The 2009 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut as a member of the Big East Conference during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by 11th-year head coach Randy Edsall, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 3–4 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for fourth in the Big East. Connecticut was invited to the PapaJohns.com Bowl, where the Huskies defeated South Carolina. The team played home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.

Schedule

Preseason Coaching changes Connecticut lost its offensive coordinator of the previous three years when Rob Ambrose left the school to become the head coach at Towson. He will be replaced by Joe Moorhead, who was hired from Akron, where he held the same position.

Key losses 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.

Recruiting On February 4, 2009, Randy Edsall announced that 21 student-athletes had signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Connecticut. Three— Keensen Chambers, Jesse Joseph and Trevardo Williams—entered Connecticut in January to participate in spring practice.

Spring practice Connecticut kicked off spring practice with the first of fifteen practices on March 17, 2009. Among the priorities set by the coaching staff are to have the team learn the newly installed up-tempo offensive game plan, determine how the running backs would replace Donald Brown, and take steps in determining who would replace Tyler Lorenzen as the starting quarterback.

The annual Blue-White Spring Game, which concludes spring practice, was held on April 18, 2009 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT. The game featured a modified scoring system, which would pit the offense directly against the defense. The offense prevailed, 83–57.

Awards watchlists The players listed below have been named to the following preseason award watch lists.

Doak Walker Award: Andre Dixon, Senior Jordan Todman, Sophomore

Ted Hendricks Award: Lindsey Witten, Senior

Lou Groza Award: David Teggart, Sophomore

Chuck Bednarik Award: Scott Lutrus, Junior

Game summaries Ohio

The Huskies were led by 157 yards rushing from Jordan Todman, as they defeated the Ohio Bobcats 23–16 in front of a record crowd at Peden Stadium. They were able to overcome four turnovers and a missed field goal with a solid running game and stout defense.

UConn opened the scoring with a four-yard touchdown pass from Zach Frazer to fullback Anthony Davis in the first quarter. The score culminated a 91-yard drive which began following an Ohio turnover. The Bobcats found the scoreboard for the first time in the second quarter when quarterback Boo Jackson found Taylor Price for a 43-yard touchdown. The Huskies, however, answered with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Frazer to Brad Kanuch on the subsequent drive. Lindsey Witten sacked new Ohio quarterback, Theo Scott in the endzone for a safety to provide the only scoring in the third quarter. A four-yard touchdown run from Todman increased the Huskies lead to 23–7. The Bobcats attempted to make a fourth quarter comeback with a touchdown pass from Scott to Riley Dunlop, and a 50-yard field goal from Matt Weller. However, the comeback was thwarted when the Huskies recovered an onside kick with under three minutes in the game.

Andre Dixon joined Todman by also rushing for 100 yards. It was the first time that two Huskies rushed for 100 yards in the same game since November 11, 2006, in a double overtime win against Pittsburgh.

After the victory, game balls were awarded to Dixon (offense), Witten (defense) and Robbie Frey (special teams).

For his performance, Lindsey Witten was awarded the Big East Defensive Player of the Week. Jordan Todman was named to the weekly honor roll.

The game was the second and final in a two-game series between the two schools. The first game of the series was played on September 21, 2002 at Memorial Stadium in Storrs, Connecticut. Connecticut is 2–0 all time against Ohio.

North Carolina

Aided by a late holding penalty which resulted in a safety, the North Carolina Tar Heels escaped their first visit to Rentschler Field with a narrow 12–10 victory. Both teams were powered by stout defenses and provided rough going for both offenses.

The Huskies reached the scoreboard first when David Teggart kicked a 47-yard field goal at the end of the first half. Following Twyon Martin's first career interception, the Huskies scored the game's first touchdown on a four-yard run by Jordan Todman. However, North Carolina quickly responded in the fourth quarter with a 22-yard field goal, and, after a Huskies punt, followed with a two-yard touchdown pass from T. J. Yates to Zack Pianalto, which tied the game at 10.

Facing a third and long from their own eight-yard line, the Huskies' Dan Ryan was called for a holding penalty in the end zone, resulting in a safety, and a two-point Tar Heel lead. UConn's Alex Molina recovered the ensuing on-side kick, but the Huskies were unable to score.

The Huskies' Lindsey Witten recorded four sacks, bringing his season total to seven through two games and placing him first in the FBS in that category. He was named to the Big East weekly honor roll for his performance.

Injuries played a large role in the game for the Huskies. They played without starting linebacker, Scott Lutrus, who was out with a shoulder injury. During the game, starting quarterback, Zach Frazer, and starting tight end, Ryan Griffin were both lost to injuries.

The game was the second and final in a two-game series between the two schools. The first game of the series was played on October 4, 2008 at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Connecticut is 0–3 all time against North Carolina.

Baylor

The Huskies overcame multiple injuries to defeat the Baylor Bears 30–22. They were led by a strong rushing game, led by the tandem of Andre Dixon and Jordan Todman, and a stout defense. Dixon scored his first touchdown since 2007, and had his first multi touchdown game as he rushed for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns. The UConn defense was able to force three Bear turnovers, and held vaunted Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin in check for most of the game.

For the second time in three games in 2009, the Huskies had two rushers eclipse the 100-yard mark, as Todman gained 103 yards.

UConn played the game without starting quarterback Zach Frazer, tight end Ryan Griffin and linebacker, Scott Lutrus missed his second consecutive game with a shoulder injury.

After the victory, game balls were awarded to Dixon, Lawrence Wilson, Desi Cullen and Jasper Howard. Dixon was also named to the Big East's weekly honor roll.

The game was the second and final in a two-game series between the two schools. The first game of the series was played on September 19, 2008 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. Connecticut is 2–0 all time against Baylor.

Rhode Island

The Huskies overcame seven fumbles to beat Rhode Island 52–10 before a crowd of 38,620 at Rentschler Field. The game was the 1000th played in Connecticut football history, which dates back to 1896.

Three Huskies set career highs in the game – Redshirt sophomore quarterback Cody Endres (Washington, Pa.) set career-highs in completions and passing yards and threw the first two touchdowns of his career. Sophomore wide receiver Michael Smith (Houston, Texas), who set career standards with eight catches and 82 receiving yards. Sophomore running back Jordan Todman, who rushed for 70 yards on 15 carries and registered a career-best three rushing touchdowns.

For his performance, Lawrence Wilson was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll. The Huskies improved to 3–1 on the season, while the Rams dropped to 1–2 with the loss.

Pittsburgh

UConn took a 21–6 lead with 3:56 to go in the third quarter after Andre Dixon scored on a two-yard run that capped an eight-play, 61-yard drive. The Panthers then came right back to make it 21–13 as they had an eight-play 74-yard TD drive in the final moments of third quarter. Stull completed a 26-yard TD pass to Jonathan Baldwin for the score. Pittsburgh tied the game at 21–21 with 7:35 to go on a 27-yard TD pass by Stull to Dorin Dickerson. In the final seconds of the game, University of Pittsburgh kicker Dan Hutchins knocked in an 18-yard field goal to give the Panthers the 24–21 comeback lead and the victory in front of 44,893 at Heinz Field.

Despite the loss, and largely due to his two interceptions and one touchdown, Robert Vaughn was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week. Connecticut dropped to 3–3 all time against Pittsburgh.

Louisville

In the homecoming game the Huskies scored in every quarter to win the game 38–25. Senior running back Andre Dixon ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns and Connecticut beat Louisville for the Huskies first Big East win of the season. Another Husky who had a great game was junior cornerback Jasper Howard, who had 11 tackles and recovered a fumble.

It would prove to be Howard's last game. He was stabbed to death at an official function in UConn's Student Union just after 12:30 am the next morning.http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-football/hc-uconn-stabbing-jasper-howard-1018,0,69181.story

With a season high 16 tackles, Lawrence Wilson was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week, the second consecutive recognition for a Husky. Andre Dixon was named to the weekly honor roll. Connecticut improved to 3–3 all-time against Louisville and 3–2 in Big East Conference contests against the Cardinals.

West Virginia

The game had an emotional start as there was a moment of silence for Connecticut junior cornerback Jasper Howard. Following the moment of silence both teams had a pregame handshake at midfield. The Huskies had a sticker of Jasper's initials put on each of their helmets to honor him. West Virginia got off to a quick 7–0 lead as Tavon Austin returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in the fastest score against the Huskies in the FBS era. UConn then scored the next 10 points of the game as Jordan Todman scored his seventh TD of the season on a five-yard run that wrapped up a nine-play, 67-yard drive with 5:46 left in the first quarter. UConn took a 17–14 lead into halftime. A 56-yard touchdown run by Noel Devine with 2:10 remaining in the game gave West Virginia a 28–24 lead and the victory over the University of Connecticut football team before a crowd of 58,106 at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Rutgers

Just like in the previous game against West Virginia, UConn had the lead in the fourth quarter but with 22 seconds left in the game Tim Brown scored on an 81-yard pass from Tom Savage to give Rutgers a 28–24 victory. The loss drops the Huskies to 4–4 on the season, 1–3 in conference play. The Scarlet Knights improve to 6–2, 1–2 in league action.

Robbie Frey was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll after the game.

Cincinnati