’Cuse Rallies Past #19 SMU in Fourth - Syracuse University Athletics

Saturday, October 31

Syracuse, N.Y.

12 PM

Syracuse University

4-4 , 2-4

SMU

6-2 , 4-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
SMU	10	0	7	10	27
Syracuse	7	13	0	10	30

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10/31/2026 3:49:00 PM | Football

Box Score Tickets Highlights Fran Brown Press Conference Players Press Conference Syracuse vs. #19 SMU Postgame Notes

Behind a scary good fourth-quarter offense and four sacks on defense, Syracuse football rallied past No. 19 SMU for a 30-27 Halloween win at the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday afternoon.

Syracuse (4-4, 2-4 ACC) earned its second straight conference win behind 338 yards of offense, including 118 in the fourth quarter alone. Steve Angeli completed 21 of 34 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown, a 2-yard strike to Noah Meyers for the go-ahead score with 17 seconds left. Umari Hatcher caught six passes for 65 yards. Ahmad Miller ran for 56 yards and a touchdown, and Tylik Hill added 54 yards on the ground. Angeli opened the scoring with a 26-yard touchdown run, his first rushing score since early 2025.

Fran Brown moved to 11-5 in one-score games since his arrival at Syracuse and to 3-0 vs. ranked opponents in the Loud House.

The Orange defense surrendered 421 yards but held the Mustangs to just 70 on the ground. Keyshawn Johnson was in on three of Syracuse's four sacks, which cost SMU a combined 52 yards. The Orange also recovered two fumbles. Davien Kerr scooped up one forced by Demetres Samuel Jr. in the second quarter, and Chase Geter fell on a botched lateral on the final play to seal the victory.

SMU (6-2, 4-2 ACC) was paced by Kevin Jennings, who completed 29 of 36 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns, one to Jalen Hale and the other to Yamir Knight. Kendrick Raphael led the Mustangs on the ground with 51 yards and a touchdown.

Syracuse returns to the Dome next week on Nov. 7 for another ACC showdown against Clemson. Kickoff is slated for noon, with tickets available at Cuse.com/footballtickets.

Syracuse won the toss and deferred, putting SMU on offense to start. The Orange defense got an early assist from a holding penalty against the Mustangs and forced a punt on the fifth play of the game.

Samuel gave the Orange good field position with a 27-yard punt return to the Syracuse 45. Miller picked up 16 yards to the SMU 40 before Angeli connected with Hatcher for six. Two plays later, Angeli converted a fourth-and-1 with a five-yard completion to Meyers, then took off on a 26-yard scramble to the end zone, his longest run for the Orange.

The Syracuse defense bent but didn't break on the next SMU drive. The Orange surrendered a 43-yard pass to Derrick McFall before Chris D'Appolonia brought him down at the Syracuse 29. After SMU reached the 1, the defense pushed the Mustangs back a combined 22 yards on back-to-back plays. That included a 17-yard sack shared by Johnson and Tunmise Adeleye, which held SMU to a 40-yard Brendan Baird field goal and a 7-3 'Cuse lead midway through the first quarter.

Syracuse went three-and-out on its next possession. A 53-yard Jimmy Gregg punt and an SMU illegal block in the back on the return then pinned the Mustangs at their own 12.
SMU answered with a 12-play, 88-yard drive built mostly on short gains, plus a 32-yard completion to Yannick Smith that set up first-and-10 at the Syracuse 13. Three plays later, Jennings hit Hale from nine yards out with 12 seconds left in the first quarter to give SMU a 10-7 lead.

The Orange flipped the script on the next drive, a 13-play, 64-yard march that chewed up 6:04 and spanned both quarters. Syracuse had just two gains of more than 10 yards on the drive: a 16-yard catch by Calvin Russell III and a 13-yard run by Hill, who carried six times for 41 yards on the possession. A six-yard sack on third-and-goal pushed Syracuse back but kept it within range, and Tripp Woody banked a 29-yard field goal off the left upright to tie the game at 10.

The defense came up big on SMU's next possession. Samuel forced a fumble by Hale after a catch, and Kerr scooped it up and returned it 16 yards to the SMU 22 before momentum pulled him to the ground. Angeli found David Clement for 19 yards to the 8, but two incompletions brought the kicking unit back out. Woody converted his second field goal of the day, from 25 yards, to put Syracuse back up 13-10 with 6:35 left in the half.

SMU looked dangerous on its next drive, but a 51-yard completion to Jalen Cooper was wiped out by an ineligible receiver downfield penalty that backed the Mustangs up to their own 30. On the next play, the defense got home again as Johnson was in on his second sack of the game, this one shared with Gary Bryant III for another 17-yard loss. SMU punted two plays later, and a face mask penalty on the return gave Syracuse the ball at midfield.

Angeli drilled tight end Daunte Bacheyie for 25 yards down the left side to the SMU 25, and Miller punched through the middle for three more before an official timeout with Syracuse closing in on the red zone. The 'Cuse rolled the dice and converted a fourth-and-1 on a seven-yard Miller run to the 9, burning valuable clock along the way. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 1, Miller hesitated before driving through the middle for the Orange's first touchdown since Angeli's first-quarter run, giving Syracuse a 20-10 lead with 22 seconds left in the half.

The visitors got across midfield on a 21-yard pass from Jennings to Smith, but that was SMU's final positive play of the half. The Mustangs sent out their kicking unit for a long try, which leaked right on a warmup attempt after Syracuse called timeout. Jennings' Hail Mary for Smith was knocked away by Kerr as time expired, sending the Orange into the locker room with a 20-10 lead.

Syracuse went three-and-out to open the second half, and Gregg punted 53 yards out of bounds at the SMU 15. The Mustangs answered with a 10-play, 85-yard drive to make it a three-point game at 20-17 with 8:52 left in the third quarter. SMU had three key plays on the drive: a 19-yard completion to Knight on third-and-3, a 13-yard run by Jennings and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Knight on third-and-7.

After another stalled Orange drive, Gregg boomed an unreturnable punt down to the Mustangs' 9-yard line. After SMU picked up a pair of first downs, Johnson recorded his third sack of the game, this one for a 12-yard loss. Despite completions of nine and seven yards, SMU punted with 2:22 left in the third, pinning the Orange at their own 8-yard line.

Syracuse went three-and-out on the next series, and a 60-yard Knight punt return to the Syracuse 8 was wiped out by an SMU holding penalty. After SMU picked up 25 yards on a pass to Cooper to end the third quarter, the defense stalled the Mustangs at midfield, with Nazir Ward breaking up a third-down pass from Jennings to Smith.

The Orange surrendered a safety on the next drive that trimmed their lead to 20-19. Facing third-and-16 at the Syracuse 2, Angeli hit Russell III for 10 yards, but a holding penalty on the play backed Syracuse up to its own 6. On the replayed third down, Angeli was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving SMU the two points.

SMU took a 27-20 lead on its next possession, driving 67 yards in 2:57. Raphael went up the middle on a 13-yard touchdown run with 9:04 to play, and the Mustangs converted the two-point try on a pass to McFall. An SMU holding penalty wiped out a 9-yard run on the drive, but a Syracuse pass interference call moved the ball to the Syracuse 14 one play before the score. Jennings accounted for 43 yards through the air and on the ground on the drive.

Syracuse marched 67 yards in 3:38 on its next possession. An SMU pass interference penalty on third-and-10 kept the drive alive, and Angeli then hit Hatcher on back-to-back plays for a combined 34 yards. The Orange reached first-and-goal at the 9 but couldn't punch it in, and Woody booted a 26-yard field goal to make it 27-23 with 5:26 left.

The defense answered with a three-and-out, getting the ball back for the 'Cuse with 3:36 to play. Adeleye came up with Syracuse's fourth sack of the game, pushing the Mustangs back six yards, and Jennings' third-down pass for Theo Melin Öhrström fell incomplete.

The 'Cuse started at its own 32 and got across midfield on two straight completions that combined for 20 yards: a 7-yarder to Bacheyie and a 13-yarder to Hatcher. Angeli then hit Darius Johnson for six yards, setting up third-and-4 heading into the two-minute timeout. Out of the break, Ju'Juan Johnson ran up the middle for three yards to bring up fourth-and-1. Tight end Clement slipped out to the left and caught an Angeli pass for seven yards and the first down. Angeli then hit Russell III and Bacheyie for 15 yards each, the latter fighting down to the 2-yard line with 27 seconds on the clock.

Ju'Juan Johnson was stopped for no gain on the next play, and Syracuse called timeout with 19 seconds left. Out of the break, Angeli found Meyers on the left side for a 2-yard touchdown and a 30-27 lead with 17 seconds remaining.

On SMU's first play, Jennings looked deep for Cooper, but Braheem Long Jr. broke up the pass. After the signal caller ran up the middle for no gain, Jennings found Randy Pittman Jr. on the final play, and Pittman's attempted lateral fell to the ground. Geter scooped up the ball and returned it 13 yards before wisely going down to end the game.