For a program that has had its struggles, UConn put up a dream season a year ago. Now the Huskies are showing that it was no fluke.
UConn is 6-3 this season with all three losses in overtime, two of them to Power Four schools.
This is really a continuation of last year when the Huskies went 9-4, with all four losses being to Power Four schools. Last season, the Huskies were routed by Maryland 50-7 in the opener.
After that, the losses were by a touchdown or less – 26-21 at Duke, 23-20 vs. Wake Forest, and 31-24 at Syracuse. The season ended with a 27-14 win over North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl.
This season, UConn lost in the second game of the year at Syracuse 27-20 in overtime. This was when Syracuse still had starting quarterback Steve Angeli before he would suffer a season-ending torn Achilles. Angeli threw for 416 yards and two touchdowns (with one interception) in the win.
The next week, UConn lost a 44-41 overtime decision at Delaware. The other defeat was a 37-34 double-overtime loss at Rice.
Now let’s get to the wins.
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The Huskies won at Buffalo 20-17. Buffalo (5-4, 4-1) is currently tied for second in the MAC.
There was also a 38-23 win at Boston College (1-8), which has struggled mightily. Yet do you know that UConn beat the Eagles by as many points as Notre Dame did last week when the Fighting Irish won 25-10 at BC?
This past week, UConn earned a convincing 38-19 home victory over UAB.
Even though UAB is just 3-5, the Blazers did hand Memphis its only loss this season. And Memphis is merely No. 1 in this week’s HERO Sports Group of Five Top 25 Media Poll.
UConn is No. 19 in this week’s poll. The win over UAB also made the Huskies bowl-eligible for the second straight year.
On Saturday, the Huskies host a 5-3 Duke team that is coming off a wild 46-45 win at Clemson. Next week, Duke faces ACC leader Virginia, so this is a classic trap game for the Blue Devils.
Not so for UConn. Every game is a big one as the Huskies try to do the seemingly impossible – survive as a college football independent.
UConn head coach Jim Mora Jr. has done an excellent job with a program that was 1-11 the year before he took over.
Now in his fourth season, Mora guided the Huskies to a 6-7 record his first year that included a 28-14 loss to Marshall in the Myrtle Beach Bowl to end the season.
The Huskies slipped to 3-9 during Mora’s second year but then went 9-4 last year, and the 2025 team has continued its stellar play.
UConn has an explosive offense. The Huskies are 15th nationally in scoring, averaging 36.9 points per game. That is more than Ohio State (36.6) and Ole Miss (36.2) just to name a few teams. The defense allows a respectable 23.9 PPG.
Leading the offense is veteran quarterback Joe Fagnano, who began his career at Maine before joining UConn in 2023. He won the starting quarterback job but suffered a season-ending injury in the second game of the 2023 season. Last year, he threw for 1,631 yards, 20 touchdowns, and four interceptions in 10 games.
This year, he has truly blossomed. In nine games, he has completed 68.8% of his passes for 2,529 yards, 22 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Fagnano is 14th nationally in passing efficiency (162.51).
Redshirt senior receiver Skyler Bell has been stellar. In his second year at UConn after starting his career at Wisconsin, Bell has 74 receptions for 994 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Bell is first nationally in receiving touchdowns, second in receptions per game (8.22), and second in receiving yards. He has 51 more receptions than UConn’s second-leading receiver, Reymello Murphy, who has 23 catches.
Cam Edwards, a redshirt junior from Norwalk, Connecticut, has rushed for 815 yards and nine touchdowns. The Huskies’ ability to run and pass the ball at a high rate has been key for one of the top offenses in the country.
Redshirt senior linebacker Bryun Parham, a transfer from Washington, is putting up staggering numbers. He has 80 tackles and 13 tackles for loss, including 9.5 sacks. Parham is tied for fourth nationally with 1.06 sacks per game.
After facing Duke, the Huskies will host Air Force before traveling to Florida Atlantic in the regular season finale. UConn could be staring at another nine-win season while proving that last year wasn’t a fluke.
Moving forward, Mora hopes to make these two recent seasons the standard for UConn football.
