courant
At Rentschler Field in East Hartford, the UConn and Syracuse football teams knelt near the 20-yard line, watching in silence as Javon Brown lay motionless in the end zone. The wide receiver had just nearly hauled in a touchdown pass, but the play was broken up, and he landed awkwardly, requiring medical attention. As trainers stabilized him and lifted him onto a stretcher, his UConn teammates rushed to the end zone to show their support before he was taken to a local hospital. The nature of his injury was not disclosed.
Once Brown was transported, the Huskies, trailing by 14 points, huddled up and resumed their uphill battle against the Orange. "We love him dearly, it was hard seeing him go down," said quarterback Kalieb Osborne, who absorbed countless hits throughout the game but kept fighting. "We love him for who he is. We've got a brotherhood we've built here throughout the fall and winter and everything. So we just know to come together and strive for one another and play our heart out for one another, so that's what we did."
Over the course of the long afternoon, UConn overcame what head coach Jason Candle described as nine minutes of some of the worst football he had ever seen. The Huskies erased a 20-point deficit and played a game that should encourage fans to arrive early and stay until the final whistle. But in a game of inches, UConn came up just short, falling 42-41 in overtime before an announced crowd of 35,883.
"It's a game of inches," Osborne said. "So you've got to get those inches at important times." Osborne showed promise but also room for growth, particularly in reading defenses and getting rid of the ball quicker. Yet his toughness was undeniable, and when he had time, his passes were a thing of beauty. He threw for 314 yards and threaded a needle to Trey Cornist for a touchdown in overtime, briefly putting the Huskies in position to win. However, Syracuse answered with a 4th-and-17 completion and, after a facemask penalty—the 19th penalty of the game—went for two points and the win. Quarterback Amari Odom pushed forward to cross the goal line, a play confirmed by replay.
"Emotionally a draining game, in a lot of ways," Candle said. "You fight back, you're down multiple scores, you're able to fight back and get within striking distance. Just a lot of ebbs and flows that happen in a college football game. Tons of adversity in 50 minutes of football, I'm super proud of our team for responding, doing the things to fight back."
Syracuse appeared to deliver the knockout blow early in the third quarter. On 4th-and-23, coach Fran Brown chose not to punt or attempt a long field goal, and Odom found Daunte Bacheyie wide open for a 34-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 34-14. Fans began to leave, and the student section thinned out. But UConn refused to quit. Cyncir Bowers scored on a 10-yard run, and then Osborne had a chance to pull within one score, throwing into the end zone for Brown. The receiver went up with defender Nazir Ward, nearly came down with the ball, but landed awkwardly and did not get up.
"We're praying for him and his family for him to pull out of this thing in a positive manner," Candle said. "There's enough emotional change and duress throughout any college game, and that was a good game today. Then you add that to it. We've got third down and 10, we've got guys in tears in the huddle. They're worrying about their brother and worry about him being okay and we've got to go get a first down. That's the emotion of what we do. For our team, that's a tough thing to go through, but once that cleared out and that situation was where it needed to be, our guys kept fighting and kept plugging."
UConn did not score on that drive, but the defense held, stopping Syracuse at the 43. With another chance to make it a one-score game, Osborne connected with Xavier Watson for a touchdown. Then the offensive line opened a huge hole, and Bowers ran 71 yards to tie the game, completing the comeback.
"(Javon Brown), that's our brother, man," safety Braedyn Moore said. "We're going to fight for our brothers and that's what we did. Ultimately, we just had to respond. He's in our prayers."
Jayden Price made the biggest defensive play for UConn, intercepting a pass near the goal line with 5:51 remaining. The Huskies then embarked on a long drive for the winning points, but a potential first down became 4th-and-1 after a questionable spot. From the Syracuse 32, a false start pushed them back to 4th-and-6, and they couldn't convert. Syracuse managed only a 44-yard field goal attempt, but kicker Shay Barker, who had already missed an extra point and a shorter field goal, missed again, sending the game to overtime.
After UConn scored in overtime, the Huskies were one broken-up pass away from victory, but it slipped through their fingers. It was a draining day and an excruciating loss, but not the kind that buries a season or demoralizes a fan base. On the contrary, UConn (2-3) showed it can compete with any team left on its schedule with the grit it displayed. The ACC could certainly do worse than having thrilling games like this on its schedule week to week, flawed as both teams were.
"We left some plays out there, there's no question about that," Candle said. "To question our resolve and our toughness and our fight, our want to win, our want-to to get better, I don't think that was ever a question today."
Originally reported by courant.