With transfers Ju’Juan Johnson and Ahmad Miller unavailable for Syracuse football on Saturday afternoon in the team's 2026 season opener against New Hampshire at the JMA Wireless Dome, younger running backs such as freshman Shavane Anderson Jr. and sophomore Tylik Hill saw the field a lot in the Orange's blowout win.
Needless to say, both Anderson and Hill made the most of their opportunities on Saturday. Hill had 15 carries for 90 yards and one touchdown. Anderson, meanwhile, rushed 10 times for 102 yards and three scores on the ground in his college debut.
Off and running for the Orange 🍊
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) September 5, 2026
Syracuse's 66 points is the most in a season opener in the last 85 seasons surpassing the 65 points put up against Colgate in 2023.
Shavane Anderson Jr became the 1st ACC true freshman in at least 20 seasons with 100+ rush yds & 3 rushing TD in… pic.twitter.com/9GpMVPlmc4
'Cuse fans knew what Hill was capable of, to some extent, as he showed flashes of promise in a limited role for the Orange in 2025. However, Anderson absolutely burst onto the scene on Saturday as Syracuse football dominated New Hampshire, an FCS program, 66-3.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Anderson, a three-star prospect from York, Pa., became the first freshman in the Atlantic Coast Conference to record at least 100 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground in his first collegiate game, according to a post on X from ESPN Insights.
"That's pretty legit," Syracuse football's third-year head coach, Fran Brown, said in his post-game press conference after the Orange's triumph over the Wildcats.
Syracuse football's running backs were fantastic on Saturday.
Granted, New Hampshire (0-2 overall) isn't a power conference team, but regardless, SU's ground game on Saturday was strong. The 'Cuse (1-0 overall) notched 238 rushing yards, as compared to just 155 total yards for the Wildcats.
Sophomore Matthew Outten, a transfer running back/wide receiver from Penn State, also got into the action with 10 carries for 51 yards.
Dome debut for Shavane Anderson was a good one! 🍊🔥
— Syracuse Athletics (@Cuse) September 5, 2026
10 carries, 102 yards and 3 TDs earned him Player of the Game in the win vs. UNH.
'Cuse x @progressive pic.twitter.com/4MovFHCDUS
Brown said that all his running backs played well in the 2026 season opener, and that's encouraging, given that Johnson, a junior transfer from LSU, and Miller, a senior transfer from Jackson State, were out. "I'm very happy for him (Shavane)," Brown added.
In his post-game presser with several other Orange players, Anderson credited the Syracuse offensive line for its blocking. "I wouldn't have been able to do that (rush for 102 yards and three touchdowns) without them," he said. "I got the opportunity from others going down. Once I got out there, I just had to step up."
On one of Anderson's touchdown runs, starting quarterback Steve Angeli delivered a key block near the goal line that helped Anderson score. "He's a dog for that," Anderson said of Angeli. "It was impressive."
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