UConn football survives with late strip sack to seal 37-34 victory over Duke

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EAST HARTFORD – Facing a 4th-and-5 with two and a half minutes left and the game on the line, UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano fired a dart into the hands of his tight end, Juice Vereen, to convert. He threw another on the very next play, 19 yards to Skyler Bell in the end zone, and dove for the two-point conversion to put the Huskies up by three with two minutes left.

With a crowd of 38,106 willing the defense to end the game, star linebacker Bryun Parham chased down Duke quarterback Darian Mensah for a strip sack with 20 seconds remaining that then sealed the 37-34 victory.

Fagnano came back out for the final kneel-down and fans flooded onto the field to celebrate the program’s biggest win under coach Jim Mora.

It is the first time UConn, now 7-3, has beaten multiple power-conference opponents (outside of the Big East) in the same season since 2009. It was also the Huskies’ largest crowd at Rentschler Field since 2013.

Fagnano finished 27-for-39 passing with 311 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Bell, who had 11 catches for 87 yards. Reymello Murphy added a massive 110 yards on five catches and Cam Edwards finished with 93 total yards and a touchdown.

It was a bleak start for UConn’s defense, letting Duke drive 55 yards in three plays and cap its opening drive with an easy 13-yard run into the end zone.

But it was expected to be a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair with the Huskies coming in averaging 44.8 points per game at home this season and Duke averaging 39 on the road.

And UConn was aggressive in its response, moving down the field with explosive plays of its own and then going for it on 4th-and-7 in Duke territory. The Blue Devils were flagged for roughing the passer, then offsides to put the ball at the 10-yard line and set up the fifth touchdown catch of the season for UConn tight end Juice Vereen.

Mensah, who had only thrown two interceptions through his first eight games, matched that number in the first half.

His pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by linebacker Kamo’i Latu and intercepted by Bryun Parham to a roar from the crowd, and UConn jumped ahead with a 29-yard field goal from Chris Freeman, who missed his next attempt from 42 yards out.

Duke found the end zone again early in the second quarter after a perfect over-the-shoulder pass from Mensah to Andrel Anderson from 10-yards out. But Cam Edwards led UConn’s response, making a pair of chunk plays out of the backfield to kickstart the offense on a drive that ended with Bell’s 12th touchdown reception of the season – a new program record.

With a chance to regain the lead a minute before halftime, Mensah threw on the run straight to the hands of DB Devin Pringle in Huskies’ territory. Freeman tacked on a 45-yard field goal to make it a 20-14 UConn lead at halftime.

The Blue Devils received the second half kickoff and drove 75 yards in nine plays, jumping back ahead with a 3-yard rushing touchdown from freshman running back Nate Sheppard, his second of the game.

Murphy, who made multiple explosive plays in the first half, found himself open down the seam for 36 yards to move inside the Duke 22-yard line and the Huskies settled for a chip-shot, 20-yard field goal to take a 23-21 lead with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

The Blue Devils, facing a similar 4th-and-short situation at the goal line, decided to go for it and were rewarded as receiver Landen King came down with a difficult diving catch in the end zone to take a 28-23 lead into the fourth quarter.

When it looked like the Huskies were going to have to punt to start the fourth quarter after an offensive pass interference call set them behind the chains, Mora dialed up a fake. Tight end Alex Honig took the snap and ran for 26 yards, all the way down to the Duke 40-yard line. Fagnano got the Huskies inside the 10 with his legs and Edwards plowed in for a 3-yard score, but UConn’s two-point conversion attempt was failed after Fagnano’s pass was intercepted, leaving the Huskies with a 29-28 lead with just under 11 minutes to play.

The Blue Devils took more than five minutes off the clock with an 80-yard drive that ended with a go-ahead touchdown pass with five and a half minutes left in regulation. Mensah was also intercepted on his two-point conversion attempt to keep it a five-point game.

UConn took a late lead when Fagnano fired a ball to Bell from 19 yards out for his second touchdown of the game and then dove at the pylon to convert the two-point conversion and go up three with two minutes to play.

UConn hosts Air Force in its final home game of the season at Noon on Saturday before visiting FAU for its season-finale on Nov. 22.

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