On Saturday September 24, the University of Connecticut Huskies (2-1, 0-1 AAC) met Dino Babers and the Syracuse Orange (2-1, 0-1 AAC) at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, CT for the Orange’s first road game of the season.
Coming off a discouraging loss against South Florida where they took an early 17-0 lead in the first quarter, the Orange were looking to improve their overall record before facing Notre Dame next weekend. In last week’s matchup against the Bulls, the Orange had trouble offensively and defensively, managing to only put up 3 more points on the board and falling by 25.
The Orange got an early 14-0 start in the first quarter with 2 touchdown passes from quarterback Eric Dungey to wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo, the Orange’s star graduate transfer from the University of Maryland. Etta-Tawo has been turning heads on the field in the first 3 games for the Orange and today would be no different.
The second quarter brought even more excitement for the Orange with a reverse call on an interception and an illegal formation by Syracuse early on. Hearing a bit more bark from the Huskies, Babers called his first timeout of the half. But that wasn't able to stop UConn’s momentum, as they were able to pick up their first points of the game with a 2-yard rush to the end zone by running back Ron Johnson.
Unable to extend their lead when they had the chance, which always seems to be an issue for the Orange, freshman kicker Cole Murphy had his first miss of the season late in the second quarter. From one first to another, Etta-Tawo became the first Syracuse player to have 4 straight 100-yard receiving games, a title which he was awarded in just the first quarter.
With a chance to tie it up, UConn took a timeout on Syracuse’s 6-yard line with 39 seconds left in the half. The Huskies were able to execute, tying the game 14-14 after a 6-yard rush by running back Arkeel Newsome.
Despite UConn’s back-to-back timeouts in an effort to ice the kicker, Murphy was able to redeem himself and nail the 47-yard field goal for the Orange. Carried by Etta-Tawo’s 7 catches and 171 yards, the Orange left the first half leading 17-14.
In a slow start for both teams, UConn was finally able to make moves with a 27-yard field goal from Bobby Puyol, tying the game once again at 17-17 with 5 and change left in the third quarter. Looking for a chance to capitalize late in the third, cornerback Cordell Hudson’s 22-yard pick six gave the Orange a 24-17 lead heading into the final 15:00.
With 12:15 left in the fourth, Murphy had another chance to help extend Syracuse’s lead, but wasn’t able to land the 33-yard field goal, his second miss of the game.
Just a little over half left in the final quarter, UConn was able to trick the Orange with a fake field goal to get the Huskies into the Orange end zone. But, linebacker Zaire Franklin, with 12 tackles, and the Syracuse defense, were able to come up big and stop UConn’s quarterback Bryant Sherriffs, holding them at the 1-yard line to give Syracuse the ball.
Under pressure with less than 2:30 remaining, UConn took its first timeout of the second half, as Syracuse was 4 yards away from the end zone. On a false start, the Orange were pushed back to the 9, but H-back Donate Strickland was able to get the ball back to the 6-yard line as UConn called its second time out. In a 6-yard run to the end zone, Dungey gets the touchdown and brings the lead to 31-17.
Looking to lessen the lead, UConn’s Sherriffs connects with a player in the Orange end zone to bring the score down to 31-24 with just over 0:30 left.
Kneeling with the last 0:30 on the clock, the Syracuse Orange improved their record to 2-2 with a record breaking game from Etta-Tawo with 264 receiving yards in a single game, the most ever by a Syracuse player, breaking a record that was previously held since 1985. Dungey also had an impressive game with 407 passing yards, a new career high.
The Syracuse Orange look to improve their overall record to 3-2 next Saturday, October 2, when they head to Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.