After a disappointing 13-6 loss at South Florida on Nov. 3, Connecticut’s bowl aspirations looked bleak. At 3-6 overall, the Huskies needed to win out to achieve bowl eligibility. Three conference games loomed, including a trip to a Louisville team that was undefeated at the time of the Huskies’ seemingly crushing loss.

UConn’s all-or-nothing effort was just enough for the Huskies to upset the favored Cardinals last Saturday.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Connecticut coach Paul Pasqualoni said during the Big East coaches’ teleconference on Monday. “Louisville played very, very hard. … We had a lot of guys contribute in this game, and we had to play a lot of players.”

Connecticut outlasted Louisville 23-20 in triple overtime, with Chad Christen’s 30-yard field goal sending the Huskies to the win. Now 5-6, UConn needs to beat Cincinnati this week to earn bowl eligibility.

UConn started the season 3-2, but then lost four straight games, all in conference play. The season got better against Pittsburgh, when UConn jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead and held on for a season-saving 24-17 win.

Then came the improbable at Louisville. Facing the one-loss Cardinals, UConn held quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and the UL offense scoreless through nearly four quarters before Bridgewater threw a 6-yard touchdown pass with just 21 seconds remaining to force overtime tied at 10. Despite being outgained 374-92 in the air and 401-241 overall, the scrappy Huskies held their own in time of possession and stayed in the game by holding Louisville to 7-of-21 on third down conversions.

Just like that, UConn had a two-game winning streak after four straight losses.

“The margin of error is very slim,” Pasqualoni said. “We’ve had some tough games; we’ve had some very, very close games this year that have not gone our way. … I would give credit to the players. They’ve been disappointed, but certainly not discouraged.”

Connecticut was not the only Big East team to keep its bowl hopes alive with an upset win on Saturday. After dropping the 24-17 decision to UConn, Pittsburgh fell to 4-6, needing a home victory over first-place Rutgers to stay alive.

The Panthers did just that in emphatic fashion, cruising to a 27-6 home victory over the Scarlet Knights. Pitt outgained Rutgers 365-207 in the game, with senior quarterback Tino Sunseri passing for 227 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in his final home game.

“That was a big win,” Pittsburgh head coach Paul Chryst said during the teleconference. “Rutgers is a good football team. It was Senior Day for 18 seniors, so it was a good day to send them out. I thought guys played hard and found a way to make enough plays to win.”

Now it’s back to work for Connecticut and Pittsburgh, with the teams facing the same do-or-die situation this coming Saturday. Pitt has the easier matchup on paper, with a trip to 3-8 South Florida, a team that has dropped eight of its last nine.

Still, Chryst and his players are not looking past the Bulls.

“There is a big difference,” Chryst said. “This is the last time this group of players will play together. If we can go out and earn the right to play another game, I think that’s a huge thing. … I think we’ve got a heck of a challenge against South Florida, and we’ve got to focus on that.”

The Huskies will have home-field advantage against 8-3 Cincinnati, which has won three of four, including a 27-10 win over South Florida on Saturday. The Bearcats have the added incentive of playing for a share of the Big East crown, although they can’t win it outright due to a tiebreaker against Rutgers and Louisville.

“Cincinnati is an outstanding team,” Pasqualoni said. “They have a very explosive offense; I really like what they do. … They run the ball well, they have an excellent core of wide receivers. This will be another tough game, and another big challenge for us this Saturday.”

Regardless of what happens in this week’s win-or-go-home situations, UConn and Pitt’s impressive efforts against Louisville and Rutgers remain real. For Pasqualoni, it’s a testament to his team’s toughness and determination despite this season’s adversity.

“Things in life don’t always go your way,” Pasqualoni said. “To me, there’s life lessons to be learned, and one of the most important characteristics you can have is persistence and perseverance. If you stay with it long enough, maybe you will have some success, and maybe you will succeed.”

Big East title race

With its win on Saturday, UConn kept Louisville from controlling its own destiny in the Big East title conversation. Louisville plays Rutgers on Thursday, needing a win to stay alive in the title hunt. Rutgers controls its own destiny as it can win the conference outright at 6-1 in Big East play with a win over Louisville.

A Louisville win would tie the two teams at 5-2 in conference play, putting the Cardinals and Scarlet Knights in a three-way tie with Syracuse for the conference crown. In this scenario, with all three teams 1-1 against each other in head-to-head play, the tiebreaker would go to the highest-ranked team in the final Bowl Championship Series standings. All three teams are currently ranked outside the BCS Top 25. It is very unlikely that the 7-5 Orange could finish ahead of Rutgers and Louisville, each 9-2 overall, in the final BCS standings, so the BCS bid would almost certainly go to the winner of Rutgers-Louisville.

Published on November 26, 2012 at 11:16 pm

Contact Kevin: kmprisei@syr.edu