2008 Connecticut Huskies football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 2008 Connecticut Huskies football ConnecticutHuskiesBlockC.png 100 Big East Conference Big East 8–5 3–4 Randy Edsall 10th Rob Ambrose 3rd Multiple Todd Orlando 4th 3–4 Rentschler Field International Bowl champion International Bowl W Won 38–20 vs. Buffalo The 2008 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut as a member of the Big East Conference during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Randy Edsall, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 3–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the Big East. Connecticut was invited to the International Bowl, where the Huskies defeated Buffalo. The team played home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. Schedule 2008 AP Eastern August 28 7:00 pm w y Hofstra Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT ESPN Plus 35-3 37,583 September 6 12:00 pm w y y Temple Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA ESPNU 12–9 OT 17,194 September 13 7:30 pm w y Virginia Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT ESPNU 45–10 40,000 September 19 8:00 pm w y Baylor Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT ESPN2 31–28 38,870 September 26 8:00 pm w y Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY ESPN2 26–21 42,523 October 4 7:00 pm l y y 24 North Carolina Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC ESPN2 38–12 59,500 October 18 12:00 pm l y Rutgers Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ ESPNU 12–10 42,491 October 25 12:00 pm w y Cincinnati Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT BEN 40–16 40,000 November 1 12:00 pm l West Virginia Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT BEN 35–13 40,000 November 15 7:00 pm w y Syracuse Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY rivalry ESPNU 39–14 28,081 November 23 8:00 pm l y South Florida Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPN 17–13 42,422 December 6 12:00 pm l Pittsburgh 23 Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT ESPN 34–10 39,535 January 3 12:00 pm w y y Buffalo Rogers Centre Toronto, ON International Bowl ESPN 38–20 40,184 UConn Huskies Schedule 2008 https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/41/season/2008 ESPN August 13, 2025 2008 Connecticut Huskies Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/connecticut/2008-schedule.html College Football at Sports-Reference.com Sports Reference August 13, 2025 2008 Football Schedule https://uconnhuskies.com/sports/football/schedule/2008 UConn Huskies August 13, 2025 Rankings 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings 5 8 15 NR NR NR NR NR 24 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 23 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 24 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 25 NR NR NR NR NR Game summaries Hofstra Hofstra 0 0 3 0 Connecticut 14 14 0 7 Making their 2008 season debut, the Huskies came out strong scoring 14 points in each of the first two quarters en route to a 35–3 victory against FCS opponent Hofstra. In the game, Donald Brown rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns before giving way to Robbie Frey who added a score of his own. UConn also extended their home winning streak to 8 games extending back to last season. Temple Connecticut 0 0 0 6 6 Temple 3 3 0 0 3 As UConn took the show on the road, conditions were less than ideal as Hurricane Hanna (in a weakened state) made her presence felt in Philadelphia. The game which was billed by Temple as UConn/Temple II didn't really live up to the hype of the controversial game last year. In a game which was largely played within the 20s, Donald Brown rushed for a career-high 214 yards, and the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Place kicker Tony Ciaravino added two field goals to give UConn their twelve-point total for the day. Virginia Virginia 0 0 3 7 Connecticut 7 21 14 3 Junior tailback Donald Brown rushed for over 200 yards for the second consecutive week and senior quarterback Tyler Lorenzen had a terrific game running the Connecticut offense as the Huskies manhandled Virginia, 45–10, in a non-conference football game played before a sellout crowd of 40,000 at Rentschler Field. Baylor Baylor 7 7 7 7 Connecticut 0 14 10 7 Junior tailback Donald Brown scored on a three-yard run with 6:04 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Connecticut defense held Baylor on fourth down with less than a minute to play as the Huskies hung on to defeat the Bears, 31–28, before a crowd of 38,870 at Rentschler Field. Louisville Connecticut 3 7 7 9 Louisville 0 14 7 0 The Huskies took the show on the road to start a very long, and potentially very rewarding three game road trip. The defense for UConn was less than stellar allowing 508 yards of offense, almost double their own output. The shining light for the Huskies was Donald Brown, who rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown. When he was given the ball, he made things happen time and time again. The injury bug also hit the Huskies and hit them hard. Starting quarterback Tyler Lorenzen suffered a broken foot early in the second quarter paving the way for Notre Dame transfer Zach Frazier to take over the helm. Later in the third quarter, senior tight end Steve Brouse suffered a broken fibula. Despite the injuries to two of their senior offensive leaders, the Huskies rallied late behind Frazier and two way player Darius Butler. Trailing by one point with 2:45 left in the game, Linebacker Lawrence Wilson picked off Cardinal's quarterback Hunter Cantwell and went 45 yards the other way to put UConn up 26–21, with the two-point conversion being unsuccessful. The UConn defense held strong on the ensuing possession, sealing the victory, and the Huskies second consecutive 5–0 start. International Bowl 2009 International Bowl The Huskies had a great season and were invited to their third bowl game in school history for the second straight year. On January 3, 2009, they played the University of Buffalo Bulls in the International Bowl in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Huskies started off committing sloppy turnovers in the first half but would go on to win the game 38–20. Steve Brouse caught the only touchdown pass of the game while running back Donald Brown rushed for 261 yards on 29 carries and one touchdown. He was named the MVP of the game and after the game he decided to forgo his senior season to enter the 2009 NFL draft. Roster UConn Huskies Roster Quarterbacks 12 Cody Endres 10 Zach Frazer 4 Tyler Lorenzen Running backs 34 Donald Brown 2 Andre Dixon 44 Robbie Frey 23 Jordan Todman 49 Anthony Sherman FB Wide receivers 87 Ellis Gaulden 82 Kashif Moore 14 D.J. Hernandez 3 Brad Kanuch 1 Darius Butler 19 Erik Muschette 29 Marcus Easley 85 Kevin Poles Tight ends 90 Steve Brouse 91 Martin Bédard 84 Yianni Apostolakos Offensive linemen 64 Will Beatty LT 73 Dan Ryan LT 57 Moe Petrus LG 69 Trey Tonsing LG 68 Keith Gray C 70 Gary Bardzak C 78 Zach Hurd RG 66 Matheiu Oliver RG 79 Mike Hicks RT 72 Mike Ryan RT Defensive linemen 45 Julius Williams DE 9 Lindsey Witten DE 65 Rob Lunn DT 4 Twyon Martin DT 54 Alex Polito DT 99 Kendall Reyes DT 50 Cody Brown DE 26 Marcus Campbell DE Linebackers 32 Scott Lutrus Husky LB 10 Greg Robinson Husky LB 19 Kijuan Dabney Husky LB 95 Greg Lloyd Jr. MLB 31 C.J. Marck MLB 8 Lawrence Wilson WLB 18 Aaron Bryant WLB Defensive backs 1 Darius Butler CB 20 Terry Baltimore CB 33 Robert Vaughn S 27 Aaron Bagsby S 36 Dahna Deleston S 7 Glen Mourning S 6 Jasper Howard CB 42 Robert McClain CB Special teams 97 Tony Ciaravino K 38 David Teggart K 13 Desi Cullen P Team awards The 2008 Connecticut Huskies post season team awards were handed out during their annual team banquet.http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=29706d4b-7d86-48fd-b1fb-2f24a510175d UConn Huskies Notebook Banning Chuck December 23, 2008 December 24, 2008 New London Day The award winners were: Most Valuable Player: Donald Brown Offensive Player of the Year: Donald Brown Defensive Player of the Year: Cody Brown Special Teams Player of the Year: Robbie Frey Joseph M. Giannelli Unsung Hero Award: Will Beatty and Dahna Deleston John L. Toner Scholar Athlete Award: Keith Gray Football Alumni Award: Tyler Lorenzen and Steve Brouse Kendall Madison Award: Darius Butler Brian Kozlowski Award: Julius Williams Pro drafts Four players on the 2008 UConn football team were selected in the 2009 NFL draft on April 25, 2009. Donald Brown was selected in the first round at No. 27 by the Indianapolis Colts. There Huskies were taken in the second round: Darius Butler at No. 41 by the New England Patriots, Will Beatty at No. 60 by the New York Giants, and Cody Brown at No. 63 by the Arizona Cardinals. After the draft, four other Huskies signed free agent contracts with NFL teams: Julius Williams (Jacksonville Jaguars), Dahna Deleston (Chicago Bears), Tyler Lorenzen (Jacksonville Jaguars), and Keith Gray (Carolina Panthers). On May 2, 2009, Martin Bédard was taken in the second round of the 2009 CFL draft by the Montreal Alouettes. References Connecticut Category:UConn Huskies football seasons Category:International Bowl champion seasons Connecticut Huskies football