Recap: Syracuse Falls at Florida State, 35-17

Saturday, October 26

Tallahassee, FL

3:30 PM

Syracuse University

3-5 , 0-4

Florida State

4-4 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Syracuse

Florida State

10/26/2019 7:26:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery Dino Babers Press Conference Tommy DeVito Press Conference Josh Black Press Conference Postgame Notes Quotes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State (4-4, 3-3 ACC) opened up an early 13-0 lead and went on to defeat Syracuse (3-5, 0-4 ACC) by the score of 35-17 on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Junior running back Cam Akers scored four touchdowns to lead the Seminoles, including three in the first half.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tommy DeVito completed 20-of-33 passes for 151 yards, while senior Moe Neal and redshirt junior Abdul Adams each scored fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns for the Orange.

Neal (74 yards) and Adams (56) combined for 130 of Syracuse's 192 yards rushing in the contest.

QUOTABLE
"We've got to find a way to start faster. Those guys (Florida State) did a fantastic job. (Cam) Akers is an amazing player and Coach Willie (Taggart) obviously – that was a good football team," Orange head coach Dino Babers said. "They did a nice job as coaches, and we need to regroup and get back home to the Dome and see if we can find a way to get a 'W' which we haven't had in a long, long time."

AKERS POWERS FSU
One of the most productive backs in the ACC, Akers finished with 144 yards rushing on 20 carries Saturday. He tallied 26 of the Seminoles' 35 points, finding the end zone on runs of 23, three, six and seven yards. He also had a two-point conversion. The Clinton, Miss. native scored twice in the first seven minutes of the game to stake FSU to an early 13-0 advantage.

Akers added another touchdown in the second quarter and crossed the goal line for the last time early in the third stanza. His four rushing scores tied the FSU single-game record and matched five other players for the most individual rushing TDs against the Orange. Akers also completed two passes in the game for 26 yards.

SZMYT GIVES ORANGE FIRST POINTS
Down 13-0 at the start of the second quarter, redshirt sophomore Andre Szmyt got Syracuse on the scoreboard. Szmyt booted a 50-yard field goal with 14:54 remaining in the first half to cap a seven-play, 18-yard drive that began at midfield.

The kick was Szmyt's longest field goal of the season to date and kept him perfect in his career from 50+ yards. Szmyt is 4-for-4 from beyond 50 yards in his two seasons.

RUNNING GAME GETS GOING
After struggling to run the ball the last two weeks, Syracuse showed improvement moving the football on the ground against the Seminoles. The Orange generated 192 yards on 51 attempts. Removing lost sack yardage, Syracuse tallied 216 rushing yards on 44 tries.

In addition to Neal and Adams, DeVito and sophomore Jarveon Howard amassed more than 30 yards on the ground. Both DeVito and Howard finished the contest with 32 rushing yards apiece.

STREAK SNAPPED
For the first time in 22 games, Syracuse did not force a turnover, ending the nation's longest streak of consecutive games with a takeaway at 21. The Orange's takeaway streak dated back to the 2017 finale versus Boston College.

In all, Syracuse gained 46 turnovers (21 fumble recoveries, 25 INTs) during the streak, an average of 2.2 per contest. Twenty different players had at least one takeaway during the run.

Both Florida State and Syracuse took good care of the football Saturday with neither side committing a turnover.

OF NOTE

Redshirt junior nose tackle Josh Black blocked the point-after attempt on Cam Akers' first touchdown run. It was the second blocked kick of Black's career and the first blocked extra point by the Orange since Chris Slayton rejected a Wake Forest PAT in 2017.
Punter Sterling Hofrichter moved past Mike Shafer (249) into third place on the Syracuse all-time list for the most career punts. Hofrichter now has 251 after kicking six times for 259 yards (43.2 avg.). None of his punts Saturday against the Seminoles were returned and five were fair caught.
Senior Moe Neal scored Syracuse's second touchdown on a 1-yard run up the middle at the 6:04 mark of the fourth quarter to close the scoring. It was Neal's 12th career rushing touchdown.
Senior linebacker Lakiem Williams equaled his career high with 11 total tackles to lead the Syracuse defense. Williams was credited with two solo stops and nine tackle assists. He also paced the defense with 1.5 tackles for loss.

UP NEXT
Syracuse returns to the Dome to host Boston College on Saturday, Nov. 2 at noon. The game will be televised on ACC Network.

Tickets to watch the Orange and Eagles start at $35. They are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) and at the Dome Box Office located in the Ensley Athletic Center.

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