Huskies Rout Merrimack in Home Opener

Saturday, September 7

East Hartford, CT

12:00 PM

University of Connecticut

1-1 , 0-0

Merrimack

0-2 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Merrimack

UConn

Photo by: Clarus Multimedia Group

9/7/2024 5:16:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – The UConn Huskies tied the school FBS record for points in a game in a 63-17 win over visiting Merrimack College Saturday afternoon in front of 32,351 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.

Senior quarterback Joe Fagnano (Williamsport, Pa.) led the UConn offense with 328 yards passing and five touchdown throws, tying the school record set by Dan Orlovsky who did it three times during his career. Fagnano finished the day completing 13-of-19 passes and had touchdown throws of 50, 60, 39, 44 and 12 yards while 10 different UConn receivers caught passes in the win.

Fagnano and the Huskies piled up 624 total yards of offense on Saturday also setting a new UConn school record. The Huskies 63 points matches the FBS record for points in a game, set against Kent State on November 9, 2002. The 46-point win is the largest margin of victory since a 45-10 win over Memphis in 2013.

UConn (1-1) came flying out of the gates and scored 35 points in the first quarter on 16 total plays, setting a new school FBS record for points in a quarter (28 4x – last vs URI 9/15/18). The Huskies finished the first half with 56 points and 486 yards of offense with Fagnano completing 10-of-15 passes for 298 yards and four scores. UConn's 56 points at the half sets a new FBS school record for points in a half (49 vs Kent State, 11/9/02).

R-Junior Skyler Bell (Bronx, N.Y.) caught two passes and had 105 yards receiving including a 60-yard touchdown catch, his first as a Husky. Bell hit the century mark receiving for the second-straight game.

R-Junior tight end Alex Honig (Bavaria, Germany) caught three passes, including his first career touchdown, while r-senior Ezeriah Anderson (Seffner, Fla.) and r-freshman Shamar Porter (Nashville, Tenn.) each caught a pair of passes and scored their first touchdowns as Huskies.

On the ground, UConn piled up 278 yards rushing and were led by r-freshman Durrell Robinson (Seat Pleasant, Md.) who finished with 94 yards on 10 carries and a score. Junior Mel Brown (Stone Mountain, Ga.) ran for 87 yards on a team-high 14 carries.

Fagnano added 38 yards rushing and a score to his offensive totals for the day while junior Victor Rosa (Bristol, Conn.) and r-sophomore Cam Edwards (Norwalk, Conn.) each found the end zone as well.

The UConn defense held Merrimack (0-2) to 279 yards of offense while picking up four sacks and 10.0 tackles of a loss. R-Senior linebacker Jayden McDonald (Suwanee, Ga.) finished with a team-high eight tackles.

Merrimack's Jermaine Corbett ran for 103 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Junior back-up quarterback Justin Lewis came in and was 6-of-6 for 103 yards and a touchdown.

Up Next:

The Huskies head back on the road next Saturday to face their first of three ACC opponents this season when they take on the Duke Blue Devils. Kick-off is at 6 pm on ACCNX.