EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (Interstat) — Kalieb Osborne accounted for three touchdowns and Connecticut defeated visiting Massachusetts 35-16 in an NCAA Football Bowl Division game on Friday at Pratt & Whitney Stadium. The game drew an announced attendance of 32,106. Connecticut improved to 4-3, while Massachusetts fell to 4-4. Connecticut added to its lead after halftime, and the Minutemen could not close the gap despite a late push. The Huskies scored touchdowns on offense and special teams.

Massachusetts opened the scoring with Derek Morris’ 24-yard field goal. Connecticut answered late in the first quarter when Osborne found Shamar Porter on a 5-yard touchdown pass, and Jack O’Connor added the extra point. The Huskies extended their lead in the second quarter on Osborne’s 20-yard touchdown pass to JD Willoughby. Connecticut added another score before halftime on a 70-yard run by C. Bowers, with O’Connor converting again. The Huskies scored twice in the final 1 minute, 36 seconds of the first half and carried a 21-3 lead into the break.

The Huskies added to their advantage in the third quarter when Porter blocked an Edward Phillipson punt and recovered it at the Massachusetts goal line for a touchdown. O’Connor’s extra point made it 28-3. Connecticut later attempted a 47-yard field goal by O’Connor, but the kick was no good. Massachusetts remained within striking distance but had trouble sustaining offense against a Connecticut defense that produced stops in key situations. The Minutemen also had a punt blocked in the quarter.

Massachusetts found the end zone early in the fourth quarter when William Watson III connected with Curtis Kimmons IV on a 7-yard touchdown pass. The two-point pass attempt failed. Connecticut responded with Osborne’s 13-yard touchdown run, and O’Connor’s extra point pushed the Huskies’ lead to 35-9. Massachusetts capped the scoring on Justin Williams-Thomas’ 6-yard touchdown run, and Morris added the extra point to make it 35-16. The Minutemen failed to convert a two-point pass after their first fourth-quarter touchdown.

Osborne, a quarterback from Pontiac, Mich., completed 14 of 19 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns and ran 15 times for 66 yards and another score. He led Connecticut’s offense with efficient passing and timely runs. In his previous outing against Temple, Osborne completed 17 of 23 passes for 257 yards and ran 11 times for 11 yards and a touchdown. Osborne’s touchdown passes covered 5 and 20 yards, and his scoring run covered 13 yards.

Watson completed 22 of 38 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown and ran seven times for 11 yards for Massachusetts. Logan Inagawa completed 4 of 6 passes for 45 yards. Inagawa added 45 passing yards in relief. The Minutemen completed 26 of 44 passes for 250 yards. Joseph Griffin Jr. caught four passes for 77 yards. Kimmons had three carries for 7 yards and five receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown. Williams-Thomas had three carries for 12 yards, two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown. Drew Alsup caught one pass for 23 yards and returned a punt 5 yards. Max Dowling caught two passes for 18 yards, Matt Ogunniyi caught one for 20 yards, Reece Adkins caught three for 17 yards, Jabari Lewis caught two for 10 yards, and Jax Markovich caught one for 4 yards. Kezion Dia-Johnson had one carry for 8 yards, three catches for 21 yards and two kick returns for 45 yards. Elijah Faulkner ran six times for 15 yards and caught two passes for 9 yards.

Defensively, Massachusetts was led by Kendall Bournes with eight tackles. Timmy Hinspeter had seven tackles and a sack, while Joshua Iseah and Tyler Martin each finished with five tackles. Justin Krueger had four tackles and a sack. Andrew DePaepe recorded four tackles. Aubrey Melvin had three tackles and a sack, and TJ Magee and William DePaepe each had two tackles and a sack. Zakar Morris, Hollis Dirstine, Tim Passmore Jr., Jahmad Harmon, Michael Robinson, Isaiah Reed, Joshua Nobles and Zeraun Daniel each recorded three tackles. Khari Bendolph and Jerry Washington each had two tackles. The Minutemen recorded five sacks.

For Connecticut, Hayden Pegg led the way with seven tackles. John Lista and K’Von Sherman each made six tackles, Rickey Williams had five, and Jalil Martin and Melvin Hills III each had four. Anas Luqman had four tackles, half a sack and a quarterback hurry. Braedyn Moore added three tackles. Raymond Liggins III caught one pass for 2 yards, Ryder Treadway caught one for 2 yards and Xavier Watson caught one for 8 yards. Porter’s blocked punt was one of the key special-teams plays of the game. Pegg’s seven tackles paced a Connecticut defense that kept Massachusetts out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.

Edward Phillipson punted seven times for 305 yards for Massachusetts. The Minutemen also had one punt blocked. Connecticut’s special teams generated a touchdown on the blocked punt return by Porter. The Huskies converted all five extra-point attempts, while Massachusetts made one extra point and failed on a two-point pass. Massachusetts had lost its previous two games, falling 25-18 in overtime at Buffalo and losing 20-19 to Miami of Ohio at home. Connecticut had won 34-20 at Temple in its previous game. The Huskies next visit Air Force, while Massachusetts next hosts Ball State. Massachusetts’ final touchdown came with 1:09 remaining.

Connecticut had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -13.5. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Connecticut 54, Massachusetts 22, and Interstat’s ELO system had projected Connecticut with a 96.6 percent probability to win. The total score of 51 went over the over/under line of 53.5.