Syracuse completes largest comeback win since 2012 to beat Virginia Tech (final score, recap)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse linebacker Marlowe Wax pried the ball out of the hands of Virginia Tech’s backup quarterback and Fadil Diggs fell on it, providing a sudden-death ending to the Orange’s biggest comeback win since 2012.
Syracuse toppled Virginia Tech, 38-31 in overtime at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday, coming back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit.
Justus-Ross Simmons’ first catch as a Syracuse player was a 55-yard touchdown reception and he finished with four catches for 88 yards. Running back LeQuint Allen rushed 21 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns.
That included a 1-yard plunge with less than a minute left to force overtime and a 9-yard burst in overtime that gave the Orange the lead.
Syracuse (6-2, 3-2) became bowl eligible by getting its November off to a good start and erasing the memories of a loss to nationally-ranked Pittsburgh. The Hokies (5-4, 3-2) played without their starting quarterback and star running back.
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2nd-and-goal: Marlowe Wax pulls the ball out from Collin Schlee. Fadil Diggs falls on it. Syracuse wins and completes its biggest comeback since 2012.
2nd-and-goal: Virginia Tech called for holding, moving the Hokies back to the 20.
1st-and-goal: Incomplete pass for Virginia Tech on first down.
1st-and-10: Virginia Tech’s first play on overtime is an incomplete pass. A late flag arrives and Syracuse is called for pass interference.
SCORE: Syracuse 38, Virginia Tech 31
1st-and-goal: LeQuint Allen runs for 9 yards and the touchdown.
1st-and-10: Syracuse goes with a funky formation and LeQuint Allen runs for 16 yards.
Virginia Tech wins the toss and chooses to start on defense.
:23: Virginia Tech stopped for a loss of 1 and we’re going to overtime.
Virginia Tech takes over on its 25 after a touchback
SCORE: Syracuse 31, Virginia Tech 31
:29: LeQuint Allen goes into the end zone. Jackson Kennedy ties it with the extra point.
:30: McCord stopped on a quarterback sneak.
:34: McCord keeps for 1 yard. McCord throws to Trebor Pena at the 1. That sets up 1st-and-goal.
1:26: McCord goes deep to Dan Villari on first down. Virginia Tech is called for holding, moving the Orange to the 17.
1:26: LeQuint Allen up the middle for 14 yards for a first down. Orange now on the Virginia Tech 27.
1:58: McCord throws to Justus Ross-Simmons for 3 yards on first down. Then he hits Oronde Gadsden for 7 for a first down, bringing us to the two-minute timeout.
3:51: Officials calls hands to the face on Virginia Tech’s next play, moving Syracuse to the 38. LeQuint Allen runs for 4 yards on first down, then 5 yards. Syracuse picks up the first down on a quarterback sneak with 2:54 left.
3:51: LeQuint Allen runs for 6 yards on first down. He’s stood up for 1 yard on second down. McCord finds LeQuint Allen for 4 yards on 3rd-and-3. Officials give Syracuse the first down but call LeQuint Allen for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play, moving Syracuse back to the 21.
Syracuse starts on its 25 after a touchback
SCORE: Virginia Tech 31, Syracuse 24
5:16: Malachi Thomas loses 2 yards on first down. Schlee scrambles out of bounds for no gain on second down. Syracuse forces Schlee to pull the ball down on third down. Virginia Tech will send its kicker on. John Love boots the ball through to put the Hokies up by a touchdown.
7:43: Collin Schlee gets the ball outside to his tight end for another first down. Hokies are at the Syracuse 12.
9:15: Syracuse stops Malachi Thomas after a gain of 2. He follows that with a rush for 12 yards. Duce Chestnut banged up after the play. Hokies have a 3rd-and-3. Virginia Tech goes with a direct snap to Thomas who, for some reason, faked a pitch to the quarterback. Regardless, he breaks a tackle and pushes forward for a first down at the SU 26.
9:32: Schlee is back in the game for Virginia Tech. The Hokies commit a false start as both sides point at each other.
Syracuse punt
9:54: Syracuse goes 3-and-out after an incomplete pass, short gain to LeQuint Allen and a third-down sack. Punt is fair caught on the Virginia Tech 48 but Syracuse is called for interference so the Hokies will start on the SU 37.
Syracuse starts on its 25 after a touchback
SCORE: Virginia Tech 28, Syracuse 24
11:04: With third-string quarterback William Watson III in the game, Virginia Tech hands it off and Malachi Thomas goes 15 yards up the middle for the score.
11:10: Collin Schlee runs for 5 yards but the Virginia Tech backup quarterback is down on one knee after the play. He is being checked by trainers.
11:11: Malachi Thomas runs for another 5 yards on 1st-and-10 for Virginia Tech. The Hokes pick up another first down on a rollout pass to the tight end. Virginia Tech fumbles on the play but the ball flies out of bounds.
13:12: Collin Schlee completes the pass to Stephen Gosness to give the Hokies a first down on the Syracuse 43. Then Malachi Thomas finished a nicely-blocked run and picks up another Virginia Tech first down, this time at the SU 31.
13:33: Collin Schlee goes 18 yards on the first play for the Hokies. Virginia Tech runs for 1 yard on first down from the 43. Jayden Bellamy was down after the play. He comes off slowly. Fran Brown runs out to him, hops up and down in front of him and then starts racing back-and-forth with him on the sidelines as Bellamy tests himself to see if he’s all right.
Virgina Tech starts on its 25 following a touchback
SCORE: Syracuse 24, Virginia Tech 21
15:00: LeQuint Allen runs for no gain. McCord hits Justus Ross-Simmons over the middle and he slips another tackle and goes 28 yards for the touchdown. The Orange leads for the first time today and the first time in six quarters. The extra point was blocked.
:05: LeQuint Allen rushes for 2. Then Kyle McCord’s pass to Jackson Meeks is deflected. On 3rd-and-8 he hits Meeks right at the sticks to end the third quarter. Syracuse will have a first down at the Virginia Tech 28 to open the fourth quarter.
Virginia Tech fumble
:45: Duce Chestnut knocks the ball loose on a Virginia Tech run. Marlowe Wax with the recovery. Syracuse has the ball at the Virginia Tech 39.
1:03: Collin Schlee picks up 3 yards on a quarterback keeper. Jeremiah Coley picks up 5 yards on another run, setting up a 3rd-and-2. Syracuse had Collin Schlee running around in the backfield but he was elusive enough to escape for a 3-yard gain and a first down.
Virginia Tech will start on its 25 after a touchback
SCORE: Virginia Tech 21, Syracuse 18
2:53: Villari for 3, followed by a LeQuint Allen plunge over the top for the touchdown. Syracuse gets within a field goal by converting the two-point conversion to Gadsden in the back of the end zone.
3:48: McCord gets a screen pass out to Trebor Pena and he races all the way down to the Virginia Tech 4 on a 41-yard screen pass.
5:19: McCord to Justus Ross-Simmons for 2 yards. Then LeQuint Allen up the middle for 7 and a Kyle McCord sneak for 1.
Syracuse will start on its own 45
Virginia Tech punt
5:27: Collin Schlee throws incomplete on first down. Nice play by Chase Simmons to stop a Virginia Tech run after 1. Virginia Tech running back Malachi Thomas is down after the tackle. The Hokies throw deep on 3rd down with the Orange showing blitz. Virginia Tech’s punt unit comes on. Trebor Pena with a nice return out to the SU 45.
Virginia Tech starts this drive on its 30 after a touchback and an offsides on Syracuse on the kick
SCORE: Virginia Tech 21, Syracuse 10
6:08: But Justus Ross-Simmons does. He catches the quick pass, shrugs off his defender and goes 55 yards for a touchdown. His first catch of the season goes for the Orange’s first big play of the game on offense.
7:09: False start makes it 1st-and-15 for Syracuse. LeQuint Allen picks up 6. McCord beats the blitz and finds Oronde Gadsden against zero coverage. He can’t slip the tackle for a big gain.
7:09: Syracuse will an end around to Jameer Thomas for 1. McCord throws to Justus Ross-Simmons who picks up a pass interference call after the Virginia Tech defender was too quick trying to come back on the route.
Syracuse will start on its 25 after a touchback
SCORE: Virginia Tech 21, Syracuse 3
7:44: Collin Schlee beats the Syracuse defense finding Ali Jennings in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown pass. Diving catch. Syracuse is now in huge trouble in a three-possession game.
8:24: Syracuse gets a run stuff and an incomplete pass but an illegal hands to the face penalty hands the Hokies a first down and moves the ball inside the Syracuse 20.
8:58: Nice play by David Omopariola to stop Virginia Tech for a loss of 1. Then Schlee completes a rollout pass at the sticks for 11. Hokies are in scoring position.
11:12: Virginia Tech picks up 3 on a quick pitch to the short side, then 6 yards on a pitch-and-catch to receiver Stephen Gosnell (back on the field healthy). Syracuse looked like it was gone to stop Collin Schlee in the backfield but he shrugged off Duce Chestnut to pick up the first down, followed by some shoddy tackling leading to a 12-yard run up the middle. Then another wide open run up the middle for a first down.
Virginia Tech takes over on its 24
Syracuse punt
13:22: LeQuint Allen opens the second half with a sprint up the middle for 10 yards. That’s followed by a fumbled snap (recovered by McCord for no gain) and a false start. McCord’s pass to Oronde Gadsden in the middle of the field (and three defenders) falls incomplete after Gadsden can’t make a one-handed grab.
Syracuse tries some trickery on 3rd-and-15 and it goes poorly. Trebor Pena was trying to throw a double pass but the Hokies stayed home. Syracuse’s punting unit comes on.
15:00: Syracuse will open the third quarter on its 25 following a touchback
Virginia Tech leads 14-3 at halftime despite playing without its star running back and starting quarterback. The Hokies have out-gained the Orange 261-152.
Syracuse has been hurt by a pair of turnovers deep the Hokie end. Kyle McCord threw one interception into the end zone as he tried to let Umari Hatcher make a play and Virginia Tech came down with it. Not a great pass either. Then SU wide receiver Darrell Gill had a ball pried out of his hands by Virginia Tech’s defense.
Kyle McCord is currently 12-for-20 passing for 90 yards. He’s throwing quick to negate any pass rush. The Hokies defense is stopping everything in front of them.
0:00: The Hokies keep the ball on the ground, running the ball down to the Syracuse 5 but eventually getting tackled and running out of time.
:12: The review helps Syracuse as Collin Schlee’s knee was down as he picked up the loose ball. Hokies will now have a second and long back and their 47.
:12: A dropped snap results in an open middle of the field for Virginia Tech quarterback Collin Schlee. He picks up a quick 18 yards before sliding down. Hokies can probably try a long field goal from here. They have one timeout. Officials are reviewing the play to see if Schlee’s knee was down when he picked up the ball.
:18: Virginia Tech looked as if it was content to just run out the clock with runs up the middle but has pushed the ball out past midfield with those runs, giving the Hokies a chance to score points before halftime. Some boos from the home crowd at how that went.
Syracuse fumble
1:03: McCord completes the pass to Darrell Gill but Virginia Tech’s defense does a nice job ripping at the ball resulting in a Syracuse turnover. Hokies on their 18.
1:21: McCord had Jackson Meeks cutting open but was a little off. Meeks couldn’t make the diving grab. Then McCord hits Meeks for 6. LeQuint Allen picks it up with a very nice run and moves the ball into Virginia Tech territory.
2:00: McCord sidearms a short pass to Pena for a quick 6 yards. LeQuint Allen carries for no gain. McCord picks up the first down on a completion to Jackson Meeks.
Syracuse will start this drive on its 15
Virginia Tech punt
2:29: Syracuse drops a bunch on 3rd-and-18 and Collin Schlee can’t find anyone. He pulls it down and is stopped by Fadil Diggs and Justin Barron for no gain. The Hokies punt and Trebor Pena makes a fair catch at his 14.
3:27: A nice run by Virginia Tech on first down is negated by a hold. That makes it 1st-and-15. The Hokies pick up 4 on a quick pass to the tight end, followed by another nice reverse by the Hokies. That would have been a first down but Virginia Tech was called for an illegal block in the back. Now 2nd-and-18.
A downfield throw is broken up with a heavy hit from Syracuse safety Devin Grant. The pass falls incomplete and the Hokie receiver is down after the play. Stephen Gosnell is up and walking off the field on his own but he is definitely feeling it.
Syracuse punt
4:18 A nicely-blocked run by LeQuint Allen punches the ball out 5 yards. Then a nicely-defended pass by Jackson Meeks is knocked to the ground. Syracuse was in position to convert the third down but Trebor Pena couldn’t handle a pass from Kyle McCord. Syracuse’s punting unit comes on. Virginia Tech has the ball on its 47
Syracuse will start on its 5 after officials call the Orange for a facemask on the return
Virginia Tech punt
5:19: Virginia Tech runs for 2 up the middle. The Hokies pick up a first down on a pitch-and-catch on the outside and move out to their 35.
Syracuse does a nice job defending a pass with blockers out in front, as Alijah Clark makes a tackle after a gain of 1. Then Bellamy makes a nice knock down while playing zone. Schlee scrambles for 8 and is stopped a yard short. Virginia Tech’s punt team is on. The Hokies down the ball on the Syracuse 10.
Syracuse interception
7:57: McCord’s pass to Umari Hatcher is intercepted by Mansoor Delaine in the end zone. Not a great ball. Not a great effort to win the 50-50. Lots of contact by both.
8:32: Dan Villari carries for 7 on first down. Then he runs for 2 on second. He lined up in a shotgun on those two plays. LeQuint Allen runs for 1-plus and sets up 4th-and-very-short. McCord picks it up on a sneak.
Syracuse will start this drive on its 50
Virginia Tech punt
10:37: Virginia Tech picks up 5 on a first-down run. Then 4 yards on a keeper by Collin Schlee. Virginia Tech picks up a first down on a sneak. Syracuse with a sack on the new set of downs, forcing a loss of 12 yards. Virginia Tech picks up 9 back on a checkdown but Syracuse in good position with a 3rd-and-13. A loud crowd and a bad situation forces a Virginia Tech false start making it even more difficult. Marlowe Wax finished the drive with his second sack of the series. The Hokies will punt. Trebor Pena with a nice return out to midfield.
Virginia Tech starts on its 25 following a touchback
SCORE: Virginia Tech 14, Syracuse 3
14:56: Jackson Kennedy, Syracuse’s third place-kicker of the season, boots one through from 44 yards. Kennedy came to the Orange from Cornell and gets his shot after Brady Denaburg and Jaydn Oh have struggled so far this season.
:04: An 8-yard pass to Trebor Pena is followed by another first-down run by LeQuint Allen. Syracuse picks up 3 on a pass from McCord to Jackson Meeks, then McCord fires high to Meeks on second down. Syracuse facing a 3rd-and-long and picks up nothing on a screen pass to LeQuint Allen. Big decision for the Orange when the second quarter picks up.
3:08: McCord hits Jackson Meeks for 7, followed by a screen to Trebor Pena for 6. Then a dump off to Pena for 7. McCord had Pena in behind the defense for a big gain on a free play. Pena dropped it but Syracuse picks up the first down on an offsides call.
4:10: Syracuse picks up its first first down on a throw from Kyle McCord to LeQuint Allen. Then Allen barrels through on a run for another first down. Orange have pushed out to their 37.
Syracuse opens this drive on its own 9 following a hold by Dan Villari on the return.
SCORE: Virginia Tech 14, Syracuse 0
4:31: A nice pass by Colin Schlee over the head of Jayden Bellamy and the Hokies are in scoring position again down to the 3. A 2-yard run on 1st-and-goal, followed by a 1-yard plunge from quarterback Collin Schlee for the touchdown. Pretty poor start for the Orange for the second straight week.
6:02: Hokies start this drive with a 9-yard run on a quarterback keep. Might have been an option. Some deception involved. Schlee picks up a first down with a pass over the middle.
On 1st-and-10 from its 41, Schlee overthrows an open wide receiver trying to find a spot in the Syracuse defense. then he keeps and charges straight ahead for 12 and another first down,
7:50: Syracuse with a full-team huddle in the middle of a game after that punt. Don’t see that too often. Fran Brown appeared from a distance to be pretty animated.
Syracuse punt
7:59: LeQuint Allen runs for 2. Then a pass for Trebor Pena is well-defended and brings up 3rd-and-long. A screen pass to LeQuint Allen is knocked down at the line of scrimmage and the Orange will punt again. Syracuse inexplicably picks up a delay of game on a 4th-and-8 punt. An excellent punt ends up putting Virginia Tech at its 27.
8:38: Syracuse starts this drive on its 20
SCORE: Virginia Tech 7, Syracuse 0
8:45: Virginia Tech moves into the red zone on a play-action pass deep behind the Syracuse defense. Not well thrown but Stephen Gosnell was so wide open that he picks up 48. Hokies then score a touchdown on a 7-yard reverse that saw most of Syracuse’s entire defense get wiped out by some excellent blocking.
10:47: Virginia Tech picks up the first first down of the game on a 7-yard pitch-and-catch and a 5-yard run. Syracuse’s defense quickly puts the Hokies in back position with a 6-yard sack by Rashard Perry. Syracuse gives most of it back on an offside call and the Hokies pick up 6 on an end around. Collin Schlee picks up that one with a pass over the middle.
Syracuse punt
12:28: Also a rough start for Syracuse’s offense as LeQuint Allen runs for a yard and Oronde Gadsden drops a screen pass. A short pass meant to get blockers in front of Trebor Pena goes for 5 on 3rd-and-long and Syracuse’s punt unit comes on. Virginia Tech catches the ball on its 19.
Virginia Tech punt
14:10: And the start gets even better for Syracuse. Virginia Tech played its first series without its starting quarterback and running back and its first play was a rollout pass that bounced off the chest of a wide receiver. A third down pass fell incomplete with a wide receiver turning into a defensive back and knocking the ball away on a deep sideline pass. Syracuse takes over on its 37.
14:55: Nice start for Syracuse as a short high kickoff leads to the Hokies starting on their 16-yard line.
Pregame
Syracuse wins the toss and defers. Captains were Trebor Pena, Alijah Clark, Jackson Meeks and Clarence Lewis.
Virginia Tech will be without its starting quarterback and, perhaps, its star running back.
Not too many surprising absences for Syracuse football today. Defensive end Denis Jaquez probably the most impactful. Third-string quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is also not dressed.
On the very positive end, wide receiver Yazeed Haynes is here. He isn’t dressed but received a warm response from coaches and teammates. He’s been away from the team dealing with a family issue.
Syracuse will playing its first home game in more than a month after going 2-1 on a three-game road swing.
The Orange (5-2, 2-2 ACC) lost its most recent game, 41-13, against nationally-ranked Pittsburgh. It was SU’s first lopsided loss this year. Quarterback Kyle McCord, excellent for much of the season, threw five interceptions and the Orange finished with a season-low point total.
Virginia Tech (5-3, 3-1) has won three straight games rebounding after a season that started with playoff aspirations was derailed early by a poor non-conference performance. The Hokies’ most recent loss was also a good performance, a 38-34 loss against unbeaten Miami that required a friendly call from the ACC replay center.
Virginia Tech beat Georgia Tech (21-6) in its most recent game. The Yellow Jackets played without starting quarterback Haynes King. King played well when the Orange squeaked by Georgia Tech earlier this season (31-28).
Both teams are averaging just under 31 points per game this season, although they produce on offense in markedly different ways.
McCord leads the ACC in passing, averaging 354.4 yards per game. Virginia Tech is the conference’s No. 2 rushing team behind the league’s No. 2 rusher Bhayshul Tuten (118.9 yards per game). Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones adds another 40 yards per game and gives the Hokies multiple threats in the run game.