Syracuse Football won its first game of the season versus Central Connecticut State on Friday. ITLH replays some of the best moments of game.
Syracuse football runs a lot of plays. Against Central Connecticut State, the Orange ran 93 plays, according to Syracuse Athletics Official Twitter feed. So when Head Coach Dino Babers says that Orange is the New Fast, he means it!
Need Further proof? Syracuse Football was up 21-0 with 2:46 still left in the first quarter. Now I know that CCSU was an inferior opponent, but still, that’s pretty impressive work from a high-octane offense.
Furthermore, Syracuse Football scored 31 points in the first half and 19 in the second half. If you blinked then you missed them. Heck, when I watched the replay of the game later, I almost missed touchdowns skipping commercials. That’s how fast this team can score if they are pressed to do so, and if Eric Dungey (cough, cough) stays healthy and uninjured.
Don’t remember the highlight plays that led to the final 50-7 result? We wouldn’t blame you if you did because the plays happened fast. Don’t worry though because we got you covered with the 10 best plays from Friday’s game.
10.) Dontae Strickland Runs Up the Gut for Score
Coming off a score only a couple minutes before, Dontae Strickland takes a handoff from Eric Dungey and goes up the gut for the easy score. After the handoff, Strickland shakes off a defender and barrels his way into the end zone. This score put the Orange up 14-0 early in the game; a lead they would not relinquish.
9.) Steve Ishmael makes Athletic Leaping Catch Along the Sidelines
Just a couple of plays into the game, Syracuse Football made their presence felt. Dungey looked for Steve Ishmael with the long pass play along the side line. Steve Ishmael leapt to make the catch, setting the Orange up in Central Connecticut territory for the first time. The play was a sign of things to come for Ishmael as we would go onto catch over 130 yards through the air.
8.) Dungey Fakes to Moe Neal then Scores on Quarterback Keeper
Just a couple yards out from the end zone, Dungey faked the handoff to Moe Neal. Neal darted right which drew defenders. That allowed Dungey to run left and go untouched on the quarterback keeper into the end zone for the touchdown.
7.) Defense Gobbles up CCSU Running Back for Loss
Many wondered going to the season whether the Orange would struggle on defense as it did last year. The answer, at least against this opponent was a definite no. The Orange were excellent defensively stopping the Blue Devils running backs constantly throughout the game. This play early in the game is a good demonstration of how most of the game played out.
6.) Ravian Pierce’s 1st Syracuse TD
Ravian Pierce, the Tight End transfer from Southwest Mississippi Community College got quite a few catches in this game. This pass from Dungey to Pierce for the score, was his first in Orange.
5.) Rex Culpepper to Devin Butler
The third/fourth string quarterback Rex Culpepper had a field day against CCSU in the second half after Dungey left the game. This pass to Devin Butler was one of best passes of the game, and by far Culpepper’s best one yet in an Orange uniform.
4.) Dungey Fakes to Strickland and Rolls Around the Edge for Score
On this play, Dungey faked the handoff to Strickland who went up the gut while Dungey tucked the ball and ran around the left side for the score. It was Syracuse Football’s first touchdown of the season and showed off Dungey’s well renowned running ability out of the shotgun formation.
3.) Moe Neal 52-yard catch from Dungey for Score
This kid just was just born for the big play. Last year, in his first touch of the season, it went up for a long score. In this game, Moe Neal lined up left, received the screen pass from Dungey, shook off two defenders who tried tackling him then ran 52 yards along the sideline for the touchdown. As good as the catch and run was though, I was more impressed by the downfield blocking that allowed Neal to finish what he started.
2.) Erv Phillips Makes Catch, Then Drags a defender On Way to TD
After a screen pass from Dungey on the left side, Erv Phillips broke one tackle then ran into another defender whom he dragged for five yards on his back into the zone for the touchdown. For a small guy like Phillips is, it was very impressive, especially how he dragged the defender five yards.
1.) Jamal Custis Makes Impressive One-handed Catch on Left Sideline
The play of the game though came early in the game when Jamal Custis received a pass from Dungey along the left sideline. The pass may have been a tad overthrown, but Custis reached out one of his hands ahead of him and hauled in the pass for the long reception. It was one of those catches where you shake your head and be like geez, he caught that and stayed in bounds?! Nice.
Next: Syracuse Football: Top 3 Bittersweet Oranges- Week 1
Well that about does it Orange Fans! We’ll see you all next week as we highlight the top ten plays against Middle Tennessee State.