 1 team or 1 sport wasn't enough. Recently, I began to dabble over at Orble.com and have a Dallas Cowboys blog that I am testing out, but am also a passionate college sports fan and hockey fan. For now, my focus here at The Life of a Sportsaholic is simple. I am going to write about topics in sports that I find interesting. Most of my focus now will be on UConn athletics, with a hint of Boston Bruins hockey and maybe even some unexpected sports happenings. No matter the content, my pledge to you is that I will not post anything unless I find it interesting or somehow amusing. Fair? Let's start...


Just briefly let's recap a tough season for the UConn Huskies football team thus far in 2010. Being the season with their senior leader Zach Frazer at QB, my wife, college roommate and I hoped in a Trailblazer and set our sights for the 700+ mile journey to Ann Arbor, MI. The 2010 UConn season began against a Big Ten historic powerhouse in the University of Michigan in front of the largest crowd ever to witness an NCAA college football game, 113,000+. The atmosphere was incredible, but the game was disappointing for UConn, with mistakes and a weak defense leading to a tough loss. It was great exposure, but started the year in the hole, 0-1. Following a beat-down of Texas Southern, the Huskies lost a tough game on the road in PA against Temple.

Games 4 and 5 of the 2010 season were wins against Buffalo and Vanderbilt at home. The Buffalo game was a season changer, because Cody Endres Replaced Zach Frazer mid-game and gave the UConn fans something to cheer about: an effective offense. Endres became the starter, with Frazer being dropped to 3rd on the depth chart and young Mike Box moving into the back-up role. After a big win against an SEC opponent Vandy, the Huskies lost a tough game against Rutgers, blowing a lead late. Later in the week following their Big East opener, the announcement came that Cody Endres was suspended indefinitely and the little offensive spark the Huskies had was gone that quickly. Mike Box started this past week against Louisville and it resulted in an embarrassing 26-0 loss.

Hopes of a BCS berth are now gone, it is all about saving the season. During the Louisville game, Mike Box sustained a concussion, but is still listed as the starter for Friday night's game against the Mountaineers from West Virginia at the Rent in East Hartford, CT. Being a Red Sox and a Cowboys fan, injuries have seemed to be the norm lately with my teams and it is hard to watch a talented group of guys struggle due to injuries. Friday night will be a huge contest for the Huskies and if they have any hopes at making noise in the Big East, it is a must win. They currently sit at 0-2 in the conference and 3-4 overall. The clock is ticking as we have already passed the halfway point to the season.

That's it for now, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Check back for more content as the season progresses and into the off-season, because I always have something to say.

MLB Draft is Key for Sox Success

This week, Keith Law of Scouts, Inc. gave his analysis of the top farm systems in baseball. The #1 spot went to the Texas Rangers for the second year in a row, but sitting in the #2 spot was our own Boston Red Sox. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, considering the depth of pitching prospects in the system, but how does that impressive farm system translate to success on the Major League level? Continue Reading »