Syracuse walked out of Kenan Stadium with the kind of finish that can flip a season’s mood in a matter of minutes.
The Orange, staring at another one of those painful ACC near-misses, erased a fourth-quarter deficit and then survived overtime to beat North Carolina 31-30 on Saturday night in Chapel Hill. It was the kind of win Syracuse had been chasing all season, after close losses to Cal, Pitt, UVA and Louisville had left the margin for error razor thin.
This one nearly slipped away, too. Syracuse tied the game at 23-23 late in regulation after a drive that chewed up the clock, but Shay Barker’s extra point try - his fourth miss of the season - was wide left after a slightly off snap from backup snapper Tim Schwerha. That set up a tense finish, and the night only got more dramatic from there.
UNC scored first in overtime to go up 30-23, putting the Orange in must-convert territory on fourth down from the four-yard line. After a timeout, Steve Angeli fired a four-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Russell III, and the score held up after review.
Then came the two-point try that decided everything. Syracuse huddled again, signaled to Fran Brown that the ball was going back to Russell, and Brown gave the green light to go for the win.
Angeli’s short pass found Russell at the goal line, and Russell knocked the pylon as he went out of bounds. The initial ruling was good, and after an automatic review from the ACC Command Center in Charlotte, the play stood.
Brown had plenty to say while the officials sorted through the final call.
"Honestly, what did I say to the officials, 'You're going to give it to Belichick,'" Brown said jokingly with a smile on his face after the game. "I was just happy it went that way, I kind of knew it would with how Calvin positioned himself to get across the line. The refs did a great job today."
Angeli’s return gave Syracuse exactly the lift it needed. After missing three games because of a medical procedure in his left leg, he looked comfortable running the offense and turned in his best outing of the season. He finished 20-of-34 for 256 yards and two touchdown passes, and his 76-yard strike to Umari Hatcher with 11:00 left in regulation changed the feel of the game after UNC had pushed ahead 20-17.
The Orange had been trying to find a way to loosen up a North Carolina secondary missing two starters, and that deep ball finally cracked it open. From there, Syracuse had a chance to climb back in, and Angeli stayed in control the rest of the way.
"It's a credit to the entire team," Angeli said of the sweet victory that was celebrated loudly inside the SU locker room late Saturday night. "It's no secret we've been going through tough times, some tough close losses. We knew this game was going to be won in the fourth quarter, and it's great I can trust guys like Hatch and Calvin, the offensive line, our defense for getting stops."
"You win the game on the last play,' he added, "and it's a helluva football game and it is always fun to go out there and win it that way."
Russell, too, delivered the kind of impact Syracuse needed from him. The two-sport, five-star talent has been working his way back from a torn Achilles and has kept building his role since making his college debut against UConn on October 3. Against UNC, he finished with a team-high eight catches for 86 yards, plus the tying touchdown and the winning two-point conversion.
"We have been right there week in, week out," Russell said Saturday about how great it felt to finally help get his team over the hump of losing games. "We were down 20-10, and we were fighting threw adversity with my (teammates), and that feeling of coming back, fighting threw adversity it felt great."
The result lifted Syracuse to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the ACC, while North Carolina fell to 4-3 and 2-2. For one night, though, the record mattered less than the ending.
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Gerry McNamara has been sorting through his point guard options in exhibition play, and the early read gives Syracuse plenty to think about before the games start to count. Freshman Ryan Moesch has brought a noticeable spark, while senior Garwey Dual is still working his way back from injury and trying to find a steadier rhythm after an uneven start.
Duals case is built on more than just what he has shown in these exhibition minutes. Teammates and McNamara continue to point to his defense and his upside, and his role has grown gradually as he gets more time on the floor. Even so, the blend of Moeschs early impact and Duals experience gives Syracuse a real decision to sort through, one that figures to linger with fans well beyond the preseason. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse May Have Finally Found Its ACC Turning Point
Syracuse walked out of Kenan Stadium with the kind of result that can change the feel of a season, edging North Carolina 31-30 in overtime to pick up its first ACC win in more than a year. It also snapped an 11-game conference losing streak, a long skid that had hung over the program for months and made every league game feel heavier than the last. There were contributors all over the field, including Steve Angeli, Calvin Russell, Ahmad Miller and Umari Hatcher, but the biggest moment belonged to a quarterback whose role had already been in flux.
Angeli, back in the lineup after being benched, delivered the play Syracuse needed most when he found Russell on the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime. For a team that has spent so much time searching for a foothold in the ACC, the timing of this win matters almost as much as the result itself. The challenge now is whether Syracuse can turn one tense road victory into something more durable, because this one finally gave the Orange a reason to believe the conference slide might be over. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Finally Found Something At UNC That Could Change Everything
Syracuse walked out of Kenan Stadium with more than a 31-30 overtime win over North Carolina. The Orange snapped an 11-game skid in conference play, and they did it with a version of the offense they have been searching for, one that mixed a fifth-year quarterback back in the lineup with a run game that finally gave the attack some balance.
Steve Angeli, returning from injury, threw two touchdown passes and helped steady an offense that looked much more functional from start to finish. Syracuse also leaned on a defense that made key tackles and delivered a sack when the game tightened, then finished the job with a two-point conversion to freshman Calvin Russell III that gave the Orange a result that could mean more than just one win. [Read more 🡒]