This week:
The UConn Huskies hit the road again and hope for better results as they will take on the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Here are the rosters for the Huskies and the Orange.
The Line/Prediction:
According to Rivals.com odds, Syracuse is favored by 4.5 points. The over/under is 43.5 points.
My prediction is UConn 27 Syracuse 17.
Tickets:
According to Ticketmaster, there are still plenty of good seats available.
Getting To The Game:
Even though the game is being played indoors, here is the weather forecast for Syracuse, NY.·Here are directions and parking information for the Carrier Dome, a Carrier Dome seating chart as well as general information for the Carrier Dome.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:
Friday’s game is being televised nationally by ESPN. Carter Blackburn is on play-by-play with Rod Gilmore on color while Jemele Hill is the sideline reporter.
The game will be replayed in its entirety on SNY on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. (Connecticut only) and Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 2:00 p.m. and in a condensed “Husky Power Hour” version on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 6:00 a.m., Monday, Oct. 22 at 8 a.m. (Connecticut only) and Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 11 a.m. (Connecticut only).
Radio:
For the 21st consecutive season, WTIC 1080-AM in Hartford serves as the flagship station for the IMG/UConn Radio Network. WTIC is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada.
Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Kevin Nathan on the sidelines.
UConn football on home Saturday dates gets going early with “Breakfast At The Rent” with Ray Dunaway and Scott Gray beginning at 6:00 a.m. The UConn Tailgate Show will air from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. with Kevin Nathan and Bob Joyce. The pregame show begins at 10:30 a.m. followed by the game and then postgame “Husky Talk” with Kevin Nathan
UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet at WTIC.com. Here is a full list of stations on the UConn IMG Sports Radio Network.
The UConn vs. Syracuse game will also be available on satellite radio on Ch. 92 on Sirius and 190 on XM.
Syracuse Radio:
Syracuse football can be heard on the Syracuse ISP Radio Network. Matt Park (play-by-play) has the call with Chris Gedney (analyst) and Brian Higgins (sidelines). The game can also be heard on Syracuse Student Radio: WAER 88.3 FM (Syracuse)
And it also available on Sirius Channel 85/XM 85.
To continue reading the UConn Huskies @ Syracuse Orange preview, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
Last Week:
UConn fell at home 17-14 to the Temple Owls. Syracuse lost to Rutgers 23-15 on the road.
History:
Friday’s game will be the ninth meeting all-time between UConn and Syracuse with the series dating back to UConn joining the BIG EAST Conference in 2004. UConn leads the series by a 6-2 count and has won the past five meetings between the teams. UConn has won two of four meetings at the Carrier Dome – loss 42-30 in 2004, loss 20-14 in 2006, win 39-14 in 2008 and win 23-6 in 2010.
Connections:
UConn has seven players from the state of New York: WR John-Luke Bogue (New Rochelle), FB Reuben Frank (Poughkeepsie), S Wilbert Lee (Brooklyn), LS Dominick Manco (Lagrangeville), TB Lyle McCombs (Staten Island), DT Mykal Myers (Newburgh), DT Shamar Stephen (Brookville).
There are no Connecticut natives on the Syracuse team.
UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni was the head coach at Syracuse from 1991-2004 and led the Orange to 107 wins, four BIG EAST titles and nine bowl games. Among his wins at Syracuse was a 42-30 win over UConn on October 30, 2004 in Syracuse and among his wins at UConn are the 28-21 win vs. Syracuse on Nov. 5, 2011 at Rentschler Field. Pasqualoni has a head coaching record of 61-22 in games at the Carrier Dome.
SU head coach Doug Marrone was an assistant coach at Coast Guard in New London in 1993.
UConn offensive coordinator George DeLeone was on the Syracuse staff from 1985-96 and 1996-2004, as he served as both offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator during his time there.
UConn strength and conditioning coordinator Jerry Martin is a 1978 Syracuse graduate and a four-year letterman for the Orange.
SU defensive coordinator Scott Shafer, defensive line coach Tim Daoust, linebackers coach Steve Morrison and UConn running backs coach/special teams coordinator Clayton White all coached together at Western Michigan in 2006.
Other UConn News:
Here are the quotes from UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni’s press conference as well quotes from some of the players.
Here is UConn’s depth chart for the game.
Four members of the University of Connecticut football team were named to seven major award watch lists over the course of the 2012 preseason.
Senior Tight End Ryan Griffin
- John Mackey Award Watch List
- Lombardi Award Watch List
Sophomore Running Back Lyle McCombs
- Doak Walker Award Watch List
- Maxwell Award Watch List
Senior Linebacker Sio Moore
- Butkus Award Watch List
- Lombardi Award Watch List
Senior Defensive End Trevardo Williams
- Bednarik Award Watch List
- Lombardi Award Watch List
- Nagursky Trophy Watch List
Sophomore Linebacker Yawin Smallwood
- Nagursky Trophy Watch List (added on September 18, 2012)
The following four Huskies were named team captains for the season in the week prior to the season opener vs. UMass – redshirt senior outside linebacker Jory Johnson (Mobile, Ala.), redshirt senior offensive tackle Adam Masters (Bethesda, Md.), senior wide receiver Nick Williams (East Windsor, N.J.) and redshirt senior cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson (Edinboro, Pa.).
Pasqualoni is the all-time winningest coach in BIG EAST Conference league wins with 65 and overall wins with 113. He is just one of two league coaches in history to win four BIG EAST Championships. His overall college coaching record stands at 149-87-1 (34-17 at WCSU, 107-59-1 at Syracuse and 8-11 at UConn).
This is Pasqualoni’s first trip to the Carrier Dome since taking over as the head coach for UConn.
UConn owns an all-time mark of 25-32 in BIG EAST Conference games since joining the league for football in 2004.
UConn is 5-22 in Big East road games.
UConn is 33-18 in games following a loss since Oct. 26, 2002.
UConn was one of seven charter members of the BIG EAST Conference when the league was founded in 1979 and UConn is the only founding school that is currently playing football in the league and scheduled to do so in the future. The other five original members were Boston College, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Providence, Georgetown and St. John’s.
UConn has allowed back-to-back 100-yard rushers for the first time since 2009 against Notre Dame (Armando Allen) and Syracuse (Delone Carter).
The Huskies had a five-overtime-game winning streak (the longest active in the country) snapped in last week’s loss to Temple.
Last week, Max DeLorenzo (Berlin) became the first Connecticut native to start at running back for UConn since Matt Lawrence (Bloomfield) in 2004.
Here is where UConn stands in the lastest NCAA statistics:
- Total Defense – 6th at 261.00 yards per game
- Rushing Defense – 13th at 99.43 yards per game
- Passing Defense – 8th at 161.57 yards per game
- Scoring Defense – 16th at 16.29 points per game
- Sacks – t14th at 3.00 per game
- Tackles For Loss – 21st at 7.43 per game
- Total Offense – 107th at 320.57 yards per game
- Rushing Offense – 111th at 100.14 yards per game
- Passing Offense – 73rd at 220.43 yards per game
- Scoring Offense – 109th at 19.00 points per game
- Punt Returns – 27th at 12.31 yards per return
Here is where UConn individuals stand in NCAA leaders
- Trevardo Williams t13th in sacks at 1.07 per game (leads BIG EAST)
- Yawin Smallwood t23rd in tackles for loss at 1.57 per game (leads BIG EAST)
t9th in tackles at 10.71 per game (leads BIG EAST) - Nick Williams t20th in punt returns at 11.73 per return
Notes from this week’s opponent Syracuse:
Here’s a video of Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone with his preview for the UConn game. I could not find a video or any link to his weekly press conference.
Doug Marrone is in his fourth year in charge of the Syracuse program after coming to the school in 2009. He led Syracuse to an 8-5 record in 2010 as the team beat Kansas State in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Prior to coming to Syracuse, Marrone was the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints from 2006-08 and the offensive line coach for the New York Jets from 2002-05.
He also had assistant coaching stints at Cortland State (1992), Coast Guard (1993), Northeastern (1994), Georgia Tech (1995-99), Georgia (2000) and Tennessee (2001). He is a 1991 Syracuse graduate and was a three-year starter on the offensive line and earned AP All-East first team honors as a senior.
Here is Syracuse’s depth chart for the game.
In lieu of season captains, Orange head coach Doug Marrone is appointing captains on a game-by-game basis in 2012.
Friday is Fan Appreciation Day at the Carrier Dome. All Syracuse University students will receive free admission to the game, courtesy of Pepsi.
At halftime, SU will recognize the 2012 Letterwinners of Distinction. This year’s class features nine individuals – George Oechsle ‘47 (soccer), Jim Zeszutek ‘72 (wrestling), Jeff McCormick ‘83 (lacrosse), Sid Oglesby ‘65 (gymnastics), Todd Flaherty ‘70 (football), Gene Mills ‘81 (wrestling), Doug Sedgwick ‘80 (lacrosse), Deborah Gibaratz Tirico ‘89 (basketball), and Elton Fairbanks (ski coach), honorary.
A WIN AGAINST UCONN WOULD:
- Be the program’s 693rd victory, the 16th-most among FBS schools.
- Mark SU’s second straight home win and improve the team’s 2012 Dome record to 3-1.
- End SU’s five-game losing streak to the Huskies.
- Elevate the Orange’s record to 2-0 in weeknight games this season.
- Raise SU’s record to 9-7 in games played on Oct. 19.
During its more than 100 years of varsity football, Syracuse has amassed 692 victories, which is 16th on the NCAA FBS’s ledger of winningest programs. SU’s win total is the highest by a BIG EAST school, and lists third among Eastern schools behind Penn State and West Virginia.
The Orange is 3-3 all-time in six weeknight games at the Carrier Dome, including 3-1 under head coach Doug Marrone.
On July 16 2012, the BIG EAST Conference and Syracuse University announced an agreement that allows SU to terminate its BIG EAST membership and join the ACC effective July 1, 2013.
The following Syracuse players have been named to watch lists for college football’s major national awards:
- Alec Lemon
Biletnikoff Award (outstanding receiver) - Marcus Sales
Biletnikoff Award (outstanding receiver) - Macky MacPherson
Rimington Award (outstanding center) - Ryan Nassib
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (top senior QB)
Senior Bowl Watch List - Justin Pugh
Lombardi Award (outstanding lineman)
Outland Trophy (best interior lineman) - Brandon Sharpe
Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player)
Wednesday UConn Football Links:
Midseason Report: UConn [andrea adelson – espn.com]
UConn Football Commitment: Running Back Josh Marriner [desmond conner – hartford courant]
The Blitz: UConn at Syracuse [uconnhuskies.com]
Huskies Travel to Syracuse Friday Night [bigeast.org]
Improved UConn Tight End Ryan Griffin A Rare Bright Spot [hartford courant]
UConn kicker faced the music after a bad day at the office [the hour]
Next Week:
UConn is off next weekend. They’ll return to action on November 3rd when they travel to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL to take on the South Florida Bulls.
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