Orange Give Huskies the Blues to the Tune of 51-21

By Bob Phillips

UConn QB David Pindell scampers out of the pocket. Pindell had a 27-yard
touchdown run– the longest of the year, but alas, the Huskies fell to the
Orange, 51-21 in the Carrier Dome.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After opening the season with two crushing losses to UCF and Boise State, a week ago the University of Connecticut Huskies earned their first victory of the 2018 season when they topped the University of Rhode Island in a wild 56-49 game. UConn and URI, of course, are both graduates of the old Yankee Conference, and as such are long-time rivals. However, URI a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, is an FCS school (the division formerly known as 1-AA), while UConn is, for whatever reason, a member of the American Athletic Conference, competing as an FBS school (formerly known as Division 1-A).

On Saturday, it was back to FBS play for the Huskies who traveled to Syracuse to take on the Orange, who play in the ACC, in the Carrier Dome. Both teams, former members of the Big East, have a rich history in all sports, perhaps highlighted by the all-time-great, six-overtime 2009 Big East Tournament men’s basketball semifinal in Madison Garden ultimately won by Syracuse, 127-117. And on Saturday, the Orange gave the Huskies a good ol’ fashioned butt whooping, hammering Connecticut 51-21.

The Huskies spotted the Orange a 21-0 lead in the first quarter before putting together a solid stretch of play to close the first half. The Huskies outscored Syracuse 14-10 between the 3:53 mark of the first quarter and intermission, including a career-high 75-yard touchdown run by quarterback David Pindell that put the Huskies on the scoreboard.

The UConn defense settled down in the second quarter and created a turnover when redshirt freshman Ian Swenson. Swenson chased down Jarveon Howard and stripped the ball from the Orange tailback before he could reach paydirt. The Huskies gained possession on the play.

UConn running back Zavier Scott, another redshirt freshman, hauled in his first career touchdown on a two-yard reception from Pindell. Scott led the Huskies with a career-high seven catches for 38 yards out of the backfield.

Redshirt freshman Marvin Williams came into the game at quarterback for the Huskies in the fourth quarter and registered his first career touchdown pass—a 26-yarder to Tyler Davis. Eddie Hahn led the UConn defense with a career-high 11 tackles.

So now it’s back to the drawing board for the Huskies, who have their work cut out for them. Consider this: Although the Huskies had the misfortune of opening the season against two Top-25 teams—UCF and Boise State—they have been outscored by FBS opponents by an embarrassing 169-45 margin.

On Saturday, the Huskies return to Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field to host AAC rival Cincinnati. Kick-off is slated for 3:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. The Huskies

—with staff reports