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November has been Syracuse’s kryptonite. Under former head coach Dino Babers, the Orange went 7-22 in the month. Despite not being on a Babers-led team, following an embarrassing 41-13 loss to then-No. 19 Pitt, quarterback Kyle McCord knew SU was at a fork in the road.
“I think that everyone here is trying to rewrite the narrative,” McCord said Tuesday. “This group right here wants to be recognized as the group that turned things around here. And I think that’s exactly the opportunity that we have in front of us this month.”
In the first of a five-game slate in November that will define their season, McCord and the Orange started the month on the right foot. Syracuse (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) came back from down 18 to take down Virginia Tech (5-4, 3-2 ACC) 38-31 in overtime Saturday.
The Orange drove down the field in the final minutes of regulation to tie the game at 31-31. In overtime, LeQuint Allen Jr. leaped into the end zone before Marlowe Wax forced a fumble and Fadil Diggs recovered it, clinching the win for Syracuse. The win was SU’s biggest comeback victory since 2012 and clinched its third consecutive bowl appearance — the first under Fran Brown.
“We just keep on swinging, and we know when it gets to the end that we’re built for it,” Wax said postgame. “…We’re built for the end of the game to go hard and get the win.”
Syracuse defensive end Fadil Diggs recovers the game-sealing fumble in overtime to help SU defeat Virginia Tech. Lars Jendruschewitz | Photo Editor
Syracuse’s first game of November didn’t start so hot, however. Less than an hour before kickoff, it was announced VT would be without quarterback Kyron Drones. His absence put redshirt senior Collin Schlee into the spotlight and he gave SU trouble early.
The Orange forced the Hokies to go three-and-out in their first drive and Rashard Perry got home on the Hokies’ second drive for a six-yard sack. However, the Hokies moved the sticks on the next play, and shortly after Schlee found Stephen Gosnell for a 48-yard gain. VT punched it in on the following play, flipping it to Jaylin Lane for a touchdown.
As SU’s offense was stifled, Schlee and the Hokies remained on the front foot. VT used Schlee in the run-pass option game, keeping the Orange off balance. He ran through the middle of the field for 12 yards and then found Gosnell deep again, this time for 44 yards. The Hokies finished the drive with a one-yard rush from Schlee to jump out to an early 14-0 lead.
The Orange were on the cusp of scoring multiple times in the second quarter, but faltered. First, following four consecutive rushes to move the sticks, McCord fired down the left flank off a play action to Umari Hatcher in one-on-one coverage. VT cornerback Mansoor Delane leaped in the air and intercepted it in the end zone. On the final drive of the half for the Orange, they drove downfield on a 25-yard rush from Allen Jr. McCord then hit Darrell Gill Jr. down the left sideline, but he was stripped, turning the ball over as the Hokies took a 14-3 lead into halftime.
“We would take one step forward, but two steps back,” McCord said postgame.
However, it was the final play of the half that was the last straw for Brown. As the Hokies set up on a second-and-15 from their 46-yard line, the Orange defense allowed Jeremiah Coney to go virtually untouched until finally being dragged down at SU’s seven.
“That was quitting,” Brown said. “And that was the first time I saw guys just think it was OK. That’s what made me challenge everybody and challenge myself too.”
Brown asked his team what their answer would be throughout the first half into halftime. Would they quit and allow Brown to put in the freshmen? Or would they show him who they were? The Orange eventually chose the latter.
Starting the second half with the ball, SU fell into trouble again. McCord fumbled the first down snap then right guard Mark Petry jumped offside for a second-and-15. McCord missed the mark on a tight throw to Oronde Gadsden II — who didn’t record a reception until six minutes to play in the third quarter — and then SU attempted a trick with Trebor Peña throwing the ball and failed.
The Hokies then extended their lead in commanding fashion, driving 76 yards on 11 plays in under six minutes. VT converted on a 12-yard pass through the middle from Schlee to Ali Jennings to push SU’s deficit to its biggest of the day.
“I think being down 21-3 gives you no option but to keep fighting,” McCord said. “And I think that’s exactly what we did.”
The Orange quickly answered back, as Justus Ross-Simmons caught a pass on the left sideline, broke a shoestring tackle and scampered down the left sideline for a 55-yard touchdown. The score was his first reception at SU.
Syracuse’s momentum continued, as Duce Chestnut emerged from his safety spot and forced Coney to fumble. Wax fell on the ball at VT’s 36-yard line and McCord surveyed the pocket a few plays later, delivering a strike through the middle to Ross-Simmons again. The Colorado State transfer skipped into the end zone for SU’s first lead.
“He’s coming back, and that’s the kid that we wanted to recruit,” Brown said of Ross-Simmons. “That’s why he’s here.”
However, SU’s extra point was blocked, keeping its advantage at three. VT quickly matched, driving downfield before Malachi Thomas took a handoff through the middle to retake the lead at 28-24. Now needing a touchdown due to its missed extra point, Syracuse went three-and-out with Antwaun Powell-Ryland breaking through the middle for a sack.
The Hokies started on SU’s 42 due to a kick-catch interference penalty from SU and kicked a field goal to push their lead to seven.
With under six minutes to play, McCord and the offense had a final crack at starting November with a win. Syracuse promptly drove down the field and tied the game with less than 30 seconds to play. Like its win over UNLV, Brown elected to push the game to overtime rather than go for the two-point conversion.
Brown was again proven right by his decision. Allen Jr. — who Brown described postgame as his best player — took his first rush for 16 yards. On the next play, he scored from nine yards out for his third touchdown. SU’s defense then forced a fumble as Wax stripped the ball and Diggs fell on it, finishing off the comeback for Syracuse.
SU’s program has been transformed off the field since Brown’s hiring. Its recruiting and influx of talent through the transfer portal has skyrocketed it to new heights. But Saturday, in its first matchup of November and trailing by 18 in the third quarter, Brown’s team showed definitively that this isn’t the same old Syracuse on the gridiron.
“In years prior, maybe when the score was 21-3, they would start to quit,” McCord said of past Syracuse teams. “But I feel like there’s no quit. There’s no sense of panic on the sideline.”
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