College football: Syracuse looks to keep momentum going versus UConn
Sep. 9—SYRACUSE — The Syracuse University football team reversed one recent downward trend with its season-opening victory and will now focus on vanquishing another.
The Orange (1-0 overall) will kick off a nonconference game against host Connecticut (1-1) at 7 tonight at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. The matchup between former Big East foes will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.
Syracuse opened with a convincing 31-7 victory over Louisville last Saturday to end a three-game losing streak to the Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
The Orange enters favored by more than three touchdowns but has traditionally struggled to carry momentum from a season-opening win under Dino Babers, losing its second game four of the last five times after starting 1-0.
The three most recent occasions all came against nonconference opponents. Syracuse was favored against Middle Tennessee in 2017 and a slight underdog of two points or less against Maryland in 2019 and Rutgers last year.
The pattern started in 2016 with the lone exception a 4-0 start in 2018. Syracuse's only 0-2 start in that span came in 2020.
"We need to focus in on (Connecticut) and give them the respect that's due, and we need to put out a much better effort," SU coach Dino Babers said. "Not only in the penalty standpoint, but just doing a better job of focusing on us and not letting up and playing a complete game."
Syracuse is seeking an encore to the near flawless performance unveiling its new-look attack under first-year offensive coordinator Robert Anae, leading to Garrett Shrader grading as the top Power-Five quarterback for the first full week by Pro Football Focus College.
The defense also provided three turnovers and a key goal-line stand to dominate their season debut.
Babers pointed to the litany of penalties accrued as the lone drawback and the greatest point of emphasis for the past week in preparing for the first away game.
Syracuse was penalized 18 times for a loss of 107 yards — more flags against the Orange than in any game last season — most of which came lining up in formation or false starts in the offense's first time operating the new system.
"I think we can move the ball down the field much easier once we eliminate those penalties, get us out of third-and-long situations," said SU tight end Oronde Gadsden II. "But we are going on the road to a hostile environment, so we're going to see how that goes."
The FBS Independent Connecticut Huskies are in their first season under veteran head coach Jim L. Mora and coming off their first victory, 28-3, over Central Connecticut last Saturday. UConn suffered a 31-20 loss at Utah State the week prior to open the year.
Mora is working to revive the program after UConn finished 1-11 last season and hasn't tallied more than three wins in a year since 2015.
Mora's 31 years of coaching most recently included a five-year stint at UCLA from 2012-17 and he was previously an NFL head coach for the Seattle Seahawks (2009) and Atlanta Falcons (2004-06).
He helped lead the Huskies to back-to-back performances of 240-plus rushing yards to open the season, their first such feat since 2018, and the three points allowed in last Saturday's win were the fewest by the team in seven-plus seasons.
"I know that they're a good football team and coach Mora is a fantastic coach," Babers said. "His resume speaks for itself. He's been at every level, and he knows all the tricks of the trade and will have those guys ready to go."
Syracuse and UConn are facing off for the first time since 2018, which resulted in a 51-21 Orange victory for its third straight in the series. They played annually from 2004-12 as members of the Big East Conference.
Syracuse will host Purdue for another nonconference game at noon next Saturday in the JMA Wireless Dome.
