All season long, the message from head coach Jim Mora has been simple: protect the Rent.
The UConn football team more than secured the Rent this past Saturday. The team beat the breaks off of Buffalo, 47-3, in one of the team’s most complete performances all season long.
Away teams have not fared well at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field this year. In three East Hartford showdowns, the Huskies have outscored their opponents by a healthy 158-34 margin.
In order to come out victorious, Connecticut needed to come out of the gates with a fire lit under them and put sustained pressure on Buffalo from both sides of the ball. To put it simply, Connecticut made Buffalo uncomfortable from the get-go, and it didn’t take the Huskies too much longer to give the Bulls the knockout blow and put this game out of reach.
The Connecticut run defense caused headaches for the Bulls’ offense, as it was hard for them to get anything started. The program did an excellent job containing the Buffalo run game as, outside of quarterback C.J. Ogbonna’s 33 scramble yards, the program put up 18 combined rushing yards for the first half. Conversely, the Huskies’ rushing attack ran the Buffalo defense ragged.
Cam Edwards had a first half to remember, accumulating 87 yards on the ground on nine attempts, including the day’s first touchdown, thanks to a 43-yard outside run. All season long, Edwards has feasted like it’s Thanksgiving dinner on the outside run, and Mora believes that his success in this facet can be attributed to how well he meshes into their outside running scheme.
“[Edwards] understands where the hole is going to be and when it’s going to be there, and that’s something that comes with experience,” Mora told media personnel postgame. “It takes some patience, and then it takes you to really put your foot in the ground and get vertical. He’s just really good at that.”
Not only does Edwards possess the threat to expose defenses when he has the rock, but so does quarterback Nick Evers. UConn excelled at the pitch option this past weekend, as the threat of them pitching it off to Edwards or Evers taking it himself opened numerous running lanes for the duo.
Not only was the running game in full force but so was the passing attack. Skyler Bell had yet another solid day at the office, hauling in four passes, including a 40-yard bomb from Evers. Postgame, the wide receiver noted that a successful day for him goes beyond the box score, although he has a knack for filling it up.
“I know when plays are called when I’m supposed to get the ball,” Bell said postgame. “I know when I can win one-on-one matchups, and I feel like I’m going to win every single one,” adding, “I don’t set my mind on getting 100 yards. I’m really just trying to get the win and create a spark for our offense and keep making big plays to get us down the field.”
The Connecticut secondary also did an excellent job of limiting any throwing lanes that Ogbonna could have had. As a result, the UConn pass rush got home on more than one occasion, sacking him twice and causing numerous throwaways for the first half hour. This killed any momentum the Bulls had since they often found themselves in less-than-ideal second and 20 or third and 30 situations. Not to mention, when UConn did punt it away, Connor Stutz didn’t make it easy on Buffalo, pinning them deep in their own territory, which limited what they could do offensively.
Despite the good feelings early on, the program got bad news midway through the second quarter. On a scramble, Evers slid and gave himself up on a play. However, he got hit hard on the way down and came out of the game. With Evers out of the game, Mora and the program turned to Joe Fagnano for a spark, and he gave them one. Fagnano finished Saturday with 217 passing yards and three touchdowns on 11-19 passing. While some fans may have been shocked by how well the signal caller performed, Bell noted that Fagnano’s exceptional performance was simply the status quo for him and the rest of the program.
“Impressed? Nah, that’s kind of Joe [Fagnano]; that’s who he is.” Bell told media personnel postgame. “He’s a dog. When he came in, nobody batted him out; it’s just business as usual.”
However, the Bulls didn’t leave the first half scoreless, as Upton Bellenfant closed out the second quarter with a 47-yard field goal. This cut the Connecticut advantage down to 23-3. However, in the second half, UConn kept its foot on the gas, with no stop in sight.
The second half was more or less the same story: the UConn defense couldn’t be stopped, and their relentless rushing attack continued, with Durell Robinson and Mel Brown getting in on the fun. To no surprise of any Connecticut fans, the Bell show continued.
The Bronx native finished with 153 yards and three touchdowns on six receptions. Not only was Fagnano placing perfect balls for him to catch, but Bell’s craftiness as a receiver was on display. On his first score, he put his man into a blender, causing him to gain easy separation and an even easier 40-yard touchdown reception.
UConn’s big win on Saturday was undoubtedly a massive confidence booster for the program. Not only have they won two in a row at home, but as each game passes, the team is meshing better and looks more fluid. The growth from the first week of the season has been nothing short of miraculous, and there is no reason to think this will stop now. Connecticut’s next chance to build off of the momentum they have created will come next Saturday at 3:30 p.m., where they will host Temple.