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EAST HARTFORD — UConn football notched a convincing win over the FIU Panthers on Saturday afternoon at Rentschler Field to improve to 4-2. Jim Mora’s squad forced two early turnovers to jump out to a 17-0 start on their way to a 51-10 victory.
The Huskies got on the board first after forcing a three-and-out on the Panthers’ first drive. Quarterback Joe Fagnano completed four passes and scrambled for a first down before finding Skyler Bell for an 18-yard touchdown pass, wide open up the middle to cap off the 11-play drive.
UConn forced a fumble on the ensuing FIU possession but didn’t make anything of it, going three-and-out. They forced another three-and-out on the other end, however, to quickly get the ball back.
On the first play of the next drive, Fagnano found John Neider deep down the sideline for a 45-yard completion to set up a Cam Edwards rushing touchdown and make it 14-0, the score at the end of the first quarter.
FIU fumbled again on the next drive on a QB keeper by Keyone Jenkins. The Huskies managed a field goal off of the game’s second turnover to make it 17-0.
The Panthers responded with their first extended drive, as a 29-yard rush by Anthony Carrie got them into Husky territory and helped set up a field goal, making it 17-3 with 6:05 left in the first half.
UConn had its first turnover of the season with a Skyler Bell fumble late in the first half. The Huskies made a stop to get the ball back with 0:55 seconds left. On the second play of the drive, Fagnano found Reymello Murphy wide open for a 61-yard TD that made it 24-3.
Cam Chadwick intercepted Jenkins on the ensuing FIU possession, getting the ball back with 0:48 seconds left to set up one more field goal to get us to our halftime score: 27-3.
The Huskies added to their sizeable lead in the first drive of the second half as Victor Rosa took a flare pass 65 yards to the house, 34-3. After an FIU punt, they marched 81 yards down the field with the help of rotation guys like MJ Flowers, Chris Parker, and Juice Vereen to set up a field goal, 37-3.
Following an FIU three-and-out, Fagnano tossed his fourth TD of the day, as he found Skyler Bell in the corner of the end zone to make it 44-3 late in the third quarter. Nick Evers took over under center in the fourth quarter.
Oliver Lundberg Coleman added another touchdown after an Amir Renwick interception, making it 51-3. FIU added a garbage-time touchdown to get us to our final score.
Next up, the Huskies have a bye week before their October 18th contest at Boston College. Kick-off time and TV info have yet to be announced. Boston College is 1-4 after getting rocked by Pitt on Saturday and has also lost to Michigan State, Stanford, and Cal. The Eagles play Clemson next week before hosting UConn.
