#TBT: Syracuse Rallies at Virginia Tech

Thirty years ago, the Syracuse football team made history, finishing the regular season with an 11-0 record and earning an invitation to the Sugar Bowl where it tied Auburn. This fall, Cuse.com will celebrate the 30th anniversary of that historic team each week with a recap of each contest from the 1987 campaign.

In its fourth game, Syracuse made its second road trip of the year, traveling to Virginia Tech. The date was Sept. 26 and the game was played at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va.

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Syracuse fell behind for the first time all year and trailed 21-7 at halftime before rallying for 28 unanswered points in a 35-21 victory at Virginia Tech.

Quarterback Don McPherson threw for three touchdown passes, two to wide receiver Tommy Kane. Running back Robert Drummond broke away for a 51-yard touchdown run, as well. The trio helped the Orange overcome two first-quarter touchdown passes by Virginia Tech quarterback Erik Chapman.

The Orange offense tallied 442 yards, including 272 in the second half.

Nose tackle Ted Gregory, fighting off constant double teams, notched 12 tackles, eight of which were unassisted. Defensive back Markus Paul made his fourth interception of the season against the Hokies, as well.

Syracuse had six sacks, five in the second half, with defensive tackle Paul Frase leading the way with two. The defense held Virginia Tech to 213 yards on offense, including -1 yard rushing. Following the Hokies' two early scores, their only points came when Don Stokes recovered a blocked punt in the end zone.

Score by Quarter	1	2	3	4	F
Syracuse	0	7	14	14	35
Virginia Tech	14	7	0	0	21

Scoring Summary
Team	Play	Score
VT	S. Johnson 8-yd pass from Chapman (Kinzer kick)	0-7
VT	Richardson 9-yd pass from Chapman (Kinzer kick)	0-14
SU	Owens 34-yd pass from McPherson (Vesling kick)	7-14
VT	D. Stokes, recovered blocked punt	7-21
SU	Barnes 4-yd run (Vesling kick)	14-21
SU	Kane 17-yd pass from McPherson (Vesling kick)	21-21
SU	Drummond 51-yd run (Vesling kick)	28-21
SU	Kane 11-yd pass from McPherson (Vesling kick)	35-21

Team Stats	SU	VT
First Downs	23	12
Rushing Yardage	256	(-1)
Passing Yardage	186	214
Total Offense	442	213
Passes	13/25	15/32
Passes Intercepted By	2	1
Punts/Avg.	6/31.5	8/40.5
Kickoff Returns	3/76	4/69
Fumbles/Lost	2/1	2/0
Penalties/Yards	6/40	3/15

RUSHING: Syracuse - Johnston 13-85, Drummond 7-80. Virginia Tech - E. Jones 7-26.
PASSING: Syracuse - McPherson 13-25-1-128. Virginia Tech - Chapman 15-32-2-214.
RECEIVING: Syracuse - Drummond 55-44, Kane 3-49. Virginia Tech - Richardson 5-99, Johnson 5-68.

Syracuse visits NC State next Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is set for 12:20 p.m. at Carter-Finley Stadium. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.

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Syracuse University Athletics

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