Recap: LSU 35, Syracuse 26

Saturday, September 23

Baton Rouge, LA

7 pm

Syracuse University

2-2

LSU

3-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Syracuse

LSU

Photo by: Charles Wainwright

9/23/2017 11:24:00 PM | Football

Box Score Cuse TV: Highlights Cuse TV: Dino Babers Press Conference Cuse TV: Players' Press Conference Photo Gallery Postgame Notes Quotes

BATON ROUGE, La. – Syracuse (2-2) tallied 23 second-half points, but couldn't overtake No. 25 LSU (3-1) and lost to the Tigers 35-26 in front of a crowd of 96,044 at Tiger Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23. Wide receiver Steve Ishmael recorded his fourth consecutive 100-yard receiving game with 123 yards and a touchdown on 11 receptions. Linebacker Parris Bennett led the defense with a season-high 12 tackles.

Junior quarterback Eric Dungey completed 32-of-52 passes for 265 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 24 yards and another score.

LSU's Darrel Williams, DJ Chark and Derrius Guice each ran for a touchdown. Quarterback Danny Etling was 10-for-17 passing for 188 yards and two scores to help the Tigers extend their home non-conference winning streak to 49 games.

HOW IT WAS DECIDED
Down 28-10 late in the third quarter, Syracuse rattled off 16 straight points to cut the LSU lead to two. Bennett tackled Williams in the end zone for a safety with 3:29 left to play in the third. A 14-yard Dungey touchdown run with seven seconds to go in the quarter followed, capping a 10-play, 72-yard drive that made the score 28-19. In the fourth quarter, Dungey found Ishmael for a 22-yard touchdown at the 5:40 mark and Cole Murphy's ensuing PAT trimmed the margin to 28-26.

Following Ishmael's score, Syracuse tried an onside kick that was recovered by the Tigers at their own 44-yard line. Etling moved LSU 56 yards in seven plays with Chark sealing the game on a 20-yard touchdown run with 1:52 remaining.

BABERS' TAKE
"Honestly, it was a well-played game. Playing a team like that in a venue like this is extremely difficult. I'm extremely proud of my young men, but by no means are we satisfied with coming here and getting a close loss. We felt like there were enough plays out there for us to make and if we made the plays we would have had the opportunity to win. We're disappointed that we didn't."

OF NOTE
Sophomore wide receiver Devin C. Butler played quarterback at Frederick Douglass High School in Maryland. On Saturday, he got an opportunity to show of his arm. Butler completed two passes (the first of his career) for 43 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown strike to Ervin Philips for Syracuse's first points of the second half.

Like Ishmael, Philips also made 11 receptions against LSU. The duo served as the engine for Syracuse's offense, combining for 22 of the Orange's 34 catches against the Tigers. In the process, they became the first pair of Syracuse receivers to recorded double-digit receptions in the same game this season.

Punter Sterling Hofrichter turned in a stellar effort for the second week in a row. After averaging 51 yards per punt against Central Michigan, Hofrichter averaged 46.7 yards per boot against LSU. He landed five of his seven punts against the Tigers inside the 20-yard line, including four inside the 10. Hofrichter's ability to flip the field helped Syracuse remain within striking distance until the end.

The Syracuse defense did not allow a Tiger ball carrier to run for 100 yards, snapping LSU's streak of 12 straight non-conference games with at least one 100-yard rusher dating back to 2014. LSU amassed 151 yards as a team on the ground. Williams led the way with 92 yards on 16 carries.

UP NEXT
Syracuse caps its two-game road swing when it faces NC State to open Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday, Sept. 30 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Kickoff is set for 12:20 p.m. on the ACC Network.

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