It’s easy to miss James Wyche. Most of the time, he slips under the radar, just another big body on the Syracuse football team’s defensive line.

Even when he makes a big play, there’s no wild celebration. No hooting, hollering or jumping. That’s just not Wyche. Heck, after one of the best games of his career Saturday, he slipped out of the Carrier Dome before the media could grab him.

The Connecticut Huskies seemed to forget about Wyche on Saturday, and it cost them.

Wyche played the best game of his career, sacking Huskies quarterback Dan Orlovsky three times, recording seven solo tackles – four for a loss – and recovering a fumble in SU’s 42-30 win.

Without Wyche and his defensive line counterparts, it could have been a long day for SU. Orlovsky torched the Orange for 445 passing yards. If Wyche didn’t spend a majority of his day shadowing Orlovsky, it could have been a lot worse.

‘The thing with James is he comes every day to play,’ defensive end Julian Pollard said. ‘He puts in the extra time and it shows.’

After forcing just five sacks the entire season, the Orange equaled that total against the Huskies. And Wyche, who had just four sacks his entire career, nearly equaled that total as well.

The big day started early for the 6-foot-6, 267-pounder. With UConn driving on its first series of the game, Wyche sacked Orlovsky to force a third-and-20. Diamond Ferri intercepted Orlovsky on the next play.

Late in the first half, Wyche recovered an Orlovsky fumble. That play set up quarterback Perry Patterson’s last-second touchdown pass to wide-out Andre Fontenette.

In the third quarter, with UConn driving into Syracuse territory, Pollard and Wyche sacked Orlovsky on back-to-back plays, forcing the Huskies to settle for a field goal.

Wyche’s final sack came in the fourth quarter and set up a third-and-long play. Connecticut then turned the ball over on downs.

‘Their quarterback was really picking us apart,’ lineman Tony Jenkins said. ‘Once James and Ryan (LaCasse) started getting pressure on him, he started throwing picks. We played the way we wanted to play. I’m glad people finally got a chance to see the skills that James has.’

It wasn’t just Wyche’s sacks that made an impact. He also contributed two quarterback hurries. SU had five as a team. Orlovsky, not known as a runner, was constantly forced out of the pocket.

While at times Orlovsky made good throws on the run, the pressure clearly rattled him and forced him to rush passes.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, SU’s offensive line played one of its best games of the year. It didn’t allow a sack or hurry. In addition, SU ran for 281 yards. While UConn had five turnovers, Syracuse had zero.

And Wyche’s three sacks helped.

‘James (Wyche) is a fierce competitor. He rushes the passer well,’ SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘I thought the defensive line played really well today.’

Published on October 31, 2004 at 12:00 pm