The Orange took first possession after losing the coin toss and it didn’t take them long to get things clicking. They scored on their opening drive, converting on 3rd and long twice and once on fourth down. USF contributed to the cause with a defensive pass interference call on one
of the third downs. The score was a pass from sophomore quarterback, Eric Dungey, to junior receiver, Ervin Phillips, that gave Syracuse their 7-0 lead with 10:01 remaining in the first quarter.
USF would not be able to sustain their first drive of the game, stalling on their own 48 yard line. The punt gave the Orange the ball back on their own eight. Six plays later, Dungey would connect with senior receiver, Amba Etta-Tawo, for a 30 yard completion. That big play was followed with a 47 yard touchdown from Dungey to senior receiver, Brisly Estime.
Trailing 14-0, the Bulls’ second time to touch the ball went even more poorly than the first. On first and ten, senior receiver, Rodney Adams, took a handoff five yards before fumbling and recovering his own fumble. Three plays later, USF sent the punt team out to punt with 4-1 on their own 34. They were spared the punt because Syracuse had too many players on the field. It wouldn’t matter, though, because junior running back, Marlon Mack would rush for a five yard loss on the next play, and then fumble on the play after that. Mack was able to recover his fumble, but they were not able to gain the 15 yards necessary for conversion.
Syracuse finally showed signs of slowing down on their next possession, where they were forced to settle for a 40 yard field goal by junior place kicker, Cole Murphy. With 0:30 left in the first quarter, the Orange led 17-0.
The end of the first quarter would be the turning point in the game. The Bulls would end up going on a 28-0 scoring run in the second period of play. The final play of the first quarter was a first and ten rush by Mack for 40 yards, setting the Bulls up on the Syracuse 35 to begin the second quarter. Three plays later, it was Flowers to Adams for a 27 yard touchdown completion.
The Orange had some early success with fourth down conversions and opted for another when their drive stalled on own 47. The attempt would fail, however, giving USF the ball with great field position. Flowers connected with junior wide receiver, Ryeshene Bronson, for eleven yards on the first snap and then with sophomore tight end, Elkanah Dillon, for eighteen yards on the second. Flowers followed up the big passes with a big run, a 15 yard scramble to the Syracuse two yard line. Mack would carry the final two yards to score their second touchdown of the game, trailing the Orange, 17-14.
Dungey got his offense clicking on the next drive, which was highlighted by a 40 yard pass to Etta-Tawo to the USF 32 yard line. A personal foul on the play sent them back to the 28. Two plays later, Dungey was intercepted by junior defensive back, Tajee Fullwood. Fullwood returned the catch 22 yards, setting USF up on their own 43.
The interception did not lead to points, however, as the Bulls went three and out on their next possession, punting from the 50. Syracuse would return the favor, punting from their own 4 yard line.
The poor field position for the Orange and a short punt of just 37 yards gave USF the ball on the Syracuse 41 yard line. Flowers rushed for 12 yards on the first play, passed to junior receiver, Marques Valdes-Scantling, for 20 yards on the second play and handed off to Adams for a 9 yard touchdown score on the fourth play of the drive. With 4:45 remaining in the half, USF had taken a 21-17 lead.
Syracuse was not able to do much on their next drive, and ended up punting from the USF 44 yard line. Mack started the drive with an 11 yard run and Valdes-Scantling followed up with a 15 yard catch on the second play. Four plays later, Flowers connected with Adams for a 31 yard completion, setting up first and ten on the Syracuse 19. On the next snap, Adams rushed the next 19 yards for the score. With 0:43 left in the half, the USF lead increased to 28-17.
Syracuse would put together a good effort on the next possession, driving from their own two to the USF 29 in seven plays and 41 seconds. Instead of going for the field goal, they opted to try for the touchdown and ended up fumbling the ball to sophomore defensive back, Nate Ferguson. The Bulls would take a knee on the final two seconds of the half as they would be getting the next possession.
The third quarter was a quiet affair, in stark contrast to the fireworks of the first half. With just over nine minutes remaining in the quarter, Syracuse finally ended their scoring drought. It was a 48 yard field goal by Murphy that capped off a 14 play 5:20 drive to narrow the gap to 28-20.
The Bulls began the next scoring drive on their own 25 yard line after a with 3:58 before the final quarter of play. They would find themselves with fourth and one on their own 48 seven plays later. Their decision to go for the conversion paid off big time, as Mack ran 52 yards for the score, untouched. With 0:55 in the third quarter, Bulls led 35-20.
The following Syracuse possession ended with a 52 yard punt. That punt was returned by junior running back, D’Ernest Johnson, for 83 yards and a touchdown. Johnson’s score expanded the USF lead to 42-20. Later in the fourth, USF would kick a 42 yard field goal to go up 45-20, the final score.
Statistically speaking, the individual marks for USF don’t seem impressive. That’s due mostly to the fact that the action was spread out over many players. For example, Adams led the Bulls’ receivers with 67 yards and a touchdown on four catches, but six other players had at least one catch.
The same trend is notable in rushing stats. Mack led the team in rushing with 115 yards and two touchdowns, but five other Bulls had carries. Adams, who is listed as a receiver, managed two touchdowns on 39 rushing yards.
Flowers performance was likewise unimpressive on paper. He passed for 183 yards and a touchdown and had completion percentage of 50%. He also rushed for 50 yards.
Tajee Fullwood and Deatrick Nichols each had an interception for USF’s defense.
It was the opposite case with Dungey, who threw for 350 yards and two scores with 67% accuracy. The most important stats are on the scoreboard, though, and they count those two touchdowns as the only touchdowns that the Orange scored.
Etta-Tawo had 123 receiving yards to lead Syracuse. Philips racked up 95 yards and a score while senior receiver, Brisly Estime, had 80 yards and the other Dungey touchdown. Sophomore running back, Dontae Strickland rushed for 127 yards, leading the Orange.
USF will host #2 FSU next Saturday, who will likely drop in rank somewhat after an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Louisville, today. USF is 3-0 for the first time since 2011, and it’s the first time under Willie Taggart. The win gives the Bulls an 8-2 all-time record with Syracuse and a perfect 5-0 at the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse will face another former Big East foe in UConn, next week. The Orange drop to 1-2 on the season, with one of those losses coming to the same Louisville team that beat FSU today, by a similar margin.