NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
It was a cold, rainy day in Syracuse, New York as the Syracuse Orange celebrated Senior Day, taking on the UConn Huskies at the JMA Wireless Dome. It wasn’t always pretty but Syracuse found a way to get the job done.
In the first quarter, Syracuse opened up their offense with two big plays downfield. A 53-yard pass to Darrell Gill Jr. and a quick touchdown strike to Orande Gadsden II for 22 yards and Syracuse wouldn’t fall behind the remainder of the game, despite play that could’ve easily let it slip. After forcing a quick 3-and-out on defense the Orange would get the ball back.
Pace was a big part of Syracuse’s game plan for the day as they’d line up often in a hurry-up offense. Clearly, the intent was to go out and make a statement. The next series featured two big catches of 19 yards and 23 yards from Jackson Meeks but the drive would stall in the red zone after a penalty and a missed field goal would keep the score 7-0.
On defense, the Orange would have another big defensive stand, but after UConn went for it on 4th and short, Cam Edwards would break for a 71-yard touchdown. That series on offense, followed up by the slip-up on defense have been the story of the Orange all year long. Mental mistakes that kept points on the field and not on the scoreboard and big stops that would eventually let teams off the hook keep Syracuse from putting teams away early. Especially when the play was blown up and should’ve been a stop. Don’t play dirty, but play until the whistle is blown
Luckily, Fran Brown has kept this team focused on the next play and not the last one. Syracuse put together an impressive drive on the next series, stringing together some quick passes that ate up yards to get into the red zone, but would be shut down before hitting the end zone before the quarter ended.
Don’t worry, what they couldn’t finish in the first quarter would be the first play of the second as McCord hits Pena for the TD and lead. After another stop on defense, Syracuse would get the ball back, highlighting another thorn in their side, pass protection. The drive would stall and their punt was almost blocked. Syracuse can make big plays, to “run with the big dogs”, and be a real threat. However, to do so, these mental mistakes have to be cut to a fraction of the ones shown in this game.
With UConn pinned in their own territory, a booth review overturned a penalty on Syracuse that would’ve allowed a big gain. In response, Joe Fagnano would hit Tj Sheffield on 3rd and long. The defense didn’t put a lot of pressure on Fagnano in this matchup but would do enough that a few throws sailed over receivers’ heads and were incomplete.
After Syracuse got the ball back, it was a good balance of controlling the football with the run and trying to make the big play through the air. The ‘Cuse were in attack mode most of this game trying to put pressure on UConn’s defense. Kyle McCord would finish a goal-line push that was reviewed and correctly called a touchdown.
Approaching the two-minute warning, the Huskies go in full attack mode. Something about the left side of the defense that had to have broken down or miscommunication kept them off. Fagnano put pressure on that side of the field and UConn would eventually punch it in. Syracuse would get the ball back with 40 seconds left and put up a quick effort to get into field goal range, but a long 52-yarder was missed by Jackson Kennedy to end the half.
Halftime
Syracuse’s defense would open the second half the way they opened the first, with a quick 3-and-out ending up with a broken-up pass. The offense would get the ball back and set up to go for it on 4th down converting one of the two.
Finally, in the third quarter, SU would get some pressure and a sack(Fadil Diggs). UConn would stay in pass mode despite a few incompletions and a double-tipped pass would almost lead to an interception but was dropped.
The next drive had a heavy dose of Jackson Meeks for Syracuse, but it was a big play from Darrell Gill Jr who shook off one would-be tackler but couldn’t on the second on a 32-yard gain to put the Orange in scoring position. The Huskies’ defense would get pressure on McCord the next few plays and force passes out of the back of the end zone. The offense would have to settle for a field goal.
The UConn run game would put Syracuse on the ropes to start their next drive. A big 35-yard gain that could’ve gone the distance had the runner not been tripped up. The Huskies would switch back to the passing game despite the success on the ground and be forced to punt. Syracuse would take over pinned deep at their own 4-yard line. Not much going for the Orange on the next drive and a shallow punt gives the Huskies great field position.
UConn would come back with a quick 7-yard gain, but Syracuse answered the call forcing a field goal to stall the drive. A nice 42-yard kick for Chris Freeman would put 3 on the board for UConn.
In the 4th quarter, Syracuse would open their drive with runs to eat up some clock then go right back to passing. Big plays from Gadsden II who would record his 11th catch of the game and finish with 103 yards and a TD. Darrell Gill Jr would get them in scoring position with another scoring opportunity. Despite his huge numbers, 9 catches for 177 yards, Gill Jr was kept out of the end zone. LeQuint Allen would punch it in for his goal line stance and Syracuse would take a 31-17 point lead.
The Huskies are back on offense and despite a few rushed throws, wouldn’t allow SU to get the sack. The defense would make a good stand on 3rd and 1 forcing a 4th down attempt, but Fagnano would over throw his WR to end the drive.
All the Orange would have to do is keep the clock moving as they took over with 6 minutes left and put a few points on the board to put this one out of reach. That was not to be, as once again pressure on 3rd and 4 would lead to a sack.
Fagnano would go back to attack the left side of the field again and drive down the field. Syracuse tightened up on defense forcing a 4th and 3. A Huskies false start would make it 4 and 8, but a DPI in the endzone would reset the downs. UConn would go right back to a similar play for the score down 31-24.
An onside kick would fail setting the Orange up for victory formation to end the game. At the end of the day, if you look at the stats alone, Syracuse played a great game of football. However, anyone at the game will tell you it was far from a pretty victory. It was the Orange’s opportunity to make a big statement going into their season finale and while it wasn’t ugly enough to get the loss, there’s cause for concern.
‘Cuse was the aggressor all day but inconsistent play kept them from running away with it. Despite all that, any time you can hang a W in the win column is a good day.
Syracuse needs all the support they can get next week in the Loud House as they close out the season with one of their biggest games against (11) Miami FL. Kickoff is set for Saturday, 3:30 PM EST
