Willcox throws for 2 scores, Reed makes key stop for Brown

Published Oct. 8, 2022 4:51 p.m. ET

Associated Press

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Jake Willcox threw two touchdown passes, the Brown defense made a huge stop inside the 10 in the final minute, and the Bears defeated Central Connecticut 27-20 on Saturday.

Central Connecticut's Shon Mitchell hit Nasir Smith with a 21-yard touchdown pass to draw the Blue Devils within 27-20 with 7:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils had one more possession and drove deep inside Brown territory. On fourth-and-3 from the 6-yard line, Mitchell threw a complete pass to Kyren Petteway, but Brown's Isaiah Reed made the stop one yard short of the first down with 58 seconds to go.

Willcox threw first-half touchdown passes of 60 yards to Hayes Sutton and 29 yards to Samuel Baddoo and Brown (2-2) built a 21-6 lead in the second quarter. Central Connecticut’s Smith bolted 85 yards for a touchdown to close the gap to 21-13 by halftime.

Willcox finished 17-of-31 passing for 249 yards and Sutton had four receptions for 103 yards. Christopher Maron kicked two field goals for the Bears' only points of the second half.

Mitchell completed 22 of 45 passes for 241 yards with two touchdowns for the Blue Devils (0-6). Smith finished with 145 yards rushing on 16 carries.

___

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2