UConn football won a slugfest on Saturday, improving to 8-3 after beating Air Force, 26-16. The Husky defense held strong through most of the second half as Cam Edwards led them to victory with 140 of his 165 rushing yards in the final 30 minutes. He crossed the 1000-yard mark on the drive where he scored his second touchdown of the day.
The Huskies led 9-7 after the first half, getting on the board first thanks to a Joe Fagnano scramble for a 10-yard touchdown. They missed the extra point due to a bad
snap, so had to settle for a 6-0 lead after making a stop on the first Air Force possession.
Fagnano threw his first pick later in the first quarter. The Husky defense made two fourth down stops including one on the ensuing drives to keep Air Force from adding to its total despite two long trips down the field, including a 91-yard drive that was stuffed at the UConn 3 after burning 11:50 off the clock in 19 plays.
Despite giving up 200 yards, UConn added a late field goal to take a 9-7 lead into the halftime break. Jim Mora praised his team for overcoming a shaky first-half performance to take control in the second half. They allowed just three points before a garbage-time touchdown with the game in hand for the Huskies.
Edwards took the first offensive play of the second half 36 yards on the ground and finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown to make it 16-7. Air Force managed a field goal to make it 16-10 and then the two teams traded possessions before a UConn field goal pushed the lead to 19-10. Edwards broke through for his second touchdown of the day to put the Huskies up 26-10 with five minutes left to put the game out of reach.
Air Force managed a touchdown drive but burned a lot of time off the clock. Their two-point attempt failed and so did their onside kick, and then UConn managed one more first down on the ground to seal the win.
The Huskies have won two in a row and will close the season out at FAU, kicking off at 3:00 p.m. from Boca Raton, Florida in a game that will be televised on ESPN+.
