UConnReport.com - UConn eyeing first-ever win vs. WV

October 24, 2009

Zac Boyer
UConnReport.com Editor

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - The past two trips to West Virginia have been tough for UConn. This one is a different challenge in itself.

The Huskies will return to the field this afternoon for the first time since the stabbing death of junior cornerback Jasper Howard early Sunday morning, hours after the team's 38-25 defeat of Louisville.

Both teams will honor Howard before and during this afternoon's game. A moment of silence will be held, followed by a handshake between players from both sides, and players will wear decals on their helmets remembering Howard.

"This was something they wanted to do, and I was in lock-step with them," UConn head coach Randy Edsall said Thursday. "I think it's a great thing. I think it shows respect to Jazz and to his family and our program, and I think it shows the brotherhood that we have amongst the people in the Big East conference."

Edsall said he's not worried about the emotional state of his players, who held two memorials during the week and will travel to Miami on Monday for Howard's funeral. The Huskies (4-2, 1-1 Big East) have fared well during practice this week with the goal of picking up their first-ever win against the Mountaineers (5-1, 1-0) in six tries.

"It's tough to focus, but I think it's what we have to do," said quarterback Cody Endres, making his fifth consecutive start. "We've got to go out there. That's what Jazz would have wanted - he was a fierce competitor, like everyone's heard and everyone knows - and he would want us to go out there and get this win for him and for us."

To do so, the Huskies will have to stop the Big East's second-ranked passing, rushing and scoring offense and running back Noel Devine, who leads the conference with nine rushing touchdowns.

Devine rushed for 118 yards the last time the Huskies played at West Virginia, a 66-21 Mountaineers victory that sent the team to the Fiesta Bowl and ruined UConn's underdog chances at a BCS bowl game.

The junior running back will likely have to carry much of the Mountaineers' running game. Dual-threat quarterback Jarrett Brown was diagnosed with a concussion after leaving last week's game against Marshall after just three plays and is a game-time decision this afternoon, though Brown has been practicing with the first-team offense throughout the week.

Should Brown not be able to go, true freshman quarterback Geno Smith would get the starting nod. Smith has played in three games for the Mountaineers and led his team to a 24-7 victory over Marshall.

West Virginia has outscored the Huskies by nearly 37 points per game in each of the teams' first five meetings but has outscored its opponents by 14.8 points this season.

"The big thing is, we've got to make sure we minimize and don't give up that many big plays," Edsall said. "If we do that, we're OK.

"That's the thing that scares you about West Virginia, because you can stop them and stop them, but if you make one little mistake here, Devine can take it the distance or Jock Sanders can make plays, and they've got some other receivers that can make plays."

Getting UConn's offense rolling may also be tough against West Virginia. The Mountaineers have the league's best rushing defense, one that has allowed only 80.2 rushing yards per game and four rushing touchdowns on the season.

The Huskies have only rushed for one touchdown in each of their past two games against West Virginia.

"We know that we haven't performed real well down in Morgantown, and we hope that we fare better down there," Edsall said. "This is the only team in the conference that we haven't beat, and we're hoping that we can maybe change that around this year."

	Zac Boyer, the editor and publisher of UConnReport.com, covers UConn sports on the Rivals network. He can be reached by e-mail at zacboyer@rivals.com.
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