Joe Fagnano and UConn saved their best for last.

In a season of thrillers for the Huskies, Fagnano led a 15-play, 75-yard drive in the closing two minutes of their 2025 regular-season finale, with Cam Edwards scoring from a yard out as UConn defeated Florida Atlantic 48-45 on Saturday in Boca Raton, Fla.

And it almost wasn’t enough.

FAU standout quarterback Caden Veltkamp had the ball at his own 26-yard line with 22 seconds on the clock and hit Jayshon Platt for a 27-yard gain and Easton Messer for 29 yards, putting the ball at the UConn 18 with four seconds left.

Garrison Smith came on to attempt a field goal from 36 yards and send the game to overtime but hooked the kick badly left.

UConn moved to 9-3 on the season for the second straight season behind Fagnano’s third 2025 game-winning drive in the final two minutes. A win in their bowl game would set a Huskies program record for victories in a season.

At the start, it looked like it would be an easy one for the Huskies before a sparse crowd on an 80-degree day.

UConn took a 24-3 lead at the end of the first quarter on a Chris Freeman field goal on the Huskies’ opening drive.

The offense put up 231 yards in the frame as Fagnano threw three touchdown passes: 24 yards to John Neider, 56 yards to Shamar Poter and 32 to Alex Honig.

Owls fly high

But the shell-shocked FAU defense came alive in the second quarter, holding UConn to just 86 yards and a field goal. At the same time, the Owls’ standout quarterback, Caden Veltkamp, led touchdown drives of 75 and 80 yards that culminated in two rushing scores. Easton Messer ran the ball from 39 yards out, and Veltkamp added a 17-yard rushing touchdown to close UConn’s lead to 27-17 at the half.

With 12:01 left in the third quarter, the Owls (4-7) closed the UConn lead to 27-24 before taking their first lead on a play that put their first-year coach, 34-year-old Zach Kittley, in the fictitious Unbelievably Risky Hall of Fame.

On a fourth-and-1 play and their own 10-yard line halfway through the third quarter, the Owls lined up with the assumption they would try to draw UConn offsides. But the ball was snapped, and Veltkamp connected with Dom Henry for a 90-yard scoring play to go ahead 31-27.

UConn responded with rushing touchdowns by Edwards and Mel Brown – the latter a 44-yard run following an FAU fumble – to go up 41-31 with 10:11 to play, before FAU took the late lead with 2:11 remaining after TDs by Messer and Veltkamp.

Big numbers

The teams put up huge numbers, starting with 687 yards for FAU and 600 for UConn. Fagnano was 33-of-46 passing (71.7%) for a career-high 446 yards and three scores; Veltkamp finished 42-of-55 (76.4%) for 494 yards and two scores.

Edwards carried the ball 16 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns, and receiver Skyler Bell hauled in eight passes for 125 yards.

FAU set a school record with three receivers gaining at least 100 yards in one game: Henry (157 yards), Messer (119) and Asaad Waseem (109).

The Owls ran 87 total plays to 79 for the Huskies.