UConn Overcomes Adversity, Throttles Central Connecticut State 59-13
The start of the 2025 season couldn’t have gone any worse for the UConn football team in their home opener against Central Connecticut State on Saturday.
The Blue Devils’ defense took advantage of a bad snap during the Huskies’ opening drive, setting up an Elijah Howard two-yard touchdown run. Though Central took an early 7-0 lead, it was the only edge they’d have all game, as UConn went on to blow out their in-state rivals 59-13.
Following Howard’s score, the Huskies answered instantly as star wide receiver Skyler Bell caught a short Joe Fagnano pass and took it 80 yards to the house, tying the game at 7-7. After forcing a punt, UConn running back Mel Brown broke free for 49 yards, setting up Fagnano’s second touchdown pass to Bell from 12 yards out, ending the first quarter with a 14-7 lead.
The Huskies kept capitalizing off Central mistakes. After Cam Chadwick broke up Brady Olson’s fourth-down pass, Cam Edwards added a 73-yard touchdown run. Bell then hauled in a highlight-reel one-handed catch, setting up a QB-keeper touchdown from four yards out.
Though Central responded with a Jack Hennessey field goal, UConn answered again with a Fagnano touchdown pass to Arizona transfer Reymello Murphy, his first as a Husky, giving UConn a 35-10 halftime lead.
The second half was much of the same, starting with a Victor Rosa 20-yard rushing touchdown. Another Hennessey field goal made it 45-13, but that was all the Blue Devils had left as the Huskies’ defense shut them out the rest of the way. Jackson Harper (Simsbury, Conn.) took a Nick Evers screen 19 yards for a score, followed by an MJ Flowers 18-yard touchdown to cap off the barrage.
Fagnano finished 18 of 25 for 260 yards and three touchdowns, while Bell hauled in four passes for 135 yards and two scores. Edwards rushed for 115 yards on six carries, Brown added 83, and linebacker Tyquan King led the defense with eight tackles.
“What I didn’t like was the way we started the game,” said UConn head coach Jim Mora. “It’s not characteristic of what we want to be.”
Despite the rough start, Mora found positives in getting several backups into the game. “What I did like is the way they responded… we were able to get a lot of guys in. I think that experience is going to benefit us down the road.”
The Huskies (1-0) now travel to Syracuse, New York, next week to face their former Big East rivals, the Syracuse Orange (0-1), who opened their season with a loss to Tennessee. Kickoff at the JMA Wireless Dome is set for noon, marking UConn’s first matchup with a Power Four school this season.
“What competitor doesn’t want that challenge?” Mora said of the Orange. “They’re going to be big, physical, [and] they can play at home, but that’s what’s exciting, is having that opportunity to go and play a team like that.”
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