Sunday wrap

Huskies are awaiting their bowl fate.

Randy Edsall would be happy to go to any bowl, but he did say that if Jeff Hathaway wanted him to pick up the phone and do some convincing he would be happy to help out. You see, now it's game time for the University athletic department. There is a need to politic here for a bowl bid. The Huskies can end up from El Paso to Birmingham. And the prestige goes from a lot to a very little.

Now, it's like the schools are playing each other again. USF is already aiming for that Sun Bowl berth. Cincinnati probably has the inside shot. UConn? Edsall wouldn't say if he would be disappointed if the Sun passes, but he does know all the officials.

Hint: He played golf with the Meineke guy in Newport this summer. Has a good relationship. It's a good fit for the Huskies and I would be stunned if the Car Care didn't take UConn regardless of who else is available. The BCS and rankings won't be that far off between UConn, Cincy and USF. All between 23-30 in the polls. Not much separates them.

Edit: I don't like the word stunned I used, I think Cincinnati has an excellent case. Just reading over the post now while I answered a comment. UConn or Cincinnati, whichever one doesn't get into the Meineke gets screwed. How does a top 30 BCS team get into the papajohns.com bowl?

That is a major embarrassment for the conference.

What bothers me is this: UConn went 5-2 and had a stellar and magical campaign and on the last game of the season with a win would probably be staring at a top 12 ranking and the Sugar Bowl. Now, with a loss, they are headed to one of the worst bowls out there? Do you have to go 10-2 in the Big East to get a decent bowl game? That is unreasonable.

How is UConn supposed to ever get in the Sun Bowl or Gator Bowl if in their best season they can't even get into the Car Care bowl? What do they have to do? If they win one more game they are headed to the Sugar Bowl.

And Cincinnati should have a better bowl too. How would you feel if you beat USF and UConn in the last month and because of a loss to the national champion got stuck in Birmingham.

Still, I can't imagine UConn getting passed over three times.

What's the use of the regular season?

If there were adequate bowls, then you can make a case for UConn dropping because they were blown out in two of last three games. But, a three bowl drop when the last bowl is absolutely a terrible game and name is embarrassing.

UConn did finish 5-2 and beat the Sun Bowl team, which it also had a better conference record than and beat head-to-head. Does that mean anything at all? Alone in second place should count for something. Cincinnati beat every other bowl team in conference except the champion.

They have a bigger complaint if they are in the Pizza.

There is no good scenario. Why even bother? Cincy or UConn in Birmingham is a no-win for either team. It does nothing for them. No one is watching, no prestige, no money, and if you win no one cares. You lose? Your terrible.

UConn may not get any reward for winning the games. Gosh, the International and Papajohns.com bowl are even worse than I thought. They are fine as 5th and 6th games in the Big East, not 4th and 5th.

That this is an issue is a travesty. What are Cincinnati and UConn supposed to do? They earned the right for good bowls. One isn't going to get it.

Other notes:

BIG recruiting week, everyone is already on the road and some coaches will be in homes today. Edsall got his wish in this regard. Huskies don't play in December, which Edsall hated the last two years because it hurt recruiting.

Official visits this week. Edsall said he is happy with the verbals so far, but per NCAA cant go into specifics. UConn doesn't have the max scholarships available this year if every scholarship player comes back (unlikely). Edsall wouldn't say how many he is giving out, all he would say "is it is as many as I have too." Some guys won't be back on scholarship.