Syracuse may have secured a stunning overtime victory against UConn on Saturday but – for Orange coach Fran Brown – that clearly wasn’t enough.
The Huskies had lead the game 17-6 deep in the fourth quarter and looked as though they would leave New York with the win – but Syracuse rallied back.
Two touchdowns in the final 5:41 forced overtime, before the Orange scored yet again to ensure a stunning 27-20 victory.
However, despite the remarkable comeback, coach Brown remained unimpressed with the performance and made the squad run sprints after the game.
Footage emerged of the Syracuse squad running up and down the field, all while spectators were making their way out of the stadium.
Running sprints is a typical team-wide punishment which coaches turn to when they feel they need to reinforce a certain message to their team.
Syracuse were made to run sprints after their game against UConn – despite winning late on
Speaking to reporters after the game, Brown said: ‘There’s a certain way that we want Syracuse football to look. And we didn’t do that for two weeks, but we were able to get a win.
‘So we stated, ‘Win, lose or draw,’ that was happening if it didn’t look the way it was supposed to look.’
When asked specifically about the sprints, Brown said: ‘I don’t want to say something and then I don’t do it. I don’t want to be that guy.
‘So whatever I say I’m gonna do, I try to make sure that that gets done because my name’s on the line.’
Meanwhile, in other recent news, Syracuse player Demetres Samuel Jr. was accused of faking an injury in a bid to slow down the Tennessee offense during their game on Saturday.
With around 1:25 left in the first half of their game in Atlanta on Saturday, the Volunteers were steaming down the field and managed to pick up 63 yards on two plays.
When Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar found his receiver Mike Matthews for a 16-yard gain, Samuel Jr. could be seen falling to the turf with nobody around him.
Coach Brown said: ‘There’s a certain way that we want Syracuse football to look’
For a brief second, one of his teammates next to him also looked like he was going to go down before deciding against it and standing back up.
Samuel Jr.’s action forced the officials to stop the clock, slowing the game down.
But commentators Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick knew exactly what had just happened and weren’t afraid to voice their frustrations on air.
‘This isn’t a good look. This one looked blatant,’ Riddick said. ‘They’re trying to crack down on this kind of thing — faking injuries. And I don’t want to assume anything about any player, but this one looked suspicious.
‘That’s just not what college football wants. They’re trying to get this out of the game.
‘We understand strategically why defenses try to do this when they’re on their heels but this is something you’re going to wind up getting penalized for if referees catch it.’
