COLLEGE FOOTBALL Orlovsky, Connecticut are set for WVU tonight

The quarterback has recovered from a tongue injury incurred against Pitt.
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- This was one time Dan Orlovsky's smooth delivery failed him.
His tongue swollen from a bone-jarring tackle in Connecticut's 29-17 win two weeks ago over Pittsburgh, the usually glib senior quarterback had to slur his way through post-game interviews. The words painfully rolled out of his mouth.
For a player whose audibles are almost as important as his arm, the long layoff came at the right time -- after the Huskies had played five games in 25 days.
Now, Orlovsky is speaking clearly and pain-free again as UConn (4-1, 1-1 Big East) prepares to face No. 17 West Virginia (4-1) tonight.
"Against Pittsburgh on the last drive, he probably audibled every play," UConn coach Randy Edsall said.
Orlovsky's ability to read defenses and check off quickly has made him one of the top quarterbacks in the conference. His 10 TD passes lead the Big East and he throws for an average of 278 yards a game, second in the Big East behind Rutgers' Ryan Hart.
"He's probably the best pro prospect in our league at quarterback," Mountaineers coach Rich Rodriguez said. "They can be confident that he'll complete the passes when they're out there."
The Huskies can also count on Orlovsky to switch to plan B in a pinch. The coaching staff doesn't expect him to check off into a game-breaking play each time, just find the right formation to get the Huskies out of trouble.
"If a play goes for 1 yard instead of a negative 5, it's a good play," Orlovsky said. "My job is to put us in good situations and I think I've been doing that a lot this year."
Faces top pass defense
Tonight, he goes up against the leading pass defense in the league, and a Mountaineers team coming off a 19-13 loss at Virginia Tech.
Another sellout crowd of 40,000 is expected at Rentschler Field.
It's the same crowd that rattled Pittsburgh into three straight procedure penalties deep in its own territory.
"Checking at home is difficult because you have to make sure everyone's on the same page," Orlovsky said. "But checking on the road when you have to walk around and say it four or five times ..."
The Mountaineers' no-huddle offense should give them more time at the line of scrimmage to communicate in front of the raucous crowd. West Virginia will be without leading rusher Kay-Jay Harris, who has an injured knee and ankle. Harris is expected to travel with the team, but Rodriguez is doubtful he'll play.
West Virginia enters its Big East opener with a league-leading 247.6 rushing yards a game, and part of that belongs to quarterback Rasheed Marshall. The athletic scrambler has 1,408 career rushing yards and is 154 shy of the Big East record for quarterbacks set by Syracuse's Donovan McNabb.