Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Year two of the Fran Brown era didn’t get off to an ideal start for Syracuse. That was expected. Then-No. 24 Tennessee’s Southeastern Conference roster proved to be too much for the Orange in a 45-26 loss. It was SU’s most points allowed in a regular season game since Nov. 19, 2022. Brown was blunt in his teams’ assessment.

“The film sucks,” Brown said during his Monday press conference.

Week 2 wasn’t nearly the same behemoth. That doesn’t mean SU wouldn’t be tested. The Orange welcomed a pesky UConn program led by veteran head coach Jim L. Mora. Last season, the Huskies hung with SU, only losing by seven points. This time around, they proved to be more than just a mundane test.

UConn walked into the JMA Wireless Dome and nearly shocked the Orange. Syracuse was held without a touchdown for nearly 55 minutes, but two fourth quarter scores gave it the lead for the first time. UConn ended up forcing overtime with a late drive, but the Orange held on for a miraculous win.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) 27-20 overtime win over UConn (1-1, 0-0 Independent):

Injury bug

Syracuse was down one starter on each side of the ball Saturday, with safety Devin Grant and left tackle Trevion Mack injured.

Grant left last week’s game and didn’t return after getting rolled up on. Brown said he was “50-50” for the game earlier this week. Grant came out for the first session of pregame warmups and didn’t have a brace on his leg. When players re-entered the field, Grant remained on the sideline in street clothes. Meanwhile, Mack was seen using a scooter for assistance and had a boot on his right foot.

Redshirt sophomore Cornell Perry replaced Grant. Meanwhile, Naquil Betrand took Mack’s place on the offensive line.

Comeback city

Syracuse faced a fourth-and-4 just inside UConn territory with under six minutes left in the game. Trailing 17-6, the game would be over if the Orange didn’t convert. Instead, Steve Angeli found Justus Ross-Simmons along the sideline, who waltzed into the endzone for SU’s first touchdown of the game.

Following a failed two-point conversion, Syracuse trailed by five. A stop would allow it the chance to take the lead for the first time all day. It seemed improbable after UConn controlled the game from start to finish. Each chance SU was given to creep back into the game, it was thrown away immediately. Until Angeli connected with Ross-Simmons. It gave SU new life.

Eventually, the Orange’s offense got the ball back with just over two minutes remaining and one timeout on its own 20-yard line. After an up-and-down outing, Angeli had the chance to lead Syracuse down the field to seal a memorable win.

Angeli started to locate his targets for the first time all half. A big connection with Dan Villari set SU up in UConn territory. A rush from Will Nixon set the Orange up in the red zone.

All of a sudden, Syracuse was unstoppable. Eventually, Yasin Willis took the ball across the goal line from three yards out to put the Orange in front for the first time all game.

However, SU gave UConn too much time. The Huskies drove down the field and hit a 40-yard field goal with one second remaining, sending the game into overtime.

Ross-Simmons hauled in his second touchdown of the game on third-and-1, despite being blanketed by a cornerback. On the ensuing possession, Syracuse stopped UConn in the red zone to hold on for the win.

Containing the run

Syracuse’s run defense was swiss cheese in its season opener. The Orange allowed 246 rushing yards on 40 carries against the Volunteers. Their defensive line never got much penetration into the backfield, allowing UT’s offense to explode. If Syracuse wasn’t careful, it could suffer the same fate against UConn.

UConn starting running back Cam Edwards started the season with 115 yards on only six rushes against Central Connecticut. Edwards was stuffed on a couple initial early runs, but the Huskies got tricky with an end-around, which faked out half of Syracuse’s defense.

Other than that, UConn was more committed to the pass. The Huskies trusted veteran quarterback Joe Fagnano to make plays. Fagnano was often given ample time to pass, hitting quick short passes to keep the chains moving. It took until the second quarter for Syracuse to record its first sack of the season, as Kevin Jobity got home on a third -and-long.

The Huskies remained patient in the run game, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Eventually, it came right before the half when Mel Brown found a hole in the left side, going 45 yards untouched to put UConn up two possessions.

Scoreless first quarter again

For the second straight week, Syracuse put up a donut in the first 15 minutes. Syracuse hadn’t gone two straight games without scoring in the opening frame since it faced Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh last season.

It didn’t initially look like it was going to be that way, with the Orange easily driving the ball down the field on their opening possession. Angeli converted a third down with a 17-yard pass to Villari up the middle. Willis bulldozed his way down the sideline for 18 yards and another third-down conversion right after.

It set up a prime scoring chance in the red zone. Angeli dumped the ball off to Nixon on a third-and-long, who came up two yards short. Syracuse’s offense stayed on the field for fourth down. Angeli peered at the sideline, as if he was receiving the play call, while Villari motioned under center. The quarterback-turned-tight end took the snap, but was stuffed short of the line to gain.

Later, UConn pulled off its own trick play, with its quarterback Fagnano throwing a backwards pass to John Neider. The receiver threw a perfect pass to a wide open Alex Honig for the games’ opening touchdown.

The Orange’s only other drive of the quarter ended with a three-and-out. They struggled to push on UConn’s defensive line and Willis was stuffed on third-and-short.

Syracuse didn’t get on the board until there was 3:37 left in the first half. Syracuse couldn’t take advantage of a special teams blunder from UConn, leading to a Tripp Woody field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.

Angeli putting the ball in harms way

Angeli threw the ball 24 times in the first half. He was lucky to escape without throwing multiple interceptions. On a third down in the first quarter, he tried squeezing a pass to Darrell Gill Jr. along the sidelines, but it was deflected by a UConn defender and nearly picked off on the ricochet.

The quarterback’s internal clock always seemed to be rushed after he was drilled on a fourth down inside the redzone, which caused him to fumble. Angeli was sacked five times in Week 1 and was under constant duress against the Huskies.

That led to him putting the ball in harm’s way and rushing throws. On a third down in the red zone, Angeli rushed a throw to a wide open Nixon, who would’ve converted a first down, but overthrew him, drawing a chorus of boos from the JMA Wireless Dome crowd.

It didn’t help Angeli that Syracuse was playing behind and put in obvious passing situations, allowing UConn’s pass rush to tee off.

Angeli completed a perfect pass to Gill along the sideline eight seconds before halftime. The quarterback followed it up by throwing the ball right to Tyrece Mills. The cornerback couldn’t handle the ball after getting undercut by his own defender, once again giving Angeli a break.

He started the game 10-of-13, but had a string of six straight incompletions during the second quarter which led to two straight three-and-outs. Those struggles persisted in the second half.

After nearly throwing multiple interceptions in the first half, Angeli finally gave one away. As he rolled out to his right, Angeli telegraphed a pass, which was easily picked off by D’Mon Brinson.

Despite having nervy moments, Angeli came up clutch when he needed to, passing for over 400 yards.

Published on September 6, 2025 at 4:19 pm
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22