After a surprise loss to Stanford last week, @CuseFootball responded with a beat down of @HCrossFB 42-14. @BurgessLuke03 and @GiffMD had the call for Syracuse's 28-point victory. pic.twitter.com/Wva0ZShCVe
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) September 28, 2024
In a game where Syracuse football (3-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) was heavily favored, The Orange had just a one score lead with a minute to go in the first half. Despite the Crusaders march, SU came swinging back with 3 straight unanswered scores to put an exclamation point on a dominating victory.
3 Drives, 3 Scores, 3 Receivers
Syracuse’s first three drives of the game looked better than any set of drives SU has put together all season long. Umari Hatcher started the day with a 7-yard touchdown just 6 minutes in. Then Darrell Gill Jr. added his first score of the season with a 23-yard house call. Salt was added to the wound when senior Jackson Meeks hit a barn burner for 38 yards and SU went up 21-0 to start the second quarter.
“I don’t think we have a wide receiver one.” head coach Fran Brown said after the game. “We just have a good group of guys that all can play football.”
Crusaders Comeback
Down three scores after just 16 minutes, Holy Cross was on pace for its worst loss to Syracuse ever. Then the tables turned. The Crusaders responded with their own touchdown just two plays after SU’s third. Quarterback Joe Pesansky found Max Mosey wide open on the right side of the field for a 68-yard touchdown.
It took over a quarter, but @HCrossFB finally found the end zone thanks to a big reception.@GiffMD was on the mic for the Crusaders' first touchdown.@waer883, 📻https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P pic.twitter.com/yAAoC4nM6Y
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) September 28, 2024
After forcing a punt from Syracuse on the next drive, Holy Cross dove deep into its bag with a trick play. Running back Sam Slade grabbed a half back pitch and stopped in his tracks to deliver a dime to Jacob Peterson. Just as quickly as the Orange got a commanding lead, the Crusaders made it a one score game.
Second Half Shutdown
Syracuse’s defense was under a lot of pressure after a poor performance against Stanford and a lackluster start to today's contest. However, in the last 30 minutes, SU was perfect. The Crusaders attempted just 23 plays over their final seven drives for 32 yards of total offense. Holy Cross had negative yardage on two of those drives and Jayden Bellamy recorded a 33-yard pick-6 on another.
“[In] the second half, they just played lights out," coach Brown said. “They did their job. Everyone’s eyes, they were keyed on doing their job so it helped a lot.”
As the Orange had a commanding four-score advantage in the fourth, coach Brown let some bench players get some action. Four-star recruit KingJoseph Edwards got some playing time and made the most of it. In just 12 minutes of action, the true freshman notched 3 sacks which is more than any other SU defensive player has had all season.

McCord’s Mishaps
While there are plenty of positives to talk about for Syracuse, there are also some negatives. Quarterback Kyle McCord had another day with multiple turnovers. The senior had 2 interceptions and completed just 56% of his passes. That is his worst percentage since his freshman year in 2021. The bright side is that McCord still threw for over 300 yards marking him as the first QB in Syracuse history to throw 4 straight games with at least 300 passing yards.
The blowout puts Syracuse back in the win column and moves the Orange to 3-1 on the season. SU leaves the 315 for the next 35 days as it embarks on a 4 week road stint which starts with a ranked opponent in UNLV. Gametime is at 9pm on Friday, but WAER will have you covered starting at 8:30 with Countdown to Kickoff. Tune in at 88.3 FM or at waer.org