Saturday, September 18
Syracuse, NY
12:00 p.m.
Syracuse University
19
vs
7
Cincinnati
Anthony Smith (#20) had 11 tackles, an interception and his third blocked punt in two weeks against Cincinnati.
Orange Wins Home Opener, 19-7, Versus Cincinnati
9/18/2004 3:38:20 PM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse defense registered six takeaways, including four interceptions, and junior safety Anthony Smith blocked his third punt in two weeks to lead the Orange to a 19-7 victory in the Carrier Dome opener on Sept. 18. The Orange improved to 2-1 on the season, while the Bearcats are now 1-2.
Sophomore cornerback Tanard Jackson, Smith, sophomore linebacker Kelvin Smith and senior safety Diamond Ferri all intercepted passes for the Orange. Jackson and Kelvin Smith now lead the team with two picks this season. Junior linebacker Tommy Harris and junior cornerback DeAndre LaCaille each recovered their first career fumbles. Both Jackson’s interception and Harris’ fumble recovery came with the Bearcats inside the SU 20-yard line.
It was the most interceptions for the Orange defense since it registered five against Tulane in 1999.
Smith’s fourth-quarter blocked punt forced a safety to give SU a 19-7 lead with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter. It was his third blocked punt of the season, tying him with Steve Gregory (2002), Andre Brinson (2001) and David Tyree (2000) for the SU single-season record. Smith now has five blocks in his career, tying him with Tyree for the Orange’s career lead.
The Syracuse defense limited Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli, a preseason Davey O’Brien Award and Johnny Unitas Award candidate, to 14-of-25 for 155 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Anthony Smith led the defense with 11 tackles. Smith moved into 10th place on the SU career tackles by a defensive back list with 161. He passed Bryce Beville’s (1992-94) total of 151. Junior defensive end James Wyche recorded seven tackles, including a career-best 1.5 sacks. Kelvin Smith also registered seven tackles, while LaCaille had six stops.
Junior running back Damien Rhodes led the Syracuse offense with 168 all-purpose yards. Rhodes had 82 yards rushing on 11 carries and 86 yards receiving, including a career-long 68-yard touchdown catch.
Senior Walter Reyes had his 11th career 100-yard game with 117 yards on 24 carries. He is now tied with Jim Brown for sixth place on the Orange’s career ledger. Reyes also moved into sixth place on the Syracuse career all-purpose yardage list with 3,369 career yards.
SU quarterback Perry Patterson was 10-for-16 for a career-best 156 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Patterson’s touchdown toss to Rhodes was the first of his career.
Sophomore receiver Landel Bembo had a team-high four catches for 30 yards. Rhodes had three receptions, while junior tight end Joe Kowalewski had a career-high two receptions for 23 yards. Senior wide receiver Andre Fontenette caught two passes for 22 yards, both resulting in SU first downs.
Richard Hall led the Bearcats with 56 yards rushing on 14 carries. George Murray, Derrick Ross and Hannibal Thomas each caught three passes.
Reyes’ opened the scoring with a six-yard touchdown run with 5:28 left in the second quarter. Senior Collin Barber’s extra point gave Syracuse a 7-0 lead.
Reyes’ second rushing touchdown of the season capped a seven-play, 59-yard drive. Reyes accounted for 34 of the yards on the ground. Patterson and Fontenette connected for a key 17-yard reception on a third-down play that gave the Orange a first and goal.
On Cincinnati’s ensuing possession, the Syracuse defense came up with its third interception of the day when Ferri intercepted a ball tipped by Kelvin Smith and returned it all the way back to the Bearcats’ 25-yard line.
Barber converted the turnover into three points, hitting a 37-yard field goal to give the Orange a 10-0 lead with 1:08 left in the half.
Mid-way through quarter number three, the Syracuse defense stopped the Bearcats on a third-down play at the 10-yard line. Cincinnati lined up for the field goal attempt, but the holder took the snap and ran up the middle for a first down. The Bearcats had the ball second-and-goal from the three-yard line when the third-quarter clock expired.
After three shots inside the SU five-yard line to start the fourth quarter, the Bearcats scored their first touchdown of the game when Giudugli completed a two-yard pass to tight end Brent Celek on fourth down. The extra point cut the Orange’s lead to 10-7.
The Orange offense struck back quickly with a 68-yard touchdown pass from Patterson to Rhodes. It was the longest touchdown pass for the Orange since Johnnie Morant caught a 75-yard touchdown versus West Virginia in 2003. Barber’s extra point pushed the SU lead back to 10 points at 17-7 with 12:43 left in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse upped its lead to 19-7 on Cincinnati’s next possession with a safety on Smith’s blocked punt.
The Orange defense registered its fifth takeaway of the season when Kelvin Smith intercepted a pass from running back Mike Daniels. Wyche hit Daniels as he attempted a halfback option pass sending the ball straight up in the air.
Syracuse’s next game is Saturday, Sept. 25 at Virginia. Kick-off is set for 3:30 p.m. The Orange returns to the Dome to take on Rutgers on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 12 p.m.
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