UConn's Fagnano wins prestigious Bulger Lowe Award | Zanor

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Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while welcoming Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox pitching rotation. Here’s a wish that the Sox can also add Cy Young winners Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes.

Bulger Lowe Award

For a college football player in New England, it doesn’t get any bigger than winning the George H. “Bulger” Lowe Award.

The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston established the award in 1939 to recognize New England’s best offensive player in the Football Bowl Division (I) and Football Championship Championship Division (1-AA). In 1982, both offensive and defensive players were given the award.

This week, UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano was announced as the recipient of the 2025 Bulger Lowe Award. Fagnano is the third UConn player to be chosen for the prestigious award. The other Huskies were Matt DeGennaro (1990) and Noel Thomas (2016).

Fagnano, who is also a semifinalist for the 2025 Davey O’Brien Award (nation’s top quarterback), has completed 285-of-413 passes for 3,448 yards and 28 touchdowns with only one interception. He ranks third in the NCAA in passing TDs and passing yards.

Fagnano has guided the Huskies to a 9-3 record and second straight season of bowl eligibility. With a bowl game left to play, Fagnano is just three completions away from the school record and only 37 yards away from another UConn passing record.

It was a treat perusing the list of former Bulger Lowe Award winners. Fagnano is in amazing company. How about Everett High School (Ma.) legends Bobby Leo (Harvard, 1966) and Dan Ross (Northeastern, 1978)? How about Boston College’s Doug Flutie (1982 and 1984), Bill Romanowski (1987), Matt Ryan (2007), Luke Kuechly (2010 and 2011), and Zay Flowers (2022)? How about New London’s A.J. Dillon (Boston College, 2017 and 2019)?

How about the Yale trio of Brian Dowling (1968), Swampscott’s Dick Jauron (1972), and Rich Diana (1981)? How about Holy Cross’ Gordie Lockbaum, who won it as defensive player in 1986 and as an offensive player in 1987?

And how about Tim Whelan (Tufts, 1976)? Whelan’s son, Tim Whelan Jr., is the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president. Whelan Jr. is also a New England/New York Regional Sports Editor for USA Today Co.

The Bulger Lowe is the third oldest collegiate football award in the United States, following the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award. It is named after Arlington (Ma.) schoolboy star George Henry “Bulger” Lowe Jr.

Lowe Jr. attended Fordham University and was a captain of the 1917 Fordham Maroon football team. He was the first player from Fordham to play professional football, a career that included stints with the Frankford Yellow Jackets, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians, Providence Steam Rollers, and Boston Bulldogs.

Lowe Jr. went on to become a coach and an official. He died at age 43 on February 18, 1939. The Gridiron Club named the award for the best collegiate football player in New England in his honor shortly after. It is considered “New England’s Heisman Trophy.”

Love for Heisman

Speaking of the Heisman Trophy. It’s 2025. And that means the award is going to Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love.

Since Chicago running back Jay Berwanger won the first Heisman Trophy in 1935, a running back has captured the award on every year ending in five: Army’s Doc Blanchard (1945), Ohio State’s Howard Cassady (1955), USC’s Mike Garrett (1965), Ohio State’s Archie Griffin (1975), Auburn’s Bo Jackson (1985), Ohio State’s Eddie George (1995), USC’s Reggie Bush (2005) and Alabama’s Derrick Henry (2015).

Love has rushed for 1,306 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. He also has three receiving TDs.

The Fighting Irish junior from St. Louis (Mo.) had 228 rushing yards and a touchdown in last month’s 34-24 win over USC. Boston fans recently saw Love gain 136 yards and score two touchdowns in Notre Dame’s 25-10 victory against Boston College in Chestnut Hill.

Love is a finalist, along with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, for the prestigious Maxwell Award.

Biletnikoff Award

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc. announced this week that UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell has been named one of three finalists for the 2025 Biletnikoff Award.

Bell is the first Husky in program history to become a finalist for one of college football’s top awards. He is joined by other finalists Makai Lemon of USC and Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State. The winner will be announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN on December 12.

The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the college football season’s outstanding FBS receiver. Any player, regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot or inside receiver, wing back, or running back) who catches a pass is eligible for the award.

Bell has caught 101 passes for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns, setting new UConn records for catches and touchdowns this season. He is 76 yards away from the school mark for yards in a season. He had seven games this season with 100 yards or more, tying the FBS school record set by Bulger Lowe award winner Noel Thomas in 2016.

Bell (Bronx, N.Y.) currently ranks first in the nation in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and 100-yard games.

Mora leaving UConn

Help Wanted. UConn is looking for a head football coach.

It was a shock hearing that Jim Mora is leaving Storrs for greener pastures at Colorado State. Still, I’m sure the move makes sense for him and his family. Mora, who coached at UCLA from 2012-2017, is heading back to the “new” Pac-12 with Colorado State. Mora leaves the UConn football program better than he found it. Here’s hoping the Huskies’ next hire will be coaching the team in a conference, perhaps the Big 12 or the ACC.

Here is a press statement from UConn Director of Athletics Dave Benedict:

“Jim Mora informed me late last night that he has accepted the head coaching position at Colorado State.

We are grateful for Coach Mora’s contributions to UConn over the past four seasons. He took on the challenge of rebuilding our football program and delivered results that exceeded expectations. Under his leadership, the Huskies won 27 games and achieved bowl eligibility in three of his four seasons, including back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time in program history.

“Coach Mora brought energy and a winning culture back to UConn football and put our program back on the national stage. We thank Jim for his dedication to our student-athletes and wish him, his wife Kathy and his family the best at Colorado State.

“We now turn our attention to finding the right leader to build on the foundation that has been established and continue moving UConn football forward. Offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis will lead the team in the interim as a national search for the next head coach at the University of Connecticut will begin immediately.”

Top 10 poll watching

Killingly remained at No. 2 in this week’s GameTimeCT Top 10 poll. With most teams on a bye before their Thanksgiving Day game, this week’s Top 10 is the same as last week’s.

The Trailblazers are also No. 2 in the Hartford Courant Top 10 State Football Coaches Poll.

GameTimeCT Top 10 Football Poll

(first-place votes and record in parenthesis)

New Canaan (19) (9-0)
Killingly (2) (9-0)
Daniel Hand (8-1)
St. Joseph (7-2)
Greenwich (7-2)
Wilton (8-1)
Fairfield Prep (7-2)
New Britain (8-1)
Windsor (8-1)
Cheshire (7-2)

Here’s the Top 10 vote I submitted to the good folks at GameTimeCT last Sunday.

Killingly (9-0)
New Canaan (9-0)
Daniel Hand (9-1)
St. Joseph (7-2)
Wilton (8-1)
Greenwich (7-2)
Fairfield Prep (7-2)
New Britain (8-1)
Windsor (8-1)
Seymour (9-0)

STUCK IN THE 70s

On November 30, 1974, Boston College defeated rival Holy Cross, 38-6, in their season finale before 28,497 fans at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill. Eagles junior quarterback Mike Kruczek completed 9 of 12 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown, while junior running back Keith Barnette scored two touchdowns.

Kruczek set an NCAA record by completing 68.9 percent of his passes during the 11-game season. Barnette finished with 1,097 rushing yards.

Boston College (8-3) ended the season (yup, teams needed to win 9 or 10 games to play in a bowl back in the 1970s) with a six-game winning streak. During that span, the Eagles outscored Villanova, West Virginia, Tulane, Syracuse, UMass and Holy Cross, 270-27.

BC’s only losses during the 1974 season came against Earl Campbell and No. 10 Texas, 42-19, in the season opener; Tony Dorsett (3 TDs) and the Pittsburgh Panthers, 35-11; and a 34-7 loss in a driving rainstorm at Temple.

Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at jzanor@norwichbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Zanor column: UConn’s Fagnano wins prestigious Bulger Lowe Award

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