CONNECTICUT SHOCKS NOTRE DAME IN OVERTIME

For the University of Connecticut, it may have been their biggest win in program history.  For Notre Dame, it may have finally been the final nail in the coffin for head coach Charlie Weis.  In any case, it was a monumental upset on Saturday as Connecticut topped Notre Dame 33-30 in double overtime at South Bend.  In recent years the Irish have struggled with teams they used to beat with regularity—over the past three seasons they’re 1-6 against the Big East and Navy.  Overall, they’re 6-5 this season while UConn improved to 5-5.

The Huskies also rewarded college football betting fans with their outright victory as +6 underdogs.  Connecticut is a spiffy 8-1 ATS this season while Notre Dame is a dreadful 2-8-1 against the number.  The Irish have failed to cover in five straight games (4 loss, 1 push) and are on a 1-7-1 ATS run.  The 63 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 58’.  UConn has gone OVER in six of nine lined games this year while Notre Dame has gone OVER in six of eleven.

The game was Connecticut’s first win since the stabbing death of cornerback Jasper Howard last month, and coach Randy Edsall explained what it meant to his team:

"Jazz this is for you. Best win we have ever had.  You've got to understand what this team has gone through. A couple of close games, and then you lose a teammate, you lose a brother, you lose a son, and you're trying so hard to honor him by winning on the field. We hadn't done that."

Edsall went on to explain the difference in today’s game:

"We ended up just making the tough plays at the end that we hadn't been able to make in some of earlier games.”

In the other locker room, most of the questioning was over Charlie Weis’ future at Notre Dame.  He deflected those queries by pretending to take the high road:

"Today's not the day for me to reflect on things like that. I mean today's the day for me to be worrying about those guys, those 33 guys (the seniors on the ND roster). I really feel absolutely miserable for those 33 guys. ... I'll worry about me tomorrow. But I think today I should be worrying about them."

Linebacker Brian Smith echoed his coach’s sentiments:

"It just hurt. A lot of seniors lost their last game at Notre Dame Stadium. It's supposed to be a memorable day for them and now it's not for the right reason."
The Irish conclude their regular season next Saturday on the road against Stanford.  What at one point would have been a fairly easy game for Notre Dame is anything but this year with the vast improvements in the Cardinal program.  Connecticut will conclude its season with back-to-back home games against Syracuse and South Florida.