SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord threw for 470 yards and two touchdowns as the Orange handed the UConn Huskies a 31-24 loss at the JMA Wireless Dome in front of 35,453.

McCord completed 37 of 47 passes with his two touchdowns coming in the first half.  Receivers Oronde Gadsen II, Darrell Gill Jr. and Jackson Meeks all went over 100-yards receiving as the Orange improved to 8-3 on the year.

UConn saw their three-game winning streak come to an end with the loss as they fall to 7-4 on the season.  Quarterback Joe Fagnano (Williamsport, PA) completed 27-of-48 for 228 yards and two scores while running back Cam Edwards had a team-high 71 yards rushing and a touchdown in the loss.

Wideouts Skyler Bell (Bronx, NY) and TJ Sheffield (Thompson's Station, TN) each caught a career-high 10 passes.  Bell went for 110 yards, his third 100-yard game receiving this season. Sheffield caught his xx touchdown on the year.  Linebacker Jayden McDonald (Suwanee, GA) made 12 tackles and had a sack in the loss.

McCord had the Orange offense clicking right out of the gates, taking two plays off the opening kick-off to score the game's first points.  He hit Gill Jr. for a 53-yard gain and then Gadsen II for a 22-yard score to make it 7-0 just 50 seconds into the game. McCord would complete his first 12 passes of the game and didn't throw an incompletion until the 12:22 in the second quarter.

The Orange came up empty on their next drive thanks to a missed field goal and the Huskies capitalized with a bold fourth down call to tie the game up.  Facing fourth and one on their own 29-yard line, the Huskies line up to go for it and handed the ball to Edwards who suddenly burst through the line, got his feet back under him and flew down the right sidelines for a 71-yard touchdown.  It was the longest offensive play of the season for UConn and pulled the game even at 7-7 with 5:35 left in the first.

McCord put the Orange in the endzone twice more in the first half, leading scoring drives of 12 plays, capped by a five-yard strike to Trebor Pena, and a 14-play drive, topped off by a one-yard plunge from back LeQuint Allen to go up 21-7 with 3:17 left before halftime.

UConn's offense behind Fagnano had an answer and pieced together a 10-play drive that covered 75 yards. Fagnano was able to feed the ball to Bell three times on the drive, finding him for catches of seven, 30 and 15 yards to get set up in a first and goal situation at the Orange five-yard line.  On the next play, Fagnano found his tight end Louis Hansen for six off a play-action pass to pull with 21-14 at the break.

Syracuse tacked on a Jackson Kennedy 23-yard field goal midway through the third to cap a nine play, 69-yard drive and take a 24-14 lead.  The Huskies looked to threaten on the ensuing drive as back Mel Brown (Stone Mountain, GA) broke loose up the middle for a 35-yard gain and but for a shoestring tackle by Justin Barron to prevent a sure score.  The Orange defense held and forced a UConn punt on the drive.  The Huskies took advantage of some good field position to get the three points back as Chris Freeman (Zionsville, IN) hit from 42 yards to make it 24-17 right at the end of the third quarter.

The Orange got their final points with 10:09 left in the fourth as McCord led a 10-play drive and capped it off, plunging in from a yard out to make it 31-17.  The Huskies made a late surge as Fagnano led a 15-play drive late and pulled the Huskies within 31-24 as he found Sheffield in the right front of the end zone with 1:29 left.  UConn's onside attempt failed and the Orange were able to run out the clock on the win.

Up Next…

The Huskies will close out the regular season next Saturday, November 30 with a trip up to Amherst, MA to face New England rival UMass.  Kick-off is slated for 12 noon on ESPN+.