Syracuse heads to UConn on Saturday with a lot more on the line than just another nonconference game.
The Orange are 1-2 and trying to stop the kind of slide that wrecked last season’s 3-9 run. The quarterback situation has already been a talking point, but Fran Brown said Monday that Steve Angeli will start again after throwing five interceptions in Syracuse’s first two Atlantic Coast Conference games.
For SU, this trip feels like a chance to steady things before October brings four ACC opponents in a row. A win could change the mood fast.
A loss would put the Orange’s bowl hopes in serious trouble.
These teams last met on Sept. 6, 2025, when Syracuse edged UConn 27-20 in overtime at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange trailed 14-6 in the first half, then clawed back with 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter before a last-second Huskies field goal forced overtime.
Syracuse got the ball first in the extra period, and Angeli hit Justus Ross-Simmons on a six-yard touchdown pass. On the final UConn possession, Antoine Deslauriers broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth down to close it out.
Angeli threw for 416 yards and two touchdowns, both to Ross-Simmons, and picked up his first win as Syracuse’s starter.
UConn has changed plenty since that meeting. Jim Mora left for Colorado State after the Huskies went 9-4 for the second straight season in 2025.
Joe Fagnano graduated and headed to the NFL, and Skyler Bell - who burned Syracuse for 11 catches and 105 yards last season - was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round. The Huskies turned to former Toledo coach Jason Candle, who worked with SU defensive coordinator Vince Kehres for six seasons, and they’ve gone 2-2 so far under him with wins over Lafayette and Southern Miss and losses to Maryland and Miami (Ohio).
Kalieb Osborne, who followed Candle from Toledo, has run the UConn offense. Through four games, he has thrown for 850 yards and totaled 12 touchdowns, with seven through the air and five on the ground.
He has also turned it over twice. UConn is averaging 426.8 yards per game, but its defense has given up 27.3 points per game to Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.
The matchup points Syracuse toward the passing game. UConn has been tough against the run, allowing only 95 rushing yards per game, but its pass defense has been much more vulnerable at 279.8 passing yards allowed per game.
Syracuse has been fairly balanced this season and has leaned on the run at times, but Angeli and offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon have shown they’re willing to throw it around. Brown said Amari Odom will also get some work, but SU will need efficient quarterback play either way.
The number to keep an eye on is 95. That’s where UConn sits nationally in rushing defense after four games, tied for 26th at 95 rushing yards allowed per contest.
Syracuse averages 164 rushing yards per game, so the Orange’s strength on the ground meets a defense that has made life hard for runners. Still, the bigger issue may be what happens if SU has to attack through the air more than usual.
Osborne is the player who can swing it for UConn. Replacing Fagnano was never going to be simple, but Osborne has given the Huskies a steady answer.
He sat for two seasons at Toledo and saw his first game action last year as a redshirt freshman before following Candle to Storrs. He is tied for fifth among FBS quarterbacks with five rushing touchdowns, has seven passing touchdowns, owns a 150.8 passer rating and is completing 61.4% of his throws, a mark better than Angeli’s.
If UConn is going to pull off the upset, Osborne figures to be at the center of it with both his arm and his legs.
In Other News...
Former Syracuse Transfers Are Already Creating One Early Debate
The first month of the 2026 season has already offered a clearer picture of what Syracuse lost when 20 football players hit the transfer portal after the 2025 campaign. A review of 10 of those former Orange shows a familiar split that can make portal fallout so hard to judge early on: some players have quickly found roles and are logging game action for new programs, while others are still waiting to get on the field and establish where they fit.
For Syracuse fans, the early debate is less about where those players landed and more about what their departures mean for the roster that remains. The mixed start has underscored how unpredictable transfer movement can be, with some exits already looking like immediate contributors elsewhere and others still in limbo as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Has A Real Shot To End One Frustrating Syracuse Streak
UConn and Syracuse are meeting in a nonconference game with both programs looking for a reset after uneven starts. The Huskies come in at 2-2 after recent losses, while Syracuse is 1-2 and trying to stop a two-game skid, which gives this matchup a little more edge than the usual early-season crossover. Both coaching staffs spent the week talking through quarterback play and the availability of key pieces, a sign that neither sideline is quite settled yet.
For Syracuse, there is also the possibility of getting another young weapon involved if freshman Calvin Russell III is ready to make his debut. That kind of fresh energy can matter in a game like this, where the Orange are trying to steady themselves and avoid letting a frustrating stretch linger. UConn, meanwhile, has a chance to walk in and make life even tougher for a Syracuse team still searching for traction. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Depth Chart Hints At Fran Browns Next Big Calls
Syracuse is already at a familiar early-season crossroads under Fran Brown, with a new defensive staff and a fresh system still being sorted out as the Orange move through the third game of the year. After opening with a win over New Hampshire and then dropping games to California and Pittsburgh, the focus has shifted to how Brown and his staff want to line up the roster heading into the UConn matchup.
The projected depth chart for that game offers the clearest snapshot yet of where some of those choices stand on both offense and defense, showing starters and backups across the board. For a team still trying to settle into its identity, the chart is less a finished answer than a preview of the next set of decisions Brown has to make as Syracuse tries to steady itself. [Read more 🡒]