UConn beats Irish as Weis feels heat

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — After a string of stinging losses, the Connecticut Huskies finally won one for their slain teammate.

Coach Randy Edsall called the Huskies’ double-overtime victory against Notre Dame the program’s “best win.”

On the other side, Charlie Weis was left to try to explain another jarring loss on senior day and wonder if it will be his last game at Notre Dame stadium as Fighting Irish coach.

Andre Dixon scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second overtime to give the Huskies a 33-30 victory, their first since cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed to death last month.

“Jazz this is for you,” Edsall said, referring to Howard by his nickname. “Best win we have ever had.”

Edsall said beating the Irish (6-5) was big, but getting the first win after the death of Howard was much bigger.

“You’ve got to understand what this team has gone through,” he said. “A couple of close games, and then you lose a teammate, you lose a brother, you lose a son, and you’re trying so hard to honor him by winning on the field. We hadn’t done that.”

Edsall said the Huskies will send the game ball to Howard’s mother, Joanglia, stepfather, Henry Williams, and the rest of his family in Miami. The Huskies (5-5) had lost three straight painfully close games since Howard was killed.

“We ended up just making the tough plays at the end that we hadn’t been able to make in some of earlier games,” Edsall said.

The loss was the third straight for Notre Dame (6-5) and will add to the mounting calls for Weis to be fired. Weis declined to talk about that after the game, saying it wasn’t the time.

“Today’s not the day for me to reflect on things like that. I mean today’s the day for me to be worrying about those guys, those 33 guys,” he said, referring to seniors on the roster. “I really feel absolutely miserable for those 33 guys. ... I’ll worry about me tomorrow. But I think today I should be worrying about them.”

Notre Dame was upset last season by Syracuse in the final home game of a 7-6 season.

“It just hurt,” linebacker Brian Smith said. “A lot of seniors lost their last game at Notre Dame Stadium. It’s supposed to be a memorable day for them and now it’s not for the right reason.”

Senior tackle Sam Young, who made his school record 49th straight start, walked out to midfield dressed in a suit after the game and stood there by himself for a while.

The Irish led 14-0 early in the second quarter but didn’t score another touchdown until the first overtime, a change from recent losses when they fell behind and rallies fell short.

“We knew we could come out here and win if we just went and executed and did the things that our God-given ability would allow us to do,” Edsall said.

Jordan Todman ran for 130 yards on 26 carries, including a 43-yard TD run for UConn.