Randy Edsall can't explain why his UConn football team has been so disproportionately successful at Rentschler Field over the past two years, but just the same, he's awfully glad that his Huskies are home Saturday for a pivotal Big East matchup with West Virginia at noon.
UConn is 4-0 at home this year, and over the past two years, the Huskies have won 11 straight in front of the home folk with an average margin of victory of nearly three touchdowns. There are a couple of Football Championship Subdivision layups in the group, but included among the 11 victories are wins over Louisville, South Florida, Cincinnati, Baylor, Virginia, Rutgers and Syracuse. Throwing out decisive wins over Maine and Hofstra, UConn has still outscored nine opponents by an average score of 32-15 at home since the start of the 2007 season.
UConn has beaten every league member at Rentschler Field with the exception of West Virginia, and it's only fitting, as far as the Huskies are concerned, that the BCS bowl prize should have to go through the Mountaineers, 2-0 in the league and 5-2 overall. UConn is tied for second at 2-1 (6-2) with Pitt, and it stands to reason that if the Huskies lose Saturday, they'll have to temper their bowl aspirations.
A year ago, with an opportunity to claim a BCS bowl in the final game of the regular season (the next-to-last regular-season game for West Virginia), the Mountaineers put the Huskies in their place with a resounding 66-21 rout in Morgantown.
Edsall isn't a "statement game"
kind of guy, at least publicly, but a UConn victory would be a win heard round the college football world like no other on the Huskies' schedule. It would be a legitimizing win because the UConn program is still fighting a perception problem, both in the Big East and across the country. Remember, UConn, with most of its skill players back, was picked sixth in the league after sharing the league title at 5-2 with West Virginia in 2007.
"If we want to continue to get to where we want to go at the end of the season, it's important for us to get a victory against West Virginia this week,"
Edsall said. "We have to be able to beat them at some point and time. Just take a look at West Virginia's history over the last 30 years, since (Hall of Fame coach) Donny Nehlen was there. It's probably the premier program in terms of consistency as far as the Big East is concerned."
That's why a win would carry so much weight and why UConn is fortunate to have both this game and the one against Pitt at Rentschler Field. UConn also plays road games against Syracuse (0-3) and South Florida (1-2).
There may not be a definitive rhyme or reason for the home/away numbers, but UConn is 1-3 on the road this year and 3-6 over the same timeframe that it has been unbeaten at home.
"I've been asked that question a couple of times, and I don't have the answer,"
Edsall said. "We go through the same routine on the road that we do at home. It's probably just a comfort level with the kids ... a mindset in terms of the support and the noise, and all the things you have there at home. You always have the mentality to 'protect your house' at home, but when you go on the road, it's 'us against the world.' We've been fortunate to win a lot of games at home, but I can't really say it's one thing."
UConn's ability to stop West Virginia quarterback Patrick White will go a long way in determining how the Huskies fare. White is a unique running quarterback, a Tiki Barber, if you will, behind center who can beat you in a multitude of ways.
Last year, for instance, White rushed 16 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns against UConn. He also completed 9 of 13 passes for 107 yards and another touchdown.
Unlike with most quarterbacks, you don't want to flush him out of the pocket because he becomes more dangerous with the ball tucked under his arm. And out of the spread offense, he's a threat to run on any down.
"You make one mistake against (White), and he can score a touchdown on you, so we have to make sure we stay at home and read our keys,"
defensive end Cody Brown said. "This is our house, and we have to make sure we protect it."
It's a tall order, but the Huskies haven't lost at home in 23 months - and they're confident that winning streak will continue.
