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UConn football traveled to Buffalo and left with a 20-17 win to improve to 3-2. After trailing most of the way, Buffalo tied the game with 0:59 left before the Huskies marched down for a game-winning field goal by Chris Freeman from 44 yards out.
The first quarter ended in a scoreless tie as the Bulls had the ball first and turned it over after going for it on 4th down from the UConn 35. Buffalo was playing without both former Huskies, QB Ta’quan Roberson and WR Jasiah Gaithings.
The two teams traded punts from there until the second quarter, when a drive that started with terror – Cam Edwards left with a minor injury, he was back later – ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Joe Fagnano to Skyler Bell to make it 7-0.
Fagnano found Bell two times earlier in that possession and ran for two first downs to keep that 93-yard drive moving. He finished with a modest 155 passing yards, going 19/31 on his attempts.
The Bulls’ offense was struggling until RB Lamar Sperling broke a 63-yard run in response to the UConn touchdown to tie the game, 7-7. The two teams resumed trading punts and playing the battle of field position into halftime.
The Huskies opened the second half with a touchdown drive to take a 14-7 lead early in the third quarter. Edwards stretched his arm in from eight yards out, four plays after Fagnano got them into Buffalo territory with an impressive 38-yard scramble.
Buffalo ran a fake punt run on 4th & 4 from its own 46 to keep the next drive alive and set up a field goal to make it 14-10 with 4:58 left in the third quarter. UConn responded with a field goal of its own to push the lead back to seven.
The fourth quarter saw a lot more punting from both sides, including two three-and-outs by UConn as it clung onto a one-score lead. Buffalo scored a game-tying touchdown on a drive that started with a 27-yard completion and was capped off by a swing pass from Gunnar Gray to RB Al-Jay Henderson.
Starting on the UConn 25, UConn converted a 3rd & 8 on a nice grab by Juice Vereen in traffic. On the next play, Fagnano found Edwards in the middle for 11 yards to get to the Buffalo 47. He hit Neider for 15 yards on 3rd & 10 and then found Skyler Bell on an out route to get to the Buffalo 26.
After a time-out to ice the kicker, Freeman’s field goal from 44 yards away sailed true to secure the Husky victory.
Next up, the Huskies are hosting FIU on Saturday. Kick-off is at 3:30 and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
FIU is 2-2 with a win over FAU, a future UConn opponent, and a loss to former UConn opponent Delaware, which crushed the Panthers, 38-16. They’re off this week, so will have two weeks to prepare for their road trip up to Rentschler Field.
