Connecticut 41-42 Syracuse: Odom's two-point conversion wins it after overtime

Eighty-three points, a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback, and the whole margin came down to one play: Amari Odom's two-point conversion in overtime gave Syracuse a 41-42 win at Connecticut. The Huskies forced the extra period with a shutout fourth quarter; the Orange ended it with a single two-point try.

Umari Hatcher opened the scoring in the first quarter, a touchdown with no extra point to make it 6-0 Syracuse. Cam Abshire answered, and Connecticut edged the period 7-6. Then the second quarter swung hard: Noah Meyers, Amari Odom and Hatcher again stacked three Syracuse touchdowns, and Trey Cornist's reply was the Huskies' only answer. Twenty-one points in that quarter turned a one-point deficit into a 13-point halftime cushion, 27-14.

Daunte Bacheyie stretched the lead in the third quarter, and Cyncir Bowers' touchdown — no extra point — left Syracuse 34-20 in front heading into the fourth. Then came Connecticut's best stretch of the night: Xavier Watson scored, Bowers scored again, and the Huskies posted a 14-0 quarter to level the game at 34-34 and force overtime.

Overtime settled it. Trey Cornist's touchdown and the extra point put Connecticut seven up in the extra period. Hatcher answered with his third touchdown of the night, again without the extra point, and Odom's two-point conversion ended it, 41-42. Hatcher bookended the evening — the game's first score and the one that set up the winner — while Odom paired his second-quarter touchdown with the two points that decided everything.

Connecticut outscored Syracuse 27-15 after halftime, wiped out a 14-point deficit, and still lost by one. In the end, Odom's conversion was the only number that mattered — everything else was decoration.