East Hartford — Midway through the fourth quarter, UConn was cruising to a rare comfortable victory.

Then things got crazy.

A 20-point lead dipped to six.

Tulsa quickly drove downfield and ran one last play from the UConn nine-yard line with one second remaining. But senior linebacker Junior Joseph alertly knocked away a potential game-winning pass in the end zone to preserve a 20-14 victory before 24,814 fans at Rentschler Field.

"It's all up to luck sometimes in the end," redshirt senior Cole Ormsby said. "(Junior) saved us. My boy June Bug saved us, saved all of Connecticut with that last play."

UConn (3-4, 2-3) now owns its first two-game winning streak since November 2015.

"Great win for us...," coach Randy Edsall said. "We've got a two-game winning streak. The kids played hard and kept battling all the way, so we're going to enjoy it. But also there's some things that took place in that game that we'll be able to correct and get better, because we did have opportunities to put them away and we didn't take advantage of that.

"We've just got to figure out what happened there in the last five minutes."

The Huskies controlled the majority of the American Athletic Conference game. They scored 14 points in the third quarter to extend their lead to 17-0. Their defense appeared in charge, racking up a season-high six sacks and allowing a season-low for points.

But a late letdown almost cost them the game.

Tulsa (2-6, 1-3) scored twice in the final seven minutes, nine seconds, on a pair of short scoring runs by Shamari Brooks (31 carries, 164 yards). Then, with no timeouts left, the Golden Hurricane drove from their own 12 to the UConn 9, gaining the last 50 yards on quarterback Luke Skipper's long pass to Keenen Johnson.

The clock stopped on the first down play with one second left. Tulsa raced up the line and snapped the ball. Joseph faded back in coverage and prevented Johnson from making the reception.

"It was really, really crazy...," Joseph said of the finish. "The quarterback started scrambling so I stayed with (my man) for the whole play. I just saw the ball and made a play on it."

Earlier in the fourth quarter, Joseph briefly left the game after straining his back.

"I just had to suck it up for my teammates...," Joseph said. "I just had to fight through it. I was glad I was put in that position to make that play for my teammates."

Neither team found any traction in the first half. UConn carried a 3-0 lead into halftime on Michael Tarbutt's 35-yard field goal. It was the first time the Huskies have held an opponent scoreless in the first half since November  2012 against Louisville.

The third quarter belonged to the Huskies.

Redshirt freshman Nate Hopkins finished off the opening drive of the third quarter by plunging into the end zone from one-yard out to complete a 79-yard march.

After stopping Tulsa, UConn took only one play to increase its lead to 17-0. The Huskies executed a flea-flicker, as Hopkins took the hand-off, tossed it back to quarterback Bryant Shirreffs (23 for 29, 372 yards) who heaved it to a wide open Hergy Mayala. It was a foot race from there that Mayala won for an 80-yard scoring play.

It was the longest play from scrimmage this season for UConn.

"It was great...," said Mayala, who finished with four receptions for a team-best 131 yards. "I just felt like I was taking forever to get into the end zone."

The Huskies settled for another field goal — Tarbutt hit from 28 yards — after setting up first and goal from the one. The 20-0 lead with 8:33 remaining in the game seemed secure.

It almost wasn't, even after Mason Donaldson recovered an onside kick for UConn with 2:15 left.

But the Huskies barely held on for the win.

After the final chaotic play, Edsall ran on to the field to confront the officials about the late game clock management. To say the least, he wasn't happy.

"I will not comment on any officiating," Edsall said after the game. "I've been fined once in my career. With the state budget and everything else, we don't have the money to pay a fine, so please do not ask me any questions."

News and notes

Injuries hurt both teams, as Tulsa leading rusher D'Angelo Brewer sat out the game and UConn lost starter Arkeel Newsome to an undisclosed injury late in the first quarter. ... Defensive standouts: Freshman Brayden Brown and redshirt senior Foley Fatukasi shared the team lead in tackles with nine apiece. Fatukasi and Ormsby each had two sacks, while seniors Luke Carrezola and Jamar Summers each added one. Freshman Jordan Swann had his first career interception. ... UConn was outgained 453-441 yards. ... Up next: UConn hosts Missouri in a non-conference game next Saturday night.

g.keefe@theday.com