Damien Rhodes rushed for a career-high 236 yards in SU's 31-0 win against Buffalo.
Orange Defeats Buffalo, 31-0
9/6/2005 4:11:11 PM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The SU football team shutout Buffalo, 31-0, on Saturday, September 10 thanks to Damien Rhodes, who rushed for a career-high 236 yards and four touchdowns. Anthony Smith recorded two interceptions to lead the SU defense that allowed just 123 total yards of offense in the game.
Rhodes rushed for 27-, 50-, and 54-yard touchdowns in the first half to lead SU to its third-straight win against the Bulls. The win is also Greg Robinson’s first victory as a head coach.
Smith’s pair of interceptions gives him 10 in his career, tying him for ninth all-time at SU with Ray Perkins and Quentin Harris. It is also the first time a player has picked off two passes since Smith did it in 2003 against Notre Dame.
The shutout is the first for the Orange since 1997, when SU beat East Carolina 56-0. Syracuse held its opponent to less than 200 yards of total offense for the first time since 2002 (Rutgers) and allowed less than 10 first downs for the first time since 1999 (Temple).
SU put its first points on the scoreboard on its second possession of the game. Tom Ferron caught his first career pass from Perry Patterson and ran down the sideline for a 29-yard gain. Ferron’s catch was made possible by a Patterson 10-yard scramble on third-and-six to keep the SU drive alive. On the next play, Damien Rhodes scampered to the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown run, his second of the season.
Early in the second quarter, Ricky Krautman attempted a 40-yard field goal after the Bulls stopped an SU drive. UB’s Rob Schroeder pushed across the SU line and blocked the kick, the eighth of his career. Schroeder is the nation’s active career leader in that category.
After Buffalo was forced to punt on its next drive, the Orange took over at midfield. Two Patterson incompletions made it third-and-ten, but Rhodes rushed through the middle and broke into the open field, finding the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown run, his second of the game.
The Bulls started their ensuing drive on their own six-yard line after a penalty on the kickoff and an offensive holding call on the first play. On third-and-10, UB quarterback Stewart Sampsel threw a ball up for grabs, and Anthony Smith came down with his first interception of the season at the UB 49-yard line.
On SU’s next drive, three-straight rushes created a fourth-and-one situation. Patterson handed the ball off to Rhodes, who turned the corner on the right side and ran to the UB two-yard line for a 37-yard gain. On the next three plays, SU lost two yards, and settled for a Ricky Krautman 21-yard field goal, the first of his career, to put SU up 13-0 halfway through the second quarter.
Buffalo was able to drive into Syracuse territory on the next drive thanks to a Sampsel 25-yard scramble. However, a Sampsel pass fell into the hands of Anthony Smith for the second time in the game at the SU 27-yard line.
Rhodes accounted for all of SU’s yards on the ensuing drive, capped by a 54-yard touchdown run up the middle, his third score of the day. SU took a 24-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
SU started the second half right where it left off, as Patterson found Tim Lane down the field for a 44-yard completion down to the UB three-yard line. It took Rhodes two plays, but he found the end zone for the fourth time in the game to give SU a 31-0 cushion.
The Orange will be back in action on Saturday, September 17 when it hosts Virginia at Noon in the Carrier Dome.
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