Here are 10 things we learned from Syracuse’s 40-10 win over Connecticut on Friday:
1. The Orange scored 20 first-half points, the most for Syracuse so far this season.
2. Doug Marrone defeats UConn for first time in his career. It’s also just the second time in Marrone’s four-year tenure that the Orange have more than one Big East win in a season.
3. The running game does exist! Jerome Smith ran 19 times for 133 yards, as Syracuse amassed 251 rushing yards to Connecticut’s -6. Huskies running back Lyle McCombs was held to just 16 yards on 12 carries as the Syracuse defensive line absolutely dominated Connecticut up front.
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4. When you don’t turn the ball over, good things happen. A week after turning the ball over four times against Rutgers, the Orange offense seemed to have no problem against the nation’s sixth-ranked defense (40 points and 502 total yards).
5. A week after having a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown and a season to date riddled with heading-shaking misses, kicker Ross Krautman was perfect on the day, connecting on all four of his field goal attempts (22, 33, 42, 47).
6. Hello, Beckett Wales. After being hampered by injury since a six catch 49-yard performance in the season opener against Northwestern, the Orange tight end caught four passes for 69 yards and a touchdown. QB Ryan Nassib has a history of connecting with tight ends (Nick Provo, anyone?), so it will be interesting to see if this relationship continues to develop over the next few games.
7. “Alex” Lemon had eight catches for 166 yards and a touchdown. Alec Lemon apparently didn’t travel home from Rutgers.
» Related: SU defense dominates UConn
8. Enough with the penalties! Despite the win, the Orange were still flagged eight times for 73 yards, including several pass interference calls. As a team, they average 7.5 penalties and 58.8 penalty yards per game.
9. Paul Pasqualoni returned to the Carrier Dome as a head football coach for the first time since defeating Pittsburgh on November 6, 2004. He went home a little happier that day.
10. Huskies QB Chandler Whitmer is still feeling that hit from Durrell Eskridge.
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