On Saturday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome, it was a tale of two halves for Syracuse football as the Orange wrapped up non-conference play against fellow New York state team Army.
The ‘Cuse got dominated in the first half, as the Black Knights used several long drives to take a 10-3 lead into the locker room at intermission.
However, the Orange was a different team on both sides of the ball in the second half, and the ‘Cuse was able to notch a 29-16 victory over Army in Central New York on military appreciation day.
At halftime of this game, legendary Hall of Fame head coach and World War II hero Ben Schwartzwalder, who led Syracuse football to the 1959 national championship, was inducted into the SU Athletics ring of honor. Schwartzwalder, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, passed away in 1993.
Syracuse football rolled in the second half to take care of business versus Army.
Coming into this game, the Orange was in the top five around the country in both scoring offense and scoring defense, as the ‘Cuse was averaging 49.3 points per game and allowing a mere 9.00 points per contest.
While Syracuse football (4-0), against the Black Knights (2-2), didn’t match either of those averages, the Orange was impressive in the second 30 minutes of play, outscoring Army by a count of 26-6 in the second half.
The ‘Cuse Mob defense had two key interceptions in the second half, and the Orange also by and large shut down an Army offense that did a lot of positive things in the first two quarters of action.
Additionally, senior quarterback Garrett Shrader found his passing groove, as four different SU receivers caught at least three passes. Plus, after a sluggish first half, sophomore running back LeQuint Allen Jr. would ultimately notch more than 100 yards on the ground, along with a rushing touchdown.
In its non-conference docket during the 2023 season, the ‘Cuse has gone unbeaten, defeating Colgate, Western Michigan and Army at home, along with Purdue last weekend on the road.
Next up, Syracuse football will take on Clemson at the Dome, followed by consecutive road dates against ranked teams in North Carolina and then Florida State.
More importantly than the outcome of Saturday afternoon’s game, we’re keeping Army junior defensive lineman Dre Miller in our prayers. In the second half, after what appeared to be an accidental helmet-to-helmet collision with one of his own teammates, Miller had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.
The ACC Network broadcast crew said that Miller was taken to a nearby level-one trauma center. We’re sending love to Dre and hope that he’s okay.