LeQuint Allen’s four touchdowns lift Syracuse past No. 25 UNLV 44-41 in overtime

The play options were endless as Syracuse football lined up for a first and goal from the two-yard line in overtime against #25 UNLV. Down 41-38, a touchdown would win the game. But who to go to?

Trebor Pena had kept up his consistent play with eight catches for 67 yards. Oronde Gadsden was back to his old self, going for 142 yards. Jackson Meeks was the reason the game had made it to overtime. And Yasin Willis was in the middle of a breakout performance.

But the right answer was running back LeQuint Allen. With three touchdowns already on the day, the junior took the handoff to his right, broke through a tackle and found the end zone.

The rushing touchdown gave Syracuse (4-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 44-41 win over #25 UNLV (4-1, 1-0 Mountain West). It was a game far from pretty for Syracuse. But in the end, a strong offensive performance, which included nearly 500 total yards, pushed Syracuse into their second-ranked win of the regular season. That hasn’t happened since 2001 for the Orange.

The first quarter went just about perfect for Syracuse. After an early defensive stop, the Orange marched down the field and McCord found Allen for a nine-yard receiving touchdown.

Allen wasn’t done for the quarter though. The running back would power into the end zone for a three-yard rushing touchdown with less than a minute to go in the first. Almost singlehandedly, Allen put Syracuse up 14-0 after the first 15 minutes.

But the tides quickly turned. It took just three minutes into the second for UNLV tight end Kaleo Ballungay to nab a touchdown pass to cut the lead in half. And on the ensuing Rebels possession, quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams rushed in a three-yard touchdown to knot the game at 14 a piece.

As if enough hadn’t gone wrong for the Orange in the second, things took an even rougher turn when a wild snap was sent to SU punter Jack Stonehouse, who had to down the ball in the UNLV red zone. Soon after, Williams connected with wide receiver Casey Crain for a go-ahead nine-yard touchdown.

SU salvaged three points with a 20-yard field goal by redshirt freshman Jadyn Oh, but as halftime was met in the Sin City, the Orange were still down 21-17.

The deficit didn’t last long. Syracuse took the second half's opening drive down the field, and McCord found LeQuint Allen for a six-yard touchdown. Allen had excited the game just a few players earlier after being hit in the leg.

And thus began a roller coaster of second-half momentum.

SU safety Duce Chestnut registered an interception and on the very next play, true freshman Yasin Willis ran in a 21-yard touchdown to put Syracuse up 31-21.

cuse.com

“Yasin (Willis) just wanted the ball,” Syracuse Head Coach Fran Brown said after the game. “He asked me ‘What can I do.’ (He) got on three different special teams (units) and proved how much he wanted it.”

For Willis, he said postgame that he knew he had to step up when Allen was banged up. The freshman finished with eight carries for 62 yards.

But as soon as it seemed like SU might pull away, the pendulum swung the other direction. The Rebels nailed a 20-yard field goal and then as the third quarter came to a close, a Syracuse punt was blocked and recovered by UNLV in the endzone, to bring the game even. It was SU’s second punting miscue of the day.

“It’s bad, and we have to get it fixed … on the second (botched punt), two of our star players didn’t make a block,” Brown said of his team’s special teams mishaps.

UNLV cashed in their nation-leading 10th interception in the fourth by linebacker Jackson Woodard and turned it into a nine-yard go-ahead touchdown reception by wideout Rich White III.

As time ran out in the fourth, McCord hauled a jump ball to Meeks in the end zone, and the wide receiver came down with it, tying the game at 38 with 23 seconds left in regulation.

The Orange were able to hold the Rebels to a field goal to start overtime. While both teams committed costly turnovers throughout, the most important one came next. A roughing the passer call kept Syracuse’s offense alive, and then Allen was able to punch in his fourth - and most important - touchdown of the day.

“As soon as we got the targeting (call), I said ‘run the ball’ in the red zone,” Brown said postgame.

Syracuse continues a four-game road stretch next week at NC State. The primetime matchup is scheduled for an 8 p.m. kickoff on Saturday from Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. WAER’s coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. with countdown to kickoff.