Image courtesy of Dan Heary

By Andy Close
NEFJ Correspondent

EAST HARTFORD — The Jason Candle era is off and running at UConn.

Kalieb Osborne completed 19-of-26 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed eight times for 92 yards and a score to lead the Huskies to a 56-7 win over FCS foe Lafayette. In the process, the Huskies set the single-game program record for total yards in a game with 671.

“We played complementary football in all three phases; we got a big special teams play right off the jump and a couple of early defensive stops,” said Candle, coaching in his first game at UConn after spending 10 seasons as the head coach at Toledo. “We were able to build a nice lead and get a lot of guys in the football game and get a lot of guys a chance to play and be on tape. We’ll put this one to bed and move forward to week two.”

The first quarter couldn’t have been scripted any better, as the Huskies marched down the field three times for touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead. They were equally impressive on the defensive end, not allowing a first down.

Osborne, who won a three-way quarterback battle in preseason with Jake Merklinger and Tucker McDonald, took the Huskies right down the field on the opening possession, going 75 yards in six plays, connecting with Javon Brown on a 24-yard touchdown just 2:10 into the game.

Showing off his dual-threat ability on the ensuing Huskies’ possession, Osborne scrambled 30 yards, eventually setting up an 18-yard touchdown pass to Christian on fourth-and-three, in which Christian broke a tackle in the flat.

A short Lafayette punt put the Huskies in business on their third drive at the Leopards’ 45, and Osborne used his legs again, going untouched into the end zone on third-and-goal from the nine.

“He played how I expected him to play,” Candle said. “We wouldn’t have named him the starting quarterback if we thought he was going to play bad. The more comfortable he gets, the better he’s going to look. He’s a pup, still. He’s still going to make some mistakes. There’s going to be some moments where you scratch your head once in a while, but there’s going to be some other ones that you just scratch your head and go ‘oh my gosh, what did I just see?’”

The UConn defense was equally as dominant, not allowing a first down until the 9:09 mark of the second quarter. The Leopards threatened once in the first half, driving down to the UConn 30, but back-to-back sacks by senior captain linebackers Jack Lista and K’Von Sherman drove them out of field goal range.

“That really fired me up,” Sherman said. “I even told him (Lista) let’s keep going back-to-back. When stuff like that happens, that fires me up so much.”

The offensive onslaught, meanwhile, continued. A 52-yard drive resulted in a 16-yard touchdown run from West Virginia transfer Cyncir Bowers, making it 28-0 with 9:14 to play in the second quarter.

Osborne did show a chink in the armor, throwing an interception (Lafayette’s Beckham Dee made the play) with UConn driving inside the Lafayette 30 on their next drive.

It was just a blip, however, as the UConn defense forced a three-and-out and a long punt return by Julian Allen set the Huskies up with a short field. Christian took advantage, running for a 25-yard touchdown virtually untouched to make it 35-0 with 2:36 to play in the half.

Christian carried seven times for 47 yards and had two receptions for 22 yards.

Osborne and the UConn offense began the second half much like they did the first, marching 80 yards on seven plays. Osborne once again showed off his athleticism, going airborne into the end zone on an 11-yard touchdown run.

With the outcome well in hand, UConn’s backups got a long look, as Candle alluded to, further showcasing the offense’s big-play ability.

Trey Cornist scored on a 55-yard touchdown run with 2:36 to play in the third quarter and with 3:07 to play in the fourth. Raymond Liggins III took a swing pass from Tucker McDonald and went 60 yards for a score.

Lafayette avoided the shutout, with Payton Greer scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds remaining.

The Huskies will step up in competition next week, hosting Maryland on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.