SU Defeats Toledo 33-30 in OT

Saturday, September 24

Syracuse, N.Y.

12:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

3-1

Toledo

1-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Toledo

Syracuse

Ross Krautman (37) watches the game-winning field goal soar through the uprights in SU's victory against Toledo.

Photo by: Charles Wainwright

9/24/2011 12:37:13 PM | Football

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The Syracuse football team overcame an early 10-0 deficit to beat Toledo 33-30 in overtime on Saturday at the Carrier Dome before 39,116 fans. Sophomore place kicker Ross Krautman was a perfect 4-of-4 on field goals, including the game-winner from 27-yards, moving him to ninth on the SU all-time record list with 22 career conversions.

In overtime, cornerback Kevyn Scott set the table for the Syracuse offense with an interception in the end zone on the first play of overtime. It was the fifth pick of his career. After Antwon Bailey and Prince-Tyson Gulley moved the Orange to the Toledo 10-yard line on six carries, Krautman came on the field for the game-winner.

Quarterback Ryan Nassib was 16-of-24 for 213 yards and two touchdowns on the day, while Bailey had his third career 100-yard game with 114 on a career-high 28 carries. Junior free safety Phillip Thomas paced the Orange with10 tackles, including eight solo and one for a loss of yards.

Toledo scored first to open the game capping off a 22-play, 75-yard drive that used more than 10 minutes with a 20-yard field goal from Ryan Casano to take a 3-0 lead.

The Rockets then took advantage of a Syracuse turnover with a three-play, 49-yard drive capped by a 21-yard touchdown run by Morgan Williams for a 10-0 advantage.

Syracuse responded in the second quarter to cut the lead to three when Nassib hit a wide open Nick Provo with a 25-yard touchdown strike. The scoring play was set up by a 21-yard run by Gulley on second-and-16 play.

Toledo's Eric Page took the SU kickoff back for a touchdown, but an illegal block in the back penalty on the Rockets positioned Toledo on its own 18-yard line. The Orange defense held the Rockets to a five-play drive, forcing a punt with 12:02 left in the half. SU's offense moved the ball down the field and Krautman capped a seven-play, 30-yard drive with a 33-yard field goal to knot the score at 10.

The SU defense built on the momentum from the Krautman field goal by forcing a turnover on downs to end a 10-play Toledo drive on the SU 31-yard line. Nassib and the offense then marched down the field moving the ball 55 yards to set up a 31-yard Krautman field goal with 1:06 remaining in the half for a 13-10 lead.

The Rockets moved the ball down the field in the final minute to set up a 52-yard field goal by Jeremiah Detmer as time expired in the first half, tying the score at 13.

Toledo forced the Orange to punt on its first drive of the third quarter and then compiled a five-play drive, ending in a 29-yard connection between Dantin and David Fluellen to give Toledo a 20-13 edge.

Syracuse responded to tie the game for the third time in the game on its next drive. Facing a third-and-10 from his own 41-yard line, Nassib hit Jarrod West over the middle for a 39-yard completion and West's first career completion. Bailey finished the drive on the next play with a 20-yard scamper into the end zone for an SU touchdown.

The Orange stormed out of the gates in the fourth quarter with a six-play, 30-yard drive, highlighted by a 26-yard reception by Provo, that brought SU to the Toledo 13-yard line. Krautman converted his third field goal of the day later in the drive from 29-yards, giving the Orange a 23-20 lead.

UT fired right back with a 61-yard drive in less than two minutes, including a 42-yard pass from Dantin to Page, and Williams put the Rockets back on top three plays later with a three-yard run to make it 27-23.

Nassib and the Orange re-gained the lead when the senior quarterback hit Alec Lemon on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter for a 30-27 advantage. The play capped a 10-play, 71-yard drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock.

The Rockets, however, had one more drive in them. Dantin engineered a nine-play 65-yard drive that Syracuse held up at its own three-yard line, forcing a 20-yard Ryan Casano field goal which tied the game at 30 as time expired and forced the overtime.

Individual and season tickets are available for the game online, at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B) and by phone (888-DOMETIX). Season tickets start at $99, while the Time Warner Triple Play Pack, which offers one ticket to any three home games, starts at $72.