One area to watch in Saturday's USF-Connecticut game will be kickoff returns, a statistic where in conference play the Huskies have the Big East's best average and the Bulls have the league's worst numbers.

"We've definitely got to get better on the return game," USF coach Jim Leavitt said. "We're not very good on kickoff returns, not like we were last year. It hasn't been very good. We're at the bottom there in the punt returns. Those areas are big, are important. ... Our return game has not been good. It's been poor."

Connecticut is averaging 27.5 yards per kickoff return, with touchdowns against Rutgers and Syracuse, and that doesn't count a 96-yard return for a touchdown against Notre Dame. The touchdowns are from three different Huskes -- Robbie Frey, Largo's Mike Lang and Jordan Todman. USF, meanwhile, has averaged just 18.0 yards per return, with a long of 40 yards in conference play. The Bulls rank 103rd nationally in kickoff returns out of 120 teams in Division I-A.

Receiver Dontavia Bogan set a school record on kickoff returns last season, piling up 770 yards with an average of 26.6, but his average this season is 20.7. The Bulls' numbers on returns would seem to be worse than Leavitt thinks, based on his comments Tuesday.

"Our average, if you change it 3 yards, all the sudden we're in third. It would be in the middle of the pack somewhere," Leavitt said.

Actually, if you add 3 yards to USF's conference average, they're
still in last place, still more than a yard behind seventh-place Louisville.
Leavitt said drops against Rutgers "really hurt us ... if you take the
Rutgers game out of it, it switches a little bit." Yes, a little bit. Without
Rutgers, USF is averaging 19.0 yards per return.

The kickoff return defense is in USF's favor, however -- the Bulls didn't allow a conference returner to gain more than 36 yards on any kickoff return this season, while Connecticut gave up kickoff returns for touchdowns against West Virginia and Rutgers.

Punt returns could also be an issue, as Connecticut is second in the league, thanks largely to Robert McClain's 87-yard return for a touchdown against Cincinnati. USF has totaled 44 yards on nine returns in conference play, and only Pittsburgh has averaged fewer yards on punt returns in the Big East.