Angeli treats Syracuse to 30-27 upset victory against No. 19 SMU

Halloween is a day when people dress up and pretend to be something, completely shifting their identity.

Syracuse football put on its winning outfit after entering the day as an underdog and secured another thrilling win 30-27 over the No. 19 SMU Mustangs inside the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday.

Quarterback Steve Angeli disguised himself as a dual-threat player who would leave you wondering why he was ever taken out of a game. He threw for 200 yards and a touchdown, and took off for the second-longest rush of his career for a score. 

Most importantly, Angeli orchestrated the 11-play, 68-yard game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. He completed seven passes for 58 yards. The most memorable was his shortest throw, a 2-yard connection with tight end Noah Meyers for the go-ahead score. 

This is the second consecutive week the Orange had to execute a tense end-of-game drive to win. Angeli credited Syracuse head coach Fran Brown for preparing the team for these moments in practice. 

“When they show up in the game, like they’ve done pretty recently, we’re able to operate and go out and win the football game,” Angeli said. 

The preparation led to Brown’s confidence in his quarterback, and he didn’t want the ball in anyone else’s hands. 

“He’s our leader of our football team,” Brown said. 

In the first half, it looked like Angeli might not need to be in the spotlight. Syracuse used a strong rushing attack and took a 20-10 lead into the break. The Orange had 115 yards on the ground, but sure enough, Angeli was a big part of that total. He ran 26 yards on a broken play into the end zone for his second career rushing touchdown. 

That put Syracuse up 7-0 in the first quarter, and SMU responded with a field goal the next drive. 

Syracuse went three-and-out before SMU conducted a gritty, well-executed and exhausting 12-play, 88-yard drive that took 4:40 off the clock. The Orange could not get off the field, allowing three 3rd-down conversions before Kevin Jennings found Jalen Hale in the endzone on a 3rd-and-6 play. 

At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied, 7-7.

The pace of the game flipped in the next 15 minutes. Syracuse now dominated the time of possession, playing offense for 10:43 of the second quarter. 

In their first drive, the Orange made eight rush attempts in 13 plays and got to the goal line, but Angeli was sacked, sending SU back to the 29-yard line.

Tripp Woody was called on for the field goal, and the referees played a trick on him. In his first attempt, Woody missed the kick wide-right, but a whistle blew the play dead before the kick. Evidently, there was no penalty, and Woody drilled his second attempt.

This gave Syracuse a 13-10 lead with 9:11 remaining in the first half.

A touchback set the Mustangs up at their 25-yard line, and in three plays, momentum flipped. Jennings completed a short hitch route to Hale, and on the pursuit, Demetres Samuel knocked the ball out of his grasp.

“Once I punched out the ball, I just held him down so somebody else could come pick up the ball because I knew my brothers was coming to the ball,” Samuel said.

Davien Kerr scooped up the fumble. Kerr had nothing but green in front of him, but a misstep on the recovery caused him to lose his balance and go down. 

SU didn’t convert on the excellent field position, but scavenged 3 points with Woody’s second field goal. 

With 6:39 remaining in the first half, the Orange led 13-10. 

Syracuse regained possession with just over three minutes in the half and wound the clock down to 26 seconds, as Miller barreled into the end zone on a gutsy 4th-and-1 rush attempt on the goal line.

At halftime, Syracuse led 20-10.

SU’s success in moving the ball quickly disappeared in the third quarter. The Orange saw just 20 yards rushing and seven passing. 

This brought the Mustangs back into the game, and Jennings found Yamir Knight for a 14-yard touchdown three and a half minutes into the second half. 

The rest of the third quarter was quiet, and the most action came from a Mustangs trick play with multiple flea-flicks behind the line of scrimmage before Keyshawn Johnson exploded into the backfield for his second sack of the game and a 17-yard loss. 

“I just got off the ball as fast as I can,” Johnson said. “That’s what I was looking for.”

Heading into the fourth quarter, Syracuse led 20-17. 

Four minutes into the fourth, Syracuse was pinned on its 6-yard line, facing a 3rd-and-12. Angeli took the snap in shotgun and was swarmed by blitzing defenders,  tossing the ball into no man’s land with no one around. After a brief discussion by the officials, the play was ruled intentional grounding, and because Angeli was in the end zone, the play ended in a safety. 

With 12:07 remaining, Syracuse led 20-19. 

On the next drive, SMU marched 68 yards and took the lead with a 13-yard rush by Kendrick Raphael. The Mustangs went for two, and Jennings delivered an easy conversion to a wide-open Derrick McFall. 

With 9:04 remaining in the game, SMU led 27-20.

Syracuse, still struggling on offense, searched for an answer and found one in Umari Hatcher. He recorded two catches for 34 yards in consecutive plays, flipping the field for the Orange. But three plays with minimal movement followed, and Brown brought on Woody, who nailed his third field goal of the game from 26 yards out. 

“Hat goes off to Tripp,” Brown said. “He did a really good job kicking today.”

The Orange forced a three-and-out on the next drive, leading to SU’s final game-winning drive.

After the go-ahead touchdown, SMU got the ball back with 20 seconds remaining. The Orange used a squib kick, limiting a Mustangs return. Jennings fired an incomplete pass and was tackled for a 1-yard rush before a lateral fumble recovery ended the game. 

This is Syracuse’s first home ACC win since its upset win against No. 8 Miami on Nov. 30, 2024. 

“We’re getting to be back the way Syracuse football is,” Brown said.  

The Orange hope to keep the win streak alive against Clemson next Saturday.