UConn Dismantles Rival Syracuse, Becomes Bowl Eligible

On Rivalry Weekend across the nation UConn came out victorious over Syracuse by a score of 56-31. The win marks the 6th for UConn this season, making them Bowl eligible for the 3rd time in 3 years. Coming out of halftime with a 28-17 lead UConn took the ball 80 yards on 15 plays and scored on a Zach Frazer pass to Marcus Easley in the back of the end zone to take a 35-17 lead. During the drive UConn was faced with a 4th and 6 on the Syracuse 26, but elected to go for the first down because of the strong winds that would pose a problem in the kicking game. Frazer completed a pass across the middle to Brad Kanuch for the first down, which eventually set up the score. After a Syracuse missed field goal and a Frazer interception Syracuse regained possesion, and Greg Paulus hit Lavar Lobdell on a 12 yard touchdown pass to cut UConn lead from 18 to 11. The Huskies wasted no time answering back, as Andre Dixon scored his third touchdown of the day just over 2 minutes later on a 45 yard run to give UConn a 42-24 lead. With 6 minutes remaing and Syracuse down 42-31, Paulus led their spread offense on what looked like a promising drive, but the UConn defense held up on a 4th and 7 and the Orange turned the ball over on downs. The ensuing drive created quite a bit of controversy between Head Coaches Randy Edsall and Doug Marrone. UConn, up 11, was faced with a 4th and 11 on the Syracuse 28 with just over 4 minutes to go. Instead of attempting the field goal Edsall decided to go for it, and Frazer hooked up with Easley again on a 28 yard touchdown pass to give the Huskies a 49-31 lead. After the game Syracuse Head Coach Doug Marrone had some choice words for Edsall, saying that he was running up the score. With Syracuse trying to salvage their point differential on the following possession, receiver Alec Lemon fumbled a lateral pass, which was recovered for a touchdown by Dwayne Gratz to seal the deal for the Huskies.

Jordan Todman finished the game's leading rusher with 123 yards and a touchdown. Todman has now surpassed 1,000 yards on the season, becoming just the 9th Husky to do so. Andre Dixon finished with 77 yards on 15 carries and 3 touchdowns, which marks his third 3-touchdown game of the season. Lawrence Wilson had yet another standout game for the Huskies on defense, tallying 17 tackles with 1 TFL. Captain Scott Lutrus continued to be solid since returning from his injury, record 11 tackles with 1.5 TFL. Linebacker Greg Lloyd was upended on a chop block late in the 4th quarter and remained on the ground for several minutes with an apparent knee or ankle injury. Edsall said after the game he will be evaluated and more information will be available tomorrow. For Syracuse, probably the most hated man in the stadium by Husky fans, Greg Paulus, had a very solid game. Paulus completed 24 of 32 for 296 yards and 2 touchdowns. Running back Delone Carter surpassed 1000 yards rushing on the season for the Orange with his 102 yard effort on the ground. The Huskies are back in action next week on Senior Day, when the take on South Florida in their regular season finale at home at 8pm.