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Saturday, September 11
Buffalo, NY
6:00 p.m.
Syracuse University
37
at
17
Buffalo
Collin Barber connected on three field goals at Buffalo.
SU Football Beats Buffalo, 37-17
9/11/2004 11:14:08 PM | Football
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Orange defeated the Bulls, 37-17, Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 29,013 at UB Stadium in Buffalo, N.Y. Senior tailback Walter Reyes moved into fourth place on SU’s all-time rushing list with 59 yards on 17 carries. Reyes now has 2,713 yards for his career, passing Floyd Little to take over fourth place. Reyes is 156 yards behind James Mungro for third place.
The Orange (1-1 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST) opened the scoring on a 45-yard field goal by senior kicker Collin Barber just 1:59 into the game, after senior Diamond Ferri returned the opening kickoff 65 yards to the Buffalo 27-yard line.
The Bulls (0-2) evened the score at three on a 36-yard field goal by Michael Baker 1:26 into the second quarter. Buffalo took a 10-3 advantage as J.J. Gibson returned a Greg Hanoian fumble 57 yards for a touchdown with 10:56 left in the second quarter. The Orange responded as junior Anthony Smith blocked a punt in the endzone and recovered it for the game-tying touchdown with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
On the Bull’s ensuing possession, Smith blocked another punt which was recovered by junior Kellen Pruitt and returned to the one-yard line. Reyes scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:19 remaining in the second quarter.
Junior running back Damien Rhodes gave the Orange a 14-point cushion as he broke free up the middle for a 46-yard touchdown. Rhodes finished the day with 78 yards on nine carries. Barber tacked on a 39-yard field goal, giving the Orange a 27-10 lead at the half.
Barber added a 38-yard field goal to give the Orange a 30-10 lead 4:59 into the third quarter. One minute later sophomore linebacker Kelvin Smith intercepted a Randall Secky pass and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown, giving SU a 37-10 advantage. The interception was Smith’s second of his career and his first collegiate touchdown. It was also the Orange’s first interception returned for a touchdown since 2001.
The Bulls tallied a late touchdown to make the final 37-17.
Senior Jared Jones led all receivers with three receptions for 32 yards, while junior Steve Gregory caught two passes for 22 yards. All three SU quarterbacks saw action under center and sophomore Perry Patterson went 7-for-18 for 61 yards. Freshman Joe Fields finished the day 2-for-6 for 24 yards and threw one interception, while junior Xzavier Gaines came in late and did not attempt a pass.
A. Smith tied the single-game record for punts blocked in a game with his two. He has four blocked kicks in his career, which ties him for second on the all-time list with Gregory. Sophomore Jerry Mackey, Ferri and Pruitt led the Orange with nine tackles each. Sophomore Tanard Jackson tallied his first career interception and senior captain Julian Pollard recovered a fumble for the second time in his career. Freshman Dowayne Davis recorded the first sack of his young career.
The Orange returns to action for its home opener versus Cincinnati on Sept. 18 at 12 p.m.
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