Blindside hit

They will play a game in Lawrence, Kan., where Oklahoma will visit the Kansas Jayhawks without starting quarterback Sam Bradford, who reinjured his shoulder last week against Texas.

They will play a game in Cincinnati, where the unbeaten and fifth-ranked Bearcats, probably without quarterback Tony Pike, who injured his left hand last week against South Florida, will face Louisville.

And they will play a game in Morgantown, W.Va., where the Mountaineers will host the University of Connecticut. The Huskies will show up. After that, there are no guarantees.

No one, including UConn coach Randy Edsall, knows where his team will be mentally.

Big-time college football is big business. It is a tough and sometimes unforgiving sport. Players get hurt every week. It is part of the business. Teams and coaches adjust.

But UConn stepped into the harsh world of reality when junior cornerback Jasper Howard was fatally stabbed during a fight outside a university-sanctioned dance early Sunday morning.

There are no instructions in the coaching manual on how to deal with this. Edsall has gone through the week the was his players have - in a daze of grief, disbelief, and shock.

Edsall is one of the rising stars among college coaches. This week he did what a good coach and good person does in the wake of a tragedy. He offered a shoulder to lean on. But by the middle of the week he offered his players another avenue to channel their grief: on the field, where they could focus on something other than what happened early Sunday morning.

All of this is surreal. UConn had put together a 38-25 homecoming win against Louisville that afternoon. The mood was festive among the UConn players, who know they are on the verge of having a very good team. A university-sponsored party on campus is not like going into Hartford and having trouble find you in the wee hours of the morning.

Many of the football players were just chilling out when a fire alarm went off in the student union and about 300 people were forced to evacuate the building.

And that atmosphere was the spark for what has been described as a fight.

“When I hear, ‘Fight,’ I usually think of people throwing fists,’’ said Edsall. “Now, I think you probably get 300 people together, sometimes there is probably going to be some verbal jostling going on.’’

Whatever happened, it ended with Howard being fatally stabbed. The irony of all of this is that one of the reasons that Howard came to UConn was to get away from violence.

He came out of Miami’s Edison High School, which is in an area of the city where violence is part of the landscape. The 5-foot-10-inch, 180-pound Howard wanted something different for his mother, Joanglia, and for his sisters, Keyondra and Jasmine.

His ambition and goals exceeded his talent. He was not highly recruited and came to UConn as more of a hunch pick by Edsall. He was the first player from his family to go to college.

And he was making it work. The win over Louisville was a highlight game for Howard, who made 11 tackles and forced a fumble. UConn was winning, he was playing well. It was a good time for Jasper Howard.

And in an instant it was over.

The UConn players will travel to West Virginia today without their teammate. But they will bring his helmet and jersey to Morgantown. They will wear helmet stickers with Howard’s No. 6.

They will stand at midfield and observe a moment of silence and then shake hands with the West Virginia players.

“This is all about Jasper Howard and honoring a fallen brother,’’ said West Virginia coach Bill Stewart.

But it is also about life - and death - and how young men, not just football players, deal with triumphs and tragedies.

Oh, life in college football will continue this weekend. Games will be won. Games will be lost. Players will get hurt. Mistakes will be made and everyone will move on.

And it will be that way for the UConn Huskies as well, who will travel back to Storrs after the game tomorrow, but then get on another plane Monday and fly to Miami - to bury a teammate.

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.