Right back in the bowl picture

The most significant UConn football weekend in program history had a special beginning.

The Huskies arrived in South Bend for a late Friday afternoon walk-through and were greeted by nearly 300 cheering fans outside a tunnel leading into the end zone entrance at Notre Dame Stadium.

"We pulled up (to the stadium), all the UConn fans were there, and that surprised all of us," coach Randy Edsall said. "It was a really nice gesture and made us really feel at home."

A day later, the Huskies really made themselves at home by overcoming an early 14-0 deficit to stun Notre Dame, 33-30, when Andre Dixon ran 4 yards for a touchdown in the second overtime.

"Notre Dame has a lot of tradition, so it feels good to come in and get a win," defensive end Lindsey Witten said. "A lot of teams come in for the first time and don't come off the field victorious."

But UConn (5-5), which ended a three-game losing streak and moved within a win of becoming bowl eligible for the third straight season, was able to pull off the upset because it survived Notre Dame's quick start, came up with big plays in all three phases - offensive, defense and special teams - and overcame some late-game mistakes that have haunted them all season.

Two involved holding penalties inside the Irish 10 that negated touchdown runs by Dixon in the same drive - one against wide receiver Marcus Easley and the other against fullback Anthony Sherman - and forced the Huskies to settle for Dave Teggart's 29-yard field goal with 1:10 remaining that tied the game at 20-20.

Then, after Robert Vaughn recovered an Armando Allen fumble with 21 seconds later, Teggart pulled 37-yard field goal attempt left on the final play of regulation that would have given UConn the win.

Edsall said Sunday that he found a text message from Big East supervisor of officials Terry McAulay waiting from him Saturday night when the team arrived at Bradley International Airport saying "neither one of the offensive holding calls was a foul."

Edsall's response: "Just like coaching, officiating is a tough business."

UConn's response on the field was even better. The Huskies scored touchdowns on both of their overtime possessions, the first on Zach Frazer's 11-yard touchdown pass to Kashif Moore and the second on Dixon's last carry.

It was fitting that the history-making touchdown would come on a run, too, because UConn's offensive line dominated the Irish all afternoon, allowing both Dixon (20 carries, 114 yards) and Jordan Todman (26 for 130) to both surpass 100 yards.

Edsall rewarded the entire line - center Moe Petrus, guards Zach Hurd, Erik Kuraczea and Mathieu Olivier, and tackles Mike Hicks and Mike Ryan - with game balls on Sunday. Olivier replaced Kuraczea in the second quarter after the redshirt freshman from Ansonia suffered a lower leg injury. Kuraczea is questionable for this Saturday's Big East game against Syracuse at Rentschler Field (noon).

The other game balls went to tackle Kendall Reyes (one sack, one forced fumble) on defense and Todman (96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown) on special teams.

"You can't even explain how important this victory was to us," said Scott Lutrus, who combined with fellow outside linebacker Lawrence Wilson for 30 tackles. "With everything we've been through this season, it's a real emotional win for this program.

"To come into this environment and pull out a win … it was really special."