Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord threw for 470 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Orange to a 31-24 victory over Connecticut on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome. He completed 37 of 47 passes as the Huskies saw a three-game winning streak snapped.
UConn QB Joe Fagnano completed 27-of-48 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Cam Edwards of Norwalk ran for a team-leading 71 yards and a touchdown.
The Huskies (7-4) never quite went away during the day but the Orange always seemed one step ahead.
The game was tied at 7-7 before Syracuse scored a pair of touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead with 3:17 left in the second quarter.
The Huskies responded behind Fagnano, who pieced together a 10-play drive that covered 75 yards. Fagnano was able to feed the ball to receiver Skyler Bell three times on the drive, finding him for catches of seven, 30 and 15 yards to get set up in a first and goal situation at the Orange five-yard line. On the next play, Fagnano found his tight end Louis Hansen for six off a play-action pass to pull with 21-14 at halftime.
The Orange (8-3) extended their lead in the third quarter on a 23-yard field goals from Jackson Kennedy to cap a nine play, 69-yard drive and take a 24-14 lead.
Connecticut looked to threaten on the ensuing drive as back Mel Brown broke loose up the middle for a 35-yard gain and but for a shoestring tackle by Justin Barron to prevent a sure score. The Orange defense held and forced a UConn punt on the drive.
The Huskies took advantage of some good field position to get the three points back as Chris Freeeman hit from 42 yards to make it 24-17 at the end of the third quarter.
The Orange got their final points with 10:09 left in the fourth as McCord led a 10-play drive and capped it off, plunging in from a yard out to make it 31-17.
UConn made a late surge as Fagnano led a 15-play drive late and pulled the Huskies within 31-24 as he found Sheffield in the right front of the end zone with 1:29 left. UConn’s onside attempt failed and the Orange were able to run out the clock on the win.
McCord had the Orange offense clicking right out of the gates, taking two plays off the opening kick-off to score the game’s first points. He hit Gill Jr. for a 53-yard gain and then Gadsen II for a 22-yard score to make it 7-0 just 50 seconds into the game. McCord would complete his first 12 passes of the game.
The Huskies capitalized with a bold fourth down call to tie the game.
Facing fourth and one on their own 29-yard line, the Huskies line up to go for it and handed the ball to Edwards who suddenly burst through the line, got his feet back under him and flew down the right sidelines for a 71-yard touchdown. It was the longest offensive play of the season for UConn and pulled the game even at 7-7 with 5:35 left in the first.
Bell caught a career-high 10 passes for 110 yards while Sheffield caught 10 passes for 52 yards. Linebacker Jayden McDonald made 12 tackles and had a sack for UConn.
The Huskies will close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 30 with a trip up to Amherst, MA to face New England rival UMass. Kickoff is slated for 12 noon on ESPN+.
Syracuse 31, UConn 24
At Syracuse, N.Y.
UConn (7-4) 7 7 3 7 — 24
Syracuse (8-3) 7 14 3 7 — 31
First quarter
S: Oronde Gadsen 22 pass from Kyle McCord (Jackson Kennedy kick), 14:10
C: Cam Edwards 71 run (Chris Freeman kick), 5:41
Second quarter
S: Trebor Pena 5 pass from McCord (Kennedy kick), 14:55
S: Lequint Allen 1 run (Kennedy kick), 3:17
C: Louis Hansen 5 pass from Joe Fagano (Freeman kick), 0:32
Third quarter
S: Kennedy 23 FG, 4:35
C: Freeman 42 FG, 0:05
Fourth quarter
S: McCord 1 run (Kennedy kick), 10:09
C: T.J. Sheffield 2 pass from Fagano (Freeman kick), 1:29
Individual statistics
RUSHING: UConn – Edwards 8-87, Brown 5-41, Robinson 3-3, Fagano 1-minus 7; Syracuse: Allen 20-58, Gadsen 1-12, Gill 1-3, Villari 1-2, McCoard 6-1, Willis 1-0
PASSING: UConn – Fagano 27-48-0, 228; Syracuse – McCord 37-47-0, 470
RECEIVING: UConn – Bell 10-113, Sheffield 10-52, Hansen 2-33, Edwards 3-15, Robinson 1-10, Gathings 1-5; Syracuse – Gill 9-177, Meeks 7-110, Gadsen 11-103, Ross-Simmons 1-32, Allen 5-30, Hatcher 1-9, Pena 2-7, Hart 1-2; Att. 35,453
