The Huskies (5-2) leaned on a steady diet of seventh-year quarterback Joe Fagnano and wide receiver Skyler Bell to deprive the Eagles (1-6) of a rare sunny moment in a season of darkness.
Boston College was able to hold its opponent below 500 yards for the first time this month, but UConn still racked up 455 (7.8 per play) in a convincing performance. Defensively, the Huskies had seven sacks and made life difficult for a decimated Eagles offensive line.
The possibility of BC finishing with its least number of wins since the 1978 team went 0-11 is becoming more and more real.
“We’re only halfway through the second year of our program,” O’Brien said. “We’re building our program. Give UConn credit. They were ready to go today. They did a better job than we did.”
UConn led, 7-6, after the first quarter, thanks to a 50-yard touchdown pass from Fagnano to Juice Vereen down the left sideline. Luca Lombardo drilled 47- and 22-yard field goals for the Eagles, who held a 78-1 edge in rushing yards in the quarter, but couldn’t capitalize on their scoring chances.
Fagnano (23 for 31, 362 yards, 4 TDs) extended the margin with a 2-yard touchdown run early in the second, then BC quarterback Grayson James — playing in place of starter Dylan Lonergan — found freshman Kaelan Chudzinski for a 9-yard TD strike to cut UConn’s lead to 14-13 midway through the quarter.
James (16 of 28, 204 yards, 2 TDs) said he was excited for the opportunity and didn’t feel rusty. He replaced Thomas Castellanos and guided BC to a solid finish last year; this situation is bleaker than that one, but the experience clearly paid dividends.
“I’ve been staying prepared every single week as if I’m the starter, no matter what position I’m in,” James said. “That’s just the approach I take to the game. I take it very seriously.”
UConn’s Chris Freeman nailed a 40-yard field goal before James hit Reed Harris for a 39-yard score with 21 seconds left in the half to give BC a 20-17 lead. The Eagles averaged 5.1 yards per carry in the first half, as Jordan McDonald (24 carries, 123 yards for the game) contributed, and James was 10 for 14 passing for 120 yards.
McDonald, who has battled an ankle injury, received an increased workload after Turbo Richard left with an injury.
“We didn’t get the outcome that we wanted, so I can’t really feel anything about it too much,” McDonald said.
An uninspiring third quarter from BC allowed UConn to seize command with two more Fagnano scoring throws — a 43-yarder to John Neider and 14-yarder to Vereen. BC’s secondary, once regarded as a strength, is now a major weakness.
Lombardo, the team’s most consistent player this season, connected on a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth to trim BC’s deficit to 31-23. The teams traded three-and-outs before Fagnano provided the finishing touch with a 38-yard TD pass to Bell (10 catches, 125 yards) with 5:04 remaining.
“We just didn’t put points up in the second half,” James said. “At the end of the day, that’s what got us beat.”
There were some positives, as BC didn’t turn the ball over, won the possession battle (32:08-27:52), and reestablished its fickle run game. Poor execution in key spots on both sides, however, sent the Eagles spiraling to another all-too-familiar setback.
As he wrapped up his press conference, O’Brien shot up from his chair, forcefully crumpled the stat sheet into a ball, and discarded it into a bin as he exited stage left.
With a Louisville team that just knocked off No. 2 Miami on the horizon, it doesn’t get any easier for the Eagles.
“We know that we’re going through something hard together,” McDonald said. “Life is hard. You find adversity in many corners of your life. If you can’t go through it now, you can’t go through it later. We’re all good people. We’re all good men. We stay together.”
Trevor Hass can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @TrevorHass.
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