BOSTON — There was really only one positive takeaway from UConn’s latest trip to a bowl game:
If it’s about money, get Cam Edwards the money. … Find a way.
In a world that is now all business, some of the the stars among Edwards’ teammates made business decisions not to play in the Fenway Bowl on Saturday. Edwards, the running back from Norwalk, also had interests to consider, but made a different decision — to hold up his end of the bargain. He showed up, played with honor and produced for the Huskies.
“The guys in the locker room, it means a lot to them, seeing the people that were here for us,” Edwards said. “I told the guys, ever since I entered the (transfer) portal, I told the guys, ‘I’m going to play this game.’ I felt it was right for me to go out and play one last game with my brothers. That was my ‘why,’ why I wanted to play for my guys and for UConn football.”
UConn football season comes to end with 41-16 loss to Army in Fenway Bowl
Beyond Edwards, who carried the ball 11 times for 108 yards, including the Huskies’ only touchdown, this rather cold, transactional afternoon of college football, Army’s 41-16 victory in the fourth Fenway Bowl, UConn did not salvage much dignity. Those among the 22,461 who drove out of the snow in Connecticut, and shivered through three hours rooting for the Huskies at Fenway Park should get some form of rebate, maybe free tickets to a game at Rentschler Field next season to see something worth the price of admission.
This game was set up to be a nightmare for UConn from the moment it was announced on Dec. 7. The Huskies (9-4), who didn’t lose a game all year in regulation, earned a bowl bid and the Fenway Sports Group, delighted by the crowd they drew last year, maneuvered out of its conference agreements to invite UConn back.
The football program brought new respect to Boston, but didn’t do much to maintain it. It was not the 2024 Huskies the Fenway folks were getting, nor the 2025 Huskies. They weren’t even getting a sneak peak of next year’s UConn football team. They got Cam Edwards, who got little help.
Joe Fagnano, UConn’s star quarterback, opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL Draft, and his most experienced backup, Nick Evers, was not around, either. Many of the players were off weighing offers to transfer elsewhere. Skyler Bell, UConn’s All-American receiver, chose to play, talked a big game about doing so, but in the end played just the first offensive series, misfired on a trick play, and told the coaches he was done for the day.
Coach Jim Mora left for Colorado State the day before Thanksgiving, and the assistants who stayed behind to try to keep a team together to play this game, all had a foot out the door.
And that’s basically what this looked like. UConn did have most of its first-team defense on the field and made some stops in the first half, but the tackling was terrible in the second half as Army, not a program that is going to do anything half-heartedly, ran roughshod and broke the game open.
Freshman Ksaan Ferrar did what he could at quarterback, but in his first real college action was overmatched. So Edwards had to battle without a passing game to stretch the defense, breaking off a 34-yard run on his first carry, a 12-yard touchdown on his second to give the Huskies a short-lived lead.
Make no mistake, there were voices in his ear telling him not to play, too, but play he did, and for that he should be lauded — and rewarded — under modern college football rules. Edwards has done right by UConn, and UConn fans.
Here’s where it stands. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Edwards, who finished the season with 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns, intends to enter the transfer portal when it opens after New Year’s Day.
He should.
Though he certainly appears to have all the attributes of an NFL runner, there are not guarantees on it. Next year could be his last, best chance for a life-altering pay-day as a football player, so he owes it to himself to explore all options. It could be surmised that Mora would like to have him to help install his culture at Colorado State, or offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis would like to take Edwards with him to his next stop, Texas Christian.
Dom Amore: UConn football returning to Boston ‘a relevant, respected program’
“He’s a talented guy,” said Sammis, interim head coach for this game, “but it’s his sheer force of will that makes us go.”
UConn may not have the resources Power 4 Conference programs have, but they could likely gather enough to keep Edwards, who has said he is “absolutely” open to staying in his home state, if they prioritize keeping him. And new coach Jason Candle, who watched from a suite, should prioritize keeping Edwards. He is the face of UConn football right now, and could be the ideal centerpiece and bridge to the new era begin next year.
“Me being a Connecticut guy, it was really the culture that was built here, guys come in ready to fight,” Edwards said. “Things happen, but the sky’s the limit for UConn football. UConn football is back.”
There isn’t an offensive approach that couldn’t make good use of a running back with Edwards’ speed and power, and the former state high school player of the year deserves to finish his career as one of UConn’s greatest football players. He shouldn’t be expected to take a financial hit to do it, though, so whatever the going rate in name-image-likeness money and revenue sharing turns out to be, the program should meet it.
The other details of a dismal end to an otherwise entertaining UConn season can be written off as the state of college football as it exists today. Expanded playoffs, coaches and players moving around, make bowl games like this meaningless for many teams and players.
Last year, UConn was climbing and they crushed a decimated and dispirited North Carolina team, this time UConn was on the wrong end of that dynamic. Don’t tell the fans that paid and traveled to be here. For them, the message, should this happen next year, is buyer (or bettor) beware. For UConn, the message is, do what it takes to make sure Cam Edwards is there to earn the price of admission.
“My plan going forward is to enjoy time with my family and see what happens,” Edwards said. “Enjoy family time.”
Edwards as earned that much, and a whole lot more. Now, it’s his turn to take care of business.