CFB Bowl Preview 2025: Wasabi Fenway Bowl

By Simon Carroll

Bowl season is in full swing and we will be previewing some of the bigger matchups over the next couple of weeks. This year’s Wasabi Fenway Bowl will be contested between the Army Black Knights and Connecticut Huskies. Simon Carroll takes a look at the key matchups.

Where and When

The Army Black Knights take on the UConn Huskies in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday 27thDecember at 2.15pm ET/7.15pm UK time. The game is being broadcast by ESPN, and in the UK you can watch on DAZN for free!

Story So Far...

A relatively young bowl game, the Fenway Bowl has only been played four times since it’s inception in 2022. But Fenway Park itself is no stranger to football; unlike the Pinstripe Bowl, the home of the Red Sox has seen football played at it’s stadium since it’s opening back in 1912, with various high school, college and professional teams all sharing time there with the baseball team.

The past four years, the Fenway Bowl has issued invites to the American Conference and the Atlantic Coastal Conference. But with the ACC enduring a down year, they found an independent to fill the breach; UConn have had one of their best seasons in living memory, with Jim Mora leading the Huskies to a 9-4 record. Their head coach has since departed for Colorado State, handing over the reins to interim head coach Gordon Sammis. Sammis will be looking to back up his candidacy for the full time job, and if he wins will help deliver the first 10-win season to East Hartford since Skip Holtz was in town.

Standing in their way will be the 6-6 Army Black Knights, likely licking their wounds after a gut-wrenching close defeat to rivals Navy in the most recent re-enactment of the Civil War. Head Coach Jeff Monken is probably one of the most underrated leaders in the whole of college football, racking up a dozen seasons at West Point and bringing more than respectability back to the Army football program. Monken has won five of the six bowl games he has taken the Black Knights to, showing the importance he attributes to these showcase games.

The Quarterbacks

UCONN: NICK EVERS

Most of UConn’s success in 2025 has been behind the arm of star quarterback Joe Fagnano, who threw for 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns. The Huskies will be disappointed that the graduate transfer has opted out of this game, instead accepting an invite to the Shrine Bowl and focusing on a push at an NFL career.

That means Sammis will likely turn to backup Nick Evers, who has some experience under center in this offense. Evers stepped in for Fagnano last season through injury, and has over 1,000 passing yards to his name – not something most teams can say about their deputies. Evers also brings a scrambling ability that perhaps Fagnano didn’t possess, making Army’s scouting job a little trickier.

ARMY: CALE HELLUMS

If you’re familiar with service academy football, you’ll know not to expect a lot of forward passes from Army on Saturday. Junior quarterback Cale Hellums will operate the ‘Flexbone’ – or ‘Triple Option’ – offense against UConn, a scheme that gives the quarterback carte blanche to diagnose the defense at the line of scrimmage and usually choose one of three running plays based on what they see. Hellums has only made 35 passes all year, but is just 22 rushing yards shy of becoming the eighth Black Knight to reach 1,200 yards on the ground in a season.

These contradicting styles of offense make for an intriguing post-Christmas matchup.

Who to Watch

UConn

Skyler Bell, Wide Receiver – Heading back home to Connecticut after limited opportunities in Wisconsin, Skyler Bell has become a production machine outside the numbers for the Huskies. As a redshirt junior in 2024 he put up 860 receving yards at an outrageous 17.2 yards per catch, and backed it up this year with another 1,151 yards. His development as a redzone threat has put him on the radar of NFL scouts – Bell has 13 touchdowns this year.

Army

Andon Thomas, Linebacker – The Fenway Bowl represents one more opportunity for punishing linebacker Andon Thomas to play football. The senior has been an ever present on Army’s defense since the start of 2024, an has 206 tackles in 26 games for the Black Knights. Already known for his leadership qualities, Thomas was recently awarded the NYAC Endowed Scholarship, recognising his excellence on the field and in the classroom. A finalist for the Campbell Trophy too, the Army captain will get looks through the pre-draft process.

Prediction

Considering how good UConn have been this season, I’m finding it very difficult to otalk myself into a Huskies win in this game. Their head coach has gone, starting quarterback has opted out, and they’re up against an offense they haven’t encountered this season.

Put all that together with Monken’s winning bowl record, and I’m not going against history here. Give me the Black Knights to avoid a first losing season since 2019.

UCONN 17-21 ARMY

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

LEAD WRITER, HEAD OF CONTENT

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST, COVERS COLLEGE FOOTBALL FOR DAZN AND THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS FOR SB NATION.

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