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ON CAMPUS A look at the area college sports scene

Thursday, September 20, 2007

SCSU, UConn and Orlovsky

Defense went South

Well, CCSU proved it didn't need Justice Hairston anymore.
The former Central standout graduated but the Blue Devils hammered their intra-state rivals 56-34 last Saturday.
It was speed and more speed that doomed the Owls but it was only evident on offense.
In fact, SCSU moved the ball exceptionally well again last week, putting up 34 points without star running back Brandon Toles.
Toles could be iffy for Saturday's game at AIC, but the Owls should cruise there. The Yellow Jackets will be playing without its starting QB, who broke his leg in the team's first game.
If Southern can't stop AIC this week, it will be more a question of talent than speed.

UConn's Con job?

UConn survived last week against Temple. It is still hard to tell whether Temple receiver Adam DiMichele had possession of the ball in the waning seconds of the Huskies' narrow win.
Even video replays are hard to judge if the Temple player had control before he stepped out of bounds.
UConn shouldn't have to rely on such decisions to beat Temple.
The result doesn't fare well for the rest of the season, although there are still some easy marks on the slate.
But Temple was supposed to be one of the easiest.
The deciding play started when quarterback Adam DiMichele pitched to Jason Harper while the running back was sprinting to his right. Harper then handed the ball off to receiver Dy'Onne Crudup on a reverse. Crudup stopped his run to the left and heaved the ball back in DiMichele's direction.
Crudup is from Hyde.

Click here and decide for yourself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG8Foe1-HoE&eurl


Orlo a no-show

Former UConn star and Shelton native Dan Orlovsky missed a golden opportunity to showcase his skills last week. With Detroit Lions starting quarterback John Kitna sidelined with a concussion, the Lions turned to someone named JT O'Sullivan to guide the offense.
O'Sullivan moved the ball several times but also turned it over four times. Detroit put Kitna back into the game and the veteran QB won the game in overtime.
Orlovsky missed the game with a turf toe injury.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Southern Connecticut football notebook


The victor’s body language at the end of SCSU’s 31-24 win over Bentley last week was that of a team on the losing side.
The Owls did little cheering after the game in which they had to hang on for dear life to preserve a narrow win in their conference opener.
"That’s because we know that we’re much, much better than that," defensive back Ron Turner said.
They better hope so.
Next on the docket for SCSU is a game at CCSU. The Owls nearly defeated their in-state Division I-AA rival last year. But Southern will have to be ready on both sides of the ball this week.
Central walloped Merrimack Saturday 45-7 and a quick perusal of the Owls’ schedule left many believing that Merrimack would be their stiffest competition in the Northeast-10.
The Central game is not the most important contest on the Owls’ slate. It is more like a litmus test. About the only thing that Southern has to lose in the matchup is its pride.
A 45-7 loss would do that.
A loss against Central would not damage the Owls’ playoff aspirations too much but an embarrassing setback certainly wouldn’t help.
A loss, however, would most likely knock the Owls out of the Division-II top 25. Southern headed into this week’s action ranked 24th.
I realize that much of this sounds negative but Southern will not have a chance against the Blue Devils if it doesn’t shore up its defensive efforts. The Owls let Bentley drive the field against them several times Friday night including twice in the fourth quarter for touchdowns and watched a commanding 31-10 lead diminish.
Only a pick off by Turner in the waning seconds prevented the Falcons from tying the contest.
Sure, one could blame the offense for not scoring more, but the last time I checked 31 points was pretty good. And Southern’s defense might be a victim of its own offense which scores so quickly that the defense is back on the field in just seconds.
Still, in two games Owls’ opponents have run 201 offensive plays and that’s way too much.