Syracuse snags 1st win since September 2025 in 66-3 blowout of New Hampshire
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The changes — both good and bad — across Syracuse’s team this offseason have been glaring. The wide receiver room saw a complete overhaul. Fran Brown added three quarterbacks with starting experience. He fired numerous coaches at the end of last season and brought in defensive coordinator Vince Kehres.
It was all to remedy last year’s monstrosity. All to just get back in the win column.
With all the moving parts, Brown said he was nervous entering Syracuse’s season opener against New Hampshire Saturday. He talked to new athletic director Bryan Blair and deputy athletic director Yulander Wells Jr. “all day long” Friday.
He felt the weight of making the Syracuse community, fans and alumni happy — especially coming off the eight-game losing streak that ended SU’s 2025 season. The Orange hadn’t won in 350 days after Steve Angeli’s injury last September.
“I just wanted to go out and win,” Brown said.
He got his wish. Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) demolished New Hampshire (0-2, 0-1 Coastal Athletic) 66-3 to snap its losing skid dating back to last year. Angeli finished 20-of-29 for 263 yards and three touchdowns after exiting in the fourth quarter, while SU produced 239 yards on the ground and allowed just one field goal.
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“Win column is great. That’s what I’m looking for,” Brown said postgame. “That’s what you want to be able to do.”
“I like making everybody else happy, though,” he added. “So, I’m happy that the Syracuse community, the university, alumni, fans, we all get an opportunity to have some fun this weekend.”
Angeli’s return was at the forefront of everyone’s minds. He was one of the best quarterbacks in the country before his 2025 season ended in Week 4, amassing 1,317 yards — second in the nation to that point — and 10 touchdowns. SU’s backup options couldn’t reach either mark in the next eight games combined.
Despite the Orange’s dismal 3-9 season, Angeli’s return brought hope. SU went 3-1 with him before everything went haywire. He showed why against New Hampshire.
The Orange’s first drive sputtered out, but there wasn’t much of that again. Syracuse alternated between run and pass plays consistently, with sophomore Tylik Hill and freshman Shavane Anderson Jr. splitting backfield carries due to Ju’Juan Johnson and Ahmad Miller’s absences.
Hill finished with 91 yards on 16 carries, while Anderson added 10 for 102, gashing a UNH defense that allowed 374 rushing yards last week against UAlbany.
Angeli didn’t seem to have lost a step as he found open receiver after open receiver. He primarily relied on sixth-year Umari Hatcher, who capped a 77-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown midway through the first.
Hatcher, like Angeli, missed most of last year with an injury, and the two spent considerable time rehabbing together. After Saturday’s dominant win, they reminisced on the field postgame, Angeli said.
SU wide receiver Umari Hatcher scores a touchdown in a season-opening 66-3 win against UNH. The sixth-year wideout posted game-high marks in receptions (eight), receiving yards (147) and receiving touchdowns (two). Christian Calabrese | Asst. Photo Editor
Last September, they were watching from the sidelines. Saturday, they connected for two touchdowns and 147 yards.
“We were both going through a really tough time, and now look at what we’re doing out here a little less than a year later,” Angeli recalled telling Hatcher.
With Angeli dealing — even though he humbly said he has “more to work on” postgame — and the Orange’s backfield alive, Syracuse never let up.
It found the end zone on six straight drives. Anderson punched it in three times and Hill added one from two yards out. Angeli also hit David Clement down the middle to add insult to injury. It was 34-0 before the second-quarter two-minute warning.
Meanwhile, Kehres’ patented “11 as 1” defense did its job. He helped Toledo to the second-best total defense in the country last year (254.3 yards per game) and kept that standard Saturday.
The Orange allowed just two first downs on UNH’s first four drives and 12 the entire game. The Wildcats didn’t even cross midfield until 45 seconds before halftime. Brown credited Kehres postgame for ensuring his defense plays “violent,” which helped SU keep offensive momentum up 41-0 at halftime.
“We’re gonna hit. I’ve done that since I was a little kid,” Brown said. “I played for the Simbas, and we hit when I was little, and we hit in practice now. And if you’re around us, that’s just what’s gonna happen. We make sure that we want to have contact.”
There’s not much to say about the second half — SU maintained its chokehold and cruised to victory.
The Orange’s defense notably produced points via a blocked punt safety and fumble return touchdown, helping bump the score to 57-3 before Angeli was taken out for Amari Odom and later Malachi Nelson in the fourth. SU allowed New Hampshire to get on the board with a field goal, but it didn’t matter.
Syracuse finally had its win, and Brown could finally breathe. Yes, it was against the only Football Championship Subdivision team on its schedule. Brown acknowledges that but knows bigger competition looms.
After everything the Orange went through last season, he’ll take it.
“Every game’s a big game because we’re in it,” Brown said. “So we got to understand the stakes are gonna continue to get higher and higher every week.”
