SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Jim Mora said Saturday’s game at Syracuse would reveal a lot about his UConn football team, and he was right.
The Huskies showed they can compete with a power conference opponent through three quarters, but in order to see improvement from last season, they have to be able to put those games away.
Defensively, the week-to-week improvement was clear early as the Huskies overwhelmed their old Big East rivals, holding the Orange under 200 total yards through the first three quarters. They dominated in short yardage, pressured the quarterback and created their first two turnovers – an interception and a fumble – of the season.
But the offense couldn’t put the nail in the coffin and a few late-game mistakes cost the victory.
The quick passing game that was so effective in the first half was nowhere to be found in the second, particularly in the fourth quarter as QB Joe Fagnano went without a completion (0-for-9) until the final desperation drive, when the Huskies did show an ability to get off the mat and respond, however short-lived.
Here are three main takeaways from the 27-20 overtime loss:
Offense lacked consistency, killer instinct in second half
UConn ran a relatively smooth operation on offense in a hostile environment for most of Saturday’s game. With enough time to throw, Fagnano completed 20 of his first 26 passes to seven different receivers over the first three quarters.
Entering the fourth with a two-score lead, the Huskies’ chances of winning were through the roof – as long as they could keep the clock running.
But they opted to pass on first down to begin each of their first two drives and failed to connect, then ran on second before throwing another incompletion on third down, stopping the clock as the punting unit trotted out.
UConn finally committed to the run on its third possession, but at that point Syracuse was waiting for it and was able to contain, leaving the Huskies with a third-and-medium. Another incompletion gave the ball back to the Orange with more than seven minutes to play and three timeouts to work with.
UConn football notes: Huskies, again, fail to make critical plays in deciding moments
“We didn’t make plays when we needed to make plays,” Mora said, “and I’m talking about everybody, not just the players. When I say ‘make plays’ I’m talking about the staff, coaches.”
It wasn’t until the final minute, after Syracuse had scored two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to go up three, that Fagnano ended his 0-for-9 streak. Skyler Bell was the only Husky to catch a pass in the fourth quarter and overtime as Fagnano went 4-for-17 to close the game.
Defensive pressure is promising
UConn saw an opportunity coming into the game to pressure the Syracuse offensive line, which replaced four starters in the offseason and allowed five sacks to Tennessee in its opener.
After what Mora called a “soft” performance up the middle against Central Connecticut, the Huskies overwhelmed the Orange for three sacks and seven tackles for loss, at times looking like they were the power conference team on the field.
Tyrece Mills, in for the injured Malachi McLean, came clean out of the secondary for a strip sack of QB Steve Angeli on 4th-and-2 in the second quarter. Linebacker Bryun Parham, who recovered the fumble, got to Angeli once himself and Oumar Diomande, who led the team with nine tackles and two for a loss, made a critical sack on third-and-4 that led to a missed field goal in the fourth quarter.
He made headlines when he sat out at Washington. Why Bryun Parham chose UConn football next
It was a promising overall effort from a UConn front that was pieced together from a number of different places in the offseason. The Huskies held Syracuse’s running backs to just 78 rushing yards on 20 carries and will only improve with more repetitions.
Hot and cold in the secondary
UConn’s secondary knew it was in for a challenge against a Syracuse passing game that accounted for 470 yards when they met last season.
Darrell Gill and tight end Dan Villari were each on the receiving end of a few early chunk plays but had nothing to show for it as the Huskies tightened up operations in the red zone.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Angeli started to turn his day around.
Syracuse made five big plays through the air in the fourth quarter alone as Angeli started challenging UConn’s top DBs, D’Mon Brinson and Cam Chadwick. It only took a few mistakes, slight hesitations, for the seal to be broken as Justus Ross-Simmons found himself wide open for a 53-yard touchdown reception – a confidence boost that opened the floodgates for a Syracuse offense that was sure it’d get the ball back with enough time to score again.
