Syracuse and UConn both enter Saturday’s nonconference meeting in East Hartford, Conn., needing a clean finish to shake off recent setbacks.
UConn comes in at 2-2 after dropping two of its last three, including a 24-21 loss at Miami (Ohio) last weekend. The Huskies jumped out fast, building a 14-0 lead in under nine minutes, but the early burst didn’t hold. They went quiet for much of the rest of the game and couldn’t protect the advantage.
Kalieb Osborne was at the center of it all for UConn. He passed for 215 yards with a touchdown and two turnovers, and he also led the team with 68 rushing yards and a score. For the season, Osborne has seven touchdown passes and two interceptions, along with a team-high 220 rushing yards.
"We've got to continue to coach and work to establish the culture and the foundation that we want and live with some of the mistakes that some of our young players are going to make," Huskies coach Jason Candle said. "How we respond to those successes and to those failures, I think ultimately determines your fate."
Syracuse, meanwhile, is 1-2 and trying to stop a two-game slide of its own. The Orange opened ACC play with losses to Cal and Pitt, then used last weekend’s bye to reset.
The extra time hasn’t led to a quarterback change, though. Syracuse is expected to keep rolling with a two-man mix, with Steve Angeli and Amari Odom both in the picture Saturday. Angeli had a rough outing against Pitt, while Odom came off the bench and completed all eight of his passes for 51 yards.
"We're going to stick with what we've been doing at quarterback," Syracuse coach Fran Brown said. "But we have a mixture of wanting to try and play more than one guy. I am excited about our guys, and the competition we have here."
The Orange could also get a lift from freshman wide receiver Calvin Russell III, who is set to make his debut after tearing his Achilles in March. Brown said the plan is to ease him in based on how his body responds and what the training room allows.
"(He'll play) as much as possible, as much as his body allows him and as much as our training room says he can," Brown said. "I'm really happy and excited about Calvin playing."
Syracuse has taken the last six meetings between the teams.
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