UConn can earn its first 10-win season as an FBS program with a victory against Army at the Fenway Bowl on Saturday afternoon.
BOSTON – UConn can complete a 10-win season for the first time in 28 years with a victory over Army in the fourth annual Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Saturday afternoon (2:15 p.m. kickoff).
The only time UConn won 10 games in a season was as a Division I-AA (FCS) program in 1998, so the Huskies’ will be motivated to put their double-digit FBS stamp on this century.
But there are two factors working against the Huskies as they engage the Black Knights of the Hudson on a reconfigured baseball diamond in the shadow of the Green Monster.
The architect of the Huskies’ resurgence, head coach Jim Mora, has decamped for Colorado State. Offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis was named interim head coach in a transitory situation fraught with uncertainty.
During yesterday’s Wasabi Bowl press conference at Fenway’s 521 Overlook Club, Sammis said he would smooth over the distractions by sticking with Mora’s blueprint.
“It has honestly been pretty easy,” Sammis said. “We have a lot of guys we recruited that want to be here and it has been business as usual in how we run practice.
“The plays haven’t changed, the defenses haven’t changed, and the offense and special teams. Our guys have been doing this long enough to know how to do things the right way.”
UConn starting quarterback Joe Fagnano has elected to sit out the Fenway Bowl to participate in the Senior Bowl and prep for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Fagnano helped the Huskies roll up 5,521 yards of offense, 209 shy of the school record. Fagnano completed a school record 285 passes for 3,448-yards with 28 touchdowns and 1 interception. He completed 23-of-31 passes for 362 yards and four touchdowns in the Huskies 38-23 victory at Boston College on Oct. 18.
Sammis would not say which of Fagnano’s back-ups would take the opening snap despite the 15 extra practices awarded to bowl eligible teams.
Nick Evans has the most experience having appeared in three games and completed 10-of-16 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. There was speculation that true freshman Ksaan Farrar might see extensive action.
“We have a couple of options and if I have too, I could go there and finish the game,” Sammis said. “I can still hand it off on a couple of plays.
“But no, we have a plan and we have a couple of guys ready to go. The beauty of having this time off is we have guys doing multiple reps when ready and we have plans to do what we have to do to win the game.
“I won’t get too into it but we’ve got enough guys ready to go that I don’t think I’ll have to get out there. It was much easier than I thought it would be and we are ready to go.”
Side by Side
One of the unique challenges of playing a football game at Fenway Park is that both teams have to share the same sideline.
That puts half the field off limits to both camps and can cause disruptions in communication, substitutions, signaling for a time out and play calls in the red zone. UConn has the advantage in this area having beaten North Carolina 27-14 in last year’s Fenway Bowl.
“It will be interesting to both be on the same sideline,” said Army 12th-year head coach Jeff Monken. “I have been around long enough to remember when NFL teams had to do that in baseball stadiums when I was a young kid.
“I have been involved in one game in my career where we did that. There are some challenges obviously and the coach to player communication that we have now where our coaches can speak to the quarterback and speak to the guys on defense hopefully will make it easier. We will find out the challenges presented there on Saturday and try to work through them.”
Gillette Revisited
Army linebacker Kalib Fortner is no stranger to playing meaningful games in big stadiums in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The 6-1, 220-pound, inside linebacker from Knoxville, Tenn., made the play of the game in the Cadets’ victory over the Navy Midshipmen in the 124th meeting between the two military academies on Dec. 9, 2023, at Gillette Stadium.
With 4:49 to play in the fourth quarter, Fortner strip sacked Navy quarterback Tai Lavalai and returned it 44-yards for a touchdown to give Army a 17-3 lead. He would finish the match with a team high 10 tackles in Army’s 17-11 victory and was named the game’s MVP.
“It was a blessing to play there,” Fortner said. “I grew up watching Tom Brady and the Pats so to play there with the performance I had was truly remarkable and I will remember that for the rest of my life.
“I have gotten to play in many special venues and to finish up here and Fenway Park is awesome.”
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Category: General Sports
