UConn has allowed Randy Edsall to build his program the right way, Penn State QB battle ongoing and more links

UConn Ivan Maisel from ESPN.com credits UConn administrators for giving coach Randy Edsall the time to build a program the right way … and credits Edsall for doing his job the right way.

Maisel writes: “They brought in Randy Edsall in 1999 and left him alone. They hired a who's-he guy, and a dozen years later, only his wife could pick him out of a lineup. Edsall is starting his 12th season in a program built from his blueprint.”

The Journal-Inquirer has a nice feature on Robbie Frey, a record-setting tailback at his small-town high school who has embraced his role as a special teams specialist for the Huskies.

Notre Dame The impact of Brian Kelly bringing his no-huddle offense to South Bend has extended to Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan.

Al Lesar from the South Bend Tribune reports that Kelly and athletic director Jack Swarbrick have had meetings with NBC Television officials about how the no-huddle offense will change the broadcast of the games.

Lesar sums up the impact pretty well: “Mindless babble and cheesy interludes likely won’t have a place on Notre Dame football broadcasts anymore.”

But the meetings with network executives was a give-and-take affair. Matt Hinton at Yahoo! Sports writes that Kelly wants to make sure his offense isn’t slowed down by NBC’s commercial breaks.

Finally, this report offers a nice compilation of some Irish personnel updates.

UMass It can be tough to find UMass news stories, and I found no needle in the virtual haystack this week. But the school’s official athletic website has a video report on the team’s training camp, which ended with a scrimmage on Wednesday.

Bowling Green After losing 16 senior starters, the Toledo Blade reports that second-year Falcon coach Dave Clawson’s first recruiting class has to step up since there isn’t much left in the team’s junior and sophomore classes.

Indiana Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star predicts Indiana will finish with an 8-4 or 7-5 record and play in a bowl game this year. Even, as he writes, “if it's the Astro-Bluebonnet Pizza Hut Viagra Bowl in Missoula, Mont.”

Why? Mainly because of Indiana’s non-conference schedule: Towson, Western Kentucky, Akron, Arkansas State. “Bill Snyder, the Kansas State coach who loaded up on nonconference creampuffs, would be embarrassed by this chorus of pushovers,” Kravitz writes.

Michigan State First-year running back coach Brad Salem tells MLive.com that he’s excited about his group, which includes sophomores Larry Caper and Edwin Baker along with freshmen Le’Veon Bell and Chelsea High School graduate Nick Hill.

The players agree: "We are way ahead of last year just in knowing the offense and knowing what the other players are doing," Caper said. "Last year, I only knew my assignment. Now, I know what the lineman are doing, my way outs (of trouble), that kind of thing.

The Spartans had the sixth-best rushing offense in the Big Ten last year.

While MLive covers the offensive backfield, the Lansing State Journal has a story about the defensive backfield feeling confident they’ll “plug leaky coverage that surfaced in ’09.”

Iowa Seems like Hawkeye fans are pretty excited about the upcoming season. The university declared its home season sold out on Aug. 6 - believed to be the first time Iowa has sold out prior to the first game - and the Iowa City Press-Citizen says Hawkeye fans pounced on tickets for a road game at Arizona minutes after they became available online.

The same paper previously asked the question: Can the Hawkeyes live up to the hype?

Penn State Like in Ann Arbor, there’s still winner in the battle for Penn State’s starting quarterback spot.

While the three competing for the job - Kevin Newsome, Matt McGloin and Robert Bolden - wish the decision would be made, McGloin told The Daily Collegian that an ongoing competition has its benefits. McGloin says it serves as motivation for him and the other two quarterbacks to keep competing until the end.

Illinois Supo Sanni, who was expected to start at safety, is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon suffered in practice on Wednesday.

Purdue Backup quarterback Caleb TerBush is no longer the backup quarterback. He was ruled academically ineligible by the school on Wednesday. That makes Rob Henry the new backup to Robert Mavre, the West Lafayette Journal and Courier reports.

Wisconsin Sporting News’ daily countdown of the top college football teams stops at No. 8 Wisconsin today.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports on Badger junior free safety Aaron Henry taking his role as “quarterback of the defense” literally. He sits in on meetings between offensive coordinator Paul Chryst and the team’s quarterbacks to ask questions that he thinks will help him play his position better.

Ohio State The Columbus Dispatch says Ohio State’s senior receivers are hearing the footsteps of freshman Corey “Philly” Brown and other young players.

The Buckeyes have also named six captains for the 2010 season, the most since 1982.