ESPN College Football

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Greetings from Rentschler Field on a cool and sunny November morning.

First, the quarterback news: Cody Endres will start for UConn. Endres made his first career start last week in a 40-16 win over Cincinnati, going 18-of-42 passing for 196 yards. Zach Frazer is healthy and is available if Endres falters, but he'll be the backup today.

It should be a good atmosphere here, although the crowd may be a little late-arriving with the noon start. That's especially early for the students, who live nearly 20 miles away in Storrs.

I'll be keeping an eye on the Browns today. You know all about Connecticut's Donald Brown and his talent. UConn defensive end Cody Brown was a beast in the Cincinnati game and could help disrupt the West Virginia offense. And then there's the Mountaineers' Jarrett Brown. He didn't play against Auburn but had been a vital part of the rushing attack the previous few weeks. He's supposed to be healthy, and I'm interested to see how he's used today.

I saw the Huskies play at Louisville earlier this year, and the Cardinals had huge holes to run through, especially in the first three quarters. That can't happen today for UConn, or West Virginia will score at will. I think we'll see a much more solid Connecticut defense that's in the right gaps. The key will be whether defenders can wrap up Pat White and Noel Devine.

Here's a stat that will surprise you: UConn is averaging more total yards (380.6 to 356.9) and points (26.4 to 23.9) than the mighty Mountaineers.

There are never any certainties in this league, but today's winner will have an early upper hand in the conference race. West Virginia would get to 3-0 with a victory, while UConn could improve to 3-1 with wins over Cincinnati and Louisville.

It should be a good one today. Much more to come ...