Syracuse Loses to #25/20 Virginia On Last-Second Field Goal, 27-24

Saturday, September 17

Syracuse, NY

Noon

Syracuse University

VIRGINIA

Quarterback Perry Patterson had a hand in all three SU touchdowns versus Virginia.

Syracuse Loses to #25/20 Virginia On Last-Second Field Goal, 27-24

9/17/2005 3:17:31 PM | Football

Boxscore

Syracuse Post-Game Notes
Virginia Post-Game Notes
Coach Robinson Post-game Quotes
Syracuse Player Quotes

Virginia Post-Game Coach And Player Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The #25/20 Virginia Cavaliers (2-0) kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired to defeat Syracuse (1-2) by the score of 27-24 in front of 40,027 fans at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Sept. 17. The game marked the Orange's 25th anniversary celebrationof the Dome which opened on Sept. 20, 1980.

Virginia started its game-winning drive on its own 41-yard line. Cavaliers quarterback Marques Hagans scrambled for 26-yards down to the SU 29-yard line. After grinding the ball down into the red zone, the Cavaliers were forced into a fourth-and-inches situation. Peerman pounded the ball up the middle on fourth down, getting UVA inside the 10-yard line with less than a minute left in the game. After two more rushes, the Cavaliers called timeout to set up the game-winning kick by Connor Hughes.

In the opening quarter, SU wasted no time getting on the board, capitalizing on good field position on its first possession. Senior Damien Rhodes broke loose for a 22-yard gain up the left sideline, and a personal foul on he same play gave the Orange the ball at the UVA 12-yard line. After a pair of rushes up the middle, Junior Perry Patterson dropped back to pass on third-and-seven, but found a seam up the middle. He made a move past a defender near the goal line and ran his way to the end zone, giving SU a 7-0 lead with 11:39 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing UVA drive, on third-and-five, quarterback Hagans avoided a sack and ran into SU territory for a 37-yard gain to the 20-yard line. Deyon Williams caught a Hagans’ pass for 12 yards, bringing the ball to the eight-yard line. Tom Santi caught another pass for two yards, and then Cedric Peerman ran the ball to the one-yard line. On third down, Peerman got the ball again and was hit at the line, but a second effort allowed him to cross the goal line, tying the game at 7-7 with 6:38 to remain in the first quarter.

The Cavaliers received the ball at their own 20-yard line to start the second quarter. With the help of a pair of Williams’ catches, UVA marched to the 44-yard line. Hagans scrambled for an 11-yard gain, and Michael Johnson caught a screen pass for 14 more, bringing UVA into the red zone. On a Hagans pass attempt, junior Tanard Jackson deflected the ball in the end zone, and senior Ryan LaCasse picked it off for a touchback. It was the first interception of his career.

SU went three-and-out on its next drive, giving UVA good field position on the SU 48-yard line. However, senior Steve Gregory got the ball back for the Orange, intercepting a Hagans pass on the first play Virginia's first play of the drive at the SU eight-yard line. The pick is the first this season for Gregory, and it moved him into a tie for fourth place on the all-time passes defended list with Willie Ford at 36.

SU again was forced to go three-and-out following Gregory’s interception, and on the punt, a kick catch interference call gave the Cavaliers the ball at the SU 32-yard line. Santi came down with a 24-yard pass play, giving UVA a first-and-goal on the eight-yard line. On third-and-goal, Hagans found Peerman in the end zone for his second score of the day to give UVA a 14-7 lead with 7:36 left before intermission.

With three minutes left in the first half, and UVA at midfield, sophomore Dowayne Davis came down with another SU interception, the first of his career, and returned it to the UVA 34-yard line. However, the offense could not capitalize and was forced to punt after three plays, leaving the score at 14-7 at the half.

On Virginia’s first possession of the third quarter, the Cavaliers got the ball at their own 47-yard line. UVA was able to drive down the field to the SU nine-yard line, but the drive was halted there. Connor Hughes came on to kick the 26-yard field goal, which he converted to give Virginia a 17-7 lead with 9:30 left in the third stanza.

SU quickly responded after Kareem Jones returned the kickoff for a career-high 25 yards to the 35-yard line. A UVA penalty gave SU five more yards to the 40-yard line. On third-and-seven, Patterson scrambled and found Rhodes all alone on the sideline for a 24-yard gain. After a two-yard Rhodes run, Patterson faked a handoff to Rhodes and rolled out to his right, finding Kowalewski all alone for a 31-yard touchdown cutting the deficit to 17-14 with 7:51 to play in the third. The touchdown reception was Kowalewski’s second in his career.

On the ensuing drive, Virginia stretched its lead back to 10 when Johnson took a handoff on the second play and found room on the left side, rushing up the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown scamper, putting Virginia back up 24-14 with 6:57 to go in the third quarter.

After trading punts, SU took over at its own 20-yard line. Patterson found Kowalewski for a 30-yard gain, and then completed a pass to senior Alex Shor to move SUto the three-yard line. On the next play, Patterson rolled out to his left and found a clear path to the end zone, cutting the Cavaliers lead to 24-21 with 13:17 left in the game.

A rejuvenated SU defense and crowd responded to the touchdown, holding UVA to three-and-out after LaCasse tracked down Hagans in the backfield trying to scramble.

SU started its drive at its own 46-yard line. After Rhodes ran for a first down, SU was forced into a fourth-and-four situation. Patterson dropped back and avoided a sack, then found Kowalewski for an 11-yard gain and a first down. A personal foul roughing the passer call gave the Orange the ball at the 13-yard line. SU would get to the 10-yard line, and freshman John Barker came in to kick a 27-yard field goal, the first of his career, to tie the game 24-24 with 6:25 left in the game, setting the Cavaliers' game-winning march.

Patterson finished the day 17-of-26 for 172 yards passing and a touchdown. His 17 completions moved into ninth all-time at SU with 210 and his 172 yards passing also put him in the Orange's top 10 on that career ledger. Patterson also accumulated 15 yards rushing.

Kowaleski finished with a game-high seven catches for 96 yards. Both career highs. Junior receiver Tim Lane also recorded a career-best with four receptions in the contest.

Rhoades led the Orange rushing attack with 80 yards on 27 carries.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior James Wyche finished with five tackles, moving him into sixth place on SU's career tackles by a downlineman list with 160. Junior linebacker Kelvin Smith paced the Orange defense with eight total tackles, including five solos. Senior linebacker Tommy Harris recorded a personal-best seven stops.

Junior punter Brendan Carney punted seven times, moving him into ninth place on SU's career punts chart with 128. His 260 punting yards (37.1 average) moved into sixth-place on that all-time SU list (5,763 punting yards).

Hagans was 16-of-26 through the air for Virginia for a total of 145 yards and a score. He also rushed for a game-high 112 yards on 14 carries.

As a part of the 25^th Anniversary of the Dome celebration, SU wore blue jerseys and white pants, the first time it has done that at home since 1980.

On Saturday, the Allstate Insurance Company donated $1,000 for each SU field goal to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. In addition, Allstate donated to SU's general scholarship fund $300 for each field goal and $100 for every extra point. The Orange raised $1,900 on one field goal and three PAT's on the day. In addition, SU donated $5,468 to the United Way of Central New York. The donations were accepted as part of the Dollar Days promotion. Student-athletes from the men's and women's rowing, men's and women's swimming, and men's and women's track and field teams all helped in collecting the donations.

Syracuse has an open week next week and will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 1 when they play at ACC foe Florida State.