Some postgame notes:

• Edsall wouldn't comment on the issue, but Cody Endres said he found out on Tuesday that he would be getting the start today. Not exactly a shock, considering Edsall was meeting with the doctors and trainers on Tuesday afternoon. Cody said all the extra work in practice helped, because "I knew what we were doing and I knew what (Cincinnati) was doing."

• Whenever UConn wins an opening coin toss, Edsall usually opts to defend. Not today. Edsall said they wanted to get Endres out there right away to end any anxiousness he might have, and so he wouldn't have to take the field possibly playing from behind.

• Endres attempted 42 passes, completing 18 for 196 yards and no touchdowns. The amount was part of the game plan because UConn feared Cincinnati's run defense more. Endres overthrew his receivers quite a bit, but was poised and in control the whole time. He was rarely under pressure either, credit to the offensive line. "Nobody on this team cares about who's hurt or who's playing," Edsall said.

• Cody Brown was a monster. His final stat line: three tackles, two sacks, two tackles for losses, two forced fumbles, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery. He's also about to take over the title of go-to interview guy. "I don't know what it was, I just felt dominant today for some reason," Brown said, before breaking into laughter. "I did some extra bench reps this week with Keith Gray. Maybe that helped out a little bit."

• Before the year, Cody Brown said Cincinnati was one of the games he had circled on his calendar. Why? The Bearcats dominance over UConn the past few seasons. In 2005 and last season, Cincinnati's defense simply bullied the Huskies, the offense had their way, and weren't shy about letting them know about it in the most obnoxious way possible (hello, Ben Mauk). "We focused a lot on how physical they were," Brown said. "I felt they were more physical other years. This year they weren't as physical. ... But Cincinnati liked to trash talk, their crowds boo us, they played real physical and hurt us. We wanted to show them what playing physical was all about." Mission accomplished.

• Some of the numbers I circled on my copy of the quickie stats: UConn ran 78 offensive plays, 42 passes and 36 runs (real balance). Cincinnati committed six turnovers (three fumbles, two on special teams, and threw three picks). The Bearcats were 0-for-14 on third-down conversions and 0-for-2 on fourth-down conversions, which is astounding.

• Donald Brown ran 27 times for 150 yards and two touchdowns, and now holds the single-season record for most rushing yards, passing Tory Taylor's mark of 1,261. After eight games, he's now at 1,324 yards and 14 touchdowns, and has at least 150 in every game but one (when he ran for 107 against Rutgers). Sixty-nine of his yards came on the drive in the fourth quarter that sealed the win. Brown's reaction to being told of the record: "What? That's news to me."

• Rob Lunn was listed by Edsall as day-to-day with, I kid you not, an "upper extremity injury". Is it a finger? His nose? Scalp? Even the paranoid NHL coaches aren't that vague. Zach Frazer will also be day-to-day this week. He was cleared to be the backup holder today, but he wasn't playing QB.

• Interesting call by UConn on 3rd-and-9 in the closing seconds of the third quarter. The score was still 17-16 at the time, and UConn was driving into a heavy wind. Instead of running the ball to let the clock run out, either forcing Cincinnati to call a time out or get the wind when they switched ends to start the fourth, UConn passed. Teggart wound up drilling a 47-yarder into the stiff wind that was quite impressive. Edsall said the Huskies' were simply throwing to try and get a first down there, but I'm still not convinced they should have kept the clock moving there despite what Teggart did. "He made me look good, that's for sure," Edsall said.

• A huge stop that may ultimately overlooked is when UConn held Cincinnati to a field goal after Desi Cullen's punt was blocked after the Huskies went 3-and-out on their opening offensive series. A touchdown there could have easily set a negative tone and a "here we go again" attitude that would have been tough to overcome. "That was huge in the game," Edsall said. "Not that it would have deflated us, but it would have been a downer."

• UConn's win may have saved its Big East title dreams, for sure. With USF and Pitt losing at the moment, the Huskies will be playing West Virginia for a share of first place next weekend. "If we lose this game, it could have ended up being a long season," Donald Brown said. The Huskies are also bowl eligible for the second successive season.