By Michael Letendre

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Maybe the ultimate ending at the Myrtle Beach Bowl didn’t go the way the football program from UConn had envisioned it on Monday.

But the Huskies gave Marshall a late scare, falling by a 28-14 final from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

UConn (6-7) was shutout through two-and-a-half quarters of action before its running game came alive.

Former Bristol Central standout Victor Rosa scored two touchdowns over a four-plus minute stretch of the third quarter as the locals battled into the fourth with a little momentum, trailing by just two scores.

Rosa led the ground attack for UConn with 16 rushes for 75 yards.

The speedster ended his freshman campaign with TD carries of 14 and 24 yards.

The first score came off a dash that saw Rosa make a quick cut left and simply outrace the pack as his 14-yard jaunt got UConn on the board with 5:35 left to play in the third tilt (28-7). 

The second touchdown saw the freshman from Bristol sprint through a crowd and find a hole on the left side. With the 24-yard dash at the third period buzzer, Rosa tallied his 11th TD of the season, and the Huskies were barking – trimming the deficit in half at 28-14 with twelve minutes to go. 

But Marshall (9-4) forced UConn into a 4th-and-13 situation it could not complete over its first drive of the fourth quarter, and with 5:09 left to go, QB Zion Turner was picked off in the end zone to end the final drive of the game.

Rosa made 16 of UConn’s 38 total carries, also bringing back one kickoff return for 24 yards.

In 140 rushing attempts this season, Rosa has complied 636 yards and 11 TDs.

The Huskies finished the campaign at 6-7 overall and, with some help from Rosa, the UConn football program is back on the collegiate map in 2022.

Myrtle Beach Bowl

MARSHALL 28, UCONN 

Marshall 28, UConn 14

from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Marshall (9-4)                    14  7    7  0  – 28
UConn (6-7)                         0  0  14  0 – 14
Scoring

First quarter
Marshall – Corey Gammage 9 pass from Cam Fancher (Rece Verhoff kick), 11:15
Marshall – Damion Barber 34 interception return (Verhoff kick), 3:23
Second quarter
Marshall – Devin Miller 10 pass from Fancher (Verhoff kick). 7:05
Third quarter
Marshall – Rasheen Ali 2 run (Verhoff kick), 9:51
UConn – Victor Rosa 14 run (Noe Ruelas kick), 5:35
UConn – Rosa 24 run (Ruelas kick), 0:00

Fourth period

No Scoring