SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Orange rallied furiously in the fourth quarter with two touchdown drives to escape the JMA Wireless Dome with a 27-20 overtime win over the UConn Huskies.
Syracuse started out the game in promising fashion, but sputtered out. The Orange offensive had to already deal with a change as Trevion Mack was seen on a scooter during the pregame. Naquil Betrand took his spot as the starting left tackle.
Steve Angeli moved the chains and the offense effectively on short passes to
trusted options like Dan Villari and Will Nixon. However, the Orange couldn’t establish dominance on the inside run. That flared up when Fran Brown decided to go for it on 4th & 2 from the UConn 8-yard line. Villari couldn’t punch through the middle on the play to reach the line to gain.
UConn’s opening drive also started well but quickly flatlined. The Huskies did their scouting and targeted open-field one-on-one matchups on short passes and outside runs. That forced Syracuse into open-field tackles that they couldn’t quite wrap up, allowing the Huskies to move the chains to midfield. However, UConn QB couldn’t connect on two downfield passes to give the ball right back to the Orange.
Syracuse’s short yardage woes continued on its second drive. The Orange couldn’t convert on 2nd & 4 and 3rd & 1 to move the chains, forcing a Jack Stonehouse punt. UConn responded with attacking the outside with screens. The Huskies took the drive into the second quarter, where Jim Mora broke out a trick play to strike first. A double pass to wide receiver Josh Neider broke Alex Honig free for an easy pass into the back of the end zone. UConn led 7-0 after the first play of the second quarter.
Syracuse’s ensuing drive looked promising to start once again. Villari continued to be a trusted option, emulating Oronde Gadsden’s ability to find soft spots in zone defense. Jaylan Hornsby also moved the chains with good one-on-one battles on the outside. But once again, the Orange failed on a short yardage situation. On 4th & 2 from the UConn 10, Huskies DB Tyrece Mills rushed Angeli completely unblocked, sacking him and forcing a fumble in the process. Fortunately for the Orange, the Syracuse defense forced a 3-and-out on the ensuing UConn drive. Kevin Jobity ended the UConn threat with a sack on 3rd down.
After the teams traded 3-and-outs, Syracuse got a gift as UConn botched a snap on a punt attempt. The Orange were set up at the UConn 19-yard line, but the offense couldn’t move the chains. Syracuse had to settle for a 38-yard field goal from Tripp Woody for its first points of the game. The Huskies answered right back later, marching down the field efficiently. UConn running back Mel Brown then broke around the left side for a 45-yard touchdown to extend the Huskies advantage.
Once again, Syracuse started a drive in good fashion. Angeli used Villari’s safe and secure hands to pick up easy yards. A big play from Darrell Gill tip-toeing the sideline sparked the Orange but time was too close to expiring for the Orange to find the end zone. Syracuse had to settle for another field goal which Woody hit. The Orange trailed 14-6 at the halftime break.
UConn marched down the field quicky to find the red zone to start the second half. The Huskies found the red zone on a 34-yard completion to RB Cam Edwards. However, the Orange defense held strong in the red zone to force a Huskies field goal. Chris Freeman hit a 35-yarder to increase the UConn lead to 17-6.
That’s when the offense stalled out for both teams. It turned out to be a struggle for both offenses to cross midfield. Syracuse fans started to get agitated as the Orange offense couldn’t get past the 35 in the 3rd quarter. Fortunately for the Orange, the defense was there to pick up the offense with the score after three quarters remaining at 17-6.
The nail in the coffin came quickly in the fourth quarter as Angeli rolled out looking for Tyshawn Russell. D’Mon Brinson lurked in front of the route and rose to snag the ball out of the air. Fans started to file out of the Dome with over 10 minutes left in the 4th.
Syracuse finally hit pay dirt towards the end of the 4th quarter. Justus Ross-Simmons got behind the defense on a go route and Angeli floated a ball over to him down the right sideline. Ross-Simmons saw nothing but green in front of him as he went 53 yards for the touchdown. The Orange finally had its first touchdown of the game, trailing 17-12 after a failed two-point conversion.
The Orange defense did just enough to get the ball back with just over two minutes to go and one timeout. Angeli led an 80-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 26-yard pass to Dan Villari. The rushing attack did the rest, capping the drive by a touchdown run by Yasin Willis. Darrell Gill converted the two-point conversion to put Syracuse up by three.
UConn did have three timeouts with 48 seconds to go. Skyler Bell made a miraculous one-handed grab on 4th down to push the Huskies past midfield. Joe Fagnano continued to feed Bell as the QB-WR duo willed UConn to the Cuse 23-yard line. Chris Freeman split the uprights to send the game to overtime.
The Orange started on offense in the OT and scored first. Justus Ross-Simmons tip-toed the sideline perfectly to just break the right corner of the end zone and give Syracuse a seven-point lead. UConn had a chance on 4th & 3 from the 4-yard line to score a touchdown, but freshman Antoine Deslauriers broke up the pass to end the game.
Syracuse is back in action at the JMA Wireless Dome on Friday to take on the Colgate Raiders.
