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FACTS & STATS: Site: Rentschler Field (40,000) -- Storrs, Connecticut. Television: None. Home Record: Syracuse 4-1, UConn 2-2. Away Record: Syracuse 1-2, UConn 1-3. Neutral Record: Syracuse 0-0, UConn 0-0. Conference Record: Syracuse 1-2, UConn 1-2. Series Record: UConn leads, 5-2.

GAME NOTES: Looking to rebound from their first Big East road loss since 2009, the Syracuse Orange visit Rentschler Field this weekend to take on the Connecticut Huskies.

The Orange entered last Saturday's bout in Louisville winners of three of their previous four games and hoping to become bowl eligible for the second year in a row, but instead they were ousted in a 27-10 final. The loss dropped the Orange to 1-2 in league play despite a solid 5-3 overall record. Following this game, they'll return home to host USF and Cincinnati before closing out the regular season at Pittsburgh on December 3rd.

UConn is coming off a 35-20 loss at Pittsburgh last Wednesday. The Huskies had 11 days to prepare for that contest, and they will have had 10 days to get ready for this week's tilt. Like this week's opponent, the Huskies are also just 1-2 against Big East foes as they stumbled to a 1-3 record in the month of October.

UConn owns a 5-2 series edge thanks to four straight victories over Syracuse. Huskies' first-year head coach Paul Pasqualoni was the head coach at Syracuse from 1991-2004. In his 14 years there, he won four conference titles led SU to nine bowl games and became the all-time winningest coach in the Big East in both league victories (63) and overall Division I wins (110).

After totaling 86 points in back-to-back wins over Tulane and West Virginia, Syracuse's offense took a step backward Saturday at Louisville. The Orange were held to only 10 points for their lowest scoring output of the season, and they did not reach the end zone until the final two minutes of regulation when the game was well out of hand. The offense managed just 246 yards of total offense and went 3-of-14 on third downs as drive after drive stalled. Ryan Nassib completed 22-of-36 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, and he was also sacked four times. Antwon Bailey carried 15 times for 70 yards in the loss. On the season, Bailey is averaging 93.5 rushing yards per tilt and has scored six times. Nassib is completing 65.4 percent of his passes and has thrown 16 touchdowns against only four interceptions. However, he is averaging only 210.6 passing yards as most of his success has come on short to intermediate routes.

Defensively, the Orange rank in the middle of the pack nationally and eighth in the conference in both total defense (392 ypg) and scoring defense (27 ppg). However, they have been stout against the run, ranking 20th in the nation with only 105 rushing yards allowed per contest. Junior defensive back Phillip Thomas does not mind sticking his nose in the box, as he leads the team with 58 tackles to go along with a league-best four interceptions. Those picks are partly attributed to a solid pass rush that has generated 20 sacks through eight games to rank in the top-third nationally in that department. However, the defense failed to create many big plays against Louisville as the Cardinals scored on touchdown passes on two of their first three possessions to jump out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead. While the Orange secondary was able to tighten things up after that, Louisville's Vic Anderson broke the game open with a 61-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and Syracuse was never able to recover.

SU will need to tighten up the rushing lanes against redshirt freshman phenom Lyle McCombs and the Huskies. While UConn ranks toward the bottom of the barrel in scoring offense (99th) and total offense (107th), McCombs commands plenty of attention as the league's second-leading rusher (103.6 ypg). He has scored four of the teams five rushing touchdowns and has amassed 829 yards (4.1 ypc) on the year. Quarterback Johnny McEntee is 116-for-222 for 1,402 yards and eight touchdowns against four interceptions. Wideouts Isiah Moore (28 catches), Kashif Moore (27 catches) and tight end Ryan Griffin (24 catches) headline the receiving corps. Last week against Pitt, McCombs carried 25 times for 124 yards, marking his fifth 100-yard output in eight games as Huskie. However, McEntee completed only 17-of-33 passes for 193 yards and two TDs, one of which came in the final minute of regulation. He was also sacked six times and faced constant pressure from Pitt's front-seven.

UConn caught a break -- albeit an unfortunate one -- when Pitt's Ray Graham, the country's second-leading rusher, was lost to a season-ending knee injury on his second carry. But instead of dwell on their loss, the Panthers took to the air, and Tino Sunseri carved up the Huskies' secondary for a career-high 419 passing yards and two TDs. Stopping the pass has been a season-long challenge for UConn, as the team ranks 106th nationally in pass defense (284 ypg). The strength of the team is its ability to stop the run, as the Huskies are ninth in the country in rushing defense (89.9 ypg), holding foes to a mere 3.0 yards per carry. Overall, the team has given up an average of 22.5 points per tilt. However, the Huskies have not allowed more than 10 points in each of their three wins. Linebacker Jory Johnson paces the squad with 70 tackles, which also ranks third in the Big East. Defensive linemen Trevardo Williams (5.5 sacks) and Kendall Reyes (4.0 sacks) have combined for 9 1/2 of the team's 21 sacks on the year. That pressure has helped lead to 10 interceptions, although the secondary has shown to be quite vulnerable when opposing quarterbacks have ample time to get rid of the football.

Syracuse has been unsuccessful at Rentschler Field in three tries, although the team is 5-1 in Big East road games since the beginning of 2010. Meanwhile, UConn is kicking off a key three-game homestand, which the Huskies must capitalize on if they are to make a late push to become bowl eligible.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Connecticut 31, Syracuse 27