UConn and BC are two of three FBS teams in New England, and yet have only played 14 times. BC won twelve, there were two ties. Today, the 15th meeting, would go to the Huskies, a 13-3 victory in front of 25,527 fans at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. The UConn defense took advantage of an injury-ridden BC offensive line, holding the Eagles to just 3 points on the day, and 76 rushing yards on 30 carries, good for 2.5 ypc. UConn won the turnover battle 5-0, as the Huskies recovered two fumbles, and recorded three interceptions.
The first quarter started off with a bang for the Huskies, as Zion Turner connected with Justin Joly for a 62 yard touchdown pass, breaking numerous tackles along the way. BC QB Phil Jurkovec was under pressure at all times from the UConn front seven. Pryce Yates led the way with a sack, and 2.5 TFL. The Huskies would turn the Eagles over on downs, and follow it up with a Noe Ruelas 31 yard FG. On the ensuing possession, on 3rd and long, Jurkovec overthrew his target, tipping the pass into the hands of Chris Shearin. The Huskies could not capitalize, as Noe Ruelas missed a 41 yard FG.
The Eagles received a UConn punt to start the second quarter and made it into UConn territory for the first time, getting down to the UConn 2 yard line, before settling for a 19 yard FG to cut the UConn lead to 10-3. UConn’s offense struggled, punting the ball back twice before the Eagles got down to the UConn 12 following a 45 yard pass to RB Patrick Garwo. Jurkovec’s pass was picked off in the end zone by Durante Jones. After a face mask penalty put the Huskies in BC territory, a 12 yard loss on a sack by BC Donovan Ezeiruaku forced a punt. On the BC drive starting with 1:03, the drive stalled after an Eric Watts sack, and the Huskies went into the half leading 10-3.
The Huskies were plagued by penalties in the first half, accruing 4 penalties for 25 yards, occurring at in opportune times, and that continued in the second half. A false start on the Huskies’ first drive, leading to a punt. Jurkovec went down with an injury midway through the third quarter, and backup QB Emmett Morehead came in. A 38 yard pass from Zion Turner to Aaron Turner on 3rd and long got the Huskies to midfield but a false start on 4th and 1 from the BC 40 forced the Huskies to punt. Morehead led BC to a first down before the Eagles were forced to punt. A penalty on the return pushed the Huskies back to their own 11. Aaron Turner took a screen pass to their own 36 before the 3rd quarter came to an end.
UConn’s drive would stall at the BC 45, and a George Caratan punt put the Eagles at their own 10 with 13:01 to play. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on BC pushed the Huskies to the BC 45 again, but the Huskies couldn’t muster any yards and the ensuing punt was downed at the 4. BC moved the ball past their own 30, but a fumble recovered by UConn gave the Huskies the ball at the BC 32. UConn gained seven yards and a 42 yard FG from Noe Ruelas gave the Huskies a 13-3 lead with 6:26 left. A 24 yard pass to Josiah Griffin got BC to the UConn 48. Jackson Mitchell intercepted Morehead and the Huskies would take over at their own 32 with 5:07 to go.
UConn would be forced to punt yet again, but Zay Flowers was met immediately on the return no fumbled, recovered by UConn at the BC 28. UConn again could not move the ball on the ground, and couldn’t convert on 4th and 7. BC took over at their own 25 with 2:21 to go, but the deficit was too large to overcome. Morehead would march the Eagles down the field, but a missed FG with :16 seconds left sealed the deal. The Huskies would defeat the Eagles for the first time in history.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk about it inside The Husky House Message board
