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EAST HARTFORD — UConn football’s season got off to a rocky start against Central Connecticut, as a botched punt allowed the visitors to score a quick touchdown and take an early lead, much to the shock and dismay of the crowd at Rentschler Field.
But Jim Mora’s squad shook off that rough start and dominated the contest from there, making numerous explosive plays as they built up a multi-score lead early in the second quarter on their way to a blowout victory.
The Huskies responded with four straight touchdown drives and three stops of CCSU to make it 28-7 by the middle of the second quarter. An 80-yard catch-and-run from Joe Fagnano to Skyler Bell on a quick pass tied the game, 7-7. UConn pulled ahead on its next possession after a 49-yard Mel Brown run set up Fagnano for a 12-yard touchdown pass, again to Bell, making it 14-7.
Matt Brock’s defense made a 4th-down stop on the ensuing CCSU drive, and on the very next play, Cam Edwards took an outside hand-off 73 yards to the house to put UConn up 21-7. After UConn forced a three-and-out, the Huskies marched down the field and got another TD as Skyler Bell caught a 26-yarder over his shoulder and Fagnano ran a keeper in from four yards out to make it 28-7 halfway through the second quarter.
CCSU responded with a field goal to make it 28-10 as the Blue Devils moved 72 yards for their longest drive of the day to that point. They had a nice third-down conversion, where QB Brady Olson hung in the pocket to complete a 27-yard pass to WR David Pardo, which set up the field goal.
UConn responded with a 54-second touchdown drive to push it to 35-10 at halftime. Fagnano hit Bell for 17 yards before a 20-yard completion to Arizona transfer Raymello Murphy, and then capped off the drive with a three-yard pass to Murphy for the score.
Central went three-and-out on its first drive of the second half, and the Husky onslaught picked up right where it left off. Fagnano hit Juice Vereen, a transfer TE from NC State, for a 30-yard reception to set up a 20-yard touchdown run by Victor Rosa to make it 42-10. The two teams exchanged field goals to make it 45-13 at the end of the third quarter.
Nick Evers and some backups entered the game for UConn at the end of the third quarter. Evers led a 9-play, 55-yard TD drive capped off by a 19-yard screen pass for a touchdown to Jackson Harper, who showed a few evasive maneuvers on a kick return and multiple receptions, including this one for the score that made it 52-13.
Tucker McDonald took over at QB on the next possession, hitting a deep ball to Chris Parker for 45 yards to set up a short field goal attempt that missed. A 16-yard rushing TD by MJ Flowers made it 59-13, which would hold for the final score.
Fagnano finished a rock-solid 18-for-25 on his passing attempts for 260 yards and three touchdowns, adding a rushing score as well. His top target was Bell, who finished with four receptions for 135 yards and two TDs as the leader of 12 Huskies who caught a pass on the day. Eight of those pass-catchers hauled in a completion of 16 yards or more.
It was a dominant start to the season for the Huskies, who face a serious test next week at Syracuse. The Orange lost their season opener against Tennessee, 45-26, and will be looking for their first win when UConn visits the JMA Wireless Dome next Saturday, kicking off at noon on the ACC Network/ESPN+.
