Shamar Porter scores on a catch and a blocked punt as UConn beats UMass 35-16

Shamar Porter caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter and scored on a blocked punt in the third, and UConn beat UMass 35-16 on Friday night in East Hartford.

UMass opened with a 13-play drive that took nearly eight minutes and ended in Derek Morris' 24-yard field goal. UConn answered with a 13-play drive of its own, finished by Kalieb Osborne's 5-yard pass to Porter on third-and-goal. The Huskies never trailed again.

The game turned late in the second quarter. Osborne hit JD Willoughby for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:36 left in the half. After the Minutemen went three-and-out for the fifth straight time, Cyncir Bowers ran 70 yards for a score 32 seconds later, and UConn led 21-3 at halftime.

Porter's blocked punt and recovery in the end zone with 6:44 left in the third made it 28-3.

Osborne went 14 for 19 for 173 yards and two touchdowns and ran 15 times for 66 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown with 3:04 left. Bowers finished with 131 yards on 15 carries. UConn ran for 265 yards and out-gained UMass 438 to 303. Neither team turned it over.

William "Pop" Watson III went 22 for 38 for 205 yards for UMass and threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Kimmons IV early in the fourth quarter. Justin Williams-Thomas added a 6-yard touchdown run with 1:09 left. The Minutemen ran for 53 yards.

UConn (4-3) took a 39-38-2 lead in a series that dates to 1897, according to the Associated Press. UMass (4-4) has lost four in a row. The Huskies play at Air Force on Oct. 31, and UMass hosts Ball State on Nov. 4.