UCONN vs Cincinnati Preview

If the Connecticut Huskies were to fall apart this Saturday in Southwestern Ohio, no one could honestly blame them. The boys from New England will just have to prove that they can continue to compete in honor of a departed friend and teammate.

The narrative is as wrenching and as bleak as it is undeniable: After losing Jasper Howard, coach Randy Edsall's football family has dropped a pair of games that, while utterly insignificant in the bigger picture, have still offered the promise of a postgame smile, only to snatch away sunshine in the final minutes. Two straight weeks, UConn has played hard and well in the aftermath of an unspeakable tragedy, only to be denied victory in dramatic fashion. On Oct. 24, West Virginia used a 56-yard run by Noel Devine to beat the Huskies by a 28-24 count, and a week later on home turf, UConn got taken down by Howard's good friend, Rutgers receiver Tim Brown. An 81-yard catch-and-run by Brown enabled Rutgers to walk into Rentschler Field and hang another 28-24 loss on the Huskies.

It's been that kind of a Big East season for UConn on the field: Vigorous effort, superb defense, untiring persistence... and usually, a late-game loss to an evenly-matched conference opponent. Edsall's roster took Pitt to the wire before dueling with West Virginia and Rutgers on even terms. Yet, in all three games, UConn has fallen just short of the finish line, an agonizing aspect of an autumn that has witnessed far greater sources of heartbreak and sadness.

Now, the journey somehow must go on, even though the mental burden on this team has to grow larger, the void of Howard's absence more pronounced as the season progresses. Up against fifth-ranked Cincinnati, the reigning conference king and an emergent national force, it would be entirely understandable if Connecticut let down at Nippert Stadium this Saturday night. Even though Tony Pike might be out for another game--the Bearcats' starting quarterback is improving from a thumb injury suffered on Oct. 15 against South Florida-- Cincinnati has shown an ability to adjust to virtually any adverse circumstance under its gifted coach, Brian Kelly, whose stock is soaring in football circles. If Cincinnati plays well in the first 20-25 minutes of this contest, no one would rip the Huskies for fading away in the second half.

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The band of brothers that's endured the loss of a teammate simply needs to find the fire that Jasper Howard would approve of. Connecticut carries heavy hearts into the Queen City, and the Huskies also bring numerous losses--big ones off the field, little ones on it--to this confrontation with the best team in the Big East at the moment.

All the Huskies can do, then, is play... with all their heart, all their soul, all their mind, and all their strength. Let the chips fall where they may.

Cruelly yet unavoidably, the show must go on. Connecticut's football team might as well spill the tank for another 60 minutes.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer