The hard lessons from earlier in the 2025 season set the stage for the most memorable win for the UConn football team.

Three losses by a total of 13 points stood between the Huskies and an undefeated record heading into Saturday’s clash with ACC title-contending Duke at Rentschler Field. A touchdown in the final two minutes and a game-clinching fumble recovery lifted UConn to a 37-34 win over Duke in front of the Huskies’ largest home crowd since 2013.

“It is the culmination of the lessons we learned this year from the close games that we have had. I think it is a testament to the will of our young men, the trust that they have in each other,” UConn coach Jim Mora said. “They could easily have played that game and said enough is enough, especially late in the fourth quarter. I think if we hadn’t had the failures we had in the two-minute drives earlier in the year, maybe we would have had the success we had tonight.”

UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano was 6 for 7 on the drive that ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Skyler Bell with 1:58 left. After a review, Fagnano’s two-point conversion run was good to put the Huskies up 37-34.

Duke was driving to try to force overtime, but UConn’s Bryun Parham stripped Duke quarterback Darian Mensah of the ball and Trent Jones recovered to secure UConn’s second win over an ACC team this season.

“I just knew I had to make it and just do my job,” Parham said. “I had to make the play. It was surreal. I’ve always wanted to make a play like that.”

Duke scored on its first two drives in the second half. Nate Sheppard had a 3-yard scoring run. The Blue Devils took the lead as Mensah rolled out and found Landen King in the corner of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1.

UConn converted on a fake punt to set up a 3-yard scoring run by Cam Edwards with 10:48 remaining to put UConn ahead 29-28.

Fagnano threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns for UConn (7-3). Bell finished with 11 catches for 87 yards and two scores, and Reymello Murphy added 110 yards receiving.

Bell’s biggest celebration came when the defense made its biggest play of the 2025 season.

“I was jumping for joy, I almost had a cramp,” said Bell, who went over 1,000 yards receiving early in the game and set the program record for touchdown catches in a season. “I was jumping (like) crazy. The defense came up big.”

Mensah threw for 222 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for Duke (5-4). Sheppard rushed for 100 yards and two scores. However, Duke coach Manny Diaz pointed to the mistakes that were too much to overcome.

“The quarterback (Fagnano) is the real deal,” Diaz said. “”We were well aware of that. It was a loss that in all three phases that we made too many mistakes.”

UConn’s defense came up with a pair of interceptions in the first half — both leading to Chris Freeman field goals as the Huskies led 20-14 at halftime.

The takeaway

Duke: The Blue Devils are minus-nine in turnover margin in their four losses this season.

UConn: Fagnano has not thrown an interception this season. He did have his pass picked off on a two-point play with 10:48 left to play. It does not count as an interception since it happened on a special teams conversion attempt.

Up next

Duke: Hosts Virginia on Saturday.

UConn: Hosts Air Force on Saturday.

On the weekend, we present some of the top stories and headlines from all across Connecticut. You can also find your local Patch and catch up on those stories by clicking here.

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FRIARS SET TO HOST CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY ON MONDAY, NOV. 10 … Providence will host Central Connecticut in non-conference action on Monday, Nov. 10 at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

SCOUTING CENTRAL CONNECTICUT… CCSU finished the 2024-25 season with an 11-19 overall record, including a 10-6 mark in the NEC (third place). Head Coach Kristin Caruso begins her first season at Central Connecticut and has a roster that features nine newcomers. 

CCSU COMING OFF SEASON-OPENING LOSS… Central Connecticut enters the game with a 0-1 mark, having lost its season opener to Bryant, 71-50. The Blue Devils trailed by just one (46-45) heading into the final 10 minutes of play, but Bryant put the game out of reach with a 25-5 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter. Lucia Noin was the lone player in double figures for CCSU, with 18. Kayla Henry grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

FRIARS AND BLUE DEVILS ALL-TIME… Providence and Central Connecticut have met seven times during the history of the two programs. The Friars lead the all-times series, 5-2. The Blue Devils won the first two meetings between the two squads, both of which took place in the 70s. Providence has won each of the last five games vs. CCSU. The last meeting was on Dec. 10, 2022. The Friars claimed a 77-45 victory on that day in Alumni Hall.

ALL-TIME VS. CENTRAL CONNECTICUT

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE leads series, 5-2

Date    Site    Score    Record

2/27/78    New Britain, Conn.    56-58 (L)    0-1

1/18/79    Providence, R.I.    43-46 (L)    0-2

2/23/80    New Britain, Conn.    67-53 (W)    1-2

2/21/81    Providence, R.I.    75-54 (W)    2-2

2/20/82    New Britain, Conn.    69-56 (W)    3-2

12/8/07    Providence, R.I.    76-64 (W)    4-2

12/10/22    Providence, R.I.    77-45 (W)    5-2

PROVIDENCE DROPS SEASON OPENER TO HOWARD… The Friars were defeated by Howard, 68-56, in their season opener on Nov. 4 at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. The Bison used a 9-2 run in the final 3:15 of the third quarter, including a three at the buzzer, to claim a 50-39 lead heading into the fourth. Howard extended its lead to as many as 18 with 2:20 left to put the game out of reach. Providence managed to get within 64-54 with an 8-0 run, but the deficit proved too large to overcome. Sabou Gueye led the Friars with 16 points and four steals. Payton Dunbar tallied 12 points, four assists and two rebounds. Howard out-scored Providence 26-12 in points off turnovers. The Friars committed 20 miscues in the game, compared to Howard’s 12 turnovers.

NEW LOOK FRIARS TAKE THE COURT IN 2025-26… The Friars have reloaded their roster for the 2025-26 season after losing 10 players to graduation (seven seniors and three graduate students). Junior Sophi Hall and sophomores Orlagh Gormley and Audrey Shields are the only returning players on the roster that have seen game action in a Friar uniform. The remainder of this year’s roster is made up of five transfer student-athletes, five true freshmen and one redshirt freshman.

FRIARS DEFEAT FRANKLIN PIERCE IN EXHIBITION GAME… The Friars hosted NCAA Division II Franklin Pierce in an exhibition game on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. The Friars claimed a decisive 71-38 victory, clamping down defensively in the second half to allow just 10 points over the final 20 minutes of play. Sabou Gueye and Payton Dunbar each scored 12 points to pace the offense. Teneisia Brown recorded seven points, four rebounds and a team-best five assists. Ashley Dinges tallied nine points and a team-best six rebounds and two blocked shots. Providence forced Franklin Pierce into committing 30 turnovers and held a 29-19 scoring advantage in points off turnovers in the game. The Friars also dominated the glass with a 40-26 edge in rebounding.

HOME-SWEET-HOME… The Friars will play eight of their 11 non-conference games in the friendly confines of Alumni Hall / Mullaney Gymnasium in Providence, R.I., including a five-game home-stand to start the season.

BROADCAST AND TV ASSIGNMENTS… As part of the BIG EAST’s television and broadcast deal, the Friars will be featured on a host of network platforms encompassing television and streaming during the 2025-26 season, including FS1, TNT, truTV, Peacock and ESPN+. Additionally, Providence’s games at the Emerald Coast Classic will be available on FloCollege and its non-conference match-up at South Carolina will be broadcast on the SEC Network. Each of the Friars’ home non-conference games will be broadcast live on ESPN+, in addition to 15 of the program’s 20 BIG EAST Conference regular-season games. Television and streaming designations for each game are available on the women’s basketball schedule via Friars.com.

FRIARS SET TO FACE PRESEASON NO. 1 AND NO. 2… The Associated Press recently released its top-25 rankings for the 2025-26 season and the Friars are slated to play No. 1-ranked Connecticut and No. 2-ranked South Carolina. Providence is one of five teams in NCAA Division I that will face the Huskies and Gamecocks this season, joining Louisville, USF, Tennessee and USC. Providence will face UConn, twice, as part of BIG EAST regular-season play on Dec. 31 and Feb. 22. The Friars will travel to Columbia, S.C. to face South Carolina in non-conference action on Dec. 28.

EMERALD COAST CLASSIC… Providence will participate in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla. prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday on November 24-25. The Friars will face Middle Tennessee State in the first game of the tournament on Nov. 24. Providence will conclude the tournament on Nov. 25 against Mississippi State or Alcorn State. Under the direction of third-year Head Coach Erin Batth, the Friars have participated in the West Palm Beach Classic (2022-23) and the Cancun Challenge (2024-25).

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL… The Friars were picked to finish 10th in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll, released at the league’s annual media day on Oct. 21 at Madison Square Garden. Last season, Providence completed the year with a 13-19 overall record and claimed a seventh-place finish in the regular-season standings with a 6-12 conference record. 

ERIN BATTH ERA… Erin Batth enters her third season with the Friars in 2025-26. She was hired as the 11th women’s basketball coach in program history at Providence College on March 20, 2023. Batth arrived in Friartown with 17 years of NCAA Division I coaching experience, with her most recent stops coming at NC State (2018-22) and Michigan (2022-23). She has been part of five conference championships, eight NCAA Elite Eight appearances and three trips to the NCAA Sweet 16. She also served as an assistant coach at Liberty (2017-18), Georgia State (2014-17), Tennessee Tech (2012-14) and Towson (2010-12). Batth earned her first career win as a head coach on Nov. 7 vs. Hampton (76-46). She helped the Friars earn a bid to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in her first year at Providence in 2023-24.

WHAT’S NEXT… The Friars will continue their five-game home stand on Saturday, Nov. 15 against Boston College. The game will tip off at 1:00 p.m. at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.