THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Donald Brown and the Connecticut Huskies held on to the ball long enough to beat the Buffalo Bulls 38-20 in a sloppy International Bowl on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre.
Brown, who had an NCAA-high 1,822 yards rushing this season, ran for 261 yards and a touchdown as the Huskies (8-5) overcame five lost fumbles and a blocked field goal to record their second bowl win in school history before an International Bowl-record gathering of 40,184.
The school’s first came in the ’04 Motor City Bowl.
Brown fell short of the International Bowl high of 280 yards rushing established by Rutgers’ Ray Rice in last year’s 52-30 win over Ball State.
The game could be a fitting end for Brown, who has a year of school eligibility remaining but is pondering whether to enter this year’s NFL draft.
Buffalo (8-6) was appearing in its first-ever bowl game. But a lack of offensive production and inability to convert its many chances into touchdowns tarnished what was a Cinderella season for the MAC-champion Bulls under third-year head coach Turner Gill.
UConn took an unconventional route for a 24-20 lead at 9:38 of the third. Tyler Lorenzen hit Steve Brouse on a four-yard TD toss, just the Huskies’ second pass attempt of the game
Lorenzen’s 15-yard TD run capped a smart nine-play, 68-yard drive at 10:16 of the fourth to put UConn ahead 31-20.
But Buffalo quarterback Drew Willy _ held well in check to this point _ came alive and marched the Bulls’ offence to the UConn five-yard line before Dahna Deleston cemented the win for the Huskies with a sparkling 100-yard interception return at 12:45.
Lorenzen had Connecticut’s other TD. David Teggart booted the converts and a field goal.
Ray Anthony Long and Starks had Buffalo’s touchdowns. A.J. Principe added the converts and two field goals.
Buffalo parlayed Connecticut miscues into a 20-17 half-time lead as all of the Bulls mustered just 94 total offensive yards but all their points came off four of the Huskies’ five first-half turnovers.
Buffalo opened the scoring with Principe’s 38-yard field goal which came after Peter Fardon’s punt hit a Huskies player downfield and the Bulls recovered at the UConn 23-yard line. The MAC champions pulled into a 10-10 tie when Long recovered Jasper Howard’s fumbled punt return in the end zone at 3:24 of the second, then went ahead 13-10 on Principe’s 30-yard field goal at 6:38 that was set up by Raphael Akobundu’s fumble recovery at Connecticut’s 29-yard line.
Starks’ four-yard TD run at 7:05 put Buffalo ahead 20-10 and came after Dalonte Wallace recovered Robbie Frey’s botched kickoff return at the Connecticut four-yard line.
The Huskies actually held a decided edge in play when they held on to the ball. Brown, who lost a fumble, had 207 first-half rushing yards on 16 carries, including a 45-yard TD run and a 75-yard outburst that set up Lorenzen’s 13-yard touchdown scamper at 7:59 of the second that pulled UConn to within 20-17.
However, there was no imagination to UConn’s offence, which passed once on its 24 first-half plays.
NOTES _ Both teams featured Canadian content. Buffalo’s roster featured defensive linemen Bruno Lapointe of Lennoxville, Que., and Ronald Hilaire of Laval, Que. Tight end Martin Bedard of Laval and offensive lineman Muhammad (Moe) Petrus of St. Laurent, Que., suited up for UConn . . . The Big East has won all three International Bowl games . . . The surviving members of the ’58 Buffalo Bulls team that declined a Tangerine Bowl berth because two black players wouldn’t be allowed to play, represented the Bulls in the pre-game coin toss . . . Fardon’s opening punt of 56 yards was an International Bowl record.