The Importance of Rentschler and UCONN fans 9/13/2008

[Carl Spackler]

2008/09/13 Connecticut 45 Virginia 10



I know there are folks around here that were there. Roll call your response if you were there. It was a great night. Warm September evening. We destroyed a Virginia team with a lot of young coaches, and some old that came up to visit.

It was as great environment at the stadium. The opposing team rolled in with their buses, and saw, what everybody sees the first time coming to play us at home....they saw the Rentschler field experience. The felt it on the field.

Bob Diaco was there, and it appears that there will be more folks on our coaching staff that were there. They know what UCONN football can, and should look like, and perform.

We can get back there. Fans will do their part, I'm sure. I will be there in the fall, and I was there that night. Who knows what new young coach we might make an impression on next year.

 

[History Geek]

This was my first UConn football game at the Rent. It was an amazing night. I flashed right back to it when Coach Diaco mentioned his experience during a previous visit and then saw he was part of the UVA staff that year.

 

[ZooCougar]

I was there. Wondered the whole game if we were really good or if UVA was just really bad. We had a pretty good night the next week against Baylor.

 

[MattMang23]

Yep. I was there. Don't remember much. Probably came in about mid-second quarter and left about early fourth. But I was there.

 

[sportsart]

All I remember was Tyler looked like a Heisman candidate and Donald....well he looked like Donald. I remember saying to myself.....WTF

 

[J187Money]

I was there. Great time.

 

[Carl Spackler]

it's fair to say that everybody was surprised. I was for sure, and clearly I'm not alone. Virginia had no idea literally what hit them, and really they didn't have much to go on to expect that either. No excuse, but I guarantee that Virginia team came to Rentschler unprepared for what they got. Prior to that game, we had just lost to Temple, frigging Temple, again, and we closed out the 2007 season with the 66 point disaster at Morgantown and the Wake Forest bowl game loss.

 

[noeynox]

I was on my honeymoon in Maui. Could not believe the score when it flashed on the ticker. Had a nice conversation about CFB with some USC season ticket holders that were vacationing down there. They were aware of UConn from our WBB program.

Also the highlights from that game looked like the highlights from big time programs. Huge offensive plays, and the crowd going crazy.

 

[hardcorehusky]

They had gotten us the year before 17-16 @UVA and all I wanted was revenge for a game we could have won. Mission accomplished! It was a good night at the Rent, reminded me of the night when we beat Pitt @ night in our first year in the Big East

 

[Dooley]

I was there in pure blackout form so I recall bits and pieces of that game. I know we crushed them and I know that I didn't have a voice for a week after that one (per the usual).

 

[sdhusky]

 

[Waquoit]

I have to say UVa had the best visiting fans I've come across in The Rent. I put out an open invite to their fans on their message board and had a few takers. The best were a couple of older guys I met in front of Gate C. I showed them where our tailgate was and they said they would meet us there shortly. But they had spied the Jack Daniels flag in the Blue Lot and said, "You have to figure that someone flying the Jack Daniels flag would have some JD with them. I think we are going to introduce ourselves." A little while later they made it to our party impressed with the hospitality they were shown.

 

[upstater]

No excuse, but I guarantee that Virginia team came to Rentschler unprepared for what they got.

That may be true, but the prior year, UConn lost to Virginia 17-16 at Charlottesville, and I believe UConn even missed a crucial field goal. So they knew this game at UConn could be a loss, but certainly not 45-10.

 

[kibblesnbits]

That night was about as good as it gets at the Rent - beautiful weather, nighttime atmosphere and an outstanding performance by the home team. I've been to a lot of football games from high school to the NFL, but that was one of the best all around experiences I can remember.

 

[BoatShow]

Look at the pocket around the 1:30 mark. Damn those were the days.

 

[gabect]

I remember being happy that we avenged our ACC loss to Wake in Charlotte.

 

[PAGS]

Pic from that night from the ESPN passport app, had to check to see if I was there...don't remember (early onset dementia) but it looked like a great crowd. Virginia went 5-7 that year with wins over UNC, ECU, Maryland, GT and Richmond. Lost to (us of course) Wake, Duke, Clemson, VT, The U, and USC

 

[rich1122]

In 2007 went to VA. Sat next to Lorenzen's father. All I can remember is Lou Allen trying 3 times to get 2 lousy yards. DJ fumble before half. Was a long ride home. The 2008 game was my revenge.

 

[coachcap]

I remember being so incredulous that we had such an easy time with them compared to the year previous. It was a fun night & the post game tailgate rocked.

 

[RedSoloCup]

I am having dementia as well… I cannot remember that game though I have yet to watch the DBrown video

 

[Carl Spackler]

That may be true, but the prior year, UConn lost to Virginia 17-16 at Charlottesville, and I believe UConn even missed a crucial field goal. So they knew this game at UConn could be a loss, but certainly not 45-10.

Fair enough, but human beings are human beings - and if young Virginia coaches such as Bob Diaco, et. al., were breaking down our previous game film, and chances are they were, what they would have seen going back to the previous November, was the loss to Wake in the muffler bowl, the 66 point blitzkrieg we gave up to West Virginia, yet another piss poor game against Temple, and I think we opened that season with Hofstra - which doesn't really count. Dammit - now I have to go back and look....wait...

nope we beat temple that year 12-9 on field goals in OT, I remember the game now. Rain. Lots of rain. Seems like a loss in my memory. We opened with Hofstra, and lost 3 of our last 4 games in 2007, in bad fashion. I really do miss Syracuse the most from the old big east - always could count on that win.

I think it's fair to conclude that Virginia came into UCONN's home stadium unprepared, and got stomped. A good lesson that hopefully all those young coaches learned from.

 

[HuskyDevil]

They had gotten us the year before 17-16 @UVA and all I wanted was revenge for a game we could have won. Mission accomplished! It was a good night at the Rent, reminded me of the night when we beat Pitt @ night in our first year in the Big East

I was at both too...that game in Charlottesville was awful, neither team wanted the win.

 

[Ryan Phalen]

Got there after we left early from Yankee Stadium to make it in before kickoff- took two friends who hadn't been before, gorgeous September night in the student section where we got quite the view with the girls next to us.

 

[BoatShow]

What about the fans UConn vs BYU 8/28/2014. Need a sell out. Need a win.

 

[huskypantz]

That game was unreal. In some ways, reminded me of the 77-36 shellacking we gave (ranked around 15) UVA in bball BACK IN 93. It was just an absolute slaughter in all aspects of the game. 28-0 at halftime and that's only because we had the ball 4 times.