Syracuse Loses Season Opener 51-0 To #24/25 Purdue

Sunday, September 5

West Lafayette, IN

1:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

Purdue

Senior Walter Reyes moves into fifth place on SU's all-time rushing list.

Syracuse Loses Season Opener 51-0 To #24/25 Purdue

9/5/2004 7:23:30 PM | Football

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Orange (0-1 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST) lost to #24/25 Purdue, 51-0, Sunday before a crowd of 56,827 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. It was the first shutout loss for the Orange since the team lost 59-0 at Miami on November 17, 2001 and it is the first shutout in a season opener since 1978.

Senior running back Walter Reyes finished the game with 31 yards on 12 carries, bringing his career rushing yards to 2,652. Reyes’ effort moved him into fifth place on SU’s all-time rushing yards list. He passed Dee Brown and current running backs coach David Walker to claim fifth place.

Freshman quarterback Joe Fields went 8-for-15 for 93 yards and one interception. Fields was replaced by sophomore Perry Patterson in third quarter. Patterson went 7-for-10 for 63 yards. Senior Jared Jones was SU’s leading receiver with 59 yards on 3 catches. Junior Steve Gregory caught four passes for 46 yards. Redshirt freshman fullback Breyone Evans made his collegiate debut with one carry for 20 yards.

The Boilermakers (1-0 overall, 0-0 BIG TEN) opened the scoring with 4:01 remaining in the first quarter as running back Jerod Void scored from a yard out. Void finished with 83 yards on 15 carries. On the Boilermaker’s next possession, quarterback Kyle Orton threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brian Hare to give the Boilermakers a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Purdue extended their lead with 6:15 left in the second quarter on 33-yard touchdown pass from Orton to Taylor Stubblefield. SU defensive tackle Tony Jenkins blocked the ensuing point-after attempt and the Boilermakers held a 20-0 halftime lead.

The Orange (0-1 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST) put together a nice drive to end the first half, but came away empty as Jones could not handle a low snap on a 24-yard field-goal attempt with 27 seconds remaining in the half. The drive started on Syracuse’s 49-yard line after a 26-yard kickoff return by Reyes and a 15-yard face-mask penalty against the Boilermakers.

Stubblefield caught another touchdown pass with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter, this one a 67-yard strike from Orton. Orton would get his fourth touchdown pass with 2:04 left in the third, a 32-yard pass to running back Brandon Jones. Orton went 16-for-30 for 288 yards and four touchdowns before being replaced at the end of the third quarter by Brandon Kirsch. Purdue had a 37-0 lead after three quarters of play thanks to a 34-yard field goal with 32 seconds left in the third. Purdue kicker Ben Jones went 1-for-2 after missing a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter.

The Boilermakers added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The first came 5:21 into the quarter on a 44-yard run by Jerome Brooks. Purdue’s last score came with 2:11 remaining in the game on 47-yard reception by Dustin Keller from Kirsch, his only completion of the day.

Purdue had 571 total yards, while Syracuse produced 197 total yards. The Orange had the advantage in time of possession, controlling the ball for 35:11. Junior linebacker Kellen Pruitt led the Orange on defense with eight solo tackles and three tackle assists.

The Orange travels to the University at Buffalo on Saturday, Sept. 11 for a 6 p.m. kickoff, before hosting Cincinnati in the home opener on Sept. 18 at 12 p.m.