EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Syracuse (2-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) eked out a 31-24 win over Connecticut (2-2, 0-1 American Athletic) on Saturday in East Hartford, Connecticut. The Orange took a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, but stalled. Ultimately, the Huskies had the ball twice in the fourth quarter with less than seven minutes left and down by a score, but couldn’t find the end zone either time — coming up a yard short on fourth down with 6:12 left.

Stock up

Amba Etta-Tawo, redshirt senior wide receiver

Amba Etta-Tawo had a record-breaking day, catching 12 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns. He set a new Syracuse record for yards in a game, became the first SU receiver to record at least 200 yards in a game twice in his career — and he’s been in Orange for four games — and he’s the first SU player to start a season with four straight 100-yard receiving games.

Etta-Tawo was matched up with All-AAC cornerback Jamar Summers for most of the game and was able to beat him over the top regardless of whether Summers was on the line, trying to bump-and-run or playing back off the line of scrimmage. Etta-Tawo had two touchdown catches in the first five minutes of the game, but his biggest catch came on third down in the fourth quarter from Syracuse’s own 4-yard line when he out jumped a diving Summers for a 59-yard gain.

He finished with 58 percent of the team’s yards and was targeted on 18 of Eric Dungey’s 40 throws.

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Zaire Franklin, junior linebacker

Zaire Franklin didn’t have his best day tackling wise, but he manufactured two of the biggest defensive plays for the Orange. With the score tied at 17 and a minute to go in the third quarter, UConn quarterback Bryant Shirreffs rolled out to his right to attempt a third down conversion. Franklin dove at Shirreffs’ pass and tipped it with one hand, deflecting the ball into Cordell Hudson’s hands. Hudson then returned it 22 yards for a touchdown.

Franklin’s best tackle came on fourth-and-goal for the Huskies at SU’s 2-yard line with the Orange up by seven and a little over six minutes left in the game. Shirreffs rolled to his right on a designed run and leapt toward the goal line. Franklin came in from the left side and dove at the quarterback, driving him to the ground one yard shy of the end zone for Syracuse’s biggest defensive stop of the season.

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MORE COVERAGE:

• Watch Dino Babers’ press conference after win vs. UConn
• A graphical breakdown of Syracuse’s 31-24 win
• Three things we learned in SU’s win against Connecticut

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Stock down

Offensive line

The offensive line’s stock is down mostly due to injuries. With starters Omari Palmer, Jason Emerich and Cody Conway out, the starting O-line on Saturday had a combined one start coming into the season and eight including this year. The group of Michael Lasker, Aaron Roberts, Colin Byrne, Evan Adams and Jamar McGloster were decent in pass protection, but were overcome by third down UConn blitzes. Syracuse struggled to run the ball to its worst degree all season — 62 yards on 26 carries for a season-worst total and yards per rush average. The offensive line wasn’t able to generate much push against a notably solid UConn defensive front.

Sean Riley, freshman wide receiver

Sean Riley looked shaky fielding kicks as the team’s primary returner all day. He bobbled the opening kickoff and after his first punt return (of the game and his career), Babers called him over on the sideline to seemingly critique how Riley made too many cuts instead of running straight up field.

On one kickoff, Riley waited in the end zone as it bounced at about the 5-yard line. He caught it in the end zone, but then decided to run the ball out instead of taking the touchback. He got only to the 13.

Riley was removed on the last punt return of the game in favor of Brisly Estime, who he took over for last week.

Cole Murphy, junior kicker

Cole Murphy finished just 1-for-3 on field goals, including a miss from 33-yards away in the fourth quarter that would have given Syracuse a two-possession lead. His other miss, from 49 yards away in the second quarter, had the distance but sailed wide. His make was a 47-yarder that he had to convert twice because UConn tried to ice him with timeouts.

Babers said Murphy slipped on one field goal, presumably the 33-yarder, and that he wasn’t upset with him. But Murphy also knocked two kickoffs out of bounds on attempted squib kicks toward the sideline, when the Orange was kicking into the wind. Babers said he preferred that to a return for a touchdown.

Published on September 25, 2016 at 3:01 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus