The Connecticut Huskies finished off an eight win season in 2009 with a bowl victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks. Randy Edsall's crew returns 16 starters, making the Huskies a trendy preseason pick to win the Big East. Uconn has had three consecutive winning seasons and is in line for a fourth straight. This could be the year they break threw and earn a BCS bowl bid. Uconn is +250 to win the Big East title. View the full conference breakdown in our 2010 Big East college football predictions article.
The Huskies used a powerful run game the past two seasons to do a majority of their damage to opposing defenses. Donald Brown eclipsed the 2000 yard mark in 2008, which resulted in the Indianapolis Colts drafting him in the 1st round. Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon combined to reach 2000 yards last season as a duo. The pair were nearly identical in numbers with Todman out gaining Dixon by 95 yards. They both scored 14 touchdowns and Dixon was named MVP of the Papajohns.com Bowl. Todman will be the featured back this season with Robbie Frey being the likely backup. The starting quarterback will come down to the wire as Uconn has two capable of earning the nod. Zach Frazer began last season as the starter but was ineffective. Cody Endres took over after an injury sidelined Frazer and finished the year with 1354 yards passing before suffering an injury of his own. Frazer likely has the advantage heading into camp by playing very well down the stretch of the 09' season. Who the se two will target at receiver is a bit of a question mark. Kashif Moore is the likely candidate. His 370 receiving yards were second on the team, but he was over 500 yards behind leader Marcus Easley. This will be a run first team once again, but both quarterbacks are capable of beating defenses over the top.
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The Uconn defense was average in 2009, allowing close to 24 points/game and almost 370 total yards. LB Lawrence Wilson was sensational though. He collected 140 tackles and had a team high five sacks. Those numbers earned him a 1st team All Big East selection. Wilson returns alongside Scott Lutrus to form one of the better linebacking units in the conference. Greg Lloyd was very productive at LB last season (91 tackles), but Edsall decided to move him to defensive end for the upcoming year. Lutrus missed five games with a shoulder injury and will need to remain healthy. The secondary has a few more questions than the front seven. Robert McClain and Robert Vaughn were all conference performers and will have to be replaced. Former LB Kijuan Dabney will get a shot at free safety as defensive coordinator Todd Orlando has moved some parts around to get the best 11 out there at the same time. Uconn lacks experience in this area also so improving on the 236 yards allowed passing/ game last year might be wishful thinking.
A road game at Michigan kicks off the 2010 season for Uconn. The Wolverines are expected to finish towards the middle of the Big Ten this year, but playing in the Big House is never easy. The Big East is a little different in that they only play seven conference games. Four of the seven for Uconn are on the road, but the other preseason conference favorites (Pitt and West Virginia) have to travel to Storrs, CT. I believe their running game will keep the defense on the field for long stretches covering up the weak secondary. A 9-3 season is my prediction for the Huskies.
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