The Syracuse Orange got off to a slow start this afternoon and the #24 ranked Tennessee Volunteers made them pay winning 45-26 in the Aflac Kickoff Classic in Atlanta
In his first start, Steve Angeli went 23-40 for 274 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Yasin Willis had 23 carries for 91 yards and 3 touchdowns. Johntay Cook showed his ability with 6 receptions for 58 yards while Dan Villari had 5 for 55.
Syracuse’s defense held the Volunteers to a field goal on the opening drive and when the Orange looked poised to respond, a careless penalty wiped out a third-down conversion and forced a punt. Tennessee marched down to make it a 10-0 game and took control of the quarter.
The Orange got a break with a fumble recovery, but then a sack and fumble from Angeli turned into 7 for the Vols and a 17-0 lead. To their credit, the Syracuse offense responded with an 11-play 75 yard which included a 4th and 10 conversion from Angeli to Cook. Willis cashed in from two yards out and it looked like we had a game.
Unfortunately, that feeling left quickly as Joey Aguilar found Braylon Staley behind Demetres Samuel for a 73-yard score and it looked like too many Orange games the last 20+ years…..but this isn’t exactly the same program. Syracuse found the end zone again with Angeli hitting Cook for their first touchdown, but the defense couldn’t respond letting the Vols break tackles and quickly answer. Tennessee got 7 before the half to make it 31-14 at the break.
The second half started just as bad as a tipped pass led to a Tennessee interception deep in Syracuse territory. The Vols converted a 3rd and goal and any Orange upset hopes appeared over. Still, Syracuse showed they weren’t going to quit. A long touchdown drive was capped by Willis going airborne for his 2nd score. The 2-pt conversion failed and the lead was 38-20.
The two teams traded 3 and outs and after another punt from the Vols, Syracuse was driving as the 3rd quarter ended. With the Orange facing 4th and short, Angeli found a way out of this to convert to David Clement and keep the drive alive.
Willis cashed in his third score of the afternoon and the Orange once again failed on a 2-pt attempt but they closed to within two scores. The defense couldn’t get the ball back and Aguilar threw a touchdown to push Tennessee’s lead back to 45-26. A late drive by the Orange was stopped on 4th and goal and the Orange fall to 0-1 on the season.
Tennessee ran for 246 yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. The inability to stop the run kept Syracuse from getting back in the game and now we turn to next Saturday’s home opener vs UConn. Kickoff is Noon on ACCNX.
