The Wolverine Now

SEPT. 18, 2013 Licking And In Desperate Need Of A Victory Their Wounds Huskies Enter Play 0-2 I By Michael Spath n Saturday's night game in Storrs, Conn., there is a team steaming mad about its play last weekend, upset it did not play anywhere close to what it deems its best game, and eager to get back on track. Many assume that team is Michigan, but it also describes Connecticut after the Huskies fell to 0-2 with a 32-21 loss to Maryland Sept. 14. This one stung a little more than others because the contest marked the return of Randy Edsall, who had coached UConn for 12 seasons — overseeing their transition from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) to the Football Bowl Subdivision, and leading them to Big East championships in 2007 and 2010 — before inexplicably bolting for College Park and the Terrapins in 2011. "It's devastating to lose," safety Obi Melifonwu said after the defeat, refusing to take solace in the fact UConn bested Maryland in 2012. In the new American Athletic Conference, home to 10 schools that broke off from their basketball-centered Big East counterparts, the Huskies were not a preseason pick to win the league — Louisville took 28 of 30 first-place votes, with Cincinnati second and UConn seventh — but the Connecticut players believed in their third season under Paul Pasqualoni they could surprise. Instead, UConn fell to FCS foe UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni was 107-59-1 at Syracuse from 1991-2004, but he has gone just 10-16 with the Huskies. photo courtesy uconn Towson 33-18 in its season opener and then lost to Maryland. "I think the kids are pretty resilient," said Pasqualoni, who was 107-59-1 at Syracuse from 1991-2004 before enduring a six-year gap between head coaching jobs. "I think their attitude is good. I think there is some leadership in the locker room, and from that regard I think we'll be fine. We'll come back with the focus and will to get better." Connecticut may be determined, but the Huskies are not ignorant to the motivation their opponent will bring into the weekend, knowing the Wolverines were embarrassed by their four-point win over Akron. "Obviously, Michigan can't be sky-high emotionally every single week," Pasqualoni said. "They're coming off a real big game against Notre Dame, and Akron I'm sure was able to spend a lot of time on them, and it was a really big game for them to be play at Michigan. "I thought Michigan showed their character in the end to keep them out of the end zone and do what they had to do to win the game. "They just had a close call, and I'm sure their coaches are telling them, 'Too close for comfort so let's dial it in.' "Michigan will be ready to play, I promise that." Connecticut's third-year coach understands that if attitude was all that mattered, the Huskies would be 2-0 presently, but execution on both sides of the ball is critical. UConn is struggling to finish off drives offensively while the defense is a sieve currently against both the run (212.5 yards per game) and the pass (234.5 yards per game). "From what I've seen, UConn hasn't improved much at all from last year, and you're wondering if they're even worse than last year when they went 5-7," UConnReport.com publisher Eric Hoffses said. "Maryland had a quarterback, C.J. Brown, and a wide receiver, Stefon Diggs, that are Game Facts What: Michigan vs. UConn. When: Sept. 21 • 8 p.m. Radio-TV: ABC will televise the game regionally. The game can be heard on the Michigan Sports Network (950 AM in the Detroit area and on SiriusXM channels 139 and 198) with longtime partners Frank Beckmann and Jim Brandstatter, and sideline reporter Doug Karsch. Coaches: Michigan: Brady Hoke (22-7, third season). UConn: Paul Pasqualoni (10-16, third season). History: Michigan leads UConn 1-0, beating the Huskies 30-10 in 2010. UConn Notes: Connecticut has lost its last three games at home dating back to last season and is just 1-4 in its last five contests at Rentschler Field … Paul Pasqualoni spent the six years between head coaching jobs in college (2005-10) as a position coach with the Dallas Cowboys (2005-07), Miami Dolphins (2008-09) and back with the Cowboys (2010) … The Huskies have not faced a Big Ten team since meeting Michigan in the 2010 opener and are 0-3 against the Big Ten since 2000.

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