The Green Monster Eats the Huskies At Fenway Bowl: Army Grinds UConn to Dust

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when a college football team tries to play a game while actively shedding its skin like a reptile, the 2025 Fenway Bowl was your answer. Picture this: You’re the UConn Huskies. You’re chasing a historic 10th win, something the program hasn’t sniffed since the late 90s.

But your head coach, Jim Mora, has already bolted for Colorado State. Your starting quarterback, Joe Fagnano, decided the NFL draft prep was more critical than freezing in Boston. And your backup plan under center is a freshman who has thrown about as many collegiate passes as I have.

Set all that drama against the backdrop of Fenway Park, a place designed for leisurely summer afternoons, not gridiron warfare in 24-degree weather with snowbanks piling up near the dugouts. It was a recipe for chaos, and while UConn served up a spirited appetizer, the Army Black Knights arrived ready to shove the main course down their throats at the Fenway Bowl.

The Triple Option: Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts

Let’s be honest about playing Army. It’s annoying. It’s like wrestling a boulder. You know exactly what they are going to do: run the ball, rerun it, and then run it one more time for good measure, and yet, stopping it is a nightmare.

For the first half of the Fenway Bowl, it looked like UConn’s interim head coach Gordon Sammis might actually pull off a miracle. The Huskies were scrappy. They were fighting. Sure, they were down 14-10 at the break, but they were in it.

The hero of that first half in the Fenway Bowl? Cam Edwards. The man is essentially already out the door, having announced he’s hitting the transfer portal, but he decided to suit up one last time. And thank goodness he did.

Edwards ran like a man possessed, accounting for 75% of UConn’s offense in the first two quarters and punching in a 12-yard touchdown that gave Huskies fans a brief, fleeting moment of hope. It was a class act from a guy who didn’t have to be there, putting his body on the line for a school he’s leaving. You have to respect that.

Enter Godspower (Literally)

But then came the second half of the Fenway Bowl, and the wheels didn’t just fall off the UConn wagon. They exploded. The Army’s rushing attack is designed to break your will, and that’s exactly what happened. The Black Knights didn’t just beat UConn. They physically dismantled them. The star of the show? Godspower Nwawuihe.

First of all, 10/10 name. Second of all, 10/10 performance.Nwawuihe ripped off a 43-yard touchdown in the second quarter, but his encore right after halftime was the backbreaker. On the second snap of the third quarter, he took the ball 75 yards to the house. It wasn’t a clean run, either. He was met in the backfield. He should have been tackled for a loss. Instead, he bounced off defenders like a pinball, found the sideline, and engaged the afterburners.

At that point, the score was 20-10, but emotionally? It felt like 50-0. You could see the life drain out of the Huskies’ sideline. The defense, which had held firm on a crucial fourth-down stop early in the game, just looked tired. The Army finished the day with over 320 yards on the ground. That’s not a football stat; that’s a geography lesson. They covered more ground than a Boston tour bus.

A Freshman in the Freezer

We have to talk about the quarterback situation at the Fenway Bowl. Ksaan Farrar was thrown into an impossible situation. Starting your first real game against a service academy defense in freezing temperatures at a baseball stadium is the stuff of nightmares.The passing game was practically non-existent. At one point deep in the game, UConn had negative passing yards. Negative. You almost have to try to do that.

There was a moment late in the third quarter where UConn had a flicker of life. Farrar completed six straight passes, marching the team into the red zone. It was a desperation drive, trailing 27-10. But on 4th and 4, the rookie overshot his target in the end zone. That was it. The door slammed shut, locked, and deadbolted.

To add insult to injury, star receiver Skyler Bell, who made a big show of opting in for the game despite NFL buzz, played briefly in the first quarter before swapping his pads for a bubble coat and a heavy gold chain on the sidelines. Can’t blame him for wanting to stay warm, I guess.

The Ghost of Christmas Future

Perhaps the most awkward image of the Fenway Bowl wasn’t on the field. It was incoming head coach Jason Candle, sitting in the stands, watching his future roster get pummeled.Candle has a massive rebuilding job ahead of him. He watched a team with no passing game, an offensive line decimated by opt-outs (tackles Ben Murawski and Carsten Casady were missing), and a defense that eventually crumbled under the weight of Army’s disciplined, relentless attack.

Army quarterback Cade Hellums didn’t have to be Patrick Mahomes. He just had to be efficient. He ran for three touchdowns, threw for another (a beautiful 40-yarder to Noah Short that caught everyone napping), and managed the game perfectly. The Black Knights did what they always do: they shortened the game, dominated possession (holding the ball for over 8 minutes on one 4th-quarter drive alone), and physically bullied their opponent.

The Final Whistle At The Fenway Bowl

By the time Hellums punched in his third rushing touchdown to make it 34-10 in the fourth, the stands at Fenway were looking sparse. The novelty of “Football at the Ballpark” wears off pretty quickly when your team is getting boat-raced, and you can’t feel your toes. For the Army, it was a sweet ending to a .500 season. They executed their game plan to perfection. For UConn? It was a cold dose of reality.

They missed their shot at a historic 10th win. They missed their coach. They missed their QB. And ultimately, they missed the physicality needed to hang with the boys from West Point. Jason Candle better have a good winter coat and a packed Rolodex, because it’s going to be a long offseason in Storrs.