Instant Juice: Syracuse 24, Cincinnati 35

cincinnati
The Orange made too many mistakes

A quick take on Syracuse’s 35-24 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon:

WHAT HAPPENED: Syracuse had its three point lead erased in the second half after Brandon Kay, who took over at quarterback for Munchie Legaux, directed two touchdown scoring drives. Syracuse was plagued by mental errors and penalties all day, including a dropped pick-6 by Brandon Reddish and 12 penalties for 109 yards. The win prevented the Orange from having a three game winning streak in the conference for the first time since 2001, and puts their bowl hopes in peril.

cincinnati
The Orange made too many mistakes

» What did you think of the game? Leave your thoughts below.

ANALYSIS: It was a frustrating performance by Syracuse, reminiscent of a game against Rutgers last year, when a dropped INT shifted the momentum in a brutal loss. That’s what happened today as Reddish dropped a sure pick 6 with Syracuse up by three points. Instead, Cincinnati scored on its ensuing drive for a 14 point swing. On top of that, the Orange made all sorts of mental mistakes all afternoon—even the wide receivers combined for three false starts. The defense also had its second straight tough outing, giving up 35 points, 470 total yards and 263 on the ground.

» Related: Legaux has been struggling recently

HERO: Winn had 165 yards, three rushing touchdowns and also threw for a touchdown on a trick play, while tight end Travis Kelce caught a pair of scores (including the TD off the halfback option). Jerome Smith rushed for 116 yards and his first TD of the season.

ZERO: There was some questionable officiating, highlighted by a clear fumble in the first half on Cincinnati that would ruled down on the field, and confirmed on replay despite very clear evidence otherwise. Legaux, who had been given a vote of confidence from coach Butch Jones over the week, was just 11 for 22 with an interception before being benched. The SU defense allowed more than 400 yards for the second straight game, while Ross Krautman continued his inconsistency with a 1/3 performance (one FG was blocked).

WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse will play its final home game of the season when it heads home to play Louisville on Nov. 10.

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.