Three years ago, Connecticut went 8-4 and beat Toledo 39-10 in the Motor City Bowl behind star senior quarterback Dan Orlovsky. Since then, the Huskies have made a complete 180-stumbling away from last season with a 4-8 record and leaving questions about the program's future.
The Huskies find themselves in a rebuilding mode again this season, especially at the quarterback position, where they have yet to find consistency since Orlovsky's departure.
In 2006, after scoring 52 points in a season-opening victory over Rhode Island, the Huskies averaged a mere 18.6 points per game-a number that would have been even lower if not for a 46-45 win over Pittsburgh November 11.
Matters were made even worse last year when highly-recruited quarterback D.J. Hernandez went down with a broken wrist midseason. Hernandez completed 58.5 percent of his passes and threw for eight touchdowns in 2006, but without him, the Huskies dropped six of their last seven games.
Early in the offseason, it appeared there would be a three-way battle for quarterback between Hernandez, junior college transfer Tyler Lorenzen and sophomore Dennis Brown. By spring, amid doubts over whether he would actually get playing time behind center, Hernandez switched over to wide receiver.
The returning starters at wideout-sophomores Terence Jeffers and Brad Kanuch-only hauled in a combined 30 passes for three touchdowns last year.
On Aug. 14, the coaching staff announced Lorenzen had won the starting job. An All-American at Palomar (CA) Junior College, Lorenzen's job will not be easy with a dearth of experience at receiver, but so far the coaching staff has been impressed with his composure and improvement in training camp.
"He's a very well rounded individual who takes it all in stride," Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall said. "The poise, presence, and demeanor he brings are positives for the position he plays. I don't know what is going to happen on Saturday. However, I do know he is going to be well prepared to go out and play a good game."
Considering UConn's uncertainty at quarterback, Duke head coach Ted Roof said the Huskies likely will pound the ball with All-Big East running back Donald Brown before opening up the passing game with play-action passes.
In 2006, Brown ran for 134.6 yards per game and seven touchdowns in Big East competition.
"He's a marked man, so to speak," Edsall said. "People will probably be more apt to take him away and make us throw the football, but we have to be good in throwing the football to make our running game go a little bit. That way we can be balanced and not just one dimensional."
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