Mids, Huskies ready to battle in conference for final time
Last hurrah: UConn will be abandoning AAC next year
Navy has faced Connecticut four times during the current triple-option era. Friday night’s game figures to be the last meeting between the schools for a long time.
Connecticut is abandoning the American Athletic Conference following this season and there is almost no chance it will ever play Navy in a regular-season game as a result. If the Midshipmen and Huskies share the same field again it will almost certainly have to be in a bowl game.
Basketball, not football, was the impetus behind Connecticut’s decision to depart the AAC effective in the 2020-2021 school year. Athletic director David Benedict was hopeful the Huskies could remain in the American as a football-only member, but commissioner Mike Aresco has made it clear that will not happen.
That means Connecticut will become an independent in football and will have to piece together a schedule, which won’t be easy. Navy, which must play non-conference contests against Army, Air Force and Notre Dame on an annual basis, is not likely to turn up on that revamped schedule.
Randy Edsall is serving his second stint as coach of Connecticut, having been rehired in December 2016.
Edsall was named the 27th head coach in Connecticut football history in December 1998 and steadily built a consistent winner over the next decade. The Glen Rock, Pennsylvania native led the Huskies from the Division I-AA ranks into the Football Bowl Subdivision and they posted a 9-3 record in just their second season as an independent.
In 2004, Connecticut became a member of the Big East Conference for football and quarterback Dan Orlovsky directed an 8-4 campaign that culminated with a 39-10 rout of Mid-American Conference champion Toledo in the Motor City Bowl.
Edsall quickly transformed the Huskies into an annual contender in the Big East with winning seasons capped by bowl berths becoming the norm.
In 2010, Connecticut reached its greatest heights under Edsall — capturing the Big East for the second time in four years and earning a berth in the Bowl Championship Series. UConn was the first school to go from FBS newcomer to BCS participant in just seven seasons.
Edsall, who was named Big East Coach of the Year, never returned to the Storrs campus following a 48-20 loss to Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. He flew directly from Phoenix Sky Harbor to BaltimoreWashington International Airport in order to be introduced as coach at Maryland.
Things did not work out for either Edsall or the Terrapins. In October, 2015, following a disappointing 2-4 start, Edsall was fired by athletic director Kevin Anderson. Maryland went 7-6 in both 2014 and 2015, but its overall record under Edsall was 22-34.
After spending the 2016 season as director of football research and special projects for the Detroit Lions, Edsall was brought back to Storrs in the hopes he could rebuild the program again.
Things have not gone well so far as Connecticut owns a 6-26 record during the Edsall 2.0 era. Only three of those wins have come against Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
Connecticut picked up its first FBS win in more than two years last Saturday as tailback Kevin Mensah sparked a 56-35 rout of Massachusetts. Mensah rushed for 164 yards and five touchdowns, earning
American Athletic Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Art Thompkins ran for 135 yards and a score for UConn, which put forth their most impressive offensive performance of the season. The Huskies rolled up 539 total yards of offense with 326 of that coming on the ground.
“I thought we played well in all three phases this past weekend. We played probably our most complete game,” Edsall said. “Offensively, we did a good job of running the ball and really controlled the game.”
Connecticut snapped a six-game losing streak and Edsall admitted the Massachusetts result was a real confidence boost for the players.
“They might have a little more bounce in their step. I think anytime you win, you feel a little better,” he said. “When you win, you’ve earned that right to have some confidence. But that was last week. This is this week. You can’t dwell on what took place last week.”
For the most part, Connecticut (2-6, 0-4) has not been competitive against American Athletic Conference competition during this campaign. The Huskies have lost their four league games by an average 44-17.
However, there is reason to believe UConn is improving as the Massachusetts victory was preceded by a strong effort against Houston in a 24-17 loss.
“I see us getting better. We’re better now than we were at the beginning of the year,” Edsall said. “I see a group of guys that are eager and hungry to keep improving.”
Now Connecticut welcomes a red-hot Navy club into Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. The Midshipmen (6-1, 4-1) are riding a four-game winning streak that has propelled them to bowl eligibility and made them a contender in the West Division of the American.
Veteran head coach Ken Niumatalolo has directed a dramatic turnaround season for Navy, which is coming off a dismal 3-10 record in 2018.
“We’ve got a tremendous challenge Friday going against Navy. Ken’s got his guys playing very, very well,” Edsall said.