CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — If UConn football coach Jim Mora ever had a close eye on his program’s history with Boston College, he wasn’t saying so Saturday afternoon while discussing every shiny detail of the Huskies’ 38-23 victory over the Eagles at Alumni Stadium.
“We're trying to build something special,” Mora said. “It's an everyday proposition. We have to attack it every single day but we're starting to see some results, and we have to protect it by the way we work and the way we think and the way we attack tomorrow. We're just going to keep trying to be the best we can be every day and worry about ourselves and not worry about the fact that we finally …”
He stopped for some clarification.
“What did you say? We beat them ...”
In two of three meetings since he arrived four years ago, Mora was told, and now for the first time ever on the road.
“OK, yeah, that's great, yeah,” Mora said. “This isn't about BC. We prepare [in a] way that we expect to win no matter who we're playing, if we play the way we're capable of playing.”
Saturday was significant. It was the type of day you’d hope to stack, one after another, season after season, in an effort to change the perception and future of a program.
The Huskies (5-2) led much of the first half, managed to trail at halftime and dominated from there, picking up their first road victory against a power conference program since 2012 (at Maryland of the ACC and at Louisville of the Big East).
This, of course, is not the BC of Doug Flutie or Matt Ryan. The Eagles, in their second season under coach Bill O’Brien, are a bit of a mess right now, 1-6 on the season and chewed up by the Clemsons and Pitts of the world. But when you’re the forgotten program of major college football, an independent sticking its head in the door where all the important conversations take place, erasing a deficit on the road against an ACC team — the one that wanted to make sure you didn't join them when the Big East dissolved, no less — is something to whistle about on the bus ride home.
UConn was 0-12-2 against BC prior to Mora’s hiring before the 2022 season. The Huskies stunned the Eagles 13-3 at Rentschler Field that year, then lost in Chestnut Hill in 2023. After that loss, Mora noted the physical difference in the teams sharing the field. It was obvious, and too much to overcome.
Two years later, UConn roughed up its New England neighbor, bullied its way to seven sacks and looked physically superior at every position. This takes commitment and, of course, money in College Athletics 2025. Sick of losing in football, and with an eye toward better chances at power conference membership, athletic director David Benedict said a couple years ago of spending on football, "We're going to pour gas on it." Mora and his players have matches.
“I would just say that we have people in our program sitting around you right now and people that support this program that have stepped up and get into a position where we can compete for some really good football players,” Mora said, noting that Benedict and other staffers were in attendance for the press conference. “And when we walk on the field against a team like BC, we look the part. That's credit to our strength and conditioning staff, a credit to our nutritionist, a credit to our cafeteria people, it's a compliment to our players. But certainly a big part of it is the support that we've gotten from administration and the people investing their hard-earned money in this team.”
Quarterback Joe Fagnano could have sat in the pocket protected until the sun set on Saturday. He completed 23 of 31 passes for 362 yards and four touchdowns.
Skyler Bell had 10 catches for 125 yards. Needing only a first down to essentially put the game to rest with just over five minutes remaining, Bell caught a slant pass on the left on 3rd-and-4, fought his way inside for the necessary yardage and then broke free in the opposite direction, streaking 38 yards for a score.
“He wears No. 1 for a reason,” said Juice Vereen, the versatile tight end who lines up as a receiver and even a running back. “He’s the one.”
Bell opted to stay at UConn despite lucrative offers from power conference schools and he’s established himself as one of the most electric receivers in the country. He is one of many difference makers. Fagnano is legitimately good, poised, accurate, confident — and he has options. Vereen, a transfer from NC State, scored the first two touchdowns of his UConn career, catches of 50 and 14 yards. Milford’s John Neider scored his first career touchdown, too, getting wide open to receive a 43-yard dart from Fagnano to give UConn back the lead early in the third quarter.
That drive was a needed response. The Huskies trailed 20-17 at halftime after a BC touchdown with just 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter — a 39-yard pass from Grayson James, named the starter before the game over Dylan Lonergan, to Reed Harris. The play came on 1st-and-25. It was, or could have been, demoralizing.
“We lost momentum that we had kind of captured,” Mora said. “That can bury some teams, especially when you're on the road. You're up all half and then you go down. I just thought the resilience that our players showed, the adjustments that our coaches made, it showed me a lot of what's happening around here in terms of confidence, belief in the work we're doing, trust in each other. It paid off in coming out and putting together a pretty darn good second half.”
UConn went six plays and 75 yards in 3:09 to open the third quarter and never trailed again.
The Huskies have five victories versus just two overtime losses this season, with five to play. UConn can become bowl eligible as early as next weekend with a victory at Rice. The team’s only losses are in overtime to Syracuse and Delaware.
“We've been pushing ourselves real hard,” said linebacker Bryun Parham, who had 14 tackles and two sacks. “Coaches push us real hard and we push each other real hard. We just wanted to see the results out there. We said it's enough talking. So to be able to go out there after the stuff that happened at the end of the half, to be able to really come together and get a victory, it means a lot to us. It just brought us a lot closer. We're feeling good and we want to keep it going.”
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