The Syracuse Orange went on the road for the first time this season in Week 3 to face the same team they squared off against in Week 3 last season, the Purdue Boilermakers.
Syracuse would punt the ball away following their first series and Purdue would move the ball all the way into the Syracuse redzone. However, their choice to go for it on 4th-&-1 instead of going for a field goal ended in a turnover when junior linebacker Marlowe Wax, Jr., forced redshirt-junior quarterback Hudson Card to fumble and redshirt-sophomore linebacker Leon Lowery, Jr., recovered the ball on his own six-yard line.
The Orange showcase their balanced offense on their following drive, with senior quarterback Garrett Shrader attempting five passes, going 3-for-5, and Shrader carrying the ball five times, sophomore running back LeQuint Allen, Jr., carrying once, with the drive concluding on Shrader's three-yard keeper where the defense bit on a carry attempt going up the middle, when actually, Shrader was taking it outside, walking into the end zone for the first score of the game. At the 3:47 mark of the first quarter, Syracuse was ahead 7-0 on the road.
Each team would go three-and-out on their next drives, respectively.
Then, the Orange, on the Boilermakers' third drive, would force the Boilermakers' second turnover of the game, which would be Card's second fumble of the night, created by Wax on his sack and recovered by redshirt-sophomore defensive tackle Terry Lockett on the Orange 36-yard line.
Syracuse would go 2-for-2 on capitalizing off turnovers, with Shrader scoring for a second time, on his legs once again, this time on a 35-yard keeper to give the Orange a 14-0 lead with 13:44 before half. Credit the offensive line, including junior center J'Onre Reed and redshirt-junior right guard Jakob Bradford, for the blocking that helped provide the lane for Shrader.
After two turnovers and a punt on their first three drives of the contest, the Boilermakers got on the board when Card found redshirt-sophomore wide receiver Deion Burks for a two-yard score with 11:14 remaining in the second quarter, bringing the score to 14-7 Orange.
Syracuse would not respond with anything on their fifth drive of the game, a possession where Shrader lost 11 yards on a sack by senior outside linebacker Kydran Jenkins, giving the Orange a 44-yard attempt for sophomore kicker Brady Denaburg that went to the left of the left-side upright.
The Boilermakers were moving down the field on their sixth drive, looking like they could bring about the equalizer, but Card fumbled for the third time, with Lockett recovering his second fumble of the first half, placing the Orange at their own 19.
Syracuse's sixth drive included 20- and 10-yard keepers by Shrader, followed by a completion from Shrader to junior wide receiver Damien Alford which ended as a 34-yard gain as Alford continued to move forward with five defenders around him.
The Orange would become 100% off of turnovers, capitalizing on the third fumble by Card on a two-yard run by Allen that came after his 13-yard carry. With 2:34 before the break, Syracuse had a 21-7 lead.
Purdue's seventh drive would end with their fourth turnover of the first half, this an interception by Wax on a tipped ball by teammate junior safety Alijah Clark, with Wax returning the ball 24 yards and the Boilermakers giving away 10 more yards on a facemask penalty on redshirt-junior offensive lineman Josh Kaltenberger, starting the Orange on the Boilermakers' 35-yard line.
Syracuse would not come away with any points on this final drive of the first half, but they also would not give Purdue the chance to have the ball again to close out the half.
The Boilermakers received the ball after the locker-room break, punting it away.
On the first drive of the second half for the Orange, redshirt-sophomore wide receiver Umari Hatcher and fifth-year defensive back Cam Allen fought for the ball and Allen gained the takeaway on what the officials ruled an interception, giving the Boilermakers the ball at their own 34.
A roughing-the-passer penalty on Wax would move Purdue from their own 34 to almost midfield, at their own 49-yard line, and gave Purdue a new set of downs.
On this drive, junior wide receiver Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen would grab the ball on 3rd-&-7 and fight forward for the first down on a nine-yard line.
Immediately after, Burks reeled in a 21-yard pass-play to put the Boilermakers on the seven-yard line of the Orange.
Purdue redshirt-sophomore offensive lineman Mahamane Moussa would be flagged for holding on the next play, moving the Boilermakers back 10 yards to the Orange 17, but Orange senior safety Jason Simmons, Jr., would pick up a pass-interference penalty right away to send the Boilermakers even closer than they were before, at the Orange two-yard line.
Redshirt-sophomore linebacker Derek McDonald would lock up fifth-year running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr., for a loss of three yards on the next play and Card would respond by getting away from junior rover Justin Barron and heading into the end zone for his own quarterback keeper on a five-yard score to make it a one-possession game, 21-14 Syracuse, with 4:28 left in the third quarter.
The Orange responded with a 12-play drive that lasted four minutes and 35 seconds from the 4:28 remaining in the third quarter to the first seven seconds of the fourth. Purdue would accidently aid Syracuse on two pass-interference penalties on this drive, the first by sophomore defensive back Botros Alisandro on 2nd-&-2 moving Syracuse from the Purdue 30 to the 15-yard line and the second by Cam Allen on 2nd-&-8 moving Syracuse from Purdue's 13 to their one-yard line.
Shrader would find space and push forward for his third rushing touchdown of the game, advancing the Orange out to a two-score lead once again, this time at 28-14, with 14:53 left in the game.
On the next possession for Purdue, the Boilermakers committed their fifth turnover of the game.
However, after review, possession remained with Purdue when officials determined that Burks was the last to touch the ball, keeping the ball with the Boilermakers and setting up 2nd-&-4 from the Orange 20.
This drive that almost ended on a fumble instead concluded in the end zone for Purdue on a one-yard run by Tracy.
Redshirt-senior kicker Ben Freehill missed the extra point, giving the Orange an eight-point lead with 8:38 on the game clock.
On 3rd-&-7 for Syracuse, Alisandro fully extended both arms, contacting Alford to give Syracuse 15 yards and a first down.
A pass from Shrader in the backfield went no where after he completed the ball to redshirt-freshman wide receiver Donovan Brown, and then Shrader threw behind Brown on the next play, resulting in a punt with the Orange ahead by eight. Redshirt-sophomore punter Jack Stonehouse send the ball 40 yards, with the Boilermakers beginning their drive on the 30-yard line with 6:20 to go in the contest.
As in the drive before, officials would review a play where Syracuse looked to potentially have come away with it, and like the last Purdue possession, the officials would state that the ball was recovered by Purdue.
Nevertheless, the Orange defense kept their poise, with redshirt-senior cornerback Isaiah Johnson preventing a completion to Burks, leading to a turnover on downs, putting the Orange on the Boilermakers' 39-yard line with 4:56 on the clock.
Syracuse would run the ball three-straight times to follow, the first by LeQuint Allen, Jr., and the next two by Shrader, the final being Shrader's fourth rushing touchdown of the night, this a 28-yard run aided by a block by Hatcher in the field as Shrader heads into the end zone with Allen by his side, high-fiving each other in "glory territory" with 3:19 to play, bringing the score to 35-20 Orange.
The Boilermakers appeared to have responded with a touchdown by Burks, but the play was erased by a holding penalty on senior offensive lineman Jalen Grant. This drive would end on a heave by Card that went out-of-bounds for a turnover on downs instead of a touchdown, with the Orange gaining possession on their own 18 with 1:29 to play.
Shrader would get everyone to bite on a fake hand-off and had an open field. He slowed down and slid after a 39-yard gain as the Orange rolled to a 15-point victory, 35-20, to improve to 3-0 on the season, and now 1-0 way from the Dome.
He would finish with 194 rushing yards and an aforementioned four rushing touchdowns, both single-game career highs.
On Offense:
Shrader went 14-fpr-28 for 184 yards with no passing touchdowns and one interception. He rushed for the aforementioned 195 yards on 25 carries (7.8 yards per carry), with four rushing touchdowns.
Allen rushed for 80 yards for 17 carries and one rushing touchdown.
Alford led the Orange with 70 yards receiving on four catches, followed by Allen with 62 yards on six catches out of the backfield.
Card went 32-for-46 for 323 yards, one passing touchdown and one interception. He also had a rushing score.
Tracy led the Boilermakers' backfield with 38 yards on 10 carries (3.8 yards per carry) and one touchdown.
Yaseen ended atop all receivers on either team with the most receiving yards (114) and receptions (10).
On Defense:
Syracuse led Purdue in takeaways, 4-to-1. The Orange also forced two turnover-on-downs situations.
Sophomore defensive back Jeremiah Wilson ended atop all Orange with 10 total tackles,, nine solo.
Wax and redshirt-junior defensive tackle Kevon Darton each had a sack in this match-up.
Freshman defensive back Dillon Thieneman led the Boilermakers with 14 total tackles, 10 solo.
Jenkins, senior linebacker OC Brothers, sophomore linebacker Nic Scourton, and senior linebacker Scotty humpich each had a sack in this game.
On Special Teams:
Stonehouse had less punts (3) than Purdue had turnovers (4).
Denaburg went 5-for-5 on extra points and 0-for-1 on his field-gaol attempt.
Freehill went 2-for-3 on extra-point attempts and did not try a field goal in the contest.
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