ESPN College Football

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Tyler Lorenzen threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns as Connecticut pulled away in the second half to hand Duke its 21st consecutive loss, 45-14 Saturday.

A junior college transfer who began his career at Iowa State, the left-handed Lorenzen completed 22-of-30 and ran for 56 yards to give the Huskies a victory in their opener for the fifth year in a row. Terence Jeffers caught eight of Lorenzen's passes to double his previous career best, and D.J. Hernandez and Steve Brouse each had a TD catch.

Donald Brown added 99 yards on the ground.

Connecticut's defense was just as impressive, particularly in the second half, when Duke managed to gain only 54 yards. After driving 80 yards in six efficient plays on their opening possession, the Blue Devils were held to 89 in the final 58 1/2 minutes, and they finished with 15 yards rushing. Thaddeus Lewis threw three interceptions.

Of course, that's nothing new for the Blue Devils. Their most recent victory came two years ago against VMI, which plays in what formerly was called Division I-AA, and they haven't beaten a major college opponent since 2004.

And even though 11 offensive starters returned for a year ago, that team finished 0-12, the fourth winless record since 1994 for Duke. Coach Ted Roof is 5-35 in slightly more than three years.

Lewis had a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brandon King to cap that first drive, and Jabari Marshall returned a second-quarter kickoff 94 yards for another TD. Those two scores gave the Blue Devils a 14-11 lead at the half, but it evaporated quickly.

The Huskies moved 79 yards in slightly more than 90 seconds to take the lead for good, with Lorenzen finding Hernandez on a crossing pattern for a 57-yard touchdown. Hernandez juked his way by defensive back Marshall, then cruised the rest of the way to make it 18-14.

Another long pass from Lorenzen, this one covering 41 yards to Brad Kanuch, moved the ball down to the Blue Devils' 1 later in the quarter. Two plays later, Lorenzen rolled to his right and lofted a pass to Brouse in the back of the end zone.

Connecticut added two more TDs on the ground in the fourth quarter. Then Darius Butler returned an interception 36 yards for a final score with about 2 minutes remaining, sending Lewis to the bench.