Connecticut 9-3 (5-2), 1st Big East
vs
Wake Forest 8-4 (5-3), 2nd Atlantic Coast - Atlantic
December 29, 1:00 pm, ESPN
In the 2006 season, Wake Forest won the ACC and played in the Orange Bowl against Louisville, so anything less than that had to be a little bit of a let down for Demon Deacon fans. Connecticut was almost the Wake Forest of 2007. The Huskies lost to West Virginia or they would've been the surprise team to head to a BCS game this season. These two teams clash in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, and it should be an interesting game to say the least.
The Huskies lost 3 games, all of which to teams that are in bowl games. They knocked of South Florida when the Bulls were ranked #2 in the country. Although two of their wins (Temple & Louisville) have a bit of controversy surrounding them, their season is still an impressive one. Andre Dixon and Donald Brown II lead a rushing offense that amasses 165 yards per game on the ground. At quarterback, Tyler Lorenzen isn't flashy, but steady as he threw for 2269 yards, 13 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions. If there is a weakness on the offense, it is the offensive line who has given up 28 sacks, that is second in the Big East. On defense, the Huskies only gave up more than 20 points twice in the entire season and their pass defense is 15th in the country.
Wake Forest is a team that looks to its defense to win games. The Demon Deacons are below average in both their rushing and passing attack. Sophomore Riley Skinner threw for 1900 yards but had 12 interceptions to only 11 touchdowns in his 10 contests. On defense, Wake Forest's defensive line is strong and fast. They are 16th in the country against the run, but 78th against the pass. In their secondary Alphonso Smith has 8 interceptions and Aaron Curry has 4, and they have combined in 6 touchdowns from those interceptions. For Wake to win, this must be a low scoring affair.
One common opponent between the two has been Virginia, each lost to the Cavs by the same score 17-16. Wake Forest uses the scheme where they don't take any chances on offense and hopes their defense puts them in position to score some points. They like to capitalize against opponents who make a lot of mistakes but going against a team that is 7th in the country in turnover margin, those mistakes by the Huskies might be few and far between. Connecticut, behind a solid quarterback will win this one.
Connecticut 20 Wake Forest 10
Picking Connecticut to Win (44%)
ITB Brian Sakowski, Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, Rizzo Sports, MizzouRAH, The Enlightened Spartan, Football Frontier, Corn Nation, Jason Stiver, Cyril Tircuit, Lou Nemec, Lorena The Dodgerchick, Richard Dixon, Brian Isaacson, Jeff Brancolini
Picking Wake Forest to Win (56%)
ITB Charlie Swager, ITB Ron Juckett, Pitch Right, MidWest Coast Bias, Kansas It's Business Time, Sportsbone TV, Bastard Sons of Pinfall Marks, The LSC Scoop, Mrs Corn Nation, Dan Schoonover, Pete Boivin, Rodney Polston, Greg Gowins, Sunny Verma, Matt Kieta, Timmy B, Brant Chruscial, Logan Jaffe
