An historic season for the UConn football program will come to an end in a familiar venue as the Huskies look to complete their first 10-win season in the FBS with a second-consecutive Fenway Bowl victory as they meet Army in Boston on Saturday.
With the exception of UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano, who is prioritizing prep for the next level, and a pair of starting offensive linemen in the portal, both teams are expected to be close to full strength, which should make for a competitive matchup as they share the same sideline at Fenway Park. UConn has kept most of its cards close to the vest over the last month with all of the moving parts that come with a coaching change and the transfer portal. Interim head coach Gordon Sammis continued the theme when he was asked about the quarterback position on Friday.
“We’ve got a plan, a couple of guys ready to go,” he told reporters in Boston. UConn has three potential options with Nick Evers being the most experienced, in addition to freshman Ksaan Farrar and redshirt-sophomore Tucker McDonald, who is from Holden, Mass., but has been unavailable most of this season with a hand injury.
As for the other big-name Huskies, consensus All-American receiver Skyler Bell and star running back Cam Edwards have both said they will play, though there is a question of how much.
“There’s always gonna be some different things when you play with a different quarterback, but everything’s the same, we’re still running the same offense, same plays,” Bell said last week. “It’s just getting the chemistry down, obviously I haven’t gotten as many reps with the other quarterbacks, but it doesn’t take too much time. .. But I think we’re going to be fine on Saturday because it’s next man up.”
Linebacker Bryun Parham, top-10 nationally in sacks with 10.5 on the season, is also expected to play along with “pretty much” the entire starting unit on the defensive side of the ball, according to defensive back Cam Chadwick, who is playing despite being in the portal.
That factor could be most important against an Army team that won five of its last eight games and ranks fifth nationally in rushing yards (245.5 per game) out of its unique option offense, which could be especially challenging with temperatures expected to be around 25 degrees at kickoff.
“We talked from the beginning about trying to break records and make history, and we’re gonna try to do that one more time and send these guys out the right way because they’ve earned it and they deserve it,” Sammis said. “We’re gonna try to finish the mission.”
UConn had ups and downs against the run this season, ranked No. 114 allowing 185.5 yards on the ground per game, but the Huskies did manage to come out on top after giving up 290 yards to a similar Air Force rushing attack in the penultimate game of the regular season. Expect the Huskies, No. 69 nationally at 159 rushing yards per game, to go to the ground often as well with their backfield stable that will likely include Bristol native Victor Rosa, who had the best game of his career at Army in 2022, Mel Brown, Oliver Lundberg-Coleman and speedy receiver Terrence Smith, in addition to Edwards.
“We recognize what a physical team UConn is, and that’s in all phases,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “That starts with Coach (Jim) Mora and the program that he built and certainly with their coaches and their players, they take on that personality.”
What to know
Site: Fenway Park, Boston
Line: Army by 7 1/2
Time: 2:15 p.m.
TV: ESPN – Wes Durham, Steve Addazio, Dana Boyle
Radio: UConn Sports Network from Learfield, Fox Sports 97.9
Online: The Varsity Network App – Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman, Adam Giardino
Records: UConn: 9-3, Army: 6-6
Series: UConn leads, 5-4.
Last meeting: Nov. 19, 2022 – Army 34, UConn 17 at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y.
Bowl records: UConn: 4-4, Army: 8-3