During the week, Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien said that he believed Connecticut should be favored Saturday afternoon.
In a season where just about everything has gone wrong, O’Brien was right. His BC team looked lifeless once again, falling, 38-23, in another dud at Alumni Stadium.
The Huskies (5-2) leaned on a steady diet of quarterback Joe Fagnano and wide receiver Skyler Bell to deprive the Eagles (1-6) of a rare sunny moment in a season of darkness.
The possibility of BC finishing the season with one win or fewer for the first time since 1978 is becoming more and more real.
UConn took a 7-6 lead through 1, 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 rush early in the second, then Grayson James — playing in place of regular starter Dylan Lonergan — found freshman Kaelan Chudzinski for a 9-yard TD strike to make it 14-13, Huskies midway through the quarter.
UConn’s Chris Freeman nailed a 40-yard field goal before James banger Reed Harris for a 39-yard score with 21 seconds left to give BC its first lead, 20-17, at halftime. The Eagles averaged 5.1 yards per carry in the half, as Jordan McDonald (24 carries, 123 yards for the game) provided a lift and James finished 10 for 14 for 120 yards.
An uninspiring third quarter, however, allowed UConn to seize command with two more Fagnano scoring throws a 43-yarder to John Neider and a 14-yarder to Vereen.
Lombardo, arguably the team’s most valuable player this season, connected on a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth to trim BC’s deficit to 31-23, but the teams traded three-and-outs before Fagnano provided the finishing touches with a 38-yard TD pass to Bell with 5:04 remaining.
Trevor Hass can be reached at trevor.hass@globe.com. Follow him on X @TrevorHass.
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