Saturday, October 30
Syracuse, NY
1:30 p.m.
Syracuse University
42
vs
30
Connecticut
Anthony Smith returned an interception for a touchdown in SU's win versus UConn.
Orange Gets 42-30 Win Versus Connecticut
10/30/2004 5:13:49 PM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse defense forced five turnovers that led to 28 SU points in the Orange’s 42-30 victory against Connecticut on Saturday, Oct. 30 in front of 34,545 fans at the Carrier Dome. It was the second time this season the SU defense forced at least five turnovers.
Senior running back Walter Reyes led the Syracuse (4-4, 2-1 BIG EAST) offensive effort with 121 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. It was his 13th career 100-yard effort, tying him with Floyd Little for third on the SU all-time list. Reyes also became the first Orange back to surpass the 2,000-yard mark inside the Carrier Dome. He now has 2,116 yards, 31 touchdowns and 10 100-yard games in 23 outings at home.
Sophomore quarterback Perry Patterson was 11-for-19 passing for 125 yards and a career-best two touchdowns. He went 5-for-6 for 70 yards and a touchdown in the third quarter as the Orange outscored the Huskies, 14-3. Patterson also had a career-high 51 yards rushing.
Junior wide receiver Steve Gregory led the team with a career-high six catches for 53 yards. Andre Fontenette and Jared Jones each had touchdown receptions. Redshirt freshman fullback Breyone Evans ran for 29 yards, including his first career rushing touchdown, a 22-yard jaunt.
The SU defense gave up 566 yards of offense, including 445 yards passing, but allowed only 10 second half points. Junior defensive end James Wyche had the best day of his career with seven tackles, four of them behind the line of scrimmage, including three sacks. Wyche moved into 10th place on the Orange’s career tackles for a loss list. Wyche has 21.5 career tackles behind the line of scrimmage, passing Eric Downing’s total of 20.0 from 1999-2000.
Wyche’s three sacks tied for sixth on the SU single-game ledger. It was the first time a player had three-or-more sacks in one game since Dwight Freeney set the school record with 4.5 against Virginia Tech in 2000. His four tackles behind the line of scrimmage tied for fourth on the Orange’s single-game list, and the most for an SU player since Christian Ferrara had five last season against Notre Dame.
Sophomore middle linebacker Jerry Mackey led the team with 14 tackles. Junior linebacker Kellen Pruitt registered 10 tackles, while sophomore cornerback Tanard Jackson had nine stops. Senior safety Diamond Ferri had seven tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. Junior Anthony Smith, who started at cornerback in place of DeAndre LaCaille, had four tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown.
Senior captain Julian Pollard registered his first career sack, while junior defensive end Ryan LaCasse had a sack and forced a fumble. Redshirt freshman Tony Jenkins and redshirt freshman Jameel McClain each recorded their first career fumble recoveries.
Connecticut (5-3, 2-3 BIG EAST) quarterback Dan Orlovsky finished the game 39-for-51 for 445 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Orlovsky set school records for completions in a game, passing yardage in a game, career passing yardage (9,288) and career total offense (9.269).
Cornell Brockington led the UConn rushing game with 123 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He also had 10 catches for 93 yards. Keron Henry made five catches for 109 yards. Brian Sparks, Dan Murray and Brandon McLean each had a touchdown catch.
The Syracuse defense snuffed a potential scoring drive on UConn’s first possession. After the Huskies drove to the SU 16-yard line, Wyche made two tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including a sack. On third down, Ferri intercepted Orlovsky’s pass and returned it to the 50-yard line.
On the Orange’s first offensive play, Reyes broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run. Brendan Carney’s extra point put SU on top 7-0 with 9:40 left in the first quarter. The PAT was Carney’s first since going 3-for-4 versus Boston College last season. He finished the game 6-for-6 on extra points.
The Huskies came back to tie the game on their next possession. Orlovsky hit Murray for a 17-yard touchdown pass. The extra point knotted the game at 7-7 with 3:28 left in the first quarter. The key play on the drive was a fourth-and-five pass from Orlovsky to Brockington that picked up the first down by the nose of the football at the SU 29-yard line. The touchdown capped a 13-play, 73-yard drive that took 6:12 off the clock.
Patterson’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Fontenette on the final play of the first half gave the Orange a 21-20 lead going in halftime. The pass was tipped in the endzone and Fontenette grabbed the ball out of mid-air after getting behind the defense. It was his first career touchdown pass.
Connecticut took advantage of an SU missed field goal to take its first lead of the game. The Huskies took a 13-7 lead on a three-yard run by Brockington with 7:29 left in the half. The extra-point attempt by Matt Nuzie was no good. The drive featured a 30-yard run by McLean. A personal foul penalty on the Orange put the ball at the SU 17-yard line.
Syracuse re-took the lead on its next possession. One play after having a long pass play to Jones wiped out because of a holding penalty, Damien Rhodes took a handoff and burst 54 yards straight up the middle to the Connecticut 31-yard line. Rhodes finished the game with 80 yards on 10 carries. Two plays later Evans broke through the line, shook a UConn tackle and went 22 yards for his first career rushing touchdown. The Carney PAT put SU ahead, 14-3, with 5:49 left in the half. The drive covered 75 yards in three plays, all rushes.
UConn responded with a quick scoring drive of its own. Orlovsky threw his second touchdown pass of the game, a 20-yard connection to Sparks. The drive went 80 yards in just five plays and took only 1:42 off the clock. The extra point put the Huskies ahead, 20-14, with 4:07 left in the half.
Syracuse punted on the ensuing possession, but the defense again stopped the Huskies with a turnover. LaCasse forced a fumble by Orlovsksy and Wyche recovered to give SU a first down at its own 43-yard line with 48 seconds left in the half. On the final play of the half, Patterson found Fontenette in the back of the endzone for the touchdown. Patterson provided another key play, scrambling for a first down on third and long to set up the score.
The Syracuse defense scored a touchdown on the Huskies’first possession of the second half. Jenkins tipped a screen pass and nearly intercepted the ball himself. As he was going down, the ball caromed up in the air where Anthony Smith picked it out of midair and returned it 32 yards for the touchdown. Carney’s fourth PAT of the game made the SU lead 28-20.
It was Smith’s first career interception return for a touchdown and third career score (two blocked punt returns).
The Huskies responded with a scoring drive that resulted in a 48-yard field goal by Matt Nuzie to make the score 28-23 with 5:27 left in the third quarter. UConn drove to the SU 28-yard line, but back-to-back sacks by Pollard and Wyche forced the Huskies into a third-and-long they were unable to convert.
The Orange responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a Patterson to Jones connection. The 29-yard touchdown throw put SU ahead 35-23 with 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Syracuse opened the fourth quarter by forcing its fourth turnover of the game. Ferri forced the Huskies second fumble of the game and Jenkins made the recovery to set SU up with a first down at its own 43-yard line.
After an SU punt, the Orange came up with its fifth turnover of the game when McClain recovered a fumbled snap on UConn’s punt attempt at the Huskies’ 33-yard line. Reyes finished the 33-yard drive with his second touchdown of the game, a three-yard run. Carney’s sixth extra-point of the game put SU ahead 42-23 with 7:39 left to go.
Orlovsky added a final touchdown with 52 seconds left in the game. His 15-yard pass to McLean made the score 42-30.
Syracuse is now 146-0 all-time when scoring at least 40 points and 19-4 since the start of the 2000 season when rushing for 200 yards.
SU plays its final home game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 6 versus Pittsburgh. Kickoff in the Carrier Dome is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Donnie Freeman postgame vs. Delaware State
Saturday, November 08
Adrian Autry postgame vs. Delaware State
Saturday, November 08
Highlights | Syracuse vs. Delaware State
Saturday, November 08
Press Conference | Syracuse vs. UAlbany
Saturday, November 08
