The Huskies ain't dead yet. After losing four in a row and exasperating and already exasperated fan base, UConn pulled out a convincing "where did that come from?!" victory over Pitt on Friday night. There's still a ton of work to do before we can talk about bowl bids, specifically: the Huskies have to beat Louisville and Cincy, two of the Big East's best teams. If the last month is any indication, UConn doesn't stand a chance; if, instead, we look at what happened against the Panthers … well, anything's possible.
But the Huskies have the week off to prepare. In the meantime, a glimpse at where they stand with two games left on the schedule.
ESPN.com Big East blogger Andrea Adelson ranks UConn No. 6 in the conference ahead of Pitt and Temple. It's not much but it's something, especially since the Huskies lost their homecoming game to the Owls in demoralizing fashion.
"The Huskies picked up their first Big East win of the season Friday night against Pitt, but this team remains a major work in progress," Adelson observed.
And that guarded optimism leads us to this: Adelson's Big East bowl projections, ones that don't include the Huskies. This isn't a surprise -- no one figured UConn would beat Pitt and that loss would've dropped them to 3-7. But to quote every coach ever "that's why you play the game."
Not even the most ardent support expects the Huskies to win out. Then again, Syracuse stomped previously unbeaten Louisville last weekend and UConn's offense has finally started to click. If quarterback Chandler Whitmer can continue to improve and the defense can generate some turnovers … who knows? Yes, the chances are slim but they're still better than the alternative: playing for pride and wrapping up the season in November.
