Film Review: SU defense buckles down late to seal win over UConn
Syracuse's defense locked down late against UConn, allowing the Orange to come back from a 17-6 fourth-quarter deficit. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
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Comeback wins are the ultimate cleanser in sports. Sometimes, all it takes is a small burst of excellence for a team to turn a once-terrible performance into an inspiring triumph.
Against UConn Saturday, Syracuse overcame three awful quarters of play by outscoring the Huskies 21-3 across the fourth quarter and overtime, leading to its 27-20 win. Led by quarterback Steve Angeli’s 417 passing yards and wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons’ game-winning overtime touchdown, SU completed an 11-point comeback after trailing 17-6 heading into the fourth.
Head coach Fran Brown didn’t forget about the Orange’s rough start, though. He went viral for making the team run sprints on the Dome turf postgame. But Brown should have excused his starting defense from the punishment.
What got lost between its offensive heroics and Brown’s antics is Syracuse’s excellent defensive play down the stretch. After the 2024 season concluded, SU identified defense — tackling in particular — as its primary weakness. The Orange have been inconsistent under second-year defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson, whose 2025 group didn’t exactly inspire confidence in a 45-26 Week 1 loss to then-No. 24 Tennessee.
But Robinson’s defense emphatically responded to its first-game struggles. SU held UConn to six second-half points, forced four straight fourth-quarter punts and stuffed it inside the five-yard line in overtime, sealing the Orange’s home-opener victory.
Here’s a breakdown of how Syracuse’s (1-1, 0-0 ACC) defense buckled down in crunch time against UConn (1-1, 0-0 Independent):
4th quarter, 14:08 — Chestnut Island
Entering the fourth quarter, SU had only tallied 24 rushing yards, allowed UConn to gain 6.3 yards per play and let Huskies’ quarterback Joe Fagnano control the pace of play. Signs of change emerged when the Orange stalled UConn on two straight drives to end the third. But the fourth is where SU’s defense truly exerted its dominance.
Let’s start with some textbook coverage from Syracuse safety Duce Chestnut. Huskies star wide receiver Skyler Bell frustrated SU’s secondary all day — totaling 11 catches for 105 yards — and it assigned various players to limit Bell in the game. On this play, a third-and-2 from UConn’s 33-yard line, Chestnut got his turn.
The Huskies ran this play out of 11 personnel, initially featuring a trips formation to Fagnano’s left. Bell motioned to the right side of the field, forcing Chestnut to move down from his high-safety spot and play man coverage outside the hash marks.
Syracuse, showing blitz with six guys near the line of scrimmage, clearly wanted to force a quick Fagnano throw on a short down and distance. After Fagnano received the snap, the Huskies’ offensive line stalled the Orange’s defensive front. Fagnano had ages to throw, and his eyes were fixed on Bell.
Bell ran a deep corner route near the 50-yard line, but Chestnut stayed in front of him the entire time. When Bell made his break toward the sideline, Chestnut remained locked on his side, forcing Bell to lose his footing. Fagnano’s throw was low and incomplete, with Chestnut preventing a possible big gain in a crucial spot.
4th quarter, 8:52 — SU’s game-shifting response
On this drive, Syracuse forced UConn to punt for the third straight time in the fourth quarter. It set the Orange up for success the rest of the way; Angeli threw a 53-yard touchdown strike to Ross-Simmons on the game’s ensuing possession. Though it took over 51 minutes of action for it to happen, SU finally started to play complementary football.
This first-down play with Syracuse down 17-6 led to UConn’s eventual punt. With the Huskies positioned at SU’s 44-yard line on a first-and-10, Fagnano lined up in the shotgun and running back Cam Edwards stood a few yards behind him in a pistol formation. The Orange stacked eight players in the box, adequately preparing for a handoff with UConn in a 12-personnel set.
Syracuse defensive tackle Kevin Jobity Jr. — No. 94 — is the player to watch here. Upon the snap, Jobity bulldozed past UConn guard Charley Leahy and made slight contact with Edwards, forcing him to shift to the left. SU’s Derek McDonald (No. 15) and Denis Jaquez Jr. (No. 11) provided support on the left, awaiting Edwards to cut toward them. McDonald and Jaquez met Edwards for a gang tackle, dropping him for a one-yard loss.
UConn only gained four yards on the next two plays. Jobity’s ability to disrupt a potential easy five-yard pickup set the tone for Syracuse’s stop.
4th quarter, 3:16 — Jobity decks Edwards in the backfield
Speaking of Jobity, he was one of Syracuse’s most overlooked players in its comeback victory over UConn. He closed the afternoon with five total tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack where he dropped Fagnano for a 10-yard loss.
On this play, with time winding down in the fourth quarter and SU trailing 17-12, Jobity wreaks havoc to help force the Huskies’ fourth consecutive punt.
Leahy was Jobity’s previous victim, though this time, he makes life miserable for UConn guard Ty Chan. On a first-and-10 from Syracuse’s 39-yard line, the Huskies again lined up in a pistol, and the Orange responded accordingly by stacking eight in the box. Another clear running down for UConn became another perfectly executed play from Jobity.
On the snap, Jobity drove Chan backward and forced him off-balance. Jobity was three yards into UConn’s backfield by the time Edwards received the handoff. Edwards tried to cut left, but Jobity was too big and fast for the smaller running back to contend with. Jobity bear-hugged Edwards and brought him to the ground for a four-yard loss.
UConn wouldn’t come close to getting a first down thanks to Jobity. He proved to be a one-man wrecking crew late versus the Huskies, a disruptor the Orange will desperately need going forward.
Overtime, 2nd possession — The Canadian clincher
Antoine Deslauriers — Syracuse’s starting freshman linebacker from Montreal, Quebec — bears the resemblance of a professional wrestler. He stands at 6-foot-1, 235 pounds, boasting thick, muscular arms and tree trunks for legs, making him SU’s resident bodybuilder if there ever was one.
The imposing Deslauriers emerged as the Orange’s finisher on Saturday. In overtime, after Syracuse scored on the opening possession, he made consecutive crucial plays on third and fourth downs with UConn inside the five-yard line.
On a third-and-3 from SU’s four-yard line, the Huskies were lined up in a shotgun formation with three receivers to Fagnano’s right. Deslauriers was positioned on the edge facing UConn right tackle Carsten Casady. Fagnano took the snap and faked an inside zone handoff to running back Victor Rosa. Simultaneously, UConn’s entire line pulled to the left on a misdirection pass play, trying to free up space on the right for a touchdown.
Deslauriers, however, was unaccounted for. Casady didn’t even try to block him. Deslauriers had a free lane at Fagnano and bull-rushed him. As Fagnano set his feet and tried to get off a strike toward the end zone, Deslauriers timed his jump with the quarterback’s release. Deslauriers tipped the ball with his left paw, forcing the incompletion. And he wasn’t done yet.
The very next play, on fourth-and-3, Deslauriers played man coverage against UConn tight end Juice Vereen. Fagnano tested Deslauriers, throwing a ball toward Vereen’s back shoulder with Deslauriers’ back facing the quarterback. But Deslauriers kept his hand outstretched, anticipating a throw to Vereen, and deflected a second straight pass. The Canadian clinched Syracuse’s comeback victory, closing one of its better defensive performances under Robinson.
