For the second straight week (and three of the last four) UConn returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
Freshman Mike Lang took one back 80 yards late in the quarter to make it 14-3. It was just the third kickoff return of Lang’s career. The previous two totaled 23 yards.
A wind-aided punt (the bad way) of 13 yards by Syracuse’s Rob Long set the Huskies up with a very short field and led to the game’s first score.
It took UConn eight plays, three different ball carriers, a fumble going out of bounds, a review from the replay booth and a two third-down conversions but Andre Dixon finally scored on a 4-yard run to make it 7-0 UConn with 9:47 left in the first quarter.
The Cuse answered with a long drive into the wind that ended with a 26-yard Ryan Lichtenstein field goal. A few nice plays on the drive, including a reverse to Antwon Bailey and a 19-yard third-down pass from QB Greg Paulus to a wide-open Marcus Sales. Still, the Orange had to settle for three.
- Neill
