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EAST HARTFORD - Dave Teggart needed this one. The junior kicker has had his share of struggles this season, and earlier in Saturday's game he had a 47-yard field goal blocked.
Despite recent history, a pair of missed field goals against West Virginia and Rutgers, coach Randy Edsall had no problem sending his kicker out on to the field to attempt a 42-yard field goal as time expired. Edsall's confidence paid off and Teggart gave the Huskies a 29-27 win over South Florida to close out the regular season.
"I have a tremendous amount of confidence in David [Teggart]," Edsall said. "I just wish David had as much confidence in himself as I have."
Teggart relished the opportunity for redemption.
"As a kicker you don't get on the field very much and as you saw I got on the field earlier and had one blocked," Teggart said.
South Florida (7-5, 3-4 Big East) rallied from a 20-7 deficit to take at 27-26 lead with 40 seconds remaining on freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels' third rushing touchdown of the day.
Although the Huskies found themselves staring down another heartbreaking loss, there was no panic on the sidelines. With three timeouts and a situation that his team simulates every week in practice, there was no reason to.
"Those are the things we practice," Edsall said. "And it's good to see the things we practice paying off in the last game."
UConn (7-5, 3-4) took an early lead after senior Andre Dixon scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 12-yard run set up by a 44-yard catch by fellow senior Marcus Easley. Easley capped off his outstanding transformation from former walk-on to No. 1 receiver by going for a career high in receptions with eight and catching his eighth touchdown in as many games.
A botched extra point opened the door for South Florida to take a 7-6 lead on the first of a 14-yard run by Mike Ford who finished the day with 74 yards on 20 carries.
Touchdowns by Easley and Isiah Moore pushed the Huskies lead to 20-7 before two of Daniels' three touchdown runs gave allowed South Florida to take a 21-20 lead in the fourth quarter.
Despite the snowy conditions, Zach Frazer was able to be extremely efficient in the passing game. Frazer finished 20-for-30 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, however, were no interceptions. Frazer's success through the passing game was even more crucial since the Bulls stymied the Huskies usually potent running game.
"I think this is as good as he's played all year," Edsall said.
Frazer calmly led a 11 play, 59-yard touchdown drive capped by a 1-yard run by Dixon that gave the Huskies a 26-21 lead after a failed 2-point conversion. Once again Frazer kept his composure in the fourth quarter, something he's been doing all season long.
"I like the pressure, I like having the game on the line and I like having the ball in my hands," Frazer said. "I feel like our offense works a lot better."
The emotional finish was fitting to a season where UConn has dealt with as much adversity as one team can handle. It even caused the usually reserved Frazer to exhibit an outward display of excitement after Teggart made the kick.
"Everyone carried picked him up and stuff and I just laughed," Frazer said. "It was funny."
The win is the Huskies' third in a row after a series of heartbreaking losses following the death of Jasper Howard. For Edsall, that speaks volumes to the character of his players.
"The thing that sticks out is how these kids didn't succumb to the issues that maybe people thought they couldn't get over," Edsall said. "Going forward this experience has made everybody a much better person, much stronger person and even a much more compassionate person."
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