The Syracuse Orange football team is bowl eligible for the first time since 2004. That, however, does not mean it's time for the Orange to just coast for a few weeks until they find out what bowl game they are headed to. There is still work to be done.
That work begins Saturday when the 7-3 Orange (4-2) in the Big East host UConn (5-4, 2-2) at the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. ET. The Orange can still win the league title, which would put them in a BCS bowl game. For that matter, so could the Huskies.
Syracuse will be facing a Connecticut team this week that loves to run the football, and is powered by the nation's second-leading rusher, Jordan Todman. Todman, a junior, has 1,176 yards rushing in eight games, an average of 147 per game. In a stunning 30-28 upset of Pittsburgh a week ago he ran for 222 yards on 37 carries.
A week ago, Syracuse surrendered 166 yards on 29 carries to Jeremy Deering of Rutgers, who was running from the Wildcat formation. The Orange, though, are still ranked ninth in the country overall on defense.