- Important 13
- Updates 17
- All Updates 17
Do you want major updates to this story in your Facebook News Feed?
Like us to subscribe
- over 2 years ago
- Update
- 0 comments
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma Sooners Strike First With Long Drive And Touchdown, 7-0
The Sooners of Oklahoma stuffed UCONN on their first possession and got the ball back quickly after the punt. In true Sooner fashion, Bob Stoops' team marched down the field on a nine-play, 71-yard drive that took only 2:57 off the clock. Quarterback Landry Jones found James Hanna for the first touchdown of the game.
Oklahoma had four plays go for over ten yards with Landry Jones already racking up 55 yards on 5-5 passing. Six first downs on the drive and only one third down play was not a good sign for the Huskie defense.
It's going to be a long night for the Huskies if the first two possessions are any indication. On UCONN's first drive of the game they managed just nine yards on three plays before being forced to punt the ball.
Oklahoma Sooners warm-up before the game.
- over 2 years ago
- Update
- 0 comments
Connecticut Huskies Ready For Fiesta Bowl Showdown With Oklahoma Sooners
In case you were wondering, the UConn Huskies are all set to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. After several days of fielding questions regarding their mediocre record and whether or not they "belong" in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, the time has come to put up or shut up. With roughly twenty minutes before kickoff, it's time to see what the Big East champions are made of.
Here are some pictures to whet your appetite for the game that's about to begin. I'll be bringing you Connecticut Huskies coverage all evening for SB Nation Arizona, so stick here for big updates.
The Huskies got their stretch on before the game.
Then they got together and got rowdy.
Lest we forget the adorable Connecticut Husky. The rarest of dogs: the upright kind! Finally, here's a pic of the pregame ceremony, where a legit eagle was released during the National Anthem. Wild.
- over 2 years ago
- Update
- 0 comments
Fiesta Bowl Pregame Report: Underdog UCONN Huskies Looks For Upset Over Oklahoma Sooners
Chances are good that most college football fans have recovered from their New Year's Eve party hangovers and will be fully good to go, and perhaps even ready to hit the beer again, by the time the Fiesta Bowl kicks off at about 6:40 p.m. local time. The problem of course, is the match up features two teams that aren't generating much interest on a national level outside the hard core fans of both teams.
Oklahoma (11-2) at least is a school with strong football tradition and comes in as the champion of the football powerhouse, Big 12. Connecticut on the other hand, sports a flimsy 8-4 record and arrives thanks to their status as Big East Champion which they earned via tie-breaker over West Virginia.
The BCS forces have combined to give us a game that on paper is completely lopsided with Vegas anointing the Sooners as 17-point favorites. Being the underdog is a familiar place for UCONN Head Coach Randy Edsall.
"That's the story of our life. We have been the underdog ever since we've undertaken this adventure, this journey. So it is really no different than what we're used to all the time. I always think any time if there is somebody who doubts you or questions you, it just makes you go a little bit harder and play a little bit harder and prepare a little bit harder," Edsall said in a pregame press conference.
Things aren't all peaches and cream for the Sooners either. They bring in a dubious record in their last five bowl appearances. Coach Bob Stoops explained.
"I brought this up the other day. It's 0-3 in national championship games and 0-2 in BCS games, so if you want to be technical about it. But in the end, it's brought up. Our players are aware of it. But each year is a different game, a different team."
The key match-up in the game is between the effective running game of the Huskies lead by running back Jordan Todman who averaged 143 yards per game this season.
"They are a very physical, excellent running football team. Jordan Todman is a great back and very physical, strong in how he runs. But they're very creative in all the different ways they create scenes and create the run game. It will take a lot of discipline by our defensive guys to be in position, you know, to - you have to be physical to get off blocks, physical tackling and hopefully handle the run game. That will be a big factor," Stoops said.
The Huskies pride themselves on their defense this season but will have their hands full with the nation's fourth-best offense. The up-tempo style of Sooner play and the number of weapons they employ in their balanced attack has Coach Edsall searching for answers.
"Like I said, you feel like the little boy at the dike and the holes are starting to come in and you only have so many fingers to plug the holes, and they have so many talented, skilled athletes. And really what you have to do is you just have to - to me, you got to try to play good, sound, fundamental defense and execute your techniques because, again, they got good wide receivers, they got a good running back, a good offensive line. The quarterback is very good and very accurate," the UCONN coach said.
SB Nation Arizona is on-hand for this "great" match-up and will have tons of "great" coverage of the game.
- over 2 years ago
- Update
- 0 comments
Fiesta Bowl Preview: UCONN And Oklahoma Both Confident At Media Day
The UCONN Huskies and Oklahoma Sooners continued their Fiesta Bowl sponsored blitz tour of Phoenix. Today's activities started with media day for both teams. The entire squad from each school was bussed to the swanky Camelback Inn for a question and answer session with the combined interrogation powers of the local and national media.
Held in a giant ballroom, the teams were shuffled in with UCONN having the underdog honors of going first. The event kicked off with a presentation by a representative of title sponsor, Tostitos. The head coach was given a gift basket consisting of various bags of potato (and corn) chips as the corporate spokesperson solemnly -- and with a completely straight face -- stated that the snack food would help the teams' coaching staffs as they prepared for the big game. Seriously.
The next presentation was from the Vice Mayor of the City of Glendale who said some nice things about something or other and gave the coach from each team a giant gift basket with chocolate from local candy maker, Cerreta. In true political fashion, the Vice Mayor gave the same speech twice only changing up his final "Go Huskies" and "Go Sooners" closing as appropriate.
After the presentation of the chips and chocolate gift baskets that would have satiated the cravings of many pot-smoking college students, the coaches conducted a brief press conference while the various players were stationed individually at tables throughout that room. It was basically 30 minutes of media/player speed dating.
UCONN comes into the game with their primary offensive weapon full of confidence despite his team being a 17-point underdog. Junior running back Jordan Todman finished the season with 1632 rushing yards (143.1 / game) said it was a great feeling to be in the Fiesta Bowl and tossed aside any notions that the unranked Huskies didn't deserve to be in this game.
"It is like a smack in the face. We won the Big East and we are here rightfully," Todman said.
Oklahoma was heavily favored to win the last two times they were here and blew both game. They are confident that they are preparing properly to prevent the three-peat.
Running back DeMarco Murray talked about the Sooners uptempo and highly potent offense that averaged 36.4 points per game.
"We have a really good offense," Murray said.
Most of the Sooners players acknowledged they didn't know much about the Huskies prior to their preparation for this game. Defensive back Quinton Carter admitted that when he thinks of UCONN, the first thing that comes to his mind is women's basketball.
Players from both teams enjoyed gawking at the fancy Fiesta Bowl trophy.
- over 2 years ago
- Update
- 0 comments
Fiesta Bowl: OU-UConn Is Major Mismatch, But Only On Paper
Conventional wisdom says put all your money on Boomer Sooner. Unless Oklahoma has broken your heart in bowl games too many times. Which is entirely possible.
This time will be different, the Sooners say, and the stats would appear to back that up.
The No. 7 Sooners are 11-2 and the Big 12 champions. Their offense is so prolific (36.4 points per game) that they have two offensive coordinators, one of whom, Josh Heupel, won the national championship at quarterback for OU in 2000.
Actually, Heupel and Jay Norvell were named co-coordinators after former coordinator Kevin Wilson left to take the Indiana head coaching job earlier this month, but Heupel will call the plays from upstairs in a booth at University of Phoenix Stadium on Jan. 1.
The 25th-ranked UConn Huskies can only hope to contain Oklahoma with a defense that is the team's strength. UConn (8-4) won the Big East after losing its first two conference games, but turned around its season starting with a 16-13 win over West Virginia at home on Oc. 29.
The Huskies recovered four fumbles, including one near the goal line in overtime that set up the winning field goal. UConn went on to force 13 turnovers over its next four games, all wins, and won the Big East despite a three-way tie with West Virginia and Pitt, both of which UConn defeated.
"We deserve to be here," UConn defensive lineman Kendall Reyes said. "That's the rules."
Oklahoma will present both physical and mental challenges to the Huskies. Physical, because they haven't seen an offense like Oklahoma's all season. Mental, because UConn must overcome Curt Schilling's favorite entertainers, aura and mystique, that surround the mighty Sooners.
"Certainly they have a great tradition and it will be a huge challenge for us, but certainly we feel like we can compete," Huskies assistant head coach for defense, Hank Hughes, said Monday. "They get the ball to some different guys and they have quality depth.
"This is Oklahoma. You can tell who their players and coaches were 50 years ago. They have tradition. We have tremendous respect for them," Hughes added.
It's true, the Sooners have a tradition of winning with an all-time record of 809-303-53 and seven national championships. But if there's one thing that could be a great equalizer in a game like this, where one team is a heavy favorite (17 points) over the other, it's the Sooners' lack of success in BCS bowl games.
Oklahoma has lost its last five such games -- the Sugar Bowl to LSU in 2004, the Orange to USC in 2005, back-to-back Fiestas at U of P Stadium in 2007 and 2008 to Boise State and West Virginia and the BCS title game to Florida in 2009.
"Our kids understand," Heupel (see photo below) said. "They already have heard we haven't been too successful in BCS games.
"There's a lot of pressure just because you're playing in a big ball game. Our kids are excited about the opportunity."
Quarterback Landry Jones is trying to treat the Fiesta Bowl like any other game, though he admits the team's run of misfortune in Glendale is in the back of his and his teammates' minds.
"Coach [Bob] Stoops talked about it. We all know what's happened against Boise State and West Virginia, "Jones said. "We're all ready to change that history for our team this year. They [the Huskies] need our utmost respect."
