UConn football to play in Myrtle Beach Bowl Dec. 19
Dec. 4—In the hours leading up to the announcement of its bowl game assignment, the UConn football program went bowling at the Hall of Fame Silver Lanes in East Hartford Sunday. The idea came from Mickey Grace, an analyst on coach Jim Mora's staff.
While at the bowling alley, the Huskies' players received word on social media that the program would square off with Marshall (8-4) in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Dec. 19 at Coastal Carolina's Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C. Game time is 2:30 p.m.
"They were fired up," Mora said Sunday. "They hooped and hollered and cheered. ... We went bowling and we gave out our bowl bound shirts and they all threw them on. I saw a lot of smiles. ... It was pretty fun to be able to announce it to them, although Twitter broke it before we could talk about it, but that was okay. Just to see them all together and hearing it together at the same time was pretty neat."
UConn's bowl bid is its first since 2015, when the program lost to Marshall, 16-10, in the St. Petersburg Bowl. That is the only time the programs have met.
The Huskies (6-6) entered this season having won only 10 of 50 contests in the six years since that game. Mora inherited a team that was 1-11 last season, 2-10 in 2019 and 1-11 in 2018. The program did not play any games in 2020 due to COVID concerns.
UConn has not recorded a winning season since finishing 8-5 and playing in the New Year's Day Fiesta Bowl in Arizona in 2010.
"For me to say that I expected it, I don't know that I thought about it, but I will tell you that it's not something that surprises me," Mora said, referring to the program's one-year turnaround. "Not as I've gotten to know these young men and this staff and people on this campus, it doesn't surprise me.
The Huskies started the 2022 season 1-4 due in part to a brutal schedule, with two of the losses coming to nationally-ranked teams in Michigan and North Carolina State. They also suffered devastating injuries to key players, especially on offense.
But they fought through that adversity and won five of their final seven contests, notching fourth quarter comeback wins over Fresno State and nationally-ranked Liberty and adding victories over New England FBS opponents Boston College and UMass.
Even after ending the season with a loss at Army, UConn managed to secure a bowl berth. As an independent program with no conference home, the Huskies had no contractual path to a bowl game. But there were enough teams that fell below the six-win threshold to open a door for them.
"It's a culmination event of a lot of hard work that has really taken place over the past year," athletic director David Benedict said Sunday. "There hasn't been a day that has gone by since (Mora was announced as head coach) where he and his staff and these young men haven't worked tirelessly to put themselves in this position."
UConn, which became bowl eligible with its win over Liberty, knew it had locked up a postseason berth before Sunday's announcement. It had resumed practice last week in preparation for the game.
Now the Huskies know their opponent.
Marshall also finished the season on a high note, winning five of its last six games. The Thundering Herd, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, earned a signature victory over then-No. 8 Notre Dame, 26-21, on Sept. 10 in South Bend.
While working at ESPN, Mora served as the color commentator for Marshall's game at Boise State in 2019 and came away impressed by the Thundering Herd's defense, which currently boasts the best third-down percentage in the nation.
"Just an impressive program," Mora said. "I know that they beat Notre Dame, and that's an impressive feat right there. I just know that historically it's been a really solid program. They play good football, they're disciplined, their sound, they have good athletes, they play hard. We'll learn more about them but I know that they have my respect and I believe that they have our team's respect immediately just because of what we know of their history."
UConn is 3-3 all-time in bowl games. Before their 2015 postseason appearance under Bob Diaco, the Huskies made four straight bowls from 2007 to 2010 in Randy Edsall's first stint as head coach. Edsall also led the program to its first bowl game in 2004, a 39-10 win over Toledo with Dan Orlovsky at quarterback.
"I think that we're headed in the right direction," Mora said. "It's still a long road, but it's an excited road. We've loved every day of it and we're excited about this game and the future of the program."
Mora and Benedict are hoping a large contingent of UConn fans make the trip to South Carolina.
"It's a great bowl and a great location for UConn and our fans," Benedict said. "We've got some direct flights that I'm sure are going to be booking up quickly, if they're not already full. And we couldn't be more excited."
Marshall
Coach: Charles Huff (14-10 (second season)
2022 record: 8-4 (5-3 Sun Belt)
2022 results: vs Norfolk State (9/3): W, 55-3; at Notre Dame (9/10): W, 26-21; vs Bowling Green (9/17): L, 34-31 (OT); at Troy (9/24): L, 16-7; vs Gardner-Webb (10/1): W, 28-7; vs Louisiana (10/12): L, 23-13; at James Madison (10/22): W, 26-12; vs Coastal Carolina (10/29): L, 24-13; at Old Dominion (11/5): W, 12-0; vs App St (11/12): W, 28-21; at Georgia Southern (11/19): W, 23-10; vs Georgia St (11/26): W, 28-23.
Key Players: QB Cam Fancher: 121-215, 1,465 yards passing, 8 touchdowns, 456 yards rushing; QB Henry Colombi: 94-128, 938 yards, 6 touchdowns; RB Khalan Laborn: 281 carries, 1,475 yards, 16 touchdowns; WR Corey Gammage: 49 catches, 724 yards, 5 touchdowns; WR Charles Montgomery: 34 catches, 394 yards, 1 touchdown; WR Talik Keaton: 24 catches, 226 yards.
Bowl history: 19th appearance, 12-6 overall; Last appearance: 2021 New Orleans Bowl (Louisiana 36, Marshall 21).
UConn Bowl History
2004 Motor City Bowl
Detroit, MI — December 27, 2004
Ford Field
UConn 39 — Toledo 10
2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl
Charlotte, NC — December 29, 2007
Bank of America Stadium
Wake Forest 24, UConn 10
2009 International Bowl
Toronto, Canada — January 3, 2009
Rogers Centre
UConn 38, Buffalo 20
2010 PapaJohns.com Bowl
Birmingham, AL — January 2, 2010
Legion Field
UConn 20, South Carolina 7
2011 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Glendale, AR — January 1, 2011
University of Phoenix Stadium
Oklahoma 48, UConn 20
2015 St. Petersburg Bowl
St. Petersburg, FL — December 26, 2015
Tropicana Field
Marshall 16, UConn 10
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