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As the madness of the college football bowl season escalates toward the upcoming semifinal competition for the NCAA Division One National Championship, the University of Connecticut Huskies and Boston College Eagles concluded their seasons with bowl appearances at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. UConn ended their season on a high note, beating the University of North Carolina Tar Heels 27-17 in the Wasabi Bowl at Fenway Park, while BC dropped a 20-15 decision to the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
The Huskies jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter of their contest with the Tar Heels behind the passing of quarterback Joe Fagnono. His 38-yard touchdown strike to Skylar Bell was part of his 151-yard, two-touchdown passing day. The Tar Heels immediately responded with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Chris Culliver to cut the deficit to 10-7. Touchdowns by Alex Honig, a four-yard scoring pass from Fagnono at 14:10, and Cam Edwards, a two-yard touchdown run at 0:54, capped off a 54-yard drive that pushed the Huskies lead to 24-7 at halftime.
UConn QB Joe Fagnano passed for 151 yards and two TDs against the Tar Heels. PHOTO: COURTESY OF UCONN ATHLETICS
It was a done deal from that point to the end as Fagnono’s passing, along with the strong running of Mel Brown, who had 11 carries for 98 yards, proved to be the difference for the winners. Connecticut outgained North Carolina 361 to 206 in total yardage, including a 210 to 96 rushing advantage.
With the game now in the books, all attention in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, turns to new head coach Bill Belichick. The former New England Patriots coach, who spent over two decades in Foxboro, Massachusetts, recently signed a five-year, $50 million contract to coach the Tar Heels. This move surprised many pundits, who felt he would wait for another chance to coach in the National Football League.
Belichick said that taking the North Carolina job was a dream fulfilled, seeing that his father coached at the school in the 1950s. Those who are critical of the man will question his motivation, particularly when looking at his history. Remember that this is the same person who took the New York Jets job, quit after one day, and took the New England Patriots job. He would win six Super Bowl championships before being fired by the Pats, falling 13 victories shy of Don Shula’s all-time NFL wins mark.
The people in North Carolina feel that Belichick will stay, at least for the immediate future. He has three years guaranteed on his contract. Time will tell.
Boston College coach Bill O’Brien, a former Belichick assistant with the Patriots, saw his first year at the Heights end on a down note as his team went down 20-15 to Nebraska at Yankee Stadium to finish their season with a 7-6 record. After a 4-1 start, the Eagles struggled.
There was much discussion when star quarterback Thomas Castellanos suddenly transferred to Florida State mid-season. There may have been a fractured relationship with coach O’Brien. The team turned to Grayson James, who acquitted himself well following the departure of Castellanos. James, who completed 26 of 41 passes for 301 yards, put up decent passing statistics in his team’s loss. Despite his impressive showing, he and his BC teammates had their hands full with Nebraska in the rainy and sloppy conditions in New York. Nebraska dominated the game, taking a 13-0 lead in the second quarter on touchdown runs by Rahim Johnson, a four-yard run, and Kwentin Ives, a two-yard run. The Eagles blocked the point-after kickand picked up their only points of the half when Victor Nelson blocked a point-after kick by the Huskers, which was returned for a two-point score by defensive back Ashton McShane.
Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola hit Emmett Johnson with a 13-yard scoring pass in the third quarter to up the count to 20-2 before BC answered with fourth quarter touchdowns by Turbo Richard, who had a 14-yard run at 6:11, and Jordan McDonald, who had a two-yard run at 4:18 to make it close, before Nebraska ran out the clock — a tough ending for Coach O’Brien in his first year at Boston College.
