When you ask UConn fans what schools they consider rivals, Syracuse is one of the first names that you normally hear.
Two schools with lots of history in the old Big East Conference face off against each other on Saturday, Sept. 6. The UConn football team (1-0) looks to remain undefeated while the Syracuse Orange (0-1) look for a bounce back win after a season-opening loss.
It will be the second-straight season where the Huskies travel up north to upstate New York to face the Orange. Connecticut fell to Syracuse 31-24 last November and have lost the past five games against their archrivals. The Huskies are 2-5 at the Dome, with their last win coming in 2010.
In the 31-24 loss last season, Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord threw for 470 yards and two touchdowns, completing 37 of 47 passes. Both of his touchdown passes came in the first half. The Huskies could not contain McCord’s options, with Oronde Gadsden II, Darrell Gill Jr. and Jackson Meeks all tallying over 100 yards receiving.
Quarterback Joe Fagnano is looking for his performance to be like last week’s 59-13 rout over Central Connecticut. The Maine transfer completed 18 of his 25 passing attempts for 266 yards and three touchdowns. In addition to that, he walked in for a touchdown as he and wide receiver Skyler Bell were among some of the top performers in the Group of Five during Week 1. With Fagnano now having 23 career touchdown passes at UConn, he moved into the top-10 in the record book. Against Syracuse last season, Fagnano went 27-48 for 228 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Bell showed the college football world why he was put on the 2025 Biletnikoff Award watch list, which recognizes the best wide receiver in college football. He finished the season-opener with four receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns. The former Wisconsin Badger had his fifth 100-yard receiving game at UConn in 14 games played. He was named to the Pro Football Focus (PFF) National Team of the Week as a flex.
Bell did not play in the second half and was unavailable to the media after the win last week but is expected to play on Saturday according to the Hartford Courant’s Joe Arruda. The Bronx native caught a career-high 10 passes last season against the Orange.
In addition to Bell earning national recognition by PFF, left tackle Ben Murawski was named to the Group of Five Team of the Week.
The Huskies ran all over the Blue Devils, with running back Cam Edwards leading the way with 115 yards and a touchdown on six carries. He, along with Fagnano, were among the four players who found the end zone via the ground on Saturday. Eastern Illinois transfer MJ Flowers scored his first-career UConn touchdown and Victor Rosa found the end zone, matching his touchdown total from last season. UConn ran for 250 yards, the 10th time that number has been reached in the Jim Mora era.
Even though the offensive line was strong on Saturday, they will have to go up against a tough defense from a film standpoint.
“Defensively, they are really good up front. They’ve got a really good defensive line,” Mora said. “They’ve got some new linebackers, but they’re big, physical and they’re active. I think their secondary is really, really athletic.”
Syracuse returns home to the JMA Wireless Dome (formerly known as the Carrier Dome) after a 45-26 loss to then-No. 24 Tennessee at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta last weekend.
With a 59-yard, one touchdown performance from CCSU running Elijah Howard last week, the Huskies need to contain Syracuse running back Yasin Willis, who ran for 91 yards on 23 carries while scoring three touchdowns. Willis is part of one of the top running back tandems in the country, being named to the Doak Walker Preseason Watch List alongside teammate Will Nixon. Mora called Willis a “big bruiser” during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
Pass defense will be important for the Huskies, especially with defensive back Malachi McLean out for Week 2. Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli, the successor to McCord at quarterback, completed 23 of his 40 passing attempts for 274 yards and a touchdown last weekend. The Huskies only recorded one sack last weekend, but Angeli was prone to sacks in Week 1 after being sacked five times against the Volunteers.
UConn is 8-28 all-time against the ACC, snapping a six-game skid with a win over North Carolina in the 2025 Wasabi Fenway Bowl. The Huskies have faced Syracuse 13 times since the 2004 season, with the Orange holding a 7-6 edge in the all-time series.
There is a tall task at hand for Connecticut to beat the Orange for the first time since Nov. 5, 2011. While Mora has a more determined mindset heading into Week 2, Syracuse head coach Fran Brown seems more relaxed.
“We’re just ready to go out and have some fun this weekend,” Brown said in his weekly press conference according to Field Level Media. “We want to get on the winning side of the column so we can try to go face the things we need to face.”
Brown is not the only one on the Orange who feels confident in Syracuse’s chances to win on Saturday. According to Syracuse.com, “We gonna get the dub this week” was overheard after practice.
Chapter 14 of the football rivalry kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 6, at noon at the JMA Wireless Dome. It will be available to watch on ESPN+ and ACC Network Extra.