Joe Fagnano threw for four touchdowns and rushed for another as UConn beat New England rival Boston College for the second time in Huskies coach Jim Mora’s four seasons 38-23 on Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Fagnano was 23 of 31 for a season-high 362 yards to lead the Huskies (5-2) to their fourth straight victory, connecting with Juice Vereen for two of his three passing scores. Skyler Bell had 10 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown.
After facing a 20-17 halftime deficit, the Huskies allowed just one field goal while forcing three punts and a turnover on downs across five series in the second half.
The Huskies totaled 455 yards of offense.
Grayson James was 16 of 28 for 204 yards and two touchdowns in his first start of the season for Boston College (1-6). Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan started the first six games.
Luca Lombardo kicked three field goals, and Jordan McDonald was the Eagles’ top rusher with 123 yards on 24 carries.
Fagnano and Edwards fueled the Huskies’ six-play, 75-yard drive in 3:09 to go ahead for good at the beginning of the second half, 24-20. The graduate quarterback and John Neider connected over the middle for a 43-yard touchdown.
After forcing a second consecutive punt with a three-and-out, Fagnano’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Vereen in the final minute of the third quarter gave UConn its first two-score lead at 31-20.
A following 14-play, 78-yard drive ended with a 25-yard Lombardo field goal, but the Huskies needed just 2:05 to respond with a dagger with 5:04 remaining. On third-and-4, Bell caught a Fagnano pass and broke free of a tackle behind the line to gain for a 38-yard touchdown.
Earlier, Boston College settled for Lombardo’s 47-yard field goal after a game-opening, 12-play drive stalled out inside opposing territory, but Fagnano hit a wide-open Vereen for a 50-yard touchdown on the visitors’ ensuing penalty-aided series.
After driving to the UConn 2-yard line during a 13-play string that ended without a touchdown, Lombardo kicked a 22-yard field goal to bring the Eagles to 7-6 late in the first quarter.
The Huskies finished an 80-yard march in a 3:47 span early in the second quarter as Fagnano scored on a 2-yard rush to the right. James responded by throwing a 9-yard strike to freshman Kaelan Chudzinski to make it a one-point game halfway through the quarter.
Chris Freeman booted a 40-yard field goal with 5:52 left before halftime, giving the Huskies a 17-13 lead before their defense made the first defensive stop of the game for either team.
The hosts took the lead with 21 seconds to go in the first half, as James launched a 39-yard pass to Reed Harris to punctuate a drive that lasted just 1:17.
