Connecticut (9-3) vs. Wake Forest (8-4)
Dec. 29, 1:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
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 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Wake Forest |
Connecticut |
|
Total Offense |
|
98th 334.42 ypg |
83rd 358.33 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
38th 351 ypg |
31st 346.33 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
60th 28.17 ppg |
62nd 27.83 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
34th 23.25 ppg |
11th 18.58 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
72nd 143.17 ypg |
45th 165.25 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
17th 108.92 ypg |
64th 158.50 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
94th 191.25 ypg |
91st 193.08 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
78th 242.08 ypg |
14th 187.83 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
15th 0.83 |
7th 1.08 |
|
Wake Forest
at Bost Coll L 38-28
Nebraska L 20-17
Army
W 31-10
Mary. W 31-24 OT
at Duke
W 41-36
Florida St W 24-21
at Navy
W 44-24
N Carolina
W 37-10
at
Virginia L 17-16
at
Clemson L 44-10
NC State
W 37-17
at
Vander. W 31-17 |
Connecticut
at Duke
W 45-14
Maine
W 38-0
Temple
W 22-17
at
Pitt W 34-14
Akron
W 44-10
at
Virginia L 17-16
Louisville W 21-17
So Florida
W 22-15
Rutgers W 38-19
at
Cincinnati L 27-3
Syracuse W 30-7
at W Virginia L 66-21 |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
WF |
5
highest
1 lowest |
C |
|
4 |
Quarterbacks |
2 |
|
4 |
RBs |
4 |
|
3 |
Receivers |
2 |
|
3.5 |
O
Line |
3 |
|
4 |
D
Line |
3.5 |
|
3.5 |
Linebackers |
4.5 |
|
3.5 |
Secondary |
4.5 |
|
4 |
Spec
Teams |
4 |
|
5 |
Coaching |
4.5 |
|
If not for the trademark helmets
and uniforms, you’d have a hard
time telling Connecticut and
Wake Forest apart in Charlotte.
Both overachieving programs have
impersonated Cinderella in the
last two years, run the ball to
set up the pass, play solid
defense, and are led by coaches
that were recently courted for
higher-profile job openings.
Just to be safe, the Huskies
will be the team in blue and
white, and the Demon Deacons in
black and gold.
While it might seem like the
Meineke Car Care Bowl is a
regression for Wake Forest after
playing in the 2007 Orange Bowl,
the exact opposite is true.
This is the first time in school
history that the program is
playing in back-to-back bowl
games, another sign of progress
under the steady hand of Jim
Grobe. The Deacons started the
year slowly before reeling off
six straight wins, including a
primetime defeat of Florida
State, to secure that postseason
berth. A second-place finish in
the ACC Atlantic exceeded
expectations, signaling that
last season’s success was no
one-year fluke, and that few
staffs squeeze more out of their
personnel than the one in
Winston-Salem.
The blueprint for Wake Forest’s
eight wins was no different than
the one that got it to Miami in
January. The Deacons are
determined to establish the
running game on offense, while
the defense prevents big plays
and parlays pressure into
opponents’ mistakes with a group
of players that bigger ACC
schools didn’t recruit. The
ground game has been powered by
an unlikely source, freshman
Josh Adams, who was expected to
take a back seat to Micah
Andrews and Kevin Harris.
Instead, he went on to lead Wake
with 887 yards rushing and 10
touchdowns earning ACC Rookie of
the Year honors.
Connecticut earning a share of
the Big East title makes sense
in hoops, but not in football,
which was pegged as an also-ran
before the season began. Behind
the play of a stingy, no-name
defense, the Huskies defied the
odds all season before lopsided
November losses to Cincinnati
and West Virginia ended hopes
for an improbable BCS bowl
berth. Sure, the Meineke Car
Care Bowl is a far cry from the
Orange Bowl, but just playing a
13th game is a
tremendous building block for
Randy Edsall, who did the
unlikely with a ton of
underclassmen.
Not unlike Wake Forest,
Connecticut’s calling card has
been a bend-don’t-break defense
that’s opportunistic and very
good at creating takeaways.
Youngsters, such as LBs Lawrence
Wilson and Scott Lutrus, and S
Robert Vaughn, blended with the
holdovers to give the Huskies a
unit that ranks No. 8 nationally
in pass efficiency defense and
No. 7 in turnover margin. West
Virginia is the only school
that’s solved the Connecticut D,
and as long as Pat White and
Steve Slaton aren’t traded to
Wake Forest, the Huskies will be
stout once again in the 2007
finale.
Players to watch:
Although Donald Brown
began the season as
Connecticut’s feature back,
Andre Dixon wrested the role
away, cutting and slashing his
way to a team-high 809 yards on
the ground to go along with 24
receptions. Both sophomores,
however, will play integral
parts in an offense that’s
decidedly conservative and short
on playmaking receivers.
For all the attention the UConn
breakthrough players received on
defense, LB Danny Lansanah
has been a rock steady force in
the middle for the past four
seasons. The Husky leader in
tackles and tackles for loss,
he’s also a hawk in pass
defense, picking off four balls
in 2007 to give him 10 on the
career. Wherever the ball is,
No. 48 won’t be far away,
especially in a game that’ll be
played close to the line of
scrimmage.
When Wake Forest tries to
deviate from the script, it’ll
call upon WR Kenneth Moore,
an all-purpose and the program’s
most dangerous offensive
player. He leads the Deacons
with 87 catches, yet will be
used often on end-arounds and
inside handoffs, and is one of
the ACC’s better punt returners.
Pencil Moore in for around 20
touches, one of which will go
for at least 50 yards.
The team’s playmaker on defense
is CB Alphonso Smith, a
risk-taker that’ll get exposed
occasionally, but compensates
with a bunch of batted balls and
picks. Three of Smith’s eight
interceptions have been returned
for touchdowns, something
Connecticut QB Tyler Lorenzen
will remember every time he
drops back to throw.
Connecticut will win if...
jumps out to an early lead. The
Huskies can be dog tough to
mount a comeback against, but
when forced to play from behind,
they’re completely out of their
element. Although Lorenzen has
been a find in his first season
out of junior college, he pilots
the nation’s No. 91 passing
attack, and lacks a receiver
that can intimidate the athletic
Wake Forest secondary. If
Connecticut isn’t able to run
the ball at least 40 times with
Dixon and Brown, it’s an
indication that it’s been forced
to throw more than it likes, a
recipe for a quiet trip back to
Storrs.
Wake Forest will win if...
it scores a non-offensive
touchdown. In a game that
figures to be close and
low-scoring, a defensive or
special teams score is the kind
of play that will be a turning
point. No one in America has
been more prolific at
non-offensive touchdowns than
the Deacons, which have 10 in 12
games. If Smith or LB Aaron
Curry go the other way with a
pick, or if Moore or mercurial
Kevin Marion go the distance
with a kick, it might be more
than the methodical Connecticut
offense can overcome. In games
that Wake Forest has scored an
unconventional touchdown, it’s
won five of six games in 2007.
What will happen: It’ll be a
competitive, if not always
entertaining battle with each
team battling hard from the
start. In a game between evenly
matched opponents, the
difference will be the Wake
Forest offensive line, which is
home to the most talented player
in the stadium. Against a soft
interior of the Connecticut
line, Demon Deacon C Steve
Justice will help pave the way
for the backs to extend drives
and keep QB Riley Skinner from
having to win the game. With
both defenses playing well, ace
Wake K Sam Swank will lead both
sides in scoring.
Line: Wake Forest -3
... CFN Prediction:
Wake Forest 26 ...
Connecticut 17
2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, &
More