The UConn football team made modest progress Saturday. Given the Huskies were in the midst of one of the worst starts to a season in college football history, they'll take it.

Army beat UConn 52-21 Saturday afternoon at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y., taking a huge lead at halftime and coasting through the second half.

Army (3-0) scored touchdowns on all six possessions in the first half, taking a whopping 42-0 lead at the half. The Black Knights racked up 323 yards in the opening half, 253 on the ground, while the Huskies managed just 84 total.

Army finished with 504 total yards and for the second straight game it did not punt.

UConn is 0-4 for the first time since 2013. It has lost 29 of its last 30 games against FBS competition.

However, the Huskies did something Saturday they hadn't done all season against FBS foes: they scored.

Tyler Phommachanh became the third quarterback in four games to start for the Huskies. The freshman from Stratford struggled but did score the team's first points against an FBS team this season.

Phommachanh's 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter cut Army's lead to 42-7. It was the program's first points in an FBS game since a loss to Temple Nov. 30, 2019 — a span of 658 days. UConn did not play any games in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.

Prior to the score UConn had been outscored 136-0 by FBS opponents this season.

Phommachanh finished 11-for-26 for 109 yards with no passing touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 60 yards and two touchdowns.

UConn interim coach Lou Spanos indicated Phommachanh will be the Huskies' starter moving foward.

"We're going to talk to the staff but Tyler gives us the best opportunity. We're not worrying about redshirts, we're worried about competing," Spanos said.

As is their usual, UConn was already destined for a loss by halftime. Unlike its previous blowouts, the Huskies did show signs of life in the second half.

"They did a better job executing and a better job finishing in the second half of the game," said Spanos, whose team outscored Army, albeit against mostly backups, 21-10 in the second half.

In addition to Phommachanh's scores, freshman Brian Brewton returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. It was the program's first kickoff return for a TD since Robbie Frey took one back against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 1, 2011.

"He does have another gear," Spanos said of Brewton's speed. "It was nice to see given the work he put in this week."

Brewton actually returned another kickoff for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but the play was called back because of a holding penalty.

Army quarterback Christian Anderson had two touchdowns rushing and one passing in the first half. He did not play in the second half.

UConn went three-and-out with its first possession of the game.

Army then wasted no time in taking control.

Its second play from scrimmage was a 58-yard run by Brandon Walters and it took the Knights just four plays total to grab an early 7-0 lead.

The Huskies managed a first down on their second drive of the game but ended up botching a fourth-down conversion near midfield. Army turned it around and began to pull away. A 39-yard, play action pass from Anderson to a wide-open Isaiah Alston — the Knights' first pass of the game — made it 14-0 Army with 5:41 to play in the first quarter.

UConn was 1-for-6 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down in the first half. The Huskies had a 55-yard pass called back by a penalty and had three painful dropped passes.