Freshman Lyle McCombs ran for 141 yards and four touchdowns and defending Big East champion UConn opened the Paul Pasqualoni era with a 35-3 victory over FCS opponent Fordham on Saturday.

Pasqualoni, a Connecticut native, became the first UConn coach to win his home opener since 1923 and tied the Big East record for wins with 108. The 62-year-old was chosen to replace Randy Edsall, who took the head coaching job at Maryland shortly after leading the Huskies to their first-ever BCS Bowl berth last January.

A longtime NFL assistant, who last coached at Syracuse in 2004, Pasqualoni wasn’t a popular choice to succeed Edsall. But UConn fans have nothing complain about - for now - after the Huskies (1-0) easily dominated Fordham (0-1), which hails from the Patriot League.

UConn outgained the Rams 285-62 while building a 21-0 halftime lead. McCombs ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries in the first half. The 5-8 172-pound McCombs is part of a committee that will be counted on to help replace Jordan Todman, who left for the NFL after his junior season.

Johnny McEntee, who gained national acclaim for his trick shots on YouTube, finished 8-for-12 for 113 yards for the Huskies. McEntee is one of three quarterbacks UConn plans to use this season.

The game was originally scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed because Rentschler Field was being used as a relief center for victims of Hurricane Irene.