November 30, 2013 • vs. Rutgers DEFENSE NOTES GAWDY DEFENSIVE NUMBERS IN 2012 The UConn defense established itself as one of the top units in college football last season in 2012. UConn was ninth in total defense (309.92 yards per game), seventh in rushing defense (97.92 yards per game), 15th in tackles for loss (7.33 per game), 18th in sacks (2.75 per game), 36th in pass defense (212.00 yards per game) and 19th in scoring defense (19.83 points per game). UConn led the BIG EAST in total defense, rushing defense, pass defense and sacks. UConn gave up just 36 points in the first quarter of games last year (field goal by WMU, TD vs. Buffalo, two FG by Rutgers, two FG by Syracuse. TD by USF, TD by Cincinnati) and gave up only 33 first quarter first downs. The Huskies have now given up just 78 points in the past 17 games in the first quarter, including the six games this season and 35 of those points coming in the last four games. SMALLWOOD A SEMIFINALIST FOR BUTKUS AWARD UConn junior linebacker Yawin Smallwood (Worcester, Mass.) was named as one of 12 semifinalists for the 2013 Butkus Award, which honors the country’s top linebacker. Finalists are announced on November 26 and the winner on December 10. Smallwood was the only semifinalist from a school in the American. The Huskies also played against Buffalo LB Khalikl Mack, another Butkus semifinalist. Smallwood has led UConn in tackles in six of the Huskies nine games with 16 against Towson, 14 against Maryland, 13 vs. Michigan, 12 vs. Buffalo and 10 vs. Louisville. He tied for the team lead with eight on Saturday vs. Temple, earning American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of The Week honors on Monday. Smallwood provided the winning score for the Huskies on Saturday when he returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown with 4:20 left in the game. It was the second interception of his career – as he also returned a 28-yarder for a TD vs. Buffalo in 2011. He also had a fumble return for a TD vs. Vanderbilt in ’11. He was second on the team in the USF game with nine and came back to lead the team with 13 against Cincinnati. He is ranked 12th in the country in tackles per game at 10.4 and is third in The American. Smallwood was named to the American Weekly Honor roll for his performance vs. Michigan. He was named the National Defensive Player of the Week by CBSSports.com for his performance vs. the Wolverines. Smallwood was named to virtually every defensive award preseason Watch List for the 2013 season, including the Butkus. He was also named to the lists for the: Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award -- both are given to the top defensive player in the country. Smallwood was a first team All-BIG EAST selection in 2012 and led the Huskies in tackles with 120 and was second in tackles for a loss with 15. He had four sacks and two forced fumbles. Smallwood was tied for 20th in the country in tackles per game (10.0) and was third in the BIG EAST.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
He made two against Buffalo (33 and 37 yards) before having a 48-yarder blocked in the third quarter. On October 12 vs. USF, he had a make (32), a miss (49) and one blocked (47). He made a 26-yarder and misses a 47-yarder vs. Cincinnati on October 19. He made a 40-yarder vs. UCF on October 26 and a 35-yarder vs. Lousville. Overall this season, he is 9-15 in field goals with the 40-yarder vs. UCF being the long. He is a perfect 8-8 from inside the 39-yard line, but 1-6 from 40 and longer. He has connected on three of his last five attempts. He connected on three field goals in the win over Louisville on Nov. 24, 2012, including the winning 30-yarder in the third overtime. His other field goals were 39 yards in the first quarter and a 37-yarder in the first overtime. Dating back to the Syracuse game on October 19, 2012 and including the Towson and Maryland games of this year, he had made ten-straight FG attempts. He missed the ’12 season finale vs. Cincinnati due to injury. WAGNER ALREADY IN THE BOOK UConn redshirt senior Cole Wagner (York, Pa.) has already established himself as a top performer in the UConn record books. Wagner is in his third season as the regular UConn punter and he is now second in UConn career history in punting average (min. 80 punts) with a 40.9 average, while the leader is Desi Cullen (2006-09) with 41.1. Wagner is first in career number of punts (297) and first in career yardage (12,154). This season, he has put 14 of his 60 punts inside the 20-yard line and 20 of his punts have been for a fair catch. Wagner was a candidate for the Ray Guy Award, given to the top punter in the country. He is also UConn’s nominee for The Burlsworth Trophy, given to the top player in the country that began his career as a walk-on. Wagner was given a scholarship prior to his redshirt sophomore season of 2011. He owns three of the top ten single-season punting averages in school history, including his 41.3 average from his sophomore year of 2010, which is third. Consecutive Years of Returning a Kickoff/Punt for a Touchdown (Entering 2013) 1.
LSU
12
2.
FIU
10
2.
Ohio State
10
4.
UConn
9
5.
Florida
8
5.
Ole Miss
8
5.
Kansas State
8
8.
Louisiana Tech
7
8.
Oklahoma State
7
10.
UCF
6
11.
Auburn
5
11.
Southern Cal
5
CHRISTEN FG STREAK BROKEN Redshirt senior kicker Chad Christen (Etters, Pa.) missed a 46yard field goal in the third quarter of the Michigan game, which broke a streak of ten-straight FG attempts dating back to last year.
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2013 University of Connecticut Football Game Notes