Let me apologize if this is your first time on The Fever and were expecting the basketball version of the headline. That would be awesome, but it’s all about football from here on out.
UConn and Syracuse have agreed to a home-and-home football series for 2016 and 2018, bringing back an old school Big East rivalry.
The 2016 season is now tentatively complete for the Huskies with non-conference games scheduled against Maine, UMass, Virginia and Syracuse.
The last meeting between the Huskies and the Orange was in 2012 when Syracuse put down a 40-10 beating on the Huskies in the Carrier Dome. UConn was limited to -6 yards rushing. Yeah, that’s a negative sign.
However, UConn leads the all-time series 6-3 over the Orange.
The rivalry between the two schools lives on the hardwood more than it does on the gridiron, but it gives fans of both teams another reason to root against each other.
Will it live up to a 6OT classic in Madison Square Garden? No.
Are both UConn and Syracuse (ACC) serious threats in their conference? No.
Does Paul Pasqualoni have something to do with that? Yeah, definitely in UConn’s case.
The ‘Cuse of the late 90’s actually dominated under Pasqualoni, but having a quarterback named Donovan McNabb surely helps too.
UConn will play host in 2016 while the 2018 date is set to be played in the Carrier Dome. Both teams are trying to find their winning ways again, as the Orange are coming off a 3-9 season — faring a game better than UConn’s 2-10 campaign last year.
If Bob Diaco and the Huskies manage to improve this upcoming season (and by improve I mean three or four wins), 2016 could be the year where Diaco needs to have a wining record in order to stick around. With their tentative schedule looking to be on the easy side and with less travel to play their non-conference opponents than their actual AAC foes, 2016 could mark UConn’s first winning season since 2010.
I’m getting ahead of myself.
Either way, it will be interesting to see how far the two teams have come since the split of the Big East and if the fans remember how much to hate each other.
The schools took to Twitter for a quick three-round spar earlier this year.
The constant snow is definitely getting old, but there’s always a bright side … pic.twitter.com/QwinDdV6v4
— UConn (@UConn) February 17, 2015
Shots fired.
@UConn It may be cold, but our Orange spirit keeps us warm! pic.twitter.com/Qkhd0PxHWH
— Syracuse University (@SyracuseU) February 17, 2015
Cute comeback.
@SyracuseU Fair enough. We only have these to keep us warm. pic.twitter.com/39qrJV5Wcf
— UConn (@UConn) February 17, 2015
Even though it’s basketball, this is the “thank you, come again” going in for the kill tweet. Can schools do this more often? Please? Loser gets Pasqualoni back as head coach?
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