Navy junior quarterback Craig Candeto, who had to leave the Notre Dame game after four plays with a sprained left ankle, may not be healthy enough to start this week against Connecticut, according to coach Paul Johnson.

Candeto, the team's leading rusher (143 carries for 635 yards), passer (40 of 87, for 629 yards) and scorer (nine touchdowns), was held out of practice the past two days. Johnson said Candeto's status will likely be up in the air for the remainder of the week.

"Honestly, we don't know [if he'll play]," Johnson said. "The X-rays [on his ankle] were negative, so we'll see."

Johnson said that if Candeto can't practice by tomorrow, backup Aaron Polanco would likely get his first career start. Polanco came in for Candeto against the Irish and nearly led the Midshipmen to an upset before falling, 30-23.

"We have confidence in Aaron if Aaron needs to start," Johnson said.

Navy should also get freshman quarterback Lamar Owens back from a shoulder injury. Owens was inactive for the Notre Dame game, leaving Navy thin at quarterback after Candeto went down.

"I was joking that coach [Ivin] Jasper was going in if Aaron got hurt," Johnson said of his quarterbacks coach. "We probably would have gone with Ryan Moody because he took some snaps last week in practice. It was a little scary."

The situation isn't much better at fullback, where starter Kyle Eckel is being held out of practice with a hyperextended knee and backup Bryce McDonald is also banged up. If neither can play, Johnson said he would go with sophomore Michael Brimage, who has two carries for 12 yards this season.

Here come the Huskies

Navy hasn't faced Connecticut since 1979, but Johnson has seen the Huskies much more recently. In 1998, when Johnson was the head coach at Georgia Southern, his team ended UConn's best season in history with a 52-30 win in the NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinals. Since then, the Huskies have upgraded their program to the Division I-A level and will play a full Big East Conference schedule in 2005.

"I remember we beat them fairly handily in the playoffs," Johnson said. "They are a lot better football team now."

Connecticut has scored 61 and 63 points in its past two games, wins over Florida Atlantic and Kent State.

"I'm impressed with their quarterback [Dan Orlovsky] and tailback [Terry Caulley]," Johnson said. "Defensively, they run well. They have a good football team."

If Caulley's name sounds familiar to people in Maryland, it should. The 5-foot-7 freshman running back was a star at Patuxent High, where he rushed for 2,540 yards and 28 touchdowns his senior year. Against Urbana in the Class 3A state championship, Caulley rushed for 306 yards on 36 carries.

Et cetera

After allowing Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holiday to go 13 of 21 for 272 yards and a touchdown, the Mids have the worst pass efficiency defense in the country, ranking 117th of 117 Division I-A teams. ... Sophomore Aaron Weedo's 45-yard punt return against the Irish was the longest by a Navy player this year. The previous long punt return was 14 yards. ... Navy's 25 penalty yards against Notre Dame tied a season low. ... Teams have converted 12 of 15 times on fourth down this year against Navy.