2025 Fenway Bowl: Army decimates UConn with 41-16 win

The UConn Huskies weren’t able to repeat as Fenway Bowl champions, as the Army Black Knights picked up a 41-16 win in the 2025 contest. Without quarterback Joe Fagnano —  and a plethora of backup QBs — UConn was thin at most positions, while Army returned most of its offensive nucleus. The loss marks just the fourth for UConn this season as they make their transition into the Jason Candle regime for future seasons.

Here are five takeaways from Army’s Fenway Bowl victory.

2025 Fenway Bowl Recap

Skyler Bell’s day was short-lived 

The consensus First Team All-American contradicted most reports when he announced that he would suit up in the Fenway Bowl. Skyler Bell would later become the culprit as to why many Huskies who were exploring other future opportunities still decided to play. However, Bell’s day was short-lived, and only after a few snaps, he was taken out of the game for good.

Bell was seen on the sidelines with a jacket and his famous silver chain shaped in the number one. Now that his season has concluded, his career as a Husky has most likely done the same. Bell finished with 101 catches for 1278 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, the greatest receiving season in UConn history.

Standout of the Game: Camryn Edwards

Edwards concluded his fourth season as a Husky with a bang, rushing 11 times for 108 yards and one touchdown. Without quarterbacks Joe Fagnano, Nick Evers and Tucker McDonald, UConn knew there would be growing pains for redshirt freshman Ksaan Farrar. So, they leaned on Edwards – and he produced.

Edwards entered the portal a few weeks ago but still wanted to suit up, as Bell did last year in a similar circumstance. Could Edwards decide to return to UConn for his final college season, even with a new regime in place? Time will tell. But if that’s the last of Edwards at Connecticut, he certainly showed up and showed out for the Huskies.

Growing pains for Farrar

With Fagnano, Evers and McDonald all absent, redshirt freshman quarterback Ksaan Farrar took the snaps and attempted his first collegiate passes. And as expected, it wasn’t pretty.

Farrar showcased sneaky athleticism but managed only 13 yards on seven rushing attempts. And through the air, UConn’s offense was stagnant.

At halftime, Farrar was 3-for-6 for -4 yards, and the Huskies only scored 10 points. In the second half — once other starters departed — Farrar began to attempt more passes and looked better (8-for-11 for 86 yards), though most of his yardage was after the catch.

Head coach Gordon Sammis didn’t give him much freedom to make plays, and UConn came up short in the red zone when Farrar had tunnel vision on consecutive routes. No one expected it to be pretty, but UConn’s quarterback performance certainly wasn’t where it needed to be.

Army’s rushing attack out-dueled Connecticut’s

As mentioned prior, UConn couldn’t get enough going in the passing attack. As previewed, with Fagnano, Evers, and McDonald all out, the Huskies were going to need to lean on their rushing attack like Army. Unfortunately, the Black Knights are a more proficient team on the ground, and are one of the best rushing teams in the country.

With Edwards, Mel Brown and Victor Rosa, UConn certainly had a productive day on the ground. Yet, they could not produce 56 carries for 368 yards and five touchdowns like Army did. The Black Knights attempted just nine passes, and quarterback Cale Hellums took a more reserved role. Instead, running back Godspower Nwawuihe ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in the best performance of his short career.

Army played to their strengths

Army lived up to their identity. The Black Knights dominated opponents this season through disciplined play and clock control — a winning formula they executed perfectly in this matchup.

After committing a nation-low 34 penalties in the regular season, Army maintained their discipline by avoiding a single flag in this game. They also ranked second in time of possession this year, and controlled over 36 minutes of clock in this matchup. They looked more like themselves than UConn did. However, they also had greater personnel representation — as opposed to Connecticut without their starting quarterback and head coach.