It took overtime for the second straight year, but the Orange beat the Huskies 42-41 in East Hartford, Conn.
The Syracuse Orange football team moved back to .500 (2-2) on Saturday afternoon with a wild 42-41 overtime win over the UConn Huskies on the road in East Hartford, Conn.
The loss drops the Huskies to 2-3 and gives the Orange a 9-6 advantage all-time in the rivalry series. It's the first win for the Orange against an FBS opponent in more than a calendar year.
Here's what you need to know from the craziest SU game of the season. These takeaways are in no particular order.
Orange avoid monumental collapse
Syracuse led 27-7 in the first half and 34-14 in the second half before the Huskies came back to tie the game.
The game went to overtime tied at 34-34 and UConn took a 41-34 lead on their first possession, but Syracuse responded with a score of its own - and a game-winning two-point conversion.
Amari Odom provides a spark, and the biggest play of the day
Earlier this week, we were told that Steve Angeli was going to start this game at the quarterback position. However, about an hour before kickoff it broke that Odom was going to start.
He made the most of his first Syracuse starting opportunity, going 27-of-37 for 335 yards and five touchdowns, the last of which came on a 4th-and-goal from nearly the 20-yard line in overtime.
He did throw two interceptions, but his mobility and big-time passes certainly gave the offense a much-needed jolt. He also ran for a score, and the game-winning conversion.
Umari Hatcher carries the receiver room
For all the talk about the debut of five-star freshman Calvin Russell III, this game was all about Hatcher, who had 12 catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns, including the 4th-down strike from Odom in overtime.
Running game sticks with it
The Orange only averaged 3.6 yards per carry, but they did run it 48 times for 174 yards in total, clearly wearing down the UConn defensive front as the game went on. Tylik Hill, who missed a Week 3 loss against Pitt, had 28 carries for 140 yards and got better as the game went on.
Defense gets after it
The defense struggled in the second half, but it did have three sacks, two fumbles recovered and several quarterback hurries. Tunmise Adeleye had a home in the backfield in the first half.
Penalty woes continue
The Orange entered this contest as a bottom-10 team nationally in penalties taken and penalty yards, despite playing one less game than most teams. The problem was not rectified in this game, as the Orange still took eight penalties for 84 yards in total.
Fortunately for them, UConn took 11, a continued problem for them as well.
Kicking game struggles
Shay Barker was 4-for-4 on extra points, but he missed both field goal attempts, including a would-be game-winner as time expired in the fourth quarter. The Orange have to figure out the kicking game if they want to be able to win close games.
Barker is already the second kicker of the year, as the team demoted Tripp Woody for his own struggles.
