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Syracuse Holds Off Cal for 33-25 Victory

ACC | Syracuse RB LeQuint Allen — © D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

The Syracuse Orange (7-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated the Cal Golden Bears (5-5, 1-5) by a score of 33-25, on Nov. 16 in Berkeley, Calif. The Orange were nine-point underdogs coming into the game. At one point in this game, the Orange led by as many as 20.

Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord had his ninth 300-plus yard performance of the season, completing 29 passes on 46 attempts for 323 passing yards and 1 touchdown, while running back LeQuint Allen rushed for 109 yards, surpassing the century mark for the second time in three weeks.

How Syracuse Got the Win

After receiving the ball first, the Syracuse offense, led by McCord, marched down the field in a 13-play, 69-yard drive that showed some promise. However, thanks in part to some impressive blitzing by the Cal defense, the drive stalled in the red zone, and kicker Jackson Kennedy scored the first points of the day, kicking a 24-yard field goal and giving Syracuse a 3-0 lead.

Shortly into Cal’s first drive of the game, quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw an interception down the middle to linebacker Marlowe Wax, who returned it 21 yards.

After another stalled Syracuse drive (and another Kennedy field goal), Mendoza threw his second interception of the day, this time hauled in by defensive back Davien Kerr. The corresponding 12-play drive ended with a 30-yard touchdown run by Allen, giving the Orange a 13-0 lead.

Cal wasted no time in answering, however. On the second play of their following drive, running back Jaivian Thomas took it 75 yards to the house for his sixth rushing touchdown of the season, cutting the Syracuse lead to six.

After Syracuse got the ball back, another lengthy drive ended in another Allen touchdown run, restoring to Syracuse lead to 13 with just under 10 minutes to go in the second half.

After another three-and-out by the Cal offense, Syracuse added another touchdown, this time coming via a 6-yard pass from McCord to Jackson Meeks to make the score 27-7.

Cal did put together a respectable drive toward the end of the second half, but poor clock management (not running the no-huddle offense with 30 seconds to go in the half) and a missed 47-yard field goal attempt from Derek Morris ended their bid to decrease their deficit.

Cal got to work immediately in the second half, putting together a 6:06 drive resulting in a 15-yard rushing touchdown from Jaydn Ott to once again cut Syracuse’s lead to 27-14.

A 43-yard field goal from Syracuse’s Kennedy was the only other scoring in an otherwise uneventful third quarter.

After a 44-yard field goal by Cal’s short-range kicker Ryan Coe early in the fourth quarter, the two teams traded punts before Syracuse took over with just over six minutes to go in the game. Allen punctuated his impressive day with a hurdle move over a Cal defender, part of a methodical 15-play, 64-yard Syracuse drive that took 6:29. Although it only resulted in three points instead of seven, it took precious time off the clock, and increased the Syracuse lead to 33-17.

A late Cal drive that ended in a touchdown catch by wide receiver Jonathan Brady—coupled with a successful two-point conversion via a catch by tight end Jack Endries made it a one-score game, but a failed onside kick enabled Syracuse to recover the ball and kill the final minute of play to earn a victory.

What It Means

Syracuse improves to 7-3 on the season. Head coach Fran Brown’s team again turned in another impressive day offensively. They put on a clinic on how to be responsible with the football. Their patience, coming via several medium to long drives, paid off.

Cal drops to 5-5. Their offense struggled mightily for most of the first half, facing constant pressure from the Syracuse front seven. These struggles put the game out of reach early and essentially neutered any realistic hope of a late comeback. Before the final drive of the first half, Mendoza was 2-of-7, with just 18 passing yards and 2 interceptions. As part of the postmortem, one of the questions that must be answered is why the normally proficient Mendoza couldn't get a rhythm going.

Syracuse now has a 2-1 lead in all-time series between the two teams—the first two matchups came in 1967 and 1968.