The Connecticut Huskies have gotten past their first game following the death of Jasper Howard. Now, a team slowly trying to regain a sense of normalcy will meet another crucial and cathartic moment.

When Randy Edsall's club takes on Rutgers this weekend in East Hartford, UConn will be able to play on the field it calls home. The young men who have spent many Saturdays running, jumping, blocking and tackling on Rentschler Field will now return to that patch of grass. A Connecticut crowd, sure to be choked up with emotion before the game and then raucous once the game develops, will cheer on its Huskies like never before. Edsall, his coaching staff, and every player on his roster will be loved and welcomed with uncommon totality and tearfulness. Such is the power of a return to native soil, and the place where this band of brothers has spent so many days and nights. In the unity of the locker room, the sanctuary of the practice field, and the familiar feel of gameday, the Huskies will take another step toward regaining a measure of pleasure after the life-altering and soul-shattering events of recent weeks.

This first home game following the murder of their teammate won't give UConn's kids closure, but the event will mark yet another milestone, another occasion that needs to come and go, on the long and winding road toward healing and emotional recovery. This represents the foremost story of this Big East ballgame, the story that the national press will continue to ask about before the cameras begin to eventually withdraw from this shaken New England campus.

When the emotions of this day eventually wear off, the key to victory for Connecticut isn't terribly complicated. The Huskies lost to West Virginia largely because they committed three turnovers. Meanwhile, the Rutgers team that will oppose Edsall's outfit bears a freshman quarterback--Tom Savage--who has struggled to protect the ball. Connecticut succeeds when it minimizes mistakes and wins the turnover battle. If coordinator Todd Orlando's defense can Savagely attack the Rutgers quarterback and force Greg Schiano's young signal caller into throwing a few interceptions, it will be very hard for the Scarlet Knights to walk into East Hartford and pull out a win. Similarly, as long as UConn quarterback Cody Endres can cut down on wayward passes and allow the Andre Dixon-Jordan Todman combo to run the ball down Rutgers's throat, the home team should be in good stead against the visitors from New Jersey.

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There are two battles the Connecticut Huskies are fighting on Saturday. One is with a Savage quarterback on the opposing team; the other one concerns a far more savage reality that will be acknowledged by hometown fans, and then confronted by each and every UConn player in this wrenching return to home turf.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer