EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — One play encapsulated the laxity at all three levels by the Syracuse defense. With the Orange on the verge of allowing a game-tying touchdown early in the fourth quarter, Scott  McCummings lined up in the shotgun as part of Connecticut’s Wildcat package.

He took the snap on a second-and-5 play from the SU 10-yard line and darted quickly to his right, escaping defensive tackle Deon Goggins in the UConn backfield. As he turned the corner to enter the next level of the Syracuse defense, he broke the tackle of linebacker Marquis Spruill.

All that remained between McCummings and the end zone was SU safety Shamarko Thomas, but his diving attempt to shove the quarterback out of bounds proved futile. McCummings sprawled out, ball extended in his right hand to reach the pylon for a touchdown.

‘You’ll lose,’ SU linebackers coach Dan Conley said. ‘If you don’t make plays like that, you’ll lose.’

Conley tells the story.

Sloppy tackling by Syracuse (5-4, 1-3 Big East) combined with a dominating — and relentless — rushing attack by the Huskies fueled a come-from-behind 28-21 victory over the Orange on Saturday at Rentschler Field. UConn churned out 198 yards rushing, led by McCummings and tailback Lyle McCombs, to exploit the SU defense for three second-half touchdowns. Connecticut (4-5, 2-2 Big East) turned one-dimensional in the second half, relying solely on the running game to wear down the Orange.

Any semblance of a balanced offense for the Huskies on Saturday was predicated by strong play from starting quarterback Johnny McEntee. His ability to complete passes — even just a few — would open up more holes for McCombs, the Big East’s leading rusher.

But by the time 30 minutes elapsed, McEntee was a measly 5-for-11 with two interceptions. His inability to complete passes with reliability led to a change in game plan for the Huskies — one that would better complement the steady running of McCombs, who had 89 yards in the first half and finished with 152.

‘Giving up the yardage on first down enabled them to go into the Wildcat formation and got them out of that passing mode early on,’ SU head coach Doug Marrone said. ‘We thought we worked on it a ton during the week, we expected to see more of it. And then at the end of the day, obviously, they executed better than we did, and we missed tackles.’

The final two quarters of football became more reminiscent of UConn teams from the past decade. With running backs like Jordan Todman and Donald Brown, the Huskies dared opponents to stop the run.

On Saturday, Connecticut attempted just three passes in the second half — all completions — but McCombs and McCummings ran the show. The pair combined for 20 carries in the second half, resulting in 119 yards and each of UConn’s three second-half touchdowns.

The three scoring drives by the Huskies in the second half featured only one pass attempt each. The rest was all on the ground.

‘Our mindset was: try to stop the run and try and get them to pass,’ said Thomas, SU’s strong safety. ‘And obviously we didn’t get that done this week.’

McCummings and McCombs spearheaded an option attack that caused problems for Syracuse. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound quarterback read the Orange defense perfectly to balance running the ball himself or handing off to McCombs.

On the Huskies’ opening drive of the second half, McCombs ripped off gains of 17 yards and 12 yards, leaving Marrone irate and screaming on the SU sideline. That possession ended with a McCombs touchdown after 47 of the 60 total yards came on the ground.

‘We had people, a lot of times, that were in the right gaps and we missed tackles,’ Marrone said. ‘That’s something that we haven’t done quite a bit of. That’s a concern, obviously, that we need to work on and that will be addressed.’

Much like McCummings‘ touchdown to open the fourth quarter, his go-ahead score nine minutes later featured more poor tackling by the Orange.

On a second-and-goal from the 7-yard line, SU linebacker Dyshawn Davis shot into the backfield with a clear chance to drill McCummings. But the UConn quarterback absorbed the hit, spun right and burst forward, backpedaling into the end zone off another hit to put the Huskies on top for good.

Davis ended up alone in the Connecticut backfield, jumping up and down with frustration as McCummings and his teammates celebrated in the end zone en route to the victory.

It was a clinic in careless tackling by the Orange, one that left a sour taste in the mouth of players and coaches who realized the game was — perhaps — given to Connecticut as a result of poor execution.

Said Conley: ‘When we go back and watch that, we’ll all be sick about it.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on November 4, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13