Syracuse spears Colgate 65-0 in season-opening shutout

Entering play Saturday, Syracuse football held an undefeated 20-0 record against FCS competition. Any fears of adding a blemish to that dissipated early on in SU’s (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 65-0 domination of Colgate (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) in the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Raiders simply couldn’t keep up with the Orange in any facet of the game. Colgate managed just 106 yards and 7 first downs throughout the entire contest. SU, on the other hand, racked up a program-record 677 yards and 34 first downs in its own right. It was the entire Orange team contributed as well, as seven different players scored touchdowns for Syracuse.

“This doesn’t happen a lot in college football where you get to play your entire football team,” head coach Dino Babers said postgame. “It’s not intramurals. But we did get an opportunity to play a lot of guys. And when you play the young guys and they have some success, it’s always fun.”

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The young guys got their chance, but not until the starters had their turn. The game started quietly, with each team punting on its first series. After another quick Colgate drive, the demolition began. Running back LeQuint Allen carried the rock on all four plays of a drive that ended in a touchdown for the Cuse. Another Colgate three-and-out followed before Garrett Shrader found wideout Damien Alford for a 13-yard score.

Fortunately for the Raiders, their next drive ended with a score. Unfortunately, the points were not for them, as Syracuse DB Jeremiah Wilson stepped in front of a jump pass and took it all the way to the house. Another Colgate fumble and Orange field goal later, Syracuse led 23-0 after the first quarter.

The second quarter proceeded in much the same way. Colgate totaled 24 yards of offense while turning the ball over on downs and punting on its three series. Syracuse scored a pair of touchdowns on Garrett Shrader passes - the former a 44-yard beauty on the run to a wide-open Isaiah Jones, the latter a 14-yard dump off to Oronde Gadsden II that the Preseason All-American wide receiver muscled over the goalline. However, one of the Orange’s few mistakes of the game came right at the end of the half. With the ball just at the edge of the red zone following a 13-play drive, Shrader was intercepted by Colgate’s Justin Lawrence to send the teams into the locker room with the score at 37-0 in favor of Syracuse.

Out of the break, the Cuse just kept on rolling. Shrader dropped a 42-yard throw right into Umari Hatcher’s waiting arms, and the duo linked up again just three plays later for a four-yard touchdown pass, Shrader’s fourth of the game. The senior’s day was done after that drive, with an 18-24, 257 yards, four touchdowns, one interception stat line, along with eight carries for 45 yards to show for it.

“Overall, it was the first game. I think we did some good things, there’s a lot of stuff we got to clean up,” Shrader said. “Especially considering the circumstances and how many guys we’ve had moving around from injuries and camp, I thought we did well.”

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson ran the show afterwards, but even with a new quarterback, the results remained the same. Another Colgate three-and-out preceded the Atlanta, GA, native driving the Orange offense down the field for another seven points, this time scored by Jones on a five-yard pitch and catch from Del Rio-Wilson. Two plays later, DB Greg Delaine notched his first career interception to give SU the ball right back. Del Rio-Wilson did not waste the opportunity, as the only play of the ensuing drive saw the Florida transfer find Kendall Long for a 25-yard touchdown. The third quarter finished with - you guessed it - a pair of Colgate three-and-outs sandwiched around Syracuse scoring a touchdown after a 10-play drive, now culminated by Darrell Gill juking his way towards his first career touchdown. That wrapped the third quarter at 65-0 Syracuse, a score that would hold through a backup-filled final frame. 65 points totals the most Syracuse has scored in the Dino Babers era.

“I think the main thing is you want to come out with a win,“ Babers said when asked about the record point total. “These games are spooky. I thought that we had some ups, we had some downs, but I am satisfied. I thought the guys played hard overall, even though there were periods where we didn’t play as hard as I would like.”

Syracuse will look to play just as hard a week from today when Western Michigan visits Central New York. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m., McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Kickoff gets going at 3 p.m., and it’ll all be right here on the original home of the Orange, WAER.