Devin Farrell throws 2 TD passes and Rhode Island hangs on to top Central Connecticut in FCS opener

KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) Devin Farrell threw for 365 yards, including two first quarter touchdowns, and Rhode Island defeated Central Connecticut 27-19 on Saturday in a first-round game of the FCS playoffs.

Ninth-seeded Rhode Island will play No. 8 UC Davis in the second round. The Aggies had a first-round bye.

Farrell threw a touchdown pass on each of Rhode Island's first two possessions and his 54-yard connection with Omari Walker set up the Rams' third score on the way to a 24-7 halftime lead.

The game tightened up in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils' Brady Olson threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Damani Williams to make it 24-13. The PAT was blocked by Dontay Bishop of Rhode Island and the missing point played a key role in strategy as the game wore on.

Farrell threw an interception near midfield on the Rams' next possession and Dekavis Preston returned it 59 yards to the 7-yard line. On fourth down from the 1, the Blue Devils chose to kick a field goal that made the score 24-16.

Rhode Island (11-2) then drove inside the 10-yard line and Garth White booted a 26-yard field goal that made it a two-score game (27-16) with 5 minutes remaining. It was Rhode Island's only points of the second half.

The Blue Devils (8-5) reached the 11-yard line on the next possession but facing fourth-and-10, they again chose the field goal, making the score 27-19 with two minutes remaining. Central Connecticut got the ball back with about 90 seconds remaining but ran out of time after reaching the URI 40-yard line.

Olson attempted 62 passes, completing 35 for 311 yards with the two touchdowns.

Rhode Island defeated Central Connecticut 21-17 in the first round of the playoffs last year.

---

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football