Northeast football came to the Dome on the weekend before Thanksgiving as the old Big East foes UConn Huskies and Syracuse Orange found themselves opposite one another in Central New York.
It took Syracuse just two plays to get on the board, scoring on their opening drive, with senior quarterback Kyle McCord airing out to sophomore wide receiver Darrell Gill, Jr., for a 53-yard gain, followed by McCord testing UConn in single-coverage on redshirt-junior tight end Oronde Gadsden II who cut in and went outside for a 22-yard touchdown that made it 7-0 Syracuse just 50 seconds into the contest.
The Huskies would punt the ball away after a three-&-out on their first possession.
Redshirt-junior wide receiver Trebor Pena would get the Orange back in the end zone on their second drive, but an offensive pass interference penalty would be called on fellow wide receiver (and senior) Jackson Meeks, negating the score.
Two plays later, Syracuse redshirt-junior kicker Jackson Kennedy would attempt a 36-yard field goal that would fall wide right.
UConn took over on their own 20 and later in this drive, on 4th-&-1, redshirt-sophomore running back Cam Edwards stayed up and took off for a 71-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:41 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Orange would run 12 plays on their next drive, scoring at the top of the second quarter when Pena got back into the end zone, this one counting, for a five-yard passing touchdown from McCord to bring the score to 14-7 Syracuse at the 14:55 mark.
After three drives, McCord was 10-for-10 for 182 passing yards.
His streak would end at 12-for-12 for 219 passing yards and two touchdowns, with the Orange punting away their fourth possession.
On Syracuse's fifth drive of the day, Pena would have another touchdown called back, this on what the officials called unsportsmanlike conduct, a 15-yard penalty for attempting to trick the defense into thinking he was leaving the field.
The Orange would get into the end zone, however, on this drive, with junior running back LeQuint Allen, Jr., rushing up the middle for a yard, making it 21-7 Orange with 3:17 before halftime.
On this drive, McCord surpassed Syracuse quarterback alum Ryan Nassib for the most single-season passing yards by a quarterback at Syracuse University, with 3,768 yards, moving beyond Nassib's 3,749.
UConn would reply with a 10-play drive that resulted in their second touchdown of the game, a five-yard pass from senior quarterback Joe Fagnano to junior tight end Louis Hansen that brought the Huskies within a touchdown, 21-14, with 32 seconds left on the first-half clock.
On the last Orange drive of the first half, McCord threw to Gadsden for an 8-yard gain on 2nd-&-7, giving the team a first down and McCord 300 passing yards in the opening half alone. He had 333 passing yards by halftime.
At the break, the scoreboard remained 21-14 Syracuse.
Kennedy broke the silence of both offenses in the third quarter when he connected from 23 yards away to extend the Orange out to a 10-point lead, 24-14, with 4:35 left in the quarter.
Graduate kicker Chris Freeman would send his 42-yard try through the uprights to make it a one-possession game once again, 24-17 Syracuse, with five seconds remaining on the third-quarter clock.
The Orange would respond with a one-yard quarterback keeper over the goal-line for McCord to elevate the Orange to a 31-17 lead with 10:09 to go.
On 4th-&-8 with under two minutes to play, down 14, the Huskies would stay alive when the officials flagged the Orange for defensive pass interference.
Two plays later, Fagnano found graduate wide receiver TJ Scheffield wide open for a two-yard pass-play for the score that shrunk the Syracuse lead to seven, 31-24, with 1:29 remaining.
When Syracuse recovered the onsides kick attempt by UConn, redshirt-junior wide receiver Umari Hatcher was injured on the play, not putting his right foot down as he was aided off the field.
The Orange would get in victory formation, kneeling down to end the game for a 31-24 win that elevated them to 8-3 on the season, with this being their final non-conference game of the regular season.
With the loss, the Huskies, an independent in football, are now 7-4 overall.
McCord finished 37-for-47 (78.7%) for 470 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He now has at least 300 yards passing in 10 of 11 games this season in orange.
Three Syracuse receivers finished with at least 100 yards receiving: Gill with 177 on nine catches, senior Jackson Meeks with 110 on seven catches, and Gadsden 103 on 11 catches.
Allen ran the ball 20 times for 58 yards (2.9 yards per carry), with one touchdown.
Senior linebacker Marlowe Wax, Jr., and true freshman cornerback Davien Kerr led the Orange defense with seven total tackles apiece, four solo for Wax and six solo for Kerr.
For UConn, Fagnano was 27-for-48 (56.3%) for 228 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Redshirt-junior wide receiver Skyler Bell was the lone Husky to attain at least 100 yards receiving, with 133 yards on 10 catches.
Edwards took eight carries for 87 yards (10.9 yards per carry), including one touchdown.
Redshirt-senior linebacker Jayden McDonald led UConn with 12 total tackles, six solo and six assisted.
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