After a humbling season opener, Syracuse coach Fran Brown said he hopes a more relaxed atmosphere will lead to better results Saturday afternoon when his team hosts UConn in non-conference action.

Coming off a 10-win season in Brown’s first year on the sideline, the Orange fell behind 17-0 against then-No. 24 Tennessee last Saturday. Syracuse made a bit of a comeback but never truly threatened the Volunteers in a 45-26 defeat in Atlanta.

Steve Angeli, a transfer from Notre Dame, threw for a career-high 274 yards, while Yasin Willis ran for 91 yards and three scores. The areas where the Orange struggled included rushing defense (6.2 yards per carry) and third-down defense (7 of 12 conversions allowed).

Perhaps the heightened expectations for 2025 got the best of Syracuse, which will look to rebound against a UConn team that it has beaten five straight times.

“We’re just ready to go out and have some fun this weekend. I’m still going to make sure the players have fun, though,” Brown said. “It’s important that they still have fun and understand that there’s just no moral victories in it. We’re 0-1, and that’s not a good deal. We want to get on the winning side of the column, so we can continue to try to go face the things we need to face.”

UConn (1-0) trounced Central Connecticut 59-13 on Saturday as Skyler Bell caught two touchdown passes, including an 80-yard scoring strike. Joe Fagnano finished with three passing TDs and one rushing score, while Cam Edwards racked up 115 yards and a touchdown on just six carries.

If anything, Huskies coach Jim Mora Jr. is trying to ensure that his charges don’t suffer a lapse in concentration after their resounding Week 1 victory.

“Every day is a new day. … We focus on being the best we can every day,” Mora said. “We make the corrections on Sunday and Monday, and then we move onto Syracuse. … We focus. We reset. … And then you have to focus on a really good team this week.”