KINGSTON, R.I. — Central Connecticut ran into a tough, balanced Rhode Island team. The Blue Devils, down 14 points early, and 17 at the half, staged a furious comeback, but were eliminated, 27-19 at Meade Stadium Saturday.
The Rams, CAA champions, who eliminated Central in a close game last year, allowed no room for 1,000-yard rusher Elijah Howard, holding him to 35 yards on 13 carries. Brady Olson, forced to throw nearly every down, delivered two TD passes as Central played catch-up all afternoon.
Devin Farrell was 25 for 39 for for 374 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams (11-3), who move on to play UC-Davis in the Round of 16 next week. Central, NEC champ, was playing in its fourth playoff since 2017, but is still looking for its first win.
Yale, in its first-ever FCS playoff, came from four touchdowns back at Youngstown State, 43-42.
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Central (8-5) failed to convert on a 3rd-and-1 on its first series and punted. Then Rhode Island went to work, moving 62 yards in 10 plays. Farrell, 4 for 5 on the drive, made an off-balance throw to Connor Finer, who broke wide open downfield for 28 yards and a TD.
The tone set, Central went three-and-out again, and Farrell went downfield again, for 31 yards to Aboraa Kwarteng for 31 yards, then Marquis Buchanan for 25 and another score.
Olson (29 for 61, 311) wrested the momentum with a 16-play, 75-yard drive, completing passes to convert on third down three times, and 4th-and-6 in Rhode Island territory. He finished with a flip to Howard for three yards and the the score as the first quarter expired. The Blue Devils’ defense made a quick stop and got the ball back for Olson at the Central 45. They reached the Rams’ 24, but turned it over on downs.
On 3rd-and-5 from their 29, the Rams picked up and stymied a Central blitz and Farrell found Omari Walker wide open for a 54-yard gain. URI’s Antwain Littleton Jr. scored on a 4th-and-1 to restore the lead to two touchdowns with 7:39 to go in the half. The Rams tacked on Garth White’s 42-yard field goal to take a 24-7 lead into the break.
Zach Bonini’s 16-yard run with a fake punt, the Devils’ longest run of the game, kept a Central drive alive in the third quarter, and Olson hit Damani Williams with a 25-yard scoring strike early in the fourth. The extra point was blocked, but Dekavis Preston made a huge play for Central, intercepting Farrell’s pass and returned it 59 yards to the red zone. The Devils settled for Jack Hennessy’s field goal, making it a one-score game at 24-16 with 9:57 to play.
The teams traded field goals, and Central got it back one last time, at its own 5 with 1:36 to go, but ran out of time, and downs, at the Rams’ 40.