NCAAF Game Recap - Western Michigan at Syracuse
Sat Sep 21, 2019 12:00 PM EDT

UNCC
10
Clem
52
F
SMiss
7
Bama
49
F
ND
17
UGA
23
F
LSU
66
Vand
38
F
MiaOH
5
OSU
76
F
Aub
28
TxAM
20
F
Tenn
3
Fla
34
F
Utah
23
USC
30
F
Mich
14
Wisc
35
F
OkSt
30
Tex
36
F
UCF
34
Pitt
35
F
Oreg
21
Stan
6
F
UCLA
67
WaSt
63
F
AF
19
Boise
30
F
OD
17
UVA
28
F
Wash
45
BYU
19
F
Cal
28
Miss
20
F
Colo
34
AzSt
31
F
SMU
41
TCU
38
F
Hou
31
Tul
38
F
FLInt
31
LT
43
F
MSU
31
NW
10
F
ULMon
20
IASt
72
F
Elon
7
Wake
49
F
WestMI
33
Syr
52
F
BC
30
Rut
16
F
UConn
3
Ind
38
F
Mor
21
Army
52
F
CoCar
62
UMass
28
F
ULLaf
45
Ohio
25
F
CenCt
29
E Mi
34
F
Troy
35
Akr
7
F
BGSU
20
Kent
62
F
SoAl
3
UAB
35
F
Wyo
21
Tuls
24
F
App
34
UNC
31
F
Lou
24
FlaSt
35
F
Temp
22
Buff
38
F
JMU
37
Chat
14
F
SCar
14
MIZ
34
F
KY
13
MissSt
28
F
C Mi
12
MiaFL
17
F
NMS
52
NM
55
F
WVU
29
Kans
24
F
W&M
7
ECU
19
F
Hamp
27
Lib
62
F
Wagn
7
FlAtl
42
F
GASt
34
TxSt
37
F(2OT)
(N/A)
6
SamHu
45
F
SIU
28
ArkSt
41
F
N AL
12
JacSt
30
F
Bayl
21
Rice
13
F
Ball
23
NCSt
34
F
UTSA
3
NorTx
45
F
SJSU
31
Ark
24
F
NEV
37
UTEP
21
F
Neb
42
Ill
38
F
SacSt
20
Fres
34
F
Toled
41
ColSt
35
F
UtSt
23
SDSU
17
F
C Ark
16
Hawaii
35
F

Sep 21, 2019, 12:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Western Michigan (2-2)

0

13

20

0

33

Syracuse (2-2)

14

10

14

14

52

DeVito leads Syracuse to 52-33 win over Western Michigan
Sat Sep 21, 2019 6:16 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) Syracuse coach Dino Babers was pleased his team's offense had come out of its shell, but in a game that saw both teams combine for more than 1,100 yards and 85 points, it was the defense that helped seal a 52-33 win for the Orange.

Western Michigan (2-2) had rallied from a 21-0 deficit to narrow the margin to 38-33 with a little more than 10 minutes remaining and had a fourth-and-1 from its own 42. Momentum was on the Broncos' side and the Carrier Dome knew it. But Syracuse defensive tackle Kenneth Ruff and safety Evan Foster stopped Davon Tucker about a foot short of the first down. On the subsequent drive, tight end Aaron Hackett caught his second touchdown pass of the game from Tommy DeVito and the Orange (2-2) could exhale.

"We treat fourth-down stops like a turnover," Babers said. "That was a really big deal. I thought the one stop was unbelievable where they originally gave them the first down (on third down). For us to come back and stop them on that series was a really big part of the game."

"We have to be able to convert a fourth-and-short," said Western Michigan coach Tim Lester, who served as Syracuse offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2013-2015.

DeVito passed for a career-high four touchdowns and ran for one score as Syracuse broke a modest two-game losing streak.

"I'm a throw-first guy but definitely can run if I have to," said DeVito, who broke off a career-high 60-yard run.

"I thought it was cool that he started the game and finished the game with the same number of interceptions (zero)," Babers said.

Hackett had a career day with six receptions.

"It felt good to finally get out and score my first touchdown in the Dome," he said.

Trishton Jackson, who had six receptions for 141 yards, also had two touchdown catches for the Orange. Moe Neal led Syracuse with 123 yards rushing and two scores.

Syracuse had been held to a total of 50 points in its previous three games.

"Really proud of the offense to kind of come out of their shell and put some points on the board against any defense in college football, but I'm disappointed in the turnovers," Babers said.

DeVito was 27 of 35 for 287 yards for Syracuse and picked up 84 yards on the ground. He completed passes to eight different receivers.

Jon Wassink was 23 of 46 for the Broncos for 356 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

"We started slow which hurt us," Wassink said. "We turned the ball over a couple times which we can't do. We started slow and had to claw our way back. We have to be better."

LeVante Bellamy, who was held in check in the first quarter, finished with 165 yards on just 15 carries before an injury sidelined him in the third quarter. He had touchdown runs of 47 and 43 yards. Giovanni Ricci had a season-high eight catches for 105 yards.

"Their tailback (Bellamy) is exceptional," Babers said.

The game, marred by sloppy play, saw 19 penalties for nearly 200 yards and five turnovers, all fumbles. Western Michigan turned it over three times and the teams capitalized for touchdowns on four fumbles.

"I thought it was a game of different mood swings, different momentum swings. Felt like one minute we had control of the game and the next thing you know you're back in a football game," Babers said.

"Obviously, really disappointed after all the turnovers, the guys were hanging and hanging and by end of third quarter we were in the game," Lester said. "That was the goal, stay in the game late and make a play in the last couple of drives. The offense had two or three opportunities to score to take the lead and we didn't. That's the most frustrating thing. We moved the ball which I was proud of."

Syracuse wasted little time getting on the board, going 81 yards on four plays, capped by a 23-yard run up the middle by Neal. DeVito scampered 60 yards on the game's second play to set up Neal's run.

Syracuse led 24-13 at the half. The third quarter featured four consecutive touchdown drives of less than two minutes each.

WHAT COULD'VE BEEN

Babers said he could only imagine how the game could've turned had D'Wayne Eskridge and Bellamy not been injured. Eskridge caught two passes for 53 yards on the Broncos' first possession but never returned after being hurt on his 43-yard catch.

BACK TO BACK

Bellamy followed his 192-yard effort against Georgia State with another impressive effort. He has 357 yards in his last two games.

RECORD-SETTER

Sean Riley is now Syracuse's all-time leader in kickoffs returned and kickoff return yardage, surpassing wide receiver Qadry Ismail.

THE STREAK

Syracuse extended to 18 the number of consecutive games in which the Orange have recorded a takeaway.

THE TAKEAWAY

Western Michigan: The Broncos didn't get down after falling behind 21-0 and put a scare into the Orange. With weapons like Bellamy and Ricci the Broncos will be a tough out.

Syracuse: While they scored 52 points, the Orange failed to capitalize on a couple of red-zone opportunities, which has been a recurring issue this season. Ball security will be stressed in the coming week.

UP NEXT

Western Michigan: The Broncos host in-state rival Central Michigan Saturday.

Syracuse: The Orange conclude their three-game home stand Saturday against Holy Cross.

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

WestMI Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
J. Wassink 46 23 50.0 2 356 60 1 81.4
Syr Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
T. DeVito 35 27 77.1 4 287 59 0 138.6

Rushing

WestMI Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
L. Bellamy 15 165 11.0 47 2
S. Tyler 5 19 3.8 8 1
Syr Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
M. Neal 26 123 4.7 23 2
T. DeVito 9 85 9.4 60 1

Receiving

WestMI Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
G. Ricci 8 105 13.1 24 1
J. Hall 4 93 23.3 60 1
Syr Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
T. Jackson 6 141 23.5 59 2
A. Hackett 6 48 8.0 12 2

Fumbles

WestMI F FL
K. Mixon Jr. 1 1
J. Wassink 1 1
Syr F FL
M. Neal 1 1
A. Adams 1 1

Returning

WestMI KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
K. Mixon Jr. 2 26.0 0 28 1 2.0 0 2
Syr KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
S. Riley 2 16.0 0 18 1 12.0 0 12
N. Johnson 3 15.7 0 17 0 0 0

Punting

WestMI Punt Yds Avg LgPu
N. Mihalic 3 114 38.0 42
Syr Punt Yds Avg LgPu
S. Hofrichter 5 220 44.0 54

Takeaways

Syr Int Yds InTD
E. Coley 1 7 0
A. Adams 0 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

WestMI Syr
Points For 33 52
Total Yards 557 545
Rushing Yards 201 258
Passing Yards 356 287
Passing Completions / Attempts 23/46 27/35
Turnovers 4 2
Interceptions Thrown 1 0
Fumbles - Lost 3/3 2/2
First Downs 25 25
Penalties - Yards 8/80 11/103
Time Of Possession 51:51 09:09
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 7/16 8/16
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/5 1/1
Punts - Average Yards 3/38 5/44

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter WestMI Syr
Syr 01:37 TD Moe Neal 23 yd run (Andre Szmyt kick) 0 7
Syr 09:31 TD Aaron Hackett 10 yd pass from Tommy DeVito (Andre Szmyt kick) 0 14
2nd Quarter WestMI Syr
Syr 02:15 TD Tommy DeVito 36 yd run (Andre Szmyt kick) 0 21
WestMI 05:51 TD LeVante Bellamy 47 yd run (Thiago Kapps kick) 7 21
WestMI 10:04 TD Giovanni Ricci 2 yd pass from Jon Wassink (missed kick) 13 21
Syr 12:32 FG Andre Szmyt 24 yd FG 13 24
3rd Quarter WestMI Syr
Syr 03:46 TD Trishton Jackson 59 yd pass from Tommy DeVito (Andre Szmyt kick) 13 31
WestMI 05:43 TD LeVante Bellamy 43 yd run (failed 2pt pass) 19 31
Syr 07:27 TD Trishton Jackson 46 yd pass from Tommy DeVito (Andre Szmyt kick) 19 38
WestMI 09:02 TD Jaylen Hall 60 yd pass from Jon Wassink (Thiago Kapps kick) 26 38
WestMI 14:11 TD Sean Tyler 8 yd run (Thiago Kapps kick) 33 38
4th Quarter WestMI Syr
Syr 06:15 TD Aaron Hackett 9 yd pass from Tommy DeVito (Andre Szmyt kick) 33 45
Syr 11:56 TD Moe Neal 16 yd run (Andre Szmyt kick) 33 52

Game Information

Stadium: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York
Attendance: 40,700
Game Time:
Weather: