STORRS, Conn. (AP) -Connecticut and No. 23 Pittsburgh bring two of the nation’s top rushers into their meeting in East Hartford on Saturday, in which both teams hope to improve their bowl positions.
UConn tailback Donald Brown leads the country, averaging more than 148 yards per game, while Pitt’s LeSean McCoy leads everyone in scoring at almost 11 points per game and is eighth in rushing at over 118 yards.
an LeSean and LeSean probably makes more guys miss. They’re both good players who play to their strengths.”
A win would give the Panthers (8-3, 4-2 Big East) their first nine-win season since 2002 and the school’s first nine-win regular season since 1982.
It also would likely propel the Panthers into the Sun Bowl. A loss could drop Pitt to the PapaJohns.com Bowl.
UConn (7-4, 3-3) also has an outside shot at a Sun Bowl bid, if it can beat Pitt and West Virginia loses to South Florida. A loss likely would put UConn in the International Bowl in Toronto on Jan. 3.
“We’re still playing for a lot,” Brown said. “We win and we’ll go to a better bowl.”
Big East champion Cincinnati already owns the league’s automatic BCS bowl bid.
Connecticut is the only Big East team to have beaten the Bearcats, but that was one of just two wins the Huskies have earned in their last six games. Pitt lost to Cincinnati on Nov. 22, but comes into this contest having won three of its last four games, including a big win last week over rival West Virginia.
UConn has dominated the series with Pittsburgh, winning three of the four meetings, including a 34-14 victory in Pittsburgh last season.
o years at UConn.
“I don’t know if we necessarily have (Pitt’s) number,” Lorenzen said. “We’ve just made the right plays at the right time and we need to put ourselves in position to do the same thing this weekend.”
Field position and the kicking game could be a key.
The Huskies’ freshman kicker, Dave Teggart, has made his first 11 field goal attempts since taking over the job late in October.
But Pittsburgh has blocked nine kicks this season – three punts, three field goals and three extra points – and UConn has already had five punts blocked.
Both teams want to control the clock. Connecticut has averaged 32:05 of possession time this season, and Pittsburgh has 31:54.
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