The Syracuse Orange rushed for 253 yards, and Ryan Nassib threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns, as the Connecticut Huskies were obliterated by the Orange 40-10 on Friday night at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.
The game was tight early on as Connecticut (3-5, 0-3 Big East) scored on a 32-yard connection from Chandler Whitmer to Ryan Griffin to close an early gap to 13-10 with 3:39 left in the second quarter, but the Orange (3-4, 2-1 Big East) responded two minutes later with a strike from Ryan Nassib to Beckett Wales to seize the momentum and take a 20-10 lead into halftime. Connecticut would never recover, as Syracuse would score 20 unanswered in the second half to turn the game into a rout. The third quarter devastating for the Huskies, who gained only one first down on three possessions, while Syracuse put the game well out of reach with two touchdowns and a field goal.
Connecticut struggled with the Orange defensive front all game long. A rushing attack ranked #115 in the country showed why, finishing with -7 rushing yards on 18 attempts and converting only 3-13 third downs. Chandler Whitmer threw for 291 yards, but completed only 23/41 passes for the lone touchdown and an interception. The big surprise was that a Connecticut defense that came into the game giving up only 16.3 ppg was absolutely shredded by a statistically middling Orange offense.
Syracuse's offense started slowly, but got stronger as the game wore on. The Orange rushed for 253 yards on 53 carries, including a career best performance from Jerome Smith, who gained 135 yards and a score. Quarterback Ryan Nassib passed for 241 yards and two touchdowns, the bulk of the passes going to receiver Alec Lemon, who finished with eight receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown.
The loss puts the Huskies' bowl hopes on life support, as Connecticut drops to 3-5 with undefeated Louisville and Cincinnati still on the schedule. The Huskies need to finish 3-1 to become bowl eligible. They enter their bye week on a three game losing streak, and return to action against South Florida on November 3.