Great first half, awful second half
The Syracuse Orange offense put on an aerial display in the first half against the UConn Huskies.
How good was the offense? How about gaining 185 yards on 12 first-down passing attempts? What if we told you that the Orange gained only 9 yards total on 4 of those attempts? Yes, on the other 8 first-down passes Kyle McCord racked up 176 yards and if not for red-zone mistakes this game could have been over at halftime.
The second half was the exact opposite. Syracuse definitely went conservative and missed Trebor Pena and the attention he draws from opponents. Hopefully Pena is back and with Umari Hatcher out, we could see more Justus Ross-Simmons or perhaps Zeed Haynes on the perimeter.
This off-season, Syracuse needs to figure out how to unlock the running game. With this passing game and the versatility of LeQuint Allen, you shouldn’t see opponents completely shutting down first down runs like this.