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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A month into the season Connecticut doesnt look quite as vulnerable as many people thought. Not after beating No. 2 Notre Dame. Not after winning its 83rd straight game.Two days after narrowly earning the top-ranking in The Associated Press poll, the Huskies easily secured that title on the court with a comfortable 72-61 victory over the Fighting Irish on Wednesday night, their third straight victory over a ranked team.Coach Geno Auriemma said the Huskies (8-0) wouldnt know their winning streak stretched to more than two years if not for the media.I would think if this was the first time our program had ever been here, wed be acting a little bit different. You dont want to sound like you dont appreciate it -- but we did win 90 in a row, Auriemma said.Napheesa Collier scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half after playing just nine minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, Gabby Williams had 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and Katie Lou Samuelson added 18 points to pace the Huskies.The Huskies trailed for about 2 minutes in late in the second quarter, but played with the lead most of the game as they controlled the inside, outscoring the Irish 42-30 in the paint and finishing with a 35-32 edge in rebounding.I was really disappointed in everything, execution, the inability to get the ball to Bri. Completely ineffective offensively, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said.Brianna Turner led the Irish (8-1) with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Lindsay Allen added 11 points.After Notre Dame tied it at 42 with just under 2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Huskies forced a pair of turnovers leading to layups by Samuelson and Williams. Collier added a pair of free throws to give Connecticut led 50-43 at the end of the third quarter.We knew they were going to hit us hard at times and we just had to hit back harder, Williams said.Auriemma said that stretch was the key.In that moment when it could have gone into the fourth quarter differently, I think it kept our confidence level high and may have put a damper on them, he said.The Huskies stretched it to 65-54 on a 3-point play by Samuelson with 3:06 left to put the game away.Auriemma said he wont get too excited about the victory.I know this is Dec. 7th and theres a long way to go between now and the end of the season, he said.BIG PICTUREUConn: The Huskies have beaten five ranked teams, including No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Baylor, and have staked their claim as the clear No. 1.Notre Dame: The Irish faced adversity for the first time this season and couldnt respond as they struggled, going 3 of 14 on 3-pointers and making just 4 of 8 free throws. The Irish lost to the Huskies for a sixth straight time and have work to do if they hope to challenge Connecticut by the end of the season. No one on the roster has ever beaten the Huskies.POLL IMPLICATIONS:Two days after narrowly passing the Irish in the poll, the Huskies showed there is no doubt who deserves to be No. 1. The Irish lost to the Huskies by the same score as Baylor, so it could be a tossup as far as who is No. 2 next week.TIP-INS: The game marked the 57th time the top-rated team in The Associated Press poll faced No. 2. The No. 1 team is 36-21. ... The last time UConn was No. 1 and lost to a No. 2 was against Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament semifinal in 2001, when the Irish rallied back after trailing by 16 points in the first half to beat the Huskies 90-75 en route to the national championship. ... The Huskies have won 27 straight road games. The record is 30 straight set by UConn (2007-11) and matched by Notre Dame (2011-15). ... The Huskies have won34 straight against ACC teams.UP NEXTUConn: The Huskies stay on the road to play at Kansas State, ending a streak of three straight games against ranked teams. They then play No. 12 Ohio State in Storrs on Dec. 19.Notre Dame: The Irish, who have played only one true road game, play six straight on the road starting Saturday at No. 16 DePaul. They are then off for finals until playing at Toledo on Dec. 18.Auston Trusty Jersey . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Eric Wynalda Jersey . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/411j-marlon-fossey-jersey-usa.html . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. USA Soccer Pro Shop . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Daniel Lovitz Jersey . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51.(STATS) -- For fans of the triple option, theres a single choice for which FCS playoff pod to watch over the next two weeks.May the Palmetto State team that runs best win.Charleston Southern and Wofford bring two of the nations top rushing attacks into Saturdays playoff opener in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where the winner will earn a trip back down I-26 to face another mirror image in The Citadel.These programs have played 13 times since 1993, with the 19th-ranked Terriers (8-3, 6-2 Southern Conference) coming out on top in all of them. They havent met since 2010, though, and with No. 10 Charleston Southerns revival since Jamey Chadwells arrival, Wofford has yet to see the Buccaneers (7-3, 4-1 Big South) at their best.Theyre set to meet again in the regular season in 2017, but the stakes wont be nearly as high as they are Saturday.I dont care about 0 and 13, Chadwell said. I dont think that has a bearing on this game. I know Wofford is really good and really tough at home, so we have to do our best to get ready to play this game.We know well be in Charleston the second week, for sure.Chadwells referring to the team waiting with a bye in the Charleston Southern-Wofford pod. That would be SoCon champ The Citadel (10-1, 8-0), which is a 17-mile drive downtown from his schools North Charleston campus.The Bulldogs rallied from 13 down in the third quarter to beat the Terriers 24-21 in overtime Oct. 22 and have plenty of history with the Buccaneers as well. The local rivals played each year from 2012-15 and met again in last seasons playoffs, with Charleston Southern winning that one and the previous three in the regular season. They didnt meet in 2016 and wont next year, but renewed the series for four games starting in 2018 -- all to be played at The Citadels Johnson-Hagood Stadium instead of the smaller Buccaneer Field.That didnt sit well with Chadwell, who would love a chance to force the rivalry to be renewed ahead of schedule. The Citadel didnt seem nearly as enthused about having to face a very familiar opponent following its bye week.When its the playoffs, you look for some different opponents, Bulldogs coach Brent Thompson said. You want to get some people to travel in and maybe work outside (the norm) a little bit. But it is what it is, and we have to win the state of South Carolina aat this point.ddddddddddddThat probably means winning the ground game. Each team runs a variation of the triple option, and they run it well. Shane Bucenell and Charleston Southern typically operate out of the shotgun, which is a bit of an oddity until you see that the Bucs average an FCS-best 6.2 yards per carry. Mike Holloway gains 8.8 per rush, nearly a yard better than anyone in the subdivision with at least 90 carries.The Citadel is first in the FCS in rushing attempts (721) by a mile and second in yards per game (358.5). Wofford is third in the former (632) and fifth in the latter (295.8). Both are allergic to the forward pass, with a combined total number of attempts (206) that would rank 117th of the 125 FCS teams.While there was no mystery with Charleston Southerns spot in the 24-team field for being a conference winner, Wofford had to sweat things out a bit. Ultimately a record four SoCon teams made it in, with the Terriers in the field for the first time since 2012.It has been a while for us and I think I was the only freshman that went to the playoff game, senior running back Will Gay said. I definitely thought that we would make the playoffs and seeing that we finally made it I really appreciate it. ... When I saw Samford (picked on the selection show), I started to wonder if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Then we were next on the screen and we are excited.The Buccaneers had a pretty good tuneup for Wofford in their regular-season finale. Chadwells team needed to beat Kennesaw State to get into the playoffs and it did so with relative ease, holding the highly efficient Owls option to just 3.7 yards per carry and picking off four passes in a 28-7 win.In four games against the triple option the past two seasons -- two each against Kennesaw and The Citadel -- Charleston Southern is 4-0 and has allowed just 3.7 yards per carry.I think the tough parts over because this was expected, Chadwell said after his team sealed its spot. What you do going forward is sort of gravy. Were probably still gonna be underdogs because of coming from this conference as a one-bid league and having the loss.(But) when you get in the dance, man, great things can happen. ' ' '