VS. 
Following a regular season marred by tragedy, Connecticut will get one more opportunity to win in honor of a slain teammate. With the memory of Jasper Howard still prevalent, the Huskies meet South Carolina for the first time Jan. 2 at the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala.
2:00 PM ET, January 2, 2010
Legion Field , BIRMINGHAM, AL
ESPN
South Carolina Gamecocks finished tied with Kentucky for fourth in the SEC East, and its 261 points were second-fewest in the division ahead of last-place Vanderbilt. After a 6-2 start, including an upset of then-No.4 Mississippi in late September, the Gamecocks lost by double digits to Tennessee, Arkansas and former No.1 Florida before closing the season with a 34-17 win over then-No.15 Clemson on Nov. 28. Still, coach Steve Spurrier was pleased his team was invited to go to Legion Field, where he has some history. The 1966 Heisman Trophy winner played there while in the USFL in the 1980s, and guided Florida to SEC title games there in 1992 and 1993. South Carolina has a talented roster on offense, those players are QB Stephen Garcia, QB Reid McCollum, RB Kenny Miles, RB Brian Maddox, WR Alshon Jeffery and WR Moe Brown. These players are playing at their best level, although they have been struggling with inconsistency they could win this game easily.
Connecticut Huskies season changed Oct. 18 when CB Justin Howard, a starting player and expectant father, was stabbed to death during a fight outside a school-sponsored dance. Hours earlier, Howard starred in a 38-25 victory over Louisville. He had a career-high 11 tackles and forced a fumble just as the Cardinals threatened to score with the Huskies leading 21-13 in the third quarter. Connecticut with a record of 7-5 posted three straight close losses — two were against ranked foes West Virginia and Cincinnati — before a late surge. Following victories at Notre Dame and home against Syracuse, the Huskies closed the regular season Dec. 5 by beating South Florida 29-27 on Dave Teggart’s 42-yard field goal as time expired. Having one of the best running-back tandems in the nation has helped. RB Jordan Todman (1,201 yards) was second in the Big East with 14 rushing touchdowns, one more than RB Andre Dixon (988 yards). Connecticut likely needs that ground game to continue its solid production because the passing game is less than stellar. QB Zach Frazer, who only regained the starting job when QB Cody Endres suffered a season-ending knee injury in October, has completed only 54.3 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions in seven games. basically all Connecticut has to do is run the ball the same way they have done this year and defend like crazy , they could get it done if they really apply themselves. Other players in offense are WR Marcus Easley and WR Kashif Moore and they could see few passes since as I pointed out the key for the game will be to run the ball, not to throw it.
GAME ODDS
SOUTH CAROLINA -4½
CONNECTICUT 51½
CONNECTICUT IS LOOKING TO REDEEMED THEIR LOST PLAYER AND SOUTH CAROLINA WILL NOT MAKE IT EASY ON THEM. THE HUSKIES WILL RUN THE BALL AND WILL WAIT FOR THE DEFENSE TO PICK UP SOMETHING, IT COULD BE A VERY DEFENSIVE GAME BUT THE FACT IS THAT SOUTH CAROLINA LOOKS BETTER AND THEY WILL END UP KILLING CONNECTICUT. MY PICK WILL BE SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS -4½.
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