Orange Look to Continue Momentum

On a night full of outstanding plays, it was the team's effort which head coach Dino Babers signaled out as what he was most proud of after watching the Louisville tape.

In particular, a touchdown saving tacke by defensive back Garrett Williams. Louisville wide receiver Tyler Hudson was headed to the endzone after catching a pass from fellow wide receiver Braden Smith on a trick play, but Williams caught Hudson from behind at the four-yard line. Four plays later, linebacker Marlowe Wax stopped Cardinal quarterback Malik Cunningham for a two-yard loss on fourth down.

"I really enjoyed watching their effort," Babers said at his weekly press conference on Monday. "When you think you're going full speed and then you see Garrett Williams playing the short zone coverage seeing a safety make a mistake and the ball is going over the head to a deep zone, then he goes from his short zone safety and runs a guy down, in the deep zone to give us an opportunity – just a chance – to play goal line defense. And we tackle the guy inside the five – everybody knows inside the five analytical, mathematical equation should go through the roof that you if should score. And you watch that drive and they don't get in because somebody wasn't going to give up on a play.

"That's what we we're looking for – guys playing full speed snap to whistle, every snap, don't worry about the outcome, don't think about whether you're going to catch the guy or not, just chase him. If you get him down, let's play one more snap."

Syracuse will try to take the energy from the JMA Wireless Dome last Saturday to this week's contest at UConn. The Orange go on the road for the only time in September to face a former conference foe on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. on CBSSN. The Huskies are 1-1 after a win against Central Connecticut State last Saturday, with their loss coming in week 0 to a Utah State team coming off an 11-win season.

"We're excited to get started on this new week with our new adventure going up to UConn and playing Coach Mora's UConn Huskies," Babers said. "We know this is going to be a difficult game. They just got their first win and are sitting at 1-1. They had a close loss to a good Utah State team out there. We know they are going to be ready for us so we're really focused on them and we're really excited to start our preparation for them."

Saturday night's game will feature two versatile backs. Sean Tucker recorded 183 all-purpose yards against Louisville, while the Huskies' Nate Carter is averaging 170.5 per all-purpose yards per game. Carter has topped 100 yards rushing in both of UConn's games this season.

Tucker and the Orange used a balanced offensive attack against Louisville as they amassed 207 rushing yards and 242 through the air. Syracuse scored on its first four drives and was a perfect 4-for-4 in the red zone.

While the offense was clicking, the defense forced three turnovers and held Louisville to just 334 yards after the Cardinals averaged nearly 440 per game year ago. Saturday night's win was the Orange's eighth season-opening victory in the past nine years. While the victory over Louisville was impressive, Babers hopes to see more from his squad this week.

"The biggest improvement for a football team is between the first and second week," Babers said. "That's the way it's going to be because so many times, they are watching other people or their watching their past selves or their past version. Now they are watching themselves in the moment."

The Orange will try to start the campaign with two consecutive victories for the first time since 2018. 'Cuse began that season with four-straight wins, including a victory against UConn, and went on to a 10-3 record and a win in the Camping World Bowl.

Tickets for the Orange's remaining home slate are still available at Cuse.com/Tickets.

Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Sean Tucker

Marlowe Wax

Garrett Williams

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