By Michael Letendre

This past Saturday, the University of Connecticut football program hit the pay window for the first time this season – squaring up a 38-31 victory on the road against Rice from Houston, Texas on Saturday.

The win moved the Huskies to 1-5 overall while Rice (3-3 overall) lost at home for the first time in four tries.

Bristol’s own Victor Rosa rambled up a game-high 89 yards on 18 carries for UConn.

He sprinted out a 20-yard rush, the longest on the afternoon for the Huskies, to keep the chains moving.

Rosa also made a reception for eight yards and just missed out on a combined 100-yard day.

UConn trailed 14-0 after one period but scored 20 points in the second to scoop up a 20-14 edge at the break.

The Huskies led 28-14 early into the second half – enjoying the spoils of four turnovers – and then hung on in the end.

The Owls made it a 31-28 contest midway through the fourth but UConn quickly took a 10-point edge, and Rice never drew even.

Connecticut’s defense held in the end and UConn was a huge seven-point winner in Texas to – perhaps – jumpstart the remainder of the campaign.

Rosa to date

The sophomore’s impressive numbers against Rice are right around his season average.

To date, Rosa has compiled 399 yards on 75 rushes – good for a per game average of 5.3 yards.

He has two touchdowns on the campaign along with several receptions.

Rosa has made seven catches for 51 yards, leading to an average of 7.3 yards-per-catch.

After a rough start to the 2023 season, Rosa numbers have improved by the game as the offense for the Huskies continues to make gains.

After tallying just 51 yards over his first 19 carries, the speedster has exploded a bit over the last three weeks.

In the loss to Duke, Rosa made 14 carries for 68 yards and then posted 92 yards – on 15 rushes – in the 34-33 setback against Utah State.

Including the 89 yards in the win against Rice, Rosa has gained 249 yards on 47 carries (5.3 yards-per-carry) over the past three games.

It appears Rosa and the Huskies are on the right path and expect another tremendous effort on October 21 when South Florida (3-3) invades the Nutmeg State.

Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford is the place for the showdown.

Game time is 3:30 p.m.