The scoreboard briefly produced an awkward question in Syracuse: What, exactly, was SMU supposed to do with a 20-19 deficit?
The Mustangs had already cut Syracuse’s halftime lead from 20-10 to 20-17 on Yamir Knight’s third-quarter touchdown. Then, at 12:07 of the fourth quarter, an intentional-grounding penalty in the end zone gave SMU a safety. The Orange still led by one, but the game had tilted toward a strange opportunity. SMU needed to turn two unusual points into a lead that could survive ordinary football.
For a while, it did. Kendrick Raphael’s 13-yard touchdown run and a successful two-point pass involving Derrick McFall put SMU ahead 27-20 with 9:04 remaining. The University Park program had manufactured an eight-point swing from 20-19 to 27-20 in a little more than three minutes of game time.
The problem was never that the Mustangs failed to capitalize. The problem was that the lead required either a defensive stop or a possession with enough substance to keep Syracuse from getting another chance. SMU produced neither, losing 30-27 at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday.
The safety began after SMU punted from its own 49 and Syracuse took possession at the Orange 8. Steve Angeli threw incomplete on first down. His next completion to Ahmad Miller lost 6 yards, and a third-down completion to Calvin Russell gained 10, with a Syracuse holding penalty leaving the ball at the 6.
On third-and-12, Angeli’s incomplete pass drew intentional grounding in the end zone. The penalty awarded SMU two points and returned the ball after Yamir Knight’s 17-yard free-kick return to the SMU 32.
The Mustangs then had to earn the touchdown that made the safety consequential. Their ensuing possession covered 67 yards in seven plays, with Jennings and Raphael both contributing gains on the ground and Knight and Cooper supplying catches. Raphael finished with the 13-yard scoring run, and the successful conversion made it 27-20.
SMU had turned a defensive score and favorable starting position into a touchdown drive rather than wasting the possession that came with the free kick.
Raphael’s role was substantial rather than decorative. He carried 14 times for 51 yards and caught five passes for 33 yards. Jennings threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, while SMU scored on all four of its red-zone opportunities.
The offense had enough production to make the comeback credible, even though four sacks cost 52 yards and pulled the team’s net rushing total down to 70 yards.
Syracuse answered the new scoreboard immediately with a 10-play, 67-yard possession. SMU held the Orange to a 26-yard Tripp Woody field goal, preserving a 27-23 lead, but that was a partial victory. The Mustangs had another possession in front of them and could have made Syracuse spend more time and distance before trying again.
Instead, SMU’s next series gained minus-6 yards in three plays. Jennings was stopped for no gain, then sacked for a 6-yard loss before an incomplete pass on third-and-16. The punt left Syracuse with the ball at its own 32 and 3:36 remaining.