With Saturday’s 41-3 win over FCS opponent Holy Cross, Syracuse (3-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

SU’s offense carried over its success from last week’s victory over Western Michigan, scoring 17 points in the first quarter alone. Meanwhile, Syracuse held the Crusaders to just 18 total yards rushing on 32 attempts and forced a fumble on a punt return, extending its turnover streak to 19 games.

Syracuse was able to substitute in many of its backups throughout the game, including true freshmen playmakers Jawhar Jordan and Courtney Jackson, who recorded their first career stats. All-ACC punter Sterling Hofrichter even earned an attempt at his first field goal since 2017, which he drilled from 52 yards out.

Here’s whose stock is up or down after the Orange’s dominating win over the Crusaders.

Also a true freshman, Benson broke off the Orange’s longest play from scrimmage of the season thus far, a 70-yard catch and run touchdown in the fourth quarter. Benson, who had to be brought up to speed quicker than usual this summer thanks to SU’s thin depth at the tight end position, had just two catches entering the game, both against Clemson. The former 100-meter dash champion in high school caught a pass over the middle from Tommy DeVito and outran the entire Holy Cross defense, notching Syracuse’s fifth and final touchdown of the game. With starting tight end Aaron Hackett’s two touchdowns last week plus another versus the Crusaders, Benson’s score continued SU’s recent trend of getting tight ends involved in the passing game.

After disappearing a few weeks ago against Clemson and struggling during SU’s win over Western Michigan, Harris broke out for his best game ever at Syracuse on Saturday. His 107 yards receiving were both a game-high and a career-high, and he caught his first touchdown of the season with a 47-yard snag in the third quarter. After setting program records for freshmen in catches and receiving yards last season, Harris had taken a backseat in the passing game to Trishton Jackson through the first four games this year. Despite his bumpy start to the season, Harris is now second on the team in catches (17) and yards (270), trailing Jackson in both categories.

Berry arguably benefited from the extended playing time SU’s backups received the most. The senior recorded five tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in his career-best game in Orange. The Griffin, Georgia native played all 12 games and started six during his sophomore year in 2017, accounting for 28 tackles, but failing to record a sack. Last season was even less productive for the defensive lineman, as he made just four total tackles in 12 games. In his first four appearances this year, he amassed five tackles, including three against No. 1 Clemson, but had failed to make any significant impact prior to his big day against the Crusaders.

Not one, but two Syracuse players were ejected from the game on Saturday after being penalized for targeting. First was backup defensive lineman Tyrell Richards, who was disqualified in the second quarter after drilling Holy Cross quarterback Connor Degenhardt in the shoulder with his helmet. Syracuse fans around the Carrier Dome booed in disagreement, while SU head coach Dino Babers appeared upset with the call as well. Then true freshman defensive lineman Drew Tuazama was ejected on a similar play, blowing up Crusaders’ backup quarterback Emmett Clifford with less than a minute left in the game. Neither play had any effect on the outcome of the game, but both left a bad taste in the mouth of Babers, who said after the win that he’s seen hits like the two penalties during Thanksgiving Day football games in the backyard.

Graphics by Kevin Camelo | Co-Digital Editor

Published on September 30, 2019 at 10:07 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34