32,351 fans packed Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field Saturday afternoon, hoping to watch a bounceback game from the UConn football team. Most of those fans left the Rent satisfied with the Huskies’ performance. All of them witnessed history.
UConn scored a program-record 56 first-half points on eight straight touchdown drives en route to a 63-17 triumph over the Merrimack Warriors. The Huskies’ had not scored that many points in a game since they closed out Memorial Stadium during their first season as an FBS member in 2002.
The records and milestones went well beyond the 46-point win, their largest margin of victory under head coach Jim Mora. UConn’s 624 total yards of offense marked the first time since 2005 they exceeded 600 in a game. Saturday afternoon was the first time since 2018 that the Huskies had a 100-yard receiver and a 300-yard passer.
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Graduate gunslinger Joe Fagnano continued his momentum from last weekend in College Park. Fagnano completed 13 of his 19 passes for 328 yards and became UConn’s first quarterback since Dan Orlovsky with five touchdowns in a single game. The second-year transfer from Maine found five different receivers for a score and was one of four who hit paydirt on the ground.
Wisconsin transfer Skyler Bell once again soared in the backfield. The junior wideout collected his first touchdown in a Huskies’ uniform on a 60-yard reception and recorded 100 receiving yards for the second straight contest. Ezeriah Anderson, Shamar Porter and Cam Edwards each supported Bell with 50+ receiving yards of their own.
Mel Brown and Durrell Robinson guided Connecticut’s run game. Brown, the junior Gardner-Webb transfer, ran for 83 yards and impacted the rushing attack even without scoring a touchdown. Robinson, the redshirt freshman who led the Huskies in rushing last weekend, averaged almost 10 yards on his 10 carries and collected 104 total yards.
UConn dominated offensively because they extended plays. The Huskies wide receivers turned plays that looked like they were going to be for negative yards into gigantic gains several times. Successful as they were offensively, however, Mora knows that Saturday’s performance should not be lightning in a bottle.
“It cannot just be a one-week wonder,” the ninth-year FBS head coach stated about the offense. “It has got to be something we continue to emphasize and get production out of.”
Only one objective remained unchecked on Connecticut’s bucket list: the turnover. The Huskies forced 10 tackles for a loss and four sacks but did not end any of the Warriors’ 14 possessions with a takeaway. UConn’s defense also allowed 277 yards and committed two 15-yard penalties. While the Huskies’ defense spent 10 more minutes on the field than the offense did, defensive coordinator Matt Brock’s tandem still has some things to clean up.
“We are still a work in progress,” Mora commented after the game. “We are still adapting to the scheme a little bit … we need to become a better tackling team.”
Stonehill transfer Jermaine Corbett provided most of the positives for Merrimack’s offense. Corbett crossed the century mark with 103 yards on 14 carries and gave the Warriors their first touchdown on a 46-yard scramble.
Junior signal-caller Justin Lewis provided Merrimack’s other score on top of being their other offensive bright spot. The third quarterback the team used that afternoon, Lewis completed each of his first six collegiate passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Opposite their season opener, UConn’s offense sustained their initial big gain five times over in the first quarter. Fagnano got the party started and put the Huskies up 7-0 when he pulled off a QB sneak three plays after scrambling for 19 yards. Connecticut doubled their advantage four minutes later when Edwards stayed inbounds and took the Williamsport native’s throw 50 yards to the house.
That second drive lasted four plays; the Huskies needed five to score two more touchdowns. Robinson propelled UConn past the 20-point threshold immediately when he sprinted down the field for a 48-yard score. Junior running back Victor Rosa’s 29-yard scamper down the right sideline gave the Huskies their fourth touchdown.
Conversely, the Warriors’ afternoon started with three consecutive three-and-outs. Once Merrimack picked up a first down, however, they did not stop until they hit paydirt. Facing a third-down situation, Corbett broke free down the right sideline and flipped into the endzone for the 50-yard touchdown and the Warriors’ first points.
Ahead 28-7, Bell almost immediately countered and capped off the Huskies’ record-setting quarter with a 60-yard score. What initially looked like it would be a play for negative yards following the completion turned into the Bronx native sprinting down the right sideline all the way to the house.
Porter and Anderson each caught touchdown passes from Fagnano and Edwards walked into the endzone once during the second quarter. Connecticut’s perfection on offense did not end until halftime. By the intermission, the Huskies held onto a 56-7 halftime advantage.
UConn came up empty on four of their five second-half possessions, but that heat check did not stop them from matching more milestones. TCU transfer Alex Honig’s 12-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter gave Fagnano his record-tying fifth touchdown of the game and put the Huskies over the 60-point mark.
Merrimack did not leave East Hartford without making Connecticut pay the price for turning the ball over on downs once, however. Lewis fired a dart to a wide-open Seth Sweitzer, who ran away untouched for a 71-yard touchdown reception. The Warriors also had the last word via Lliam Davis’ 32-yard field goal as time expired.
“I felt like we got a little complacent when we put the young guys in,” Mora said about the team’s second-half performance. “We cannot operate that way.”
The mentality in those situations will need to change, especially with the opponents that lie ahead. The Huskies travel to North Carolina next Saturday for a revenge match against the battle-tested Duke Blue Devils. Kickoff from Durham is at 6 p.m. EDT on the ACC Network.
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