Oct. 16, 1999
Box Score
STORRS, Conn. - Villanova coach Andy Talley has seen his share of fine football players in his 15 years with the Wildcats, but he's never seen anything quite like the performance put on by his quarterback, senior Chris Boden, Saturday.
"We're kind of spoiled at Villanova watching (Boden) play. We think he should complete every pass he throws," Talley said after watching Boden rewrite the school record book in leading the Wildcats to a triple overtime 48-45 victory over Connecticut.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Boden, a native of San Clemente, Calif., completed 43 of 69 passes for 444 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He wasn't sacked once. The 43 completions and 444 yards were school records and the 69 attempts tied a school record. The attempts and completions also broke Atlantic 10 marks.
Boden sent the game into overtime with an 11-yard TD pass to Murle Sango and a two-point conversion pass to tight end Joe Kavanaugh with 3:59 left in regulation to make it 28-28. Then, after UConn had to settle for a field goal in the third overtime, he found the 6-foot-7, 240 pound Kavanaugh on a 15-yard TD pass to win it.
"(Boden) raised himself to a level very few quarterbacks can hope to," Talley said, as his Wildcats improved to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the league.
UConn coach Randy Edsall needed only a quick look at the statistics to see why the Huskies (3-3, 2-1) had their three-game winning streak snapped.
"They threw 69 times and we had no sacks and no interceptions. That kind of tells the tale right there," Edsall said. "We just couldn't make plays when we had to."
Boden's performance overshadowed a solid effort by UConn tailback Taber Small, who had 175 yards rushing on 31 carries with four touchdowns. Small scored in the first two overtimes when each team was given the ball at the 25 yard line. On UConn's third possession, place kicker Marc Hickok converted a 28-yard field goal only to have Boden end it all with his TD pass to Kavanaugh.
"The offensive line was great all day long," Boden said. "I was hardly pressured at all."
UConn cornerback Jordan Younger, who ran a punt back 68 yards for a score in the second quarter, said the Huskies tried pressure and zone but couldn't stop Boden from picking apart the defense.
"(Boden knew where to go with the ball. He read our defenses well," Jordan said. "When the man puts up the ball 69 times we've got to get the ball. We were on the field way too long."
