BOSTON — The UConn football team swallowed North Carolina at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon, using its dominant defense to clinch a 27-14 victory in the Fenway Bowl, its first win in a bowl game since 2009. The importance of the game was clear for the Huskies, who secured just the third nine-win season in UConn’s FBS history, and to their fans, who made up most of the crowd which was announced at 27,900 — the highest-attended game in the Fenway Bowl’s three-year history. Huskies fans got good news even before the game kicked off. Just as the players took the field for the 11 a.m. start, UConn announced that head coach Jim Mora had agreed to a two-year contract extension, which will run through 2028. Mora will make $10 million, plus incentives, over the final four years of the deal. Things got even better once the game began. Graduate quarterback Joe Fagnano completed 16 of his 23 pass attempts for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Mel Brown and Cam Edwards rushed for 96 and 74 yards, respectively, as the Huskies (10-4) picked up 210 of their 361 total yards on the ground. It was a miserable offensive performance — at least through the first three quarters — for North Carolina (6-7), which had multiple offensive linemen and its star running back, Omarion Hampton, opt out of the game, and lost its starting quarterback in the first quarter. The Tar Heels managed just 65 total yards and two first downs entering the fourth quarter, yet finished with 206 total yards. The game started with a 47-yard sprint down the sideline for Brown, which set up a 32-yard Chris Freeman field goal on the Huskies’ opening drive. From the very start, the UNC offensive line couldn’t handle UConn’s veteran front seven. Pryce Yates, who withdrew from the transfer portal last week, made a third-down tackle for loss to take the Tar Heels off the field on their first possession. On their next drive, senior linemen Jelani Stafford and Jack Barton teamed up to stop a scramble from QB Jacolby Criswell, who was injured on the play and taken to the Red Sox clubhouse, which UNC used as its locker room. UConn put together a 31-second scoring drive with Fagnano throwing a perfect ball to Skyler Bell (three catches, 77 yards) in the corner of the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown. North Carolina answered immediately with a 95-yard kickoff return, but the Huskies’ domination continued. Third-down conversions to receivers TJ Sheffield and Jasaiah Gathings set up a 4-yard passing touchdown from Fagnano to Alex Honig at the end of an 11-play, 79-yard drive to start the second quarter. With under a minute left in the first half, facing fourth-and-goal from the 2, UConn brought Stafford in as the lead blocker on a 2-yard rushing touchdown for Edwards to go up 24-7. North Carolina was penalized eight times in the first half, likely frustrating its future head coach Bill Belichick, who was not in attendance. With true freshman Michael Merdinger in at quarterback, the Tar Heels didn’t pick up their initial first down until there were about 30 seconds left and went into halftime — after an interception by UConn linebacker Tui Faumuina-Brown — having been outgained by nearly 200 yards: 241 to 45. Freeman added a 24-yard field goal early in the third quarter and the Tar Heels put together a 96-yard touchdown drive in the fourth as they had senior running back Caleb Hood taking direct snaps from the quarterback position. ©2024 Hartford Courant. Visit courant.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.As the story of Liu Yuning's late-night hospital visit unfolds, one thing remains certain - the unwavering support and love of her fans will continue to shine brightly, illuminating her path towards recovery and success.
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Bonucci: Guardiola Nearly Made €100 Million Bid for Me in 2016,17, Wants to Sell Otamendi FirstCHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Will Riley scored his 19 points in the second half and No. 25 Illinois beat Maryland Eastern Shore 87-40 on Saturday. Kylan Boswell added 13 points, Tomislav Ivisic had 11 and Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Illini (4-1), who shot 25% (10 for 40) from 3-point range but committed just nine turnovers. Tre White grabbed 11 rebounds and Kasparas Jakucionis seven for Illinois, which outrebounded the Hawks 59-38. Jalen Ware scored 10 points and Christopher Flippin had 10 rebounds for Maryland Eastern Shore (2-6), which had its lowest point total of the season. The team's previous low came in 102-63 loss to Vanderbilt on Nov. 4. Illinois is unbeaten in four home games. Maryland Eastern Shore is winless in six road games. Takeaways Illinois: Coming off a 100-87 loss Wednesday to No. 8 Alabama, the Illini had no trouble dominating the overmatched Hawks. They led 35-15 at halftime and extended the lead to as many as 52 points in the second half. Maryland Eastern Shore: The Hawks couldn’t match Illinois’ height and depth and were slowed by 15 turnovers. Key moment After struggling at the start of the game, the Illini went on a 17-0 run over a seven-minute stretch to move in front 25-8 with 5:15 to go in the first half. Key stat Maryland Eastern Shore struggled from the field, shooting 22% (15 for 68), including 5 for 20 on 3-pointers. Up next Illinois hosts Little Rock on Monday. Maryland Eastern Shore plays at No. 20 Arkansas on Monday. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball