Syracuse’s defense earned a sloppy 42-14 victory over Holy Cross

Syracuse, NY – Syracuse football gave up two third-and-long conversions to Holy Cross on a scoring drive early in the game.

Jayden Bellamy had two potential interceptions dropped on separate plays.

But on third-and-14 midway through the fourth quarter, Bellamy finally secured the ball. He made it 33 yards to the end zone to make up for the earlier mistakes.

It was the final scoring play of the game as the Orange defeated the Crusaders 42-14 on Saturday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Bellamy led SU with five tackles, followed by four teammates with four tackles each: Duce Chestnut, Denis Jaquez Jr., Derek McDonald and Devin Grant.

Syracuse (3-1) didn’t have to play its starters until the fourth quarter in its matchup with the FCS program, but that’s exactly what happened Saturday afternoon as a hot start cooled into a room-temperature win.

The game was sloppy on both sides of the ball, but at the end of the game SU’s defense seemed better than its offense or special teams.

Quarterback Kyle McCord finished his first game this season with a completion percentage under 60% and had two interceptions and a fumble. He still threw for 385 yards and four touchdowns, making him the first Syracuse QB with four consecutive 300-yard games.

The offensive line allowed three sacks against McCord, but he exited early with about eight minutes left in the game while SU was ahead 42-14 and was replaced by Michael Johnson Jr.

Starting kicker Brady Denaburg blocked a field goal attempt and then missed a second, both in the third quarter when the Orange could have used the morale boost of the six points. Jadyn Oh replaced him.

But the stats don’t illustrate how chaotic things were at times for the Orange.

Take Syracuse’s second-to-last drive of the third quarter.

Perfectly set up by a wayward Holy Cross punt that went out of bounds at the 20-yard line, the Orange offense looked sloppy.

McCord threw the first down pass right into a block from a Holy Cross safety who was just a few feet in front of him. He then fumbled the ball out of bounds while trying to escape a sack.

McCord successfully got the ball out of his hands on third down and targeted tight end Oronde Gadsden II in the end zone, but the ball went incomplete. Despite seven targets, Gadsden only had one catch all afternoon.

Denaburg came out with a 28-yard attempt. It was blocked and the Orange got away with no points.

What Holy Cross (1-4) managed to do when it scored its two touchdowns and cut the Orange’s lead to one point late in the second quarter rattled the Orange for the rest of the game.

The first touchdown, a 63-yard connection over the middle between QB Joe Pensansky and receiver Max Mosey, came shortly after the Orange had a 21-point lead.

SU’s offense was in full swing all night, starting with a 10-yard rush by LeQuint Allen to start the afternoon.

It scored on its first three drives and moved the ball over 70 yards on each. McCord broke 200 yards on 12 completions in the first 15 minutes.

But when the Orange Offensive came out after Holy Cross touched down, the check engine light came on.

Syracuse failed after five plays and finished with just two net yards as McCord was sacked for a 10-yard loss following a missed block by Enrique Cruz. Punter Jack Stonehouse made his first appearance of the afternoon.

Holy Cross drove 74 yards down the field on its next drive. The Orange defense allowed two conversions on third-and-long balls and only rushed for three each while shifting to a 3-3-5 coverage.

The Crusaders scored again. Pensansky threw the ball to his running back, who made the pass to a tight end in space on the right side.

Syracuse’s three-point lead fell to just one: 21-14.

The Orange scored after a two-minute drill drive capped by a 4-yard reception from Trebor Peña, but those were their last points until LeQuint Allen scored his first rushing touchdown at the very end with a 1-yard rush Season scored third quarter.

Despite the attacking difficulties, Allen had a big day. He finished with 135 total yards, 81 of which came on the ground on 16 carries.

The offensive player, however, was wide receiver Jackson Meeks, the first outside of Peña or Gadsden to hold that role this season. He caught 10 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter.

Some of Syracuse’s younger new faces also made big plays late in the game, which helped the game end better than it could have been.

True freshman edge rusher KingJoseph Edwards had two sacks in the fourth quarter. Davien Kerr had a big return on a punt. Jamie Tremble celebrated his first reception in an orange uniform.

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