Redshirt sophomore Cam Edwards rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown when the UConn football team dueled with the Duke Blue Devils last weekend. Against the Florida Atlantic Owls’ run defense at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, Edwards only gained 30 yards on seven carries.
Quiet as he was, however, the Norwalk native accounted for less than 10% of the Huskies’ total rushing offense versus Florida Atlantic. Connecticut collected an FBS-record 421 yards on the ground from six different rushers and kicked off their six-game homestand with a 48-14 victory.
Those 421 yards marked the Huskies’ second-most in a single game in program history and their most since 2019. It left a sly smile on head coach Jim Mora’s face.
“When you run the ball like that, you have always got a chance,” Mora said postgame. “When you are having that kind of success running the ball, it makes it easier on everybody.”
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UConn’s run game mowed down an Owls run defense that surrendered just 87 rushing yards last Saturday. Charlotte transfer Durell Robinson and Gardner-Webb transfer Mel Brown both ran for a career-best 156 yards with 37 carries and two rushing touchdowns between them. Robinson accounted for both rushing scores, but Brown found the endzone himself on a five-yard reception.
Wisconsin transfer Nick Evers further contributed to the ground attack with his legs, rushing for 78 yards and two touchdowns. That came on top of Evers’ 88 passing yards on nine completions. Fellow Wisconsin transfer Skyler Bell caught just one pass, but his 43-yard reception made him the Huskies’ leading receiver for the fourth straight week.
Nothing could stop Connecticut’s offensive juggernaut. The Huskies possessed the ball for 40:45, converted half of their 10 third-down attempts and earned 31 first downs. UConn’s offensive line did not allow a sack or commit a holding penalty. Even though both programs averaged nearly the same yardage per carry, the Huskies run game pounded the rock 40 more times than FAU did.
The Owls’ rushing attack never took off. Redshirt junior CJ Campbell Jr. provided Florida Atlantic with both of their touchdowns. Fellow redshirt junior Cam Fancher’s team-leading 71 rushing yards complemented his 87 through the air. Connecticut’s run defense significantly contributed to the Owls’ running woes. Despite surrendering 163 rushing yards, the Huskies allowed only four rushes of 10+ and two of at least 20.
FAU’s mental miscues did not help them either. Although they turned the ball over just once, the Owls committed a season-worst 12 penalties for 93 yards. Each of their five defensive fouls gave Connecticut a free first down.
One of those revived the Huskies’ third drive of the night when it looked like they would come away empty-handed. Chris Freeman’s first field goal of the year put UConn ahead 3-0 on their first possession, but they had a touchdown on their mind. Jaden Wheeler’s hands to the face penalty made that idea a reality. Evers subsequently found Brown all alone for a five-yard touchdown pass that put the Huskies ahead 10-0.
A miscommunication on the ensuing kickoff defined FAU’s response. Despite Fancher’s 24-yard scramble putting the Owls across midfield, consecutive third-down penalties from the offensive line stalled their momentum. Starting at their own nine-yard line, Connecticut marched 91 yards down the field and capped off their first-half efforts on Robinson’s eight-yard score.
The Huskies went into their locker room up 17-0 and came out of it maintaining their intensity. UConn burned nearly seven minutes returning to the endzone behind their run game, which accounted for all but two plays on that possession. Seconds after converting on fourth and one in the redzone, Evers kept the ball and put the Huskies ahead 24-0.
Redshirt senior linebacker Jayden McDonald gave Connecticut the ball back two plays later. Fancher’s eighth pass of the evening bounced off redshirt junior Zuberi Mobley’s fingers. The Troy transfer caught the batted ball with one hand and secured it with his other for the Huskies’ second takeaway in as many games. Freeman followed with his second field goal of the evening.
Being down 27-0 did not stop the Owls from fighting. Behind Fancher’s 26-yard connection with redshirt freshman Jabari Smith Jr., FAU soared down the field and finally got on the board. What started out as a messy handoff at the five-yard line turned into six points when Campbell Jr. broke free and hit paydirt.
At midfield when the third quarter ended, Brown nearly started the final frame with a touchdown. The Gardner-Webb transfer found an opening and took it 46 yards down to the two-yard line. Evers again took it in himself on the ensuing snap as UConn grabbed a 34-7 lead. Robinson got the ball three times on the Huskies’ ensuing possession following a turnover on downs. The third of the Charlotte transfer’s carries put him in the endzone for the second time.
Even though the Owls scored once more on Campbell Jr.’s 44-yard touchdown reception, Connecticut still had the last laugh. Shamar Porter, with a defender covering him, snagged graduate gunslinger Joe Fagnano’s prayer with one hand for a 33-yard touchdown connection. Tucker McDonald and the Huskies’ offense ran out the clock for their first home win over an FBS foe in two seasons.
Unlike their home opener against the Merrimack Warriors, it never felt like UConn took their foot off the gas. While the Huskies allowed two second-half touchdowns, they scored more points in the final 30 minutes (31) than the first 30 (17).
Dominating as Connecticut’s performance was against an FBS program, Mora does not believe his team put college football on notice.
“You have to make a statement each week,” the third-year Huskies’ head coach explained. “We made a statement for today, but it does not matter going forward unless we back it up.”
UConn’s six-game homestand continues with a tougher challenge as the Buffalo Bulls, who upset the No. 23 Northern Illinois Huskies, enter East Hartford. Kickoff next Saturday is at 12 p.m. EDT on CBSSN.
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