UCon Football falls to Delaware in second overtime loss of the season
For the second week in a row, the UConn Huskies (1-2) fell in overtime in walk-off fashion, this time in a 44-41 shootout against the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens (2-1) on Saturday in Newark, Delaware. Both offenses were unstoppable, combining for 1,033 total yards.
To start the game, the Huskies were forced to punt on their opening drive, and to make matters worse, running back Mel Brown left with an apparent injury.
The Huskies’ defense also struggled from the get-go, allowing the Hens to march 73 yards in seven plays on the opening drive. Nick Minicucci capped it with a 3-yard quarterback keeper, and Nate Reed’s extra point gave Delaware a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Though UConn star running back Cam Edwards responded with a 51-yard touchdown run of his own to tie up the game, Delaware’s Jo Silver, one of Conference-USA’s best running backs, exploded for a massive 70-yard touchdown carry to retain the Fightin’ Blue Hens’ 14-7 lead.
Huskies quarterback Joe Fagnano led the offense right down the field following Silver’s touchdown run, but was stopped short on third down deep in Delaware territory to set up a Chris Freeman 28-yard field goal, cutting the Blue Hens’ lead to 14-10 to cap out the first quarter.
Delaware’s Minicucci, however, continued to dominate, scoring his second touchdown of the game on a five-yard keeper to extend the lead to 21-10.
The games’ offensive fireworks continued immediately after.
With Brown sidelined, redshirt-junior running back Victor Rosa broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run on just his second carry of the game. On the following drive, Edwards powered in for another two-yard score to give UConn a 24-21 lead.
This margin was short-lived.
Minicucci tossed up a 50-50 ball to Coastal Carolina transfer Kyre Duplessis, who head-tapped UConn defensive back Lee Mollette III for a 68-yard touchdown, sending Delaware into halftime with a 28-24 lead
After forcing a Delaware punt to open the second half, Fagnano capped a 79-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown strike to Arizona transfer Reymello Murphy, putting UConn back in front 31-28 late in the third quarter.
The Hens responded once again, highlighted by the Minicucci-Duplessis connection. That set up an 18-yard rushing touchdown from Silver, his second of the game, helping the Hens reclaim a 35-31 lead as time expired going into the final period of play.
Despite the deficit, the Huskies offense continued to march.
On fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line, Fagnano hit tight end Alex Honig on a pop-pass for a one-yard touchdown—his second of the season. This gave the Huskies a 38-35 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Though it looked as if the Fightin’ Blue Hens were going to score again on the following drive, a miracle happened—one that potentially gave UConn some momentum.
Delaware kicker Nate Reed lined up for a 47-yard field goal but missed it wide left, keeping the Huskies ahead 38-35. However, Delaware forced a UConn turnover on downs and drove down the field with less than two minutes to play on the next drive.
Down by three with two seconds left, Reed got his revenge—drilling the game-tying field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime with the score knotted at 38-38, UConn’s second in a row.
The Hens won the overtime coin toss and elected to defer, giving UConn the ball to start.
The Delaware defense came up with a huge stop, forcing the Huskies to settle for a short Freeman field goal to take a 41-38 lead.
These points would not be enough for the Huskies. On only their fourth play in overtime, Minicucci called his own number once again for a 13-yard game-winning rushing touchdown—a walk-off that gave Delaware its first home win over an FBS opponent since 2001.
Minicucci completed 23 of 34 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown while adding 72 yards and three more scores on the ground. Fagnano’s performance, despite the loss, stood out as well, as he threw for 346 yards and two touchdowns.
Edwards carried much of the ground game for the Huskies, rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Silver, his counterpart, piled up 161 yards and a touchdown to power the Fightin’ Blue Hens’ win in the shootout.
Linebacker Bryun Parham had a spectacular day on the other side of the ball, leading the Huskies’ defense with 10 total tackles, including three sacks.
Despite the effort, UConn head coach Jim Mora was still not satisfied with his teams’ defensive performance.
“We did not play near well enough today, particularly on defense. We could not get stops.”
Defensive struggles aside, the Huskies still piled up 521 yards of total offense—a bright spot in such a tough loss.
“Our offense moved the ball well, especially given the amount of injuries we suffered on offense, which was a ton.”
Despite the setbacks, the Huskies will look to get back in the win column next week in a home matchup against Ball State at Rentschler Field (East Hartford, Conn.). Kickoff is slated for 3:00 p.m.
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