Game Notes

• Today’s win was the Huskies first win ever against a ranked opponent.
• UConn is now 7-1 on the season. The last time the Huskies have started 7-1 was in 1998.
• With the win UConn is now 3-0 against BIG EAST schools this season, the only undefeated team in the league.
• Today marked the 20th sellout in 31 games UConn has played at Rentschler Field. UConn is now 23-8 at Rentschler Field. The Huskies are 5-0 this season at home.
• Today marked the fifth time in eight games the Huskies have scored on their opening drive.
• Entering the game UConn is 4-0 when they have scored in the opening drive.
• With the win UConn is now 2-3 all-time against South Florida.
• Tonight’s game was the 100^th UConn game coached by Randy Edsall.
• UConn’s 22 points scored against South Florida is the most they have scored against the Bulls all-time.
• 16-0 is UConn’s third largest halftime lead in a BIG EAST game. Trailing a 24 point lead against Temple on October 23, 2004 and a 20 point lead against Pittsburgh on September 23, 2007.
• It is only the second time the UConn defense has shut a BIG EAST opponent out at halftime. The other was against Syracuse on October 7, 2005.
• Scott Lutrus’ interception was the fourth of his career and the season, making him the current leader among linebackers in NCAA D-IA .
• Scott Lutrus' four interceptions are a school record.
• Luturus’ has two interceptions returned for touchdowns this season, this ties the UConn season and career records. Justin Perkins returned two interceptions for touchdowns both in 2004.
• USF was 1-4 in the red zone today. UConn's red zone defense is 12-19 on the season, by far the best in the BIG EAST.
• UConn has 17 interceptions this season. It had 12 in 2006 and 14 in 2005.
• Andre Dixon’s 168 rushing yards is the fourth 100-yard rushing game of his career and the most yards he has rushed for in his career.
• Andre Dixon’s 32 carries ties him for 13^th on the UConn all-time list.
• Andre Dixon posted 210 all-purpose yards in today’s game, the last time a Husky posted over 200 yards all-purpose was Donald Brown, who had 236 yards total against Pittsburgh in 2006.

Post Game Quotes

University of Connecticut

Head Coach Randy Edsall | Tyler Lorenzen | Andre Dixon | Dan Davis |
Danny Lansanah | Scott Lutrus

Head Coach Randy Edsall

Opening Statement:

“That was a tremendous victory out there this evening.  I’m so proud and happy for the players for how they just hung in there for 60 minutes and really played the kind of game that we talk about to them all the time.  I want to give our coaching staff a lot of credit for putting together a tremendous game plan.  Also, I’d be remised if I didn’t thank the fans for their effort too because they were a big part of that last drive, because we got down in there and…all in all it’s just one of those victories you’re very fond of, but we’ll put it behind us real soon and move on.” 

Is this a defining moment for this program?

“There were a lot of things that we accomplished tonight.  It’s the first time we beat a ranked team.  We’ve never been 3-0 in the BIG EAST Conference.  There is probably some other things that will come with it and that’s great for all the people that are surrounded with the program, the people of this state, and for the people who had the vision for this program to allow this to happen, from [former Athletic Director] Lew Perkins and Gov. Rowland.  There are a lot of people that share in the excitement and joy of what is happening in that locker room, but when I say excitement and joy, it’s a very business-like locker room.  The guys really understand that there were some things that did get accomplished tonight but that’s not going to help us next week.”

When did it get business-like because on the field it looked like everyone was enjoying this win?

“You’re allowed to celebrate a little bit.  For our students, for what they did, they deserve to be able to come on the field and I’m glad nobody tried to stop them because it is a special moment.  You won’t hear me talk about it more after tomorrow, but it is a special moment.”  

Where were you after the fans came on the field?

“I went over and congratulated [South Florida head coach] Jim Leavitt and then ABC had me on to talk.  I used some language, one word that I shouldn’t have used on TV, but you get caught up in the excitement.  I apologize.  Then, I just went out through the other tunnel   There’s no way, I’m too old and not in good enough shape to try to get through all those people.  We did all the things in the locker room and we still had guys who didn’t get in.  Darius [Butler], I didn’t get a chance to give him a hug and congratulate him until I did the postgame radio show.  They were happy but I think they found out a lot of times you better keep your helmets on when you go through all that stuff.”    

Was the crowd a factor in the false start penalties for both sides?

“I hope it wasn’t a factor on our part, but I definitely think the crowd was a factor in causing them the problems that they did.  I tell you, we hung in there.  We battled.  This group is a battling bunch of guys.  Offensively, to answer a couple of the things we had to answer was big.  The defense, we gave up some things and we bent but didn’t break.  We made plays when we had to." 

“How big was Greg Robinson who made that play down on the boot?  We kind of figured something like that would be coming, but boy, for a guy – and this is what I’m saying:  I think the biggest thing about this team – some guys might not have as big a role as other guys, but Greg is on short yardage and goal line, and he did his job.  He made as big a play as anyone did all night long.  That’s something, you have to understand your role, play it to the best of your ability, and if you do that good things will happen.  It was just a great team effort.” 

On the performance of Andre Dixon:     

 “He just played hard.  He was Andre.  That’s just Andre and he did a good job.  I didn’t realize he had that many yards and he’ll probably be a little sore and things.  I thought the offensive line did a pretty good job.  We had a couple series I didn’t think were good, but again, when you’re going against the No. 10 team in the country you’re not going to take the ball and score every time.  What we did is we did it enough and made the plays that we had to make.”

Quarterback Tyler Lorenzen

Network television, I mean you couldn’t have made a bigger statement to
the nation?

"I mean, uh, we took care of business, we got the win and that’s all
that concerns us. We accomplished our goals and what we intended to do and
it was a good feeling to see everyone going crazy."

Coach says this is the biggest win in the program’s history, is it?

"They said that and I didn’t even think about it. I mean we try to go
out and get wins every week and that’s what it’s about. As long as we do
that good things can happen so we just need to stay focused on that."

Running Back Andre Dixon

How do you feel about this win?

"I mean I just hope people keep talking trash about us and I helped us
get this win so it feels good. I don’t think UConn has ever had the field
rushed before so this feels especially good."

Do you think this is a big win for the program and with you being a
major contributor how does that feel?

"It is more carries than I had in high school, I used to get 18 as my
most. Now I’m getting 20 or 30 so it feels really cool."

Was there a lot of pressure, the biggest win in school history with all
the pressure on your shoulders?

"I mean pressure is nothing, some people buckle under pressure, I mean,
but it makes you want to drive harder, put people on your back. There’s a
lot of people that you want to help to become successful."

What are your thoughts on how big of a win that this is for the program
and beating a team like South Florida?

"Doesn’t matter a team is a team, and in college football this year it
doesn’t matter who you run up against you just have to give 100% and yeah
it was a high-ranked team but what does ranking mean on Saturday night?"

SR, WR. Dan Davis:

What does this game mean?

“It means a lot for UConn history and the program. This is the first time we defeated a ranked team, it was Coach Randy Edsall’s 100^th game with Connecticut and it is another step toward our goal that we want to accomplish. It was a real big game for us.” 

Was this the biggest win in school history?

“Yes it was and hopefully it won’t be the last.” 

How was it on the field after the game?

“It was amazing; I loved every bit of it.  Just seeing everyone pour out onto the field like that and to have little kids screaming at the top of their lungs, tt was amazing.  That’s what we want to make UConn Football all about and that’s the tradition that we want to start around here.  If we keep this up, the sky is the limit.” 

SR, LB, Danny Lansanah:

What did you think when the fans stormed the field?

“I was thinking wow we did it, we beat a ranked team for the first time in school history. It was amazing out there, the fans gave us great supporting.  They came out here in the rain and gave us the support we needed.” 

Can you enjoy this win?

“We have to enjoy this; we beat a top ten team for the first time in school history.  We played 60 minute football and there we had some ugly plays and they were getting after us but they are a good team.  We have to give them the recognition that they deserve.” 

FR, LB, Scott Lutrus:

How does this win feel?

“It is a feeling that I never felt before; it is such a big win for this program and a big step in the right direction.  For everyone on the team and everyone involved with the team it was huge.  It is a good feeling; being out there your fans supporting you the whole time and be with them on the field at the end.” 

On being ranked:

“It doesn’t really matter to us; we are ranked high one week it is not going to make us better.  It is good if we are ranked for the first time for this program because it would be a huge step in the right direction. It is not going to make us play any better so it doesn’t really matter.”

University of South Florida

HEAD COACH JIM LEAVITT

On the second straight defeat for his team: 

“We wasted too many opportunities. We’re proud of our guys. We battled our tails off. You didn’t see any quit in this football team. I promise you. We didn’t play good enough for 60 minutes of football, that’s for sure.” 

On the 16-0 lead for UConn at the end of the first half: 

“They moved the ball on us in the first half extremely well. We didn’t play very good defense… that I promise you. We didn’t play very good offense. We did not play very good in the first half. We came in and really talked about ‘let’s play some football’ and do the things that we need to do to win a football game. It was real bad on the kickoff. I was really disappointed in that and gave them great field position. You can’t do that. I told them we had to kick really well here and we had a bad kick. And then, poor tackling happened a lot in the game. We’ve done that two weeks in a row." 

On the play of QB Matt Grothe in the second half:

“Warrior, warrior, warrior… I love him.” 

QB MATT GROTHE

On the second to last offensive play for USF, losing yardage on the third down play on the 1-yard line: 

“We were running a bootleg and they squeezed down, playing the run. So, we figured it would be there and they played it right. Why not? We were moving the ball. So, it just didn’t go our way at the end.” 

On the play of the USF offense: 

“We struggled tonight. We got to fix some stuff but we definitely struggled. We need to play like we know how to play. Unfortunately, we lost but at the same time, we have the rest of our season to go… [The dropped passes are] not disappointing. It’s going to happen. It was raining out there and it’s just a part of football.” 

On the play of the UConn defense: 

“They got a good defense. I got to hand it to them. They played well. They did well enough to win the game.”