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Sitting at 2-4 after a “heartbreaker” of a loss to Rutgers, Syracuse was staring down a UConn team that always played it “tough.” Former tight end Alec Lemon remembers the “nonchalant” mood on campus prior to the Friday night home game.

“There goes the Syracuse football back to their old ways,” Lemon remembers.

SU faced a Huskies team that had four eventual third-round picks in the NFL draft, including two cornerbacks — Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson — that gave Ryan Nassib fits. Zack Chibane said the team was disappointed how the season had gone to that point, and thought SU’s talent, including Nassib, Lemon and Jerome Smith, wasn’t reflected by the record.

Chibane remembers head coach Doug Marrone repeatedly playing the blocked field goal that Rutgers returned for a touchdown during film sessions. The field goal unit, filled with skilled linemen who’d been together for four years, uncharacteristically let a player slip through and block the kick that would’ve given Syracuse the lead. The Orange welcomed UConn with star offensive lineman Justin Pugh back in the lineup following a year-long injury and placed an emphasis on a more balanced offensive approach.

Syracuse and UConn competed as Big East rivals from 1991-2013, before realignment placed the Orange in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Following SU’s first win against the Huskies in 2004, UConn rattled off six straight wins. But under Marrone, and hoping to win the Big East Championship, Syracuse dismantled UConn on Oct. 19 — a 40-10 “rare” balanced game that catapulted the Orange to an eventual 8-5 season that culminated with a New Era Pinstripe Bowl win.

“That was as good a feeling as you get walking away from a game,” said former offensive tackle Sean Hickey.

Lemon remembers the team having a steak dinner at the Genesee Grande Hotel before watching the film and going to bed. Syracuse liked to have its players stay in the hotel on game night to ensure each player was solely focused on the game plan and walkthroughs. There was an air of desperation as the team prepared for the Huskies. Hickey said they felt like they were squandering a talented team. He doubted the team would have any momentum for the remainder of the season.

After breakfast, they walked through the game plan before heading over to Manley Field House for another walkthrough on the indoor turf. They had just enough time to catch a 30-minute nap before taking a bus to the Dome around 6 p.m. The game plan designed by Marrone and Nathaniel Hackett was simple. Chibane said Rutgers had an unusual defense, one that applied more pressure on the defensive line, so Syracuse’s plan was to exploit the weakness over the top with a ton of passing.

After that didn’t go as planned, Chibane remembers Marrone wanting to “go back to the basics,” leaning on the experienced offensive line to open holes for Smith and receivers like Lemon to get open. But Hickey said the offensive line incorporated tackle pulls, or “Tommy’s,” as a way to guard eventual fourth-round pick Trevardo Williams on the defensive line.

They also wanted to keep Nassib, then the focal point of SU’s offense, upright. The Orange entered off a game where they allowed three sacks and while Nassib went 37% from the air.

“We as a unit, it was a game that really catapulted us later in the year to make a pretty decent run,” Hickey said.

Former receiver Reuben Frank remembers the Huskies trying to avoid players like Shamarko Thomas and Marquis Spruill. UConn studied film to pick apart the nationally recognized defenders to get receivers open for quarterback Chandler Whitmer. Reminded of the 30-point loss, all Frank could muster was, “Oh my god, that’s freaking bad.”

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Lemon said 2012 as SU’s final year in the Big East wasn’t exactly a factor. Lemon would rather win because it was his final season, as it was for Chibane and Pugh. SU didn’t pull away until the second and third quarter, when it dropped 31 points to go up 37-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

Once Marrone and Hackett’s balanced approach was in full swing, the Orange exploited UConn’s defense with 251 passing yards. The crowd of 36,715 became loud, according to Lemon. Everyone yelled as the lead grew.

“We weren’t known to be the type of team that could spread out and air it out and score 40 or 50 points a game,” Chibane said. “I think that UConn game really showed us that we could put some points on the board. We got a lot of confidence going into Louisville, and some of the bigger games in the latter half of that season.”

The blowout win was a course correction that set the season back toward above .500. SU stormed back against South Florida, beating the Bulls the following week by a point. After that win, the Orange finished 4-1 the rest of the way, ending the year with a bowl win against Big East opponent West Virginia.

To Lemon, the midseason 40-point performance on ESPN primetime showed the team what it could do, especially against a formidable defense. SU realized it had the talent to stack wins against good opponents, which saved the 2012 season, Marrone’s final year with the Orange.

“It was definitely a turning point for us that season, because we were able to see what we could do against a really talented defense,” Chibane said. “It gave us a lot of confidence, I think, going into the second half of the season.”

Published on September 8, 2022 at 12:45 am

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt