The Huskies were dominant in a road win at Southen Miss on Saturday.
The UConn Huskies proved their easy opening-week win wasn’t a fluke.
UConn dominated Southern Miss 48-20 on Saturday night, a week after both teams fell to Power Four opponents. Despite a game-time temperature of 95 degrees at kickoff in Hattiesburg, Miss., UConn moved the ball seemingly at will, turning up the heat against the Golden Eagles.
The Huskies (2-1) finished with 436 total yards – 223 passing from quarterbacks Kalieb Osborne and Tucker McDonald, and 213 rushing. UConn set a program record in Week 1 with 671 yards of total offense in a 56-7 win over FCS team Lafayette but was held to just 223 last week in a 38-14 loss to Maryland.
First-year Jason Candle and his staff should be happy with this win.
What worked for UConn’s offense
Osborne played error-free football and was 16-of-22 passing for 214 yards. The offense involved a variety of players, with five players running the ball. Ten different receivers caught 18 passes for 223 yards.
The offensive line didn’t allow a sack.
Cyncir Bowers picked up 84 rushing yards on 11 carries and scored a touchdown. Osborne, who led the Huskies in rushing in Week 2 with 90 yards, ran for 32 yards and two touchdowns.
Shamar Porter, who returned to UConn from the 2025 roster, caught two passes for 50 yards with a TD. Trey Cornist came out of the backfield to catch a 1-yard pass for another score.
The UConn offense dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 34:04. And with the big lead, the Huskies set out to eat up the clock, running the ball 46 times and passing it 25.
What worked for UConn’s defense
The Golden Eagles (1-2) had 13 drives on the day, and the Huskies defense didn’t give them much. The game was not as close as the final stats indicate.
Southern Miss scored field goals on drives of 10 plays, 51 yards, and 15 plays, 59 yards. Quarterback Landry Lyddy replaced starter Ethan Hampton, who appeared to suffer a hand injury, to start the second half with his team down 27-6. He led the Golden Eagles to a touchdown on a quick, four-play, 75-yard drive in the span of 84 seconds.
Lyddy added a final touchdown for the Golden Eagles with he hit Jaylen Himes from 10 yards out to score with 23 seconds remaining.
But the defense forced five punts and two turnovers on downs, and also intercepted two pass attempts.
UConn took a 7-0 lead on the opening drive, and on the first possession for Southern Miss, Braedyn Moore picked off a Hampton pass at the UConn 30-yard line and returned it 24 yards into Golden Eagles territory.
Midway through the third quarter, UConn’s Anas Luqman intercepted a Lyddy pass at the Southern Miss 24 and returned it for a touchdown to give UConn a 41-6 advantage.
Hayden Pegg made nine tackles and Jayden Davis added seven.
Next up
The Huskies will be on the road again next Saturday at 3:30 p.m., facing Miami of the Mid-American Conference in Oxford, Ohio.
