Orange uprising: SU stuns Rutgers
SYRACUSE — It ran, it passed, it scored at will, and it wasn't the opposition.
Syracuse shocked No. 25 Rutgers with a 31-13 Big East victory — the first for the Orange this season — at the Carrier Dome on Saturday. It was the first win over a ranked opponent since Syracuse beat Louisville, 38-35, on Sept. 22, 2007.
"People may not see this coming or whatever they want to say on the outside," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said. "But I can't stand here today and say that I did not see this coming."
By halftime, the Orange was already up 24-10. It had outperformed the Scarlet Knights to the tune of 259-82 in offensive yards. Syracuse finished with nearly 300 more total yards than Rutgers (424-130) and doubled the time of possession, 40 minutes to 20.
And the Orange wasted little of that time scoring on its first drive. Syracuse took eight plays to march 76 yards — never needing a third-down conversion along the way — to take a 7-0 lead. Antwon Bailey capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run.
Mike Holmes intercepted Tom Savage's third-down pass on Rutgers' third play from scrimmage, setting up Syracuse's next scoring drive. It took 11 plays, including a crucial third-and-11 conversion, to go 83 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 edge. Delone Carter rushed for 30 yards on the possession and finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.
Rutgers blocked a punt for a safety to start the second quarter. However, it still couldn't get its offense working against the Orange, which finished with a combined nine sacks. That tied the school record. Doug Hogue had three on his own.
"I felt I had to step up," Hogue said. "The whole defense stepped up. We all kept pushing for each other."
Syracuse (4-7 overall, 1-5 Big East) went ahead 21-2 with 7 minutes, 35 seconds left in the first half when quarterback Greg Paulus, who was 13 of 16 for 142 passing yards, found Carl Cutler for a 2-yard touchdown.
In an uncharacteristic move, the Orange attempted an onside kick following the score but failed. Rutgers took one play to find the end zone, scoring on a 38-yard halfback option pass from Mohamed Sanu to Tim Brown. The touchdown reception was Brown 18th of his career, and gave him the all-time Rutgers record.
Ryan Lichtenstein made a career-long 44-yard field goal with three minutes left to give Syracuse a 24-10 lead.
Rutgers (7-3, 2-3) threatened to score in the final minute, marching to the Syracuse 14-yard line. But penalties and two sacks forced the Scarlet Knights to attempt a 46-yard field goal, which San San Te missed.
"They weren't able to move the ball the way they wanted to," SU's Mike Holmes said. "That was fun."
Rutgers blocked a critical Lichtenstein field goal attempt to start the fourth quarter that would have put Syracuse up by three scores.
"I hope they responded to the leadership on the team and the coaches," Marrone said. "That we're still up by 14 points and that we still need to go out there and stop them."
Syracuse did limit Rutgers, which settled for a field goal instead of the touchdown, and Syracuse still had a 24-13 lead.
Syracuse punted away its next possession, leaving Rutgers nearly seven minutes to get within a score. Holmes came up big again for Syracuse, grabbing his second interception. Savage had thrown only two interceptions all season.
"It was a testament to the guys up front," Holmes said. "(Savage) wasn't able to sit in the pocket comfortably, and throw the ball down field."
Averin Collier put the game away on Syracuse's first play from scrimmage, rushing 60 yards for the touchdown.
The Orange finished with a statement, sacking Savage three consecutive times on Rutgers' last chance to answer.
"There were some things that we hadn't really seen," Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. "There are a lot of reasons why things happen, but more than anything, I think we didn't coach or play well."
Syracuse travels to Connecticut to finish the season next weekend.
