The horror… the horror. Note to self, do not let me make outrageous upset predictions, post them, and then let Nunes/Magician convince me I am right. The worst scenario that could have probably happened for Syracuse and myself did. We went to East Hartford, sucked a big one, played just awful, looked like they did not care one bit, let UConn have their way with us, I walked through about 4 miles of parking lot getting harassed to no end to and from the stadium, got drinks spilled on me, and then once we got back to the cars, my buddy’s vehicle was trashed via TP, sticks and they took his wiper blades. Real classy UConn. Report card time.

Offense
D-
Scoring a touchdown when it was not quite garbage time is admirable I suppose. The only thing my friends and I cheered for all day was the fact that Mike Williams kept his consecutive games with a touchdown streak alive. Even then he did not have a good day with six receptions for a total of 24 yards. Biggest disappointment of the day award goes to Mr. Andy Robinson, for playing like absolute garbage at the quarterback position. Regardless of how this shakes out stat wise, just watching him, he played his absolute worst game of the season. Robinson (8/21, 59 yds, 0TD, 1INT) made some terrible decisions. Early on in the game, while running for a first down, instead of sliding, he took the hit, fumbled, and lost the ball on the Syracuse 35 yard line. He threw an interception directly to a UConn player in the end zone from inside the red zone. He made several horrifically underthrown balls. He played like an eighth grader making his first start, not a starting quarterback with a season of experience. Absolutely dreadful performance. His backup, Cantley, at least looked like a quarterback with some zip and some accuracy on every pass, however his day was not much more productive (7/17, 64 yds, 1TD, 1INT). Smith and Moss were really non-factors in this game. The Syracuse run game looked halfway decent, despite common knowledge that we have no run game. Doug Hogue led the effort with 12 carries for a total of 65 yards, one of which was for twenty. That being said, the effort was no better than an average high school team. The offense looked the worst it had all year, a fitting end to a pitiful showing on the road all season. Enjoy it now Connecticut. I fear you are the Rutgers of this season.

Defense
C-
I feel bad being so harsh on the defense during this game because they were ALWAYS on the field. They did their best, and in a lot of series, managed to break up or stop some big plays. However, when you get beat by a screen play every single time it is run by the opposing team it is kind of hard to feel good about the situation. The defense gave up 398 total yards, and made Tyler Lorenzen look like a master of the quarterback arts. It felt like any time UConn wanted a first down, and they were passing, there was no question they would have it. Syracuse failed to force UConn to commit any turnovers, and failed to stop the run, pass, or a combination therein. Lackluster results, although the effort was there. For that, I give them something.

Special Teams
C+
After having several amazing games this season, the last three for Syracuse have been subpar for the Special Teams. Kicker and burrito enthusiast Patrick “Fat Ass” Shadle missed a field goal attempted from 40 yards out. Max Suter put in a decent day of four kick returns for a total of 85 return yards. Rob “Heisman” Long had another busy day punting seven times for 278 yards, one of which was behind the 20 and the longest was 51 yards. They did a nice job of limiting the UConn return men however, and for that effort, and nothing horrific going wrong, they get an average grade that any SOM kid could pull down.

Coaching
D-
I am hesitant to give the F because I believe it is reserved for the worst of the worst days. However, it is very hard to quantify in words how awful I think this team is and how fed up I am with Greg Robinson, his excuses, his lies, and his ineptness. Winning only two Big East games in three years is not even bad, it is just simply unacceptable. He should be fired, the majority of his staff should be fired, and a new coach, that can recruit, that will bring a competent staff that will accept responsibility when they do bad, and will tell it like it is during press conferences should be installed at Syracuse. The time for Robinson to turn the program and his losing ways around has ended. The time for losing to mediocre teams should end. The time for losing to Rutgers, Connecticut, and South Florida should end. The time for a change is here. The fact that I was more excited to be in Connecticut than the team directly reflects the ability of a coach to fire his players up. Sure you are out of bowl contention, yes you are playing a ranked team on the road, and yeah there is a 19.5 point spread. Irrelevant. A good coach would have had his players believe, at least at the start, that they could win that game. You could tell the sparkle in the eyes of Syracuse had long faded out. These players do not seem to want to even play for Robinson anymore. They have phoned in the rest of the season. Sadly, I have too much respect for the readers out there, and Syracuse fans as a whole, to phone in this article and the remainder of my season. So kudos to you Greg Robinson. Thanks for stopping by, thanks for doing your best. Please leave with some dignity and grace and resign during the post game press conference after next Saturday’s Cincinnati game. I will thank you, and Syracuse will thank you.

GPA
D (1.15)
Connecticut was not an unreachable game. We have seen flashes of greatness from Syracuse Football this season. We have seen superhuman effort, amazing plays, and tough defenses. We have now also seen what can happen when teams that are too far out do not seem to care. While I always enjoy going to a Syracuse game with friends, enemies, and I generally like watching college football, sometimes even the best situation in the world cannot make up for what transpires on the field. To anyone out there that saw the game, and is not familiar with the history of the Syracuse program, allow me to apologies to you for having to watch an inferior Syracuse product. Know that it has not always been like this, and know that it will not always be like this in the future.

While overall, I had a fantastic morning and afternoon this past Saturday, it is sad that the actual game itself is the low point. Special thanks to my friends and colleagues from Syracuse and Connecticut for making the trip. Thanks to Matt Glaude for buying me a beer and chatting it up with me at the half, including sassing UConn hecklers back. Also, a big thanks to my UConn friends for not harassing me too much. They know that I am a responsible Syracuse fan and do not smack talk about a football team that is 2-9 (however, get ready because this basketball team is making everyone tingly). Next on the Syracuse docket is Ohio State in Madison Square Garden. We have the late NIT game so enjoy the game while drinking with your home friends, no doubt in some local dive bar, or from the comfort of the Garden. Syracuse’s football season finally ends this coming Saturday with Cincinnati in the Carrier Dome. Thank the almighty above. It was very hard for me to write this knowing that it was UConn that beat us. I have a lot of personal experience and history with UConn so anytime we lost to them it hurts a little more than your average loss to a rival. Thanks for bearing with me here at Orange::44, and until next time, have some safe travels if you are going somewhere for Thanksgiving, and here is hoping for some victories down in NYC.

Editor's Note: Special Thanks also to Matt Glaude for making Elian Gonzalez the crying child this week. It could not have been more perfect.