UConn Huskies 2010 Review

2010 Record: 8-5 (5-2), Tied 1st Big East
2010 Bowl Game: Fiesta Bowl, Lost to Oklahoma 48-20
2010 Schedule/Results
@ Michigan, L 30-10
Texas Southern, W 62-3
@ Temple, L 30-16
Buffalo, W 45-21
Vanderbilt, W 40-21
@ Rutgers, L 27-24
@ Louisville, L 26-0
West Virginia, W 16-13
Pittsburgh, W 30-28
@ Syracuse, W 23-6
Cincinnati, W 38-17
@ South Florida, W 19-16
Oklahoma, L 48-20

OFFENSE
325 yards per game

The QB spot for the Huskies was never a strong suit under Randy Edsell, and this season was another example of that for UConn. Cody Endres was starting to look like the answer at the position, but he couild not keep himself out of off field trouble, and he was kicked out of school. That being said, the job landed back in the lap of Zach Frazer, who has been hit and miss during his UConn career. Frazer was not great. He passed for 1425 yards and only 5 TDs, while tossing 6 picks. Michael Box would seem to be the next in line, but that remains to be seen, as Frazer has now graduated.
The offense rotated through one man, and that was RB Jordan Todman. Todman was a beats for the Huskies, and they rode him to the school's first ever BCS appearance. Todman rushed for 1695 yards and 14 TDs, and added another 19 receptions for 94 yards in the passing game.Robbie Frey also rushed for 389 yards and 4 scores as the primary backup, and he will have first shot at replacing Todman, who decalred early for the NFL.
Despite the struggles of the QB position, Michael Smith, Kashif Moore, and Ryan Griffin all had decent seasons. Smith hauled in 46 catches for 615 yards, but had only 2 TDs. Moore had 4 TD receptions on the season, and Griffin was the short yardage receiver at TE.

DEFENSE
353.7 yards allowed per game

The Defense was the most promising side of this football team, and has been for years. The two constants in the Husky program under Edsell were laways the defense and the run game, and that did not change in 2010. As was highly expected, the star of this unit was senior LB Lawrence Wilson, who led the team with 123 tackles on the year, an amazing 71 of which were solo jobs.Wilson also finished 3rd on th team with 10 TFLs, while registering 3.5 sacks and a pick.
One might fret about losing Wilson for 2011, ans you would be right to, but the heir apparent to his star power seems to be in place in fellow LB Sio Moore, who finished with 110 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks and a pick. Moore will be a junior in 2011, and with repeat numbers in tow, one would not be shocked to see him depart early for a shot at the NFL.
Look for inceased production on the line from junior to be Jesse Joseph up front, who led the team with 12 TFLs in 2010. Kendell Reyes joined Joseph on the line with double digit TFLs with 10 on the season.
Blidi Wreh-Wilson is the young leader in the sercondary having broken up 5 passes and collected 4 picks on the season. He will only be a junior in 2011, which means that the Huskies will have a solid and experienced young D in 2011.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Dave Teggart was as automatic as can be in 2010. Teggart was clutch all season long and connected on 25 of 31 FGs on the season. Very few teams in America could claim as good a kicker when 3 points were needed. Teggart willl be back in 2011, and that's really good news with a new QB and RB being broken in on offense. If the new offense can get close enough, Teggart will gurantee you that he will at least land you 3 points on any given drive.
Cole Wagner was called on often enought to punt in 2010 (6.1 times per game), and he served the Huskies well, as he averaged 41.27 yards per punt. That was done with Wagner just being a freshman, so expect further development as a sophomore in 2011, and with that new offense being developed, expect him to be needed just as much or more.

FINAL NOTES

The Huskies won the Big East, and made their first ever appearance in a traditional power bowl game, but don't get too excited. The Big East was by far the worst BCS conference and did nothing to solidify why the league even is an auto qualifier. That being said, the Huskies did what they needed to do to get into the big picture, and then promptly fell apart. They lose their star RB, their star LB, and their coach, as Randy Edsell bailed out for Maryland at the end of the season. The Huskies followed all of that up by making a highly questionable hire to replace Edsell with washed Paul Pasqualoni, and by pissing off their top donor without even keeping him in the loop as to who the Huskies were going with. Not a good way to keep riding the wave of "success" and development.

2011 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
9/1 Fordham, 9/10 @ Vanderbilt, 9/17 Iowa State, 9/24 @ Buffalo, 10/1 Western Michigan