AMHERST, N.Y. – The 2025 UConn football team is no stranger to clutch drives at the end of regulation.
After losing its first two road games in overtime, the Huskies saw another lead slip away on Saturday as Buffalo converted on 4th-and-goal to tie the game with less than a minute left. Staring another overtime in the face, UConn had an answer on Saturday.
Quarterback Joe Fagnano came through, finding his receivers for small chunk plays as the Huskies managed the clock with no timeouts. Fagnano found Skyler Bell, who went out of bounds at the Buffalo 26-yard line to stop the clock with 11 seconds left.
And Chris Freeman, who made a 39-yard field goal earlier in the game, split the uprights from 44 yards to give the Huskies their first road win of the season, 20-17.
Fagnano completed 19 of his 31 pass attempts and finished with 155 yards and a touchdown in what was a defensive slugfest. He also led UConn in rushing with 64 yards on the ground, winning the duel with Buffalo backup Gunnar Gray, who started in place of the injured former Husky, Ta’Quan Roberson.
UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell heads upfield during the first half of the Huskies’ game at Buffalo on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (Courtesy of UConn)
The Huskies’ first scoring drive started with a scare.
Edwards went down after a short run and slowly made his way to the medical tent, where he spent about two minutes before jogging out. By the time he came back on the field, the Huskies’ offense made its way into the red zone thanks to a pair of quarterback runs from Fagnano and two connections with star receiver Skyler Bell, who didn’t have any touches in the first quarter.
Fagnano found Bell a third time near the 10-yard line and the elusive receiver ran away from the Bulls’ defense and into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the season.
UConn running back Cam Edwards reaches into the end zone to complete an 8-yard rushing touchdown in the first half of the Huskies’ game at Buffalo on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (Courtesy of UConn)
It didn’t take long for Buffalo to answer.
The Huskies’ defense, which hasn’t been able to avoid big plays all season, missed a pair of tackles on running back Lamar Sperling and he bursted through for a 63-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
Fagnano’s legs continued to benefit the Huskies to start the second half. Typically stationary, the veteran QB found a hole in Buffalo’s defense and took off for 38 yards to get into the red zone. Freshman running back Oliver Lundberg-Coleman ran for 17 yards on three carries from there and Edwards finished off the drive with his sixth rushing touchdown of the season from 8 yards out.
Buffalo continued to chip away with short run plays and faked a punt to get across midfield on its first possession of the second half. The Bulls took more than six minutes off the clock before stalling and settling for a 39-yard field goal to cut their deficit to 14-10.
Chris Freeman answered with a 39-yard field goal of his own to extend the Huskies’ lead back to seven with less than two minutes to go in the third quarter.
D’Mon Brinson made a critical defensive play to break up a deep pass as Buffalo tried to convert a 4th-and-short opportunity with less than 10 minutes left in regulation.
UConn punted on its first three drives of the fourth quarter and allowed the Bulls to drive into the red zone for the first time with less than three minutes to go in regulation. Facing a 4th-and-goal from the 5-yard line, running back Al-Jay Henderson was wide open for a screen pass to tie the game at 17 with 59 seconds to play.
UConn will return to Rentschler Field to meet FIU on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
