UConn Runs past UMass 35-16 Behind Osborne and Bowers
Thirty-two seconds. That is how long it took UConn to turn a 7-3 game into a 21-3 game, and UMass never got close enough to make the rest of the night interesting.
UMass scored first on a Derek Morris 24-yard field goal, and UConn took the lead for good when Kalieb Osborne hit Shamar Porter from five yards out late in the first quarter. Osborne found JD Willoughby from 20 yards with 1:36 left in the half, and on the very next scoring play Cyncir Bowers broke a 70-yard run with 1:04 left. Porter then added a touchdown on a blocked punt return in the third quarter, a zero-yard score, which made it 28-3 and ended any real doubt.
UMass did score twice after that, which makes the final look closer than it was. Curtis Kimmons IV caught a seven-yard pass from William Watson III early in the fourth (the two-point try failed, so it was 28-9), Osborne answered with a 13-yard run with 3:04 left, and Justin Williams-Thomas ran in from six yards with 1:09 to go for the 35-16 final.
The ground game was the difference in the box score. UConn ran 46 times for 265 yards and threw for only 173, for 438 total. UMass threw for 250 and ran for just 53 on 22 carries. Neither team threw an interception or lost a fumble, so the damage came from big plays and one special teams touchdown. Take away the blocked punt and it is 28-16, a game with a pulse. UConn is 4-3 and UMass 4-4.
Osborne was the fantasy story, with Bowers close behind him and a 70-yard run doing most of his work.