#TBT: Orange Rallies Past Pitt, 31-27
10/22/2015 8:00:00 AM | Football
David Walker scores four touchdowns to lead SU to 1991 victory versus Panthers
Syracuse hosts rival Pittsburgh Saturday as part of Orange Central/Homecoming Weekend. The two teams have played every year since 1955. To get you ready for kickoff, Cuse.com takes a look back at another Homecoming game. This one was on Oct. 19, 1991 at Pitt Stadium. It was also Syracuse's first BIG EAST Conference game.
PITTSBURGH – Paul Pasqualoni's Syracuse squad spoiled Pitt's Homecoming by defeating the Panthers, 31-27, at Pitt Stadium in the inaugural BIG EAST Conference game for the Orange. David Walker rushed for 138 yards and four touchdowns, including the winner with nine seconds to play.
Syracuse overcame six turnovers and trailed 13-0 in the first half and 27-17 before rallying to win. Walker became the first Orange back since Floyd Little in 1965 to run for four touchdowns. Qadry Ismail totaled 192 all-purpose yards, and quarterback Marvin Graves was 20-of-30 passing for 268 yards. Chris Gedney was Graves' favorite target, catching eight passes for 107 yards.
The Panthers jumped out to a 13-0 advantage on a Jermaine Williams 12-yard touchdown run and a pair of field goals by Don Silvestri.
The Orange responded with two Walker touchdown runs before Alex Van Pelt connected with Chris Bouyer for a 37-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter to make the score 20-14 Panthers at the half.
In the third quarter, John Biskup booted a 37-yard field goal to draw Syracuse within three, 20-17, but Van Pelt tossed his second TD pass of the game, this time to Eric Seaman early in the fourth quarter, to extend the Pitt advantage to 27-17.
From there it was all Syracuse. Graves proved himself as a field general, engineering a 12-play, 70-yard scoring march that ended in a 4-yard TD run by Walker. He then led a 10-play, 73-yard drive that resulted in Walker's game-winning touchdown plunge from a yard out.
Ismail made two clutch catches on the winning drive. He hauled in a 29-yard pass from Graves on third down early in the series, and made a 13-yard reception at the goal line with less than 15 seconds to play.
The Orange led for a grand total of 27 seconds the entire game. Its only leads were 14-13 and the final score. Syracuse outgained the Panthers in total offense 506 to 336, outrushed them 238 to 69, controlled the ball for 38:57 to Pitt's 21:03 and ran 88 offensive plays to Pitt's 51.
RUSHING: Syracuse – Walker 25-138, Wooten 10-59, Ismail 1-36, Richardson 7-21, Lee 2-5, Womack 1-3, Picucci 1-0, Graves 10-(-24). Pitt - Colicchio 6-40, J. Williams 12-28, Van Pelt 1-1, V. Williams 1-0.
PASSING: Syracuse – Graves 20-30-2-268, Richardson 0-1-0-0. Pitt – Van Pelt 18-31-1-267.
RECEIVING: Syracuse – Gedney 8-107, Ismail 3-56, Johnson 2-29, Barker 1-21, Walker 3-20, Hill 2-19, Lee 1-16. Pitt – Bouyer 4-81, Seaman 5-75, Moore 5-34, 1-30, Green 1-30, Jells 1-30, Davis 2-17.
PITTSBURGH – Paul Pasqualoni's Syracuse squad spoiled Pitt's Homecoming by defeating the Panthers, 31-27, at Pitt Stadium in the inaugural BIG EAST Conference game for the Orange. David Walker rushed for 138 yards and four touchdowns, including the winner with nine seconds to play.
Syracuse overcame six turnovers and trailed 13-0 in the first half and 27-17 before rallying to win. Walker became the first Orange back since Floyd Little in 1965 to run for four touchdowns. Qadry Ismail totaled 192 all-purpose yards, and quarterback Marvin Graves was 20-of-30 passing for 268 yards. Chris Gedney was Graves' favorite target, catching eight passes for 107 yards.
The Panthers jumped out to a 13-0 advantage on a Jermaine Williams 12-yard touchdown run and a pair of field goals by Don Silvestri.
The Orange responded with two Walker touchdown runs before Alex Van Pelt connected with Chris Bouyer for a 37-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter to make the score 20-14 Panthers at the half.
In the third quarter, John Biskup booted a 37-yard field goal to draw Syracuse within three, 20-17, but Van Pelt tossed his second TD pass of the game, this time to Eric Seaman early in the fourth quarter, to extend the Pitt advantage to 27-17.
From there it was all Syracuse. Graves proved himself as a field general, engineering a 12-play, 70-yard scoring march that ended in a 4-yard TD run by Walker. He then led a 10-play, 73-yard drive that resulted in Walker's game-winning touchdown plunge from a yard out.
Ismail made two clutch catches on the winning drive. He hauled in a 29-yard pass from Graves on third down early in the series, and made a 13-yard reception at the goal line with less than 15 seconds to play.
The Orange led for a grand total of 27 seconds the entire game. Its only leads were 14-13 and the final score. Syracuse outgained the Panthers in total offense 506 to 336, outrushed them 238 to 69, controlled the ball for 38:57 to Pitt's 21:03 and ran 88 offensive plays to Pitt's 51.
| Score By Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Syracuse | 0 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 31 |
| Pittsburgh | 7 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| Scoring Summary | ||
| Team | Play | Score |
| PITT | Williams 12-yard run (Kaplan kick) | 0-7 |
| PITT | Silvestri 37-yard field goal | 0-10 |
| PITT | Silvestri 20-yard field goal | 13-0 |
| SU | Walker 2-yard run (Biskup kick) | 13-7 |
| SU | Walker 3-yard run (Biskup kick) | 13-14 |
| PITT | Bouyer 37-yard pass from Van Pelt (Kaplan kick) | 20-14 |
| SU | Biskup 35-yard field goal | 20-17 |
| PITT | Seaman 8-yard pass from Van Pelt (Kaplan kick) | 27-17 |
| SU | Walker 4-yard run (Biskup kick) | 27-24 |
| SU | Walker 1-yard run (Biskup kick) | 31-27 |
| Team Stats | SU | PITT |
| First Downs | 26 | 13 |
| Rushing Yardage | 238 | 69 |
| Passing Yardage | 268 | 267 |
| Total Offense | 506 | 336 |
| Passes | 20-31 | 18-31 |
| Passes Intercepted By | 1 | 2 |
| Punts-Avg. | 0-0.0 | 6-38.7 |
| Punt Returns | 4-18 | 4-18 |
| Kickoff Returns | 4-100 | 2-54 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 4-4 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 9-52 | 3-15 |
RUSHING: Syracuse – Walker 25-138, Wooten 10-59, Ismail 1-36, Richardson 7-21, Lee 2-5, Womack 1-3, Picucci 1-0, Graves 10-(-24). Pitt - Colicchio 6-40, J. Williams 12-28, Van Pelt 1-1, V. Williams 1-0.
PASSING: Syracuse – Graves 20-30-2-268, Richardson 0-1-0-0. Pitt – Van Pelt 18-31-1-267.
RECEIVING: Syracuse – Gedney 8-107, Ismail 3-56, Johnson 2-29, Barker 1-21, Walker 3-20, Hill 2-19, Lee 1-16. Pitt – Bouyer 4-81, Seaman 5-75, Moore 5-34, 1-30, Green 1-30, Jells 1-30, Davis 2-17.
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