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Syracuse University
CENTRAL FLORIDA
SU Wins Home Opener, 21-10 Against Central Florida
10/2/2001 9:22:43 AM | Football
Box Score
Syracuse Game Notes
Syracuse Post-Game Quotes
Central Florida Game Notes
Central Florida Post-Game Quotes
James Mungro ran for 121 yards, including 66 in the second half, to lead the Syracuse Orangemen to a 21-10 victory versus the University of Central Florida Golden Knights on Saturday, Sept. 8 in the Carrier Dome in front of of a crowd of 35, 938. The Orangemen improved to 1-2 on the season, while UCF is now 0-2.
It was Mungro's seventh 100-yard rushing game of his career, which ties him with Malcolm Thomas and Dee Brown for seventh on the Orangemen's 100-yard rushing games list.
Overall, the offense produced a season-high 360 yards, including 205 on the ground. The Orange produced more rushing yards in the first half versus UCF than it had in either of its previous games. SU had 88 yards in the first two quarters, led by Mungro's 55 yards on 12 first-half carries.
Syracuse struck on its first possession of the game, marching 78 yards in 11 plays. Chris Davis capped the drive with a one-yard run on his first carry of the season. The score was set up by two key third-down conversions.
On third and nine from the SU 47-yard line, quarterback Troy Nunes hit Johnnie Morant for a 41-yard pickup. Nunes, under heavy pressure, lofted his pass down the right sideline. Morant beat the UCF coverage and hauled it in, going out of bounds at the 12-yard line. Nunes picked up another key completion on third down when he hit Maurice Jackson to give Syracuse a first and goal at the one-yard line.
A 22-yard field goal by Javier Beorlegui cut the SU lead to 7-3. The Golden Knights took a 10-7 halftime advantage on the final play of the second quarter. Quarterback Brian Miller, inserted into the lineup for the hail mary, hit Doug Gabriel for a 56-yard score. R.J. Anderson started the second half at quarterback for the Orangemen, but it was the ground game that sparked SU. Syracuse opened the half, with on a 12-play, 67-yard touchdown drive to take a 14-10 lead. Mungro did the honors with his first touchdown of the season, a two-yard run. Eleven of the 12 plays were runs, including five rushes for 25 yards by Mungro. The only pass of the drive was a 14-yard reception by tight end Jeremie Frazier. It was his first catch of the season. Walter Reyes set a single-game career high with eight carries for 33 yards, including five carries and 25 yards during the 12-play drive. The SU offense again rode Mungro's back into the endzone to take a 21-10 lead with 13:40 left in the fourth quarter. Mungro scored his second touchdown of the game on a 16-yard run to finish off an 11-play, 80-yard drive. He ran for 38 yards on five carries during the possession, crossing the 100-yard mark for the game. Anderson's feet kept the drive alive when he scrambled for seven yards on third down and six, one play before Mungro's touchdown.
The Orange defense stiffened in the second half. After allowing, 238 yards of offense in the first two quarters, SU allowed only 115 yards in the second half. The Orangemen recorded three sacks in the half, including two by Dwight Freeney, which extended his streak to 11-consecutive games with at least one sack and five straight games with two sacks. SU's pass rush also forced two intentional grounding penalties.
An interception by Rodney Wells with 2:05 left iced the game for Syracuse. It was Wells' first career pick.
The Orangemen forced three turnovers on the afternoon. Quentin Harris intercepted his second pass of the season, while Louis Gachelin recovered a fumble forced by Freeney.
SU's quarterbacks combined to go 9-of-18 for 155 yards. The duo of Nunes and Anderson also rushed for 25 yards on 12 carries. Nunes was 7-of-14 for 117 yards passing in the first half, while Anderson completed two his four attempts for 38 yards.
