EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - Syracuse had every chance to let Saturday slip away, and still found a way to leave Rentschler Field with a win.
The Orange built a 20-point cushion, watched UConn erase it with 20 unanswered points in the second half, missed a field goal at the end of regulation and then answered again in overtime for a 42-41 victory over the Huskies. Amari Odom, making his first Syracuse start, was at the center of everything. He threw for 335 yards and six touchdowns, then capped the night by running in the winning two-point conversion.
For Fran Brown, it was a much-needed jolt after a stretch that has brought plenty of scrutiny, with October and four big ACC games looming.
Brown announced Odom as the starter Saturday morning, and the freshman immediately looked like the spark Syracuse had been searching for. On the Orange’s opening drive, he hit Umari Hatcher for a 40-yard touchdown to set the tone. UConn responded with a 75-yard drive that ended in a score and briefly moved ahead 7-6, but the Huskies missed a 40-yard field goal on their next possession after a kick bounced off the left post.
Syracuse kept rolling. Odom guided the offense down the field with help from David Clement and Cole Weaver, then finished the drive with a short scoring throw to Noah Meyers at the front pylon. Soon after, he found Darius Johnson for 27 yards, ran in a six-yard touchdown himself and then struck again deep to Hatcher for a 41-yard score that made it 27-7.
The momentum carried into the second half. Syracuse opened with its longest drive of the game, and Odom kept the chains moving by hitting Hatcher twice, dodging pressure in the backfield and finding Justus Ross-Simmons for 13 yards. When the Orange faced fourth-and-23 at the 34, Odom delivered again, locating Daunte Bacheyie for a wide-open touchdown on fourth down.
That should have been enough. It wasn’t.
UConn started chipping away with a 14-play drive finished by a 10-yard Cyncir Bowers touchdown run. Then came Odom’s first real mistake, a rushed throw under pressure that Renick Dorilas intercepted at the Syracuse 31. The Huskies turned that into another touchdown, this one a Kalieb Osborne pass to Xavier Watson, and suddenly the game was tightening.
After Syracuse stalled again early in the fourth quarter, UConn took over at its own 16 and flipped the script in two snaps. Osborne picked up 13 yards, then Bowers ripped through the middle of the Orange defense for a 71-yard touchdown that tied it.
Syracuse had a chance to answer. Tylik Hill carried much of the load as the Orange moved inside the UConn seven, but on first down Odom rolled left and threw across his body into the arms of Jayden Price at the goal line.
The Orange defense bailed him out with a stop on fourth down at the Syracuse 38, giving the offense one last shot in regulation. Barker lined up for a 44-yard field goal at the buzzer, but the kick drifted wide right and sent the game to overtime.
UConn got the first crack in the extra period and wasted little time. Osborne hit Trey Cornist for a touchdown on the second play, putting the Huskies up 41-34.
Syracuse was backed into a corner after Odom was sacked on second down, but he came through again on third-and-17, rolling left and throwing across his body to Hatcher for the tying touchdown. Brown then kept the ball in Odom’s hands for the two-point try, dialing up a QB power. UConn met him at the goal line, but Odom kept driving and got across for the win.
In Other News...
Syracuse Escaped UConn But Fran Brown Just Sparked A Bigger Debate
Syracuse needed every bit of its composure, and then some, to leave UConn with a 42-41 overtime win after watching a 20-point lead evaporate. The late quarterback switch to Amari Odom gave the Orange a different spark, and he ended up factoring heavily in the comeback, including on the game-winning two-point conversion. It was the kind of chaotic road result that can feel like a turning point, even if it came with a long list of reminders about how thin the margin was.
Fran Brown still has plenty to sort through, because the win did not cover up Syracuses discipline issues or the defensive lapses that turned a game the Orange should have controlled into a one-score fight for survival. There was enough fight to escape, but also enough sloppiness to leave open a bigger question about whether this team can clean itself up before the schedule gets less forgiving. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Brown's Blunt Syracuse Warning Overshadowed A Win Over UConn
Syracuse got the result it needed against UConn, but the path to the finish line was anything but clean. The Orange built an early lead, then watched the game tilt badly in the second half as the defense gave up 27 straight points, a collapse that turned a manageable afternoon into a far more uneasy one for a team still trying to settle into its identity.
Fran Brown did not try to soften any of it afterward. The defensive backs coach took responsibility for what happened, pointed to poor play in the secondary and a rush defense that also failed to hold up, and even made an in-game adjustment by shifting Chris Peal from cornerback to safety. For Syracuse, the win matters, but the warning sign may matter even more. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Just Got Pulled Into The ACCs Most Uncomfortable Week
The first weekend of October turned into a brutal sorting exercise across the ACC, with six league matchups suddenly clarifying who is rising, who is wobbling and who is simply trying to survive the month. Pittsburgh edged Virginia Tech but paid a steep price with starting quarterback Mason Heintschel going down with a season-ending ACL injury, while Miami made the loudest statement of the slate by rolling past Clemson. Wake Forest also looked sharp in a dominant win over Stanford, adding to a weekend that left Louisville and Virginia licking their wounds and Florida State looking far more convincing against Virginia.
For Syracuse, the larger lesson is less about any one final score than the way the conference is beginning to separate into uncomfortable tiers. SMU handled Boston College but still looked short of the expectations that came with the programs entry into the league, and three ACC teams ventured into non-conference play with mixed outcomes, adding even more noise to a week already crowded with consequences. In a conference this volatile, every result starts to matter faster than anyone would like, and Syracuse is now watching a race that feels like it could shift again by next Saturday. [Read more 🡒]