The Syracuse Orange, coming off of a 26-24 loss at home to the Stanford Cardinal opened the doors for the fourth time this season when they Holy Cross Crusaders (1-3) came to Central New York for an early-afternoon bout.
Syracuse's defense forced a punt on the opening drive by Holy Cross, following with the Orange balancing with passing and rushing attempts, moving pretty seamlessly down the field for a touchdown on their first drive of the day, giving them a 7-0 lead with 9:11 left in the opening quarter. On this drive, Syracuse passed the ball nine times, with senior quarterback Kyle McCord going 6-for-9, and ran the ball four times, with junior running back LeQuint Allen, Jr., gaining 13 yards on those four attempts, including his first attempt, which was the first Orange play of the game, a 10-yard run for a first down on 1st-&-10.
This touchdown came when McCord eluded traffic in the pocket and rolled out left, finding redshirt-junior wide receiver Umari Hatcher who came over to the left side of the end zone to help McCord, grabbing a seven-yard pass.
After forcing the Crusaders to punt on their second drive, the Orange scored once again, with McCord going 4-for-6 on pass attempts, the final going to sophomore wide receiver Darrell Gill, Jr., for a 23-yard score to make it 14-0 Orange at the 5:02 mark of the first quarter. Gill also leapt in the air and spun around while catching a 26-yard pass from McCord earlier in this drive.
On the third drive of the day by Holy Cross, Syracuse would force yet another punt.
The Orange would remain consistent in the scoring column, adding their third touchdown on their third drive, when McCord found senior wide receiver Jackson Meeks ahead of his defender for a 38-yard score to roll the Orange out to a 21-0 advantage at the 14:54 mark of the second quarter from the drive that began with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter.
Redshirt-junior running back Will Nixon would return on this drive, after having been out for the last game against Stanford. He would catch McCord's first pass of this drive for a nine-yard gain and then go on to carry the ball three consecutive times, gaining 18 yards (6 yards per carry). The Orange ran the ball five times to three passes on this drive, with true freshman running back Yasin Willis gaining six yards on his two carries.
Holy Cross would put points on the board on their fourth possession of the day when senior quarterback Joe Pesansky found junior wide receiver Max Mosey wide open down the field for a 63-yard score to make it 21-7 Syracuse at the 13:34 mark of the second quarter.
With the Crusaders stopping their punt streak for a score, the Orange would end their score streak with a punt, kicking their fourth possession away following a sack by sophomore linebacker Carlo Crocetti on 3rd-&-9 that would move the Orange back 10 yards to a 4th-&-19 situation.
On 3rd-&-8 from his own 28, Pesansky would keep it himself after not seeing anything, gaining 11 yards and a new set of downs. The following third down attempt would see Pesansky scramble again, this time seeing an opportunity downfield, and passing the ball to Mosey in the middle of the field for a 19-yard gain.
The Crusaders would move systematically down the field and, with an opportunity to make a statement, junior running back Sam Slade would find senior tight end Jacob Petersen for a 27-yard score that was another wide-open opportunity downfield for the Crusaders. This score shrunk the Orange lead to just one possession, 21-14, with 5:45 to go in the first half.
With Holy Cross scoring on back-to-back possessions, Syracuse would punt the ball again, sending it over to Holy Cross on back-to-back possessions.
The Crusaders' next drive would begin on their own two-yard line and end on their one-yard line, with the Orange defense preventing a third score in a row by the Crusaders.
After the punt by Holy Cross, Syracuse would take advantage of the short field, with McCord going 5-for-6 on a drive of all passes, connecting with redshirt-junior wide receiver Trebor Pena for a four-yard touchdown following a leapt, 24-yard grab, and stare by Meeks. This score gave the Orange a 28-14 lead with 32 seconds to go in the second quarter.
With seven seconds remaining in the first half, McCord was looking for Pena but found Holy Cross senior linebacker Ryan Ruane instead, for an interception that ended the first half at 28-14 Syracuse.
Pesansky finished the first half 5-for-11 (45.5%) for 109 yards and a touchdown, with running back Sam Slade going 1-for-3 (33.3%) for 27 yards and a passing touchdown.
As aforementioned, Mosey caught his touchdown pass from Pesansky and Petersen from Slade. Mosey had 82 yards on two catches, with Petersen following with 35 yards on his two receptions.
McCord was 20-for-31 for 269 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
Meeks led all receivers on both teams with 91 yards on six catches. Gill had 49 yards on two catches and Hatcher gained 47 yards on his two catches. As previously stated, Meeks, Gill, Hatcher, and Pena all had a touchdown in the first half.
Sophomore running back Jayden Clerveaux ran the ball six times for 11 yards (1.8 yards per carry). Pesansky had two quarterback-keepers for 16 yards (8 yards per carry).
Allen carried the ball nine times for 45 yards (5 yards per carry).
Monte led Holy Cross in total tackles, with five. Freshman defensive tackle Jordan Pritchard-Sewell and Crocetti each had a sack.
Redshirt-sophomore cornerback Jayden Bellamy, junior defensive end Denis Jaquez, Jr., redshirt-junior linebacker Derek McDonald, and junior defensive back/linebacker Devin Grant each had three total tackles in the first half for the Orange.
Ruane had the lone interception of the game by either team in the first half.
The Orange received the ball first in the second half.
That drive would end as a result of McCord's second interception of the day, this takeaway by senior free safety Jake Jarmolowich at the Holy Cross 30-yard line.
The Orange would force a punt by the Crusaders to follow.
Junior kicker Brady Denaburg's 28-yard field-goal attempt on the second Syracuse drive of the third quarter would fall outside the upright, leaving the score at 28-14 with 5:39 remaining in the quarter.
Denaburg would miss his second field-goal attempt in a row, this from 45 yards out, on the next Syracuse drive.
On the fourth drive of the second half for the Orange, McCord would complete the ball to Meeks for a 30-yard gain, followed by a five-yard run to the Crusaders' 1 by Allen and him gaining that one yard on his second rush of this drive for Allen's first rushing touchdown of the season and second touchdown overall (the first was a receiving touchdown versus the Ohio Bobcats in the first game of the season). Redshirt-freshman kicker Jadyn Oh would come in for the extra point, in place of Denaburg. After Oh's conversion, the Orange went ahead 35-14 to end the third quarter.
Holy Cross' drive to start the fourth quarter would end in a three-and-out.
Syracuse's following drive would end with their third missed field-goal attempt, this coming from Oh, who hit the right upright from 41 yards out.
Taking over at his own 23, Pesansky would get sacked by true freshman defensive end KingJoseph Edwards on second down, the first sack of his collegiate career.
On the very next play, Bellamy would intercept Pesansky, returning the ball to the end zone for a defensive touchdown that elevated the Orange to a 42-14 advantage with 9:58 to play. Bellamy's only other collegiate interception came last season, and it was also returned for a touchdown.
True freshman defensive back Davien Kerr would get an opportunity to return the ball on a punt, which he would take 46 yards ahead. He would lose lose 15 yards on an unsportsmanlike penalty after the huge special teams' gainer.
Michael Johnson, Jr., a redshirt-senior, would make his Orange debut under center, coming in at quarterback for the drive that followed the return by Kerr.
True freshman tight end Jamie Tremble would make his Orange debut as well, catching a pass from Johnson late in the fourth quarter for 19 yards and a first down.
Redshirt-freshman running back Tyler Chandler got his first carry of his collegiate career, gaining a yard as the clock ran to zeroes for a 42-14 Orange win.
The victory moves Syracuse to 3-1, with their first road contest coming up on Friday, October 4, at 9pmET at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Los Vegas Raiders, for a match-up with the UNLV Rebels.
This loss for Holy Cross gives them a 1-4 record with a road contest versus the Colgate Raiders coming up on Saturday, October 5, at 1pmET.
McCord 28-for-50 (56%) for 385 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. Johnson went 2-for-3 (66.7%) for 31 yards.
Meeks led all receivers with 161 yards on 10 catches, including a touchdown.
Pesansky 14-for-25 (56%) for 167 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Mosey led the way in receiving for Holy Cross with 105 yards on five catches, including a touchdown.
Allen ended atop all rushers with 81 yards on 16 carries (5.1 yards per carry), with the lone rushing touchdown by either team in this game.
Clerveaux had 10 carries for 10 yards (1 yard per carry).
Bellamy led the Orange with five total tackles and had an interception return for a score.
Edwards had three sacks and true freshman defensive tackle Maraad Watson had one sack for Syracuse.
Sophomore linebacker Drew Spinogatti had eight total tackles to lead the Crusaders, while Monte finished with seven.
Crocetti, Pritchard-Sewell, Gillis, sophomore linebacker Cam Santee, and freshman linebacker Lathan Croley all had a sack apiece.
Ruane and Jarmolowich both had an interception.
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