Syracuse Orange vs Louisiana State Tigers Box Score on Sep 23, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 24, 2017

BATON ROUGE, La. -- No. 25 LSU nearly blew an 18-point second-half lead, but wide receiver D.J. Chark raced 20 yards on a jet sweep for a touchdown with 1:52 left to help the Tigers register a 35-26 victory over Syracuse on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.

LSU (3-1) was a heavy favorite but had its hands full with Syracuse, which rolled us 265 yards passing in a quick-tempo offense led by quarterback Eric Dungey.

Dungey completed 32 of 53 passes for 265 yards and one score, and he ran 22 yards for a touchdown that narrowed the deficit to 28-26 with 5:40 left.

But after LSU recovered an onside kick, starting quarterback Danny Etling returned to the game and engineered a 56-yard drive to put the game away.

Running back Darrel Williams was the key player on the drive, racing 25 yards to the Syracuse 28 against a blitz. Williams finished with 92 yards rushing and 50 yards on three catches.

On Chark's decisive touchdown, he went right to left on a jet sweep, cut back inside near the left sideline and easily scored.

Syracuse lost its second consecutive game and dropped to 2-2.

LSU looked to be in control when Etling connected with Drake Davis on a deep post route for an 87-yard score on the first play of the second half, giving the Tigers a 21-3 lead.

But Syracuse came right back with a 75-yard drive that was climaxed by a bit of trickery -- a handoff to running back Devin Butler, who wheeled and threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ervin Philips, cutting the deficit to 21-10.

LSU switched to freshman quarterback Myles Brennan and regained an 18-point lead at 28-10 with a six-play, 91-yard drive. Darrel Williams gained 77 of the 91 yards on the drive, including a 43-yard swing pass that converted a third-and-4 and a 20-yard scoring run around left end.

After Syracuse backed LSU back at its 1-yard line with a 58-yard punt, linebacker Parris Bennett trapped Williams for a safety, making it 28-12.

The Orange closed to 28-19 by taking the free kick 72 yards in 11 plays, with Dungey running around right end for a 14-yard score with seven seconds left in the third quarter.

Brennan remained in and appeared to be engineering at least a field goal drive, but his third-down pass was picked off by cornerback Juwan Dowels at the Syracuse 20.

The Orange continued their assault with a 13-play, 80-yard drive to close the gap to 28-26. The drive was kept alive by a roughing the passer call on third-and-19 against LSU linebacker Devin White. Dungey connected with Steve Ishmael for the 22-yard score with 5:40 left.

LSU started with a defensive flourish. On Syracuse's first play from scrimmage, cornerback Greedy Williams jumped an out route by running back Dontae Strickland, intercepted the pass by Dungey at the Orange 29 and returned it 28 yards to the 1.

Williams would have scored on his return, but Dungey knocked him out of bounds with a clothesline tackle. The hit knocked off Williams' helmet and drew a personal foul flag.

Guice scored on the next play and LSU led 7-0 just nine seconds into game despite having had to kick off.

Syracuse kept the LSU defense off balance with a 17-play, 52-yard drive that culminated in a 42-yard field goal by Cole Murphy to cut the lead to 7-3. On the time-consuming drive, Dungey converted three third-down plays and a fourth-and-3.

The Tigers' offense did nothing in the first 28 minutes of the half, punting four consecutive times as Etling had little time to throw against the Syracuse pressure.

LSU decided to have Etling go to a three-step drop, and he engineered a six-play, 71-yard drive at the end of the half, finding wide receiver Stephen Sullivan open on a post route for a 43-yard score for a 14-3 lead with 1:15 left in the half.

NOTES: LSU benched P Josh Growden in the first half after he punted three times for a 34.7-yard average. Zach Von Rosenberg came in and nailed a 49-yarder that backed up Syracuse inside its 15. ... The Orange controlled the first quarter, outgaining LSU 79-10 in total offense. ... Syracuse wasted a golden opportunity to take a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, but WR Sean Riley dropped a potential 55-yard touchdown pass in the end zone. ... LSU was going for its 49th consecutive home game against a nonconference opponent.