This season the Big East scheduled six games for Friday night, giving its teams a chance to play in the national spotlight and showcase some of their best matchups.
The Syracuse Orange will host the Connecticut Huskies in one of those games, giving both teams a chance to rebound from close losses last Saturday.
Syracuse is 2-4 after losing 23-15 to No. 20 ranked Rutgers, who are 6-0 on the season and lead the Big East with a 3-0 record. Special teams played a big factor in the game, with Syracuse getting a field goal blocked that was returned for a touchdown.
Quarterback Ryan Nassib had a big game against Rutgers, passing for 356 yards and a touchdown. But he threw two costly interceptions and the team had trouble running the ball against a stout Rutgers defense, gaining only 62 yards.
The Orange has struggled this season under head coach Doug Marrone, scoring only 22 points per game. The team has been very successful passing the ball, raking 13th in the country with 318 yards per game.
The team has also had issues this season with turnovers and is minus-10 in that department this season.
"I'm not going to lie to you. My frustration level is extremely high because it's really what's hurting this team," Marrone said to ESPN.com. "It doesn't give you a chance. Since I've been here, we have 24 losses, we're minus-30 in turnover margin. In 19 wins, plus-12. I don't think it's rocket science."
The team opened the season with losses to Northwester and then-No.2 ranked USC before winning two of its next three games. The loss at Rutgers dropped the Orange to 1-1 in the Big East and the team will look to add another important conference win on Friday night.
Connecticut has won five straight games against Syracuse and is coming off a tough 17-14 loss to Temple. The team is looking to get their first win in the Big East this season. And will hope to continue their winning trend in Syracuse.
The Huskies have played excellent defense this season allowing only 16 points per game, good for 15th in the nation. Connecticut leads the Big East with 16 turnovers, but has not been able to rush the ball all ears, averaging just 100 yards per game, good for 115th in the country.
The schedule for the Huskies the rest of the season only gets tougher, with trips to South Florida and Louisville and a home game against Cincinnati to close the year.
Making the game even more intriguing for the Orange, Connecticut head coach Paul Pasqualoni returns to Syracuse for the first time since he was fired in 2004.
Pasqualoni was the head coach from 1991 until 2004 and had a 107-59-1 record before being replaced by Greg Robinson. He only had one season with a losing record, going 4-8 in 2002.
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