EAST HARTFORD -- It was a game of missed opportunities.
Syracuse forced 5 first half turnovers on Connecticut, but only turned it into 7 points, as the Huskies beat the Orange 28-21 Saturday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
The Orange remains winless when playing the Huskies on the road, and former SU Coach Paul Pasqualoni beats his former team in his first meeting against the Orange as a head coach.
Connecticut took advantage of 61 yard return of the opening kickoff by Nick Williams and turned it into a touchdown for a 7-0 lead. Syracuse forced plenty of turnovers in the first half, but wasn't able to turn it into any points until Chandler Jones forced a fumble that Brandon Sharpe recovered. A few plays later Ryan Nassib hit Alec Lemon for the game-tying touchdown.
Both teams made halftime adjustments, evidenced by the amount of scoring in the 3rd quarter. Syracuse scored on its opening drive, after Nassib used a couple of nifty fakes and found tight end Nick Provo in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. Provo caught 7 passes, and in doing so passed former Orange All-American Chris Gedney for the most all-time receptions by a tight end in SU Football history.
UConn rallied when Lyle McCombs rushed for a touchdown, tying things up at 14 apiece. As mentioned, the 3rd quarter was the polar opposite of the first half, as SU responded with a Dorian Graham end around for a touchdown and a 21-14 lead.
But that's the last time SU would score.
The Huskies scored 14 unanswered , both by way of Scott McCummings touchdown runs in the 4th quarter to edge the Orange 28-21. UConn improves to 4-5 overall with a 2-2 conference record, SU drops to 5-4 with a 1-3 Big East record.
Ryan Nassib was 24-39 passing for 275 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Alec Lemon had a career day with 9 catches for 157 yards and that touchdown. For the second game in a row Antwon Bailey was held under 100 yards rushing as he only mustered 50 on 16 carries.
Lyle McCombs had 24 carries for 152 yards for the Huskies.
SU moves on to meet South Florida, that game is Friday in the Carrier Dome at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN 2.
