The UConn Huskies let a second consecutive victory slip out of its hands on Saturday afternoon. Despite leading by 11 late into the fourth quarter, the Huskies couldn’t hold on as the Syracuse Orange stormed back to hand them a 27-20 defeat in overtime.
UConn held a 14-6 advantage with under six minutes to play, only for Syracuse to score touchdowns on its final two possessions to pull ahead 17-14. With just 48 seconds remaining, the Huskies drove down the field — thanks in part to a ridiculous game-saving
catch on fourth down by Skyler Bell — to set up Chris Freeman’s tying field goal from 41 yards out.
In overtime, the Orange scored a touchdown on the opening possession while UConn turned the ball over on downs to reach the final.
Fresh off a dominant performance in Week One, the Huskies’ defense continued to be the backbone of the team. In the first half, UConn employed a bend-but-don’t-break mentality that saw Syracuse march down the field and reach the red zone four times, only to come away with six points on two field goals from those trips.
Offensively, the Huskies struggled to move down the field and capitalize on big plays by the defense. Missed throws and dropped balls stalled several drives, but they got the gears turning with a couple chunk plays.
UConn’s first touchdown came on a double-pass that started with quarterback Joe Fagnano throwing wide to John Neider, who then hit a wide-open Alex Honig in the end zone.
Running back Mel Brown later gave the Huskies their second score after bursting around the edge of the Orange defense for a 45-yard touchdown run. It’s the second week in a row that Brown has broken free for a run of 40+ yards. That put UConn up into the break leading 14-6.
The second half became a stalemate for both teams. Neither offense got much going and both settled for field goal attempts. The Huskies increased their lead by three while Syracuse followed by missing from 48 yards out. Then with nearly six minutes left in regulation, the Orange offense began to heat up. Quarterback Steve Angeli found Justus Ross-Simmons on a 53-yard touchdown pass to spark the fire. Syracuse attempted a two-point conversion that failed, which brought the score to 17-12.
The momentum then began to slip away from UConn. The Huskies opened their ensuing drive with a 25-yard run from Cam Edwards but quickly stalled from there and punted the ball back with 2:06 remaining.
The Orange promptly marched down the field, covering 80 yards on 10 plays in 1:18. Yasin Willis ran in the go-ahead touchdown then Syracuse cashed in a two-point conversion to extend the lead by three. Behind two-impressive plays by Bell, including a one-handed grab in traffic on a fourth down desperation throw, UConn got into field goal range and forced overtime.
Syracuse scored another Ross-Simmons touchdown in the first period of overtime. The Huskies drove as far as the four yard line but Fagnano’s fourth-down pass to Juice Vereen was broken up to seal the defeat.
Fagnano completed 24/43 passes for 259 yards. Cam Edwards ran for 75 yards on 21 carries while Mel Brown needed just five touches to pile up 71 rushing yards. UConn’s defense held Syracuse to just 44 rushing yards but allowed 417 yards through the air. The Huskies won the turnover battle 2-0 but it didn’t ultimately matter.
UConn will hope to rebound after dropping a very winnable game as its turn its attention to FBS-newcomer Delaware on Saturday.
