Recap: DeVito Paces Orange in 41-3 Win Over Holy Cross

Saturday, September 28

Syracuse, NY

12 PM

Syracuse University

3-2

Holy Cross

1-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Holy Cross

Syracuse

Recap: DeVito Paces Orange in 41-3 Win Over Holy Cross

9/28/2019 2:55:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery Dino Babers Press Conference Players Press Conference Dan Conley Zunic Award Interview Postgame Notes Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse signal-caller Tommy DeVito threw four touchdown passes for the second straight Saturday to lead the Orange to a 41-3 victory against Holy Cross on Sept. 28 in the Dome. The Orange (3-2) won its 13th straight game against Holy Cross (1-3) and improved to 18-0 against FCS teams since the 1978 separation of major college football into two divisions.

DeVito threw scoring passes of 14 yards to junior tight end Aaron Hackett, 17 yards to redshirt junior receiver Trishton Jackson, 47 yards to sophomore wideout Taj Harris and 70 yards to freshman tight end Luke Benson.

DeVito finished the game 19-of-31 passing for 269 yards, the four scores and one interception. He also chipped in with 28 yards rushing.

His first two touchdown passes, combined with a 52-yard field goal by Sterling Hofrichter, put Syracuse ahead 17-0 before the end of the first quarter. Holy Cross responded with a 48-yard field goal from Derek Ng, but Orange running back Abdul Adams extended the advantage to 24-3 with a 19-yard, second-quarter touchdown run.

The Orange defense kept Holy Cross off the board for the remainder of the contest. It was the second time this season the unit did not allow a touchdown.

QUOTABLE
"I thought our defense was fantastic. Not giving up a touchdown in a college football game is a big deal," Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said. "I thought that our offense did some things well in the first half. I thought we were really quick in the first quarter and slowed down a little bit in the second.

"In the second half, the three turnovers obviously brought us down. But overall, I thought it was a really good game. I was disappointed in the special teams turnovers, although there were some really good things done on special teams. We're excited to get to the bye and see how healthy we can get to make this ACC run."

SILENT RUNNING
For the second time in five games, Syracuse held its opponent to under 20 rushing yards. Holy Cross ran the ball 32 times for 18 yards, an average of 0.6 yards per attempt. The longest gain for the Crusaders on the ground was a 10-yard carry by Peter Oliver.

The Orange limited Liberty to minus-4 yards on 34 attempts in the season opener.

HE CAN HACKETT
Aaron Hackett contributed in a number of ways on Saturday. He helped the Orange score first by hauling in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tommy DeVito in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Hackett gave Syracuse a good drive start with a 23-yard kickoff return that put the ball at the Orange 42-yard line. Syracuse finished off the possession with redshirt junior Abdul Adams' 19-yard touchdown sprint up the middle.

Hackett ended the afternoon with two receptions for 22 yards. He has three TD catches in the last two games.

TAKE IT AWAY
It was a special teams play that extended Syracuse's streak of consecutive games with a takeaway to 19. Sophomore long snapper Aaron Bolinsky forced a fumble in punt coverage and Tyrell Richards recovered at the Holy Cross 17-yard line. On the next play, Tommy DeVito teamed with Trishton Jackson on a 17-yard touchdown pass that put the Orange in front, 14-0.

Syracuse's 19-game stretch of forcing a turnover ranks third among FBS squads.

FULL-COURSE NEAL
Senior running back Moe Neal became the 23rd Syracuse player to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing in the first quarter. His second attempt of the game resulted in a 5-yard gain and pushed him past the milestone.

The program's career rushing leader is Joe Morris, who accumulated 4,299 yards from 1978 to 1981.

Neal finished with 11 carries for 36 yards to raise his career rushing total to 2,031 yards. He is 22nd all-time in rushing yardage at Syracuse.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Sophomore kicker Andre Szmyt converted five extra points Saturday. He passed Dave Jacobs (1975-78) and moved into sixth on Syracuse's career PAT list with 78. Szmyt also advanced past George Jakowenko (1968-70) and Jacobs and into a sixth-place tie with Bob Koleser (1949-51) on the career point-after attempt list. Szmyt ended the afternoon with 79 career extra-point tries.
Holy Cross defensive back Joe Lang earned game-high honors with 12 total tackles.
Syracuse's streak of at least one pass interception in 17 straight games came to an end. It had been the nation's longest active run.
Redshirt senior defensive end Brandon Berry had five tackles, including a career-high 2.5 quarterback sacks.
Redshirt senior Sterling Hofrichter converted a career-long, 52-yard field goal in the first quarter. His previous long was 38 yards at NC State in 2017.
Taj Harris completed the game with six catches for a career-high 107 yards. It was his first 100-yard receiving effort.
Senior wide receiver and return specialist Sean Riley totaled 66 all-purpose yards. It increased his career total to 4,054 all-purpose yards. Riley joined Joe Morris (5,581 yards), Floyd Little (4,928), Walter Reyes (4,056) and Qadry Ismail (4,041) on the list of Syracuse players with 4,000+ career all-purpose yards.
Szmyt was successful on his lone field-goal attempt, drilling a 26-yarder in the third quarter.
Hofrichter surpassed 10,000 career punting yards versus Holy Cross. Hofrichter is the fourth Syracuse player to reach the milestone, joining Brendan Carney (11,534), Rob Long (11,381) and Mike Shafer (10,073). Hofrichter has 10,021 yards after punting five times for 215 yards against the Crusaders.

UP NEXT
Syracuse has an open date before returning to action on Thursday, Oct. 8 at ACC Atlantic Division rival NC State. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. start will be televised by ESPN.

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