SYRACUSE -- The Syracuse football team may have gotten off to a slow and unimpressive start, but the ending of their season opener was more than impressive. The team rallied from a 15-point deficit with just over 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter to beat Wake Forest 36-29 in overtime. Many of the 40,833 fans had already left the Carrier Dome with SU trailing 26-14 early in the 4th. But an Adam Harris touchdown followed by an Antwon Bailey 53 yard touchdown and two point conversion created a 29-29 tie and a whole new game.
"We have a long way to go. We’re far from where we want to be, but it’s a good start and we’re excited. I appreciate the fans, they helped us win this game at the end. And if you wound up leaving, you missed a great game," Head Coach Doug Marrone said after the game.
The Orange got into field goal range with less than 2 minutes left, but had the winning field goal blocked sending the game to overtime. In overtime it was Ryan Nassib finding Van Chew in the corner of the endzone for the game winning touchdown. The dome went wild as the play was reviewed, but the play stood, Syracuse starts the season with a dramatic come from behind victory.
Senior quarterback Ryan Nassib tossed three touchdowns. Senior running back Antwon Bailey finished with two touchdowns and rushed for 114 yards on 25 carriers.
"My hat goes off to Jim Grobe and his staff. They came here ready to play. It’s the first time we’ve beaten an ACC team since 1994, and again, the resiliency of this team or perseverance is a word we like to use. It’s unbelievable to me, but we won that game because of what we do with our players. We won that game because of our leadership program, our accountability, making sure we do all the right things and staying in there and knowing you’re a team. They’re the foundation of our program. And I think that’s important," Marrone said.
