Syracuse football opponents recap: Week 4

The Syracuse Orange took care of business at home on Saturday, but they weren’t the only ones to secure notch another mark in the victory column, as six past/future SU opponents winning by double digits.

Let’s take a look at how the Orange’s 2019 foes fared in Week 4 of the college football season.

Liberty Flames (2-2, N/A)

Result: 62-27 stomping vs. Hampton

Head coach Hugh Freeze moved to .500 on the season and is riding a two-game win streak after decimating the Hampton Pirates at home by five touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden continued his dominant play with a four-catch, 181-yard and two-touchdown performance — the 13th time he’s eclipsed the century mark in his career — and now needs just 38 yards to eclipse the 3,000 career mark. The Flames will have one more game of their three-game homestand before traveling to take on New Mexico State in Las Cruces.

Maryland Terrapins (2-1, 0-0)

Result: Bye

The Terps had the week off after dropping their first loss of the season at Temple, and will host Penn State this Friday at Capital One Field.

Clemson Tigers (4-0, 2-0)

Result: 52-10 win over Charlotte

Tiger sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence connected on a 58-yard touchdown on his first pass of the day to junior wideout Tee Higgins, and it was clear early on that Clemson’s starters weren’t needed in this contest for much too long. Lawrence attempted just nine passes before handing the reigns over, and the Tigers dominated on all facets of the game — holding the 49ers to 216 yards of offense and rushing for 235 yards. Next up is a battle against Mack Brown and North Carolina.

Holy Cross Crusaders (1-2, 0-0)

Result: 23-10 loss at Yale

The extra week of preparation didn’t aid the Crusaders on Saturday, as they were only able to score twice on the road and were handed their second loss of the season. Head coach Bob Chesney’s offense has average just 10 points a game this season, and will have another tough go next week playing in the Dome.

N.C. State Wolfpack (3-1, 0-0)

Result: 34-23 victory over Ball State

North Carolina State bounced back from their double-digit loss to West Virginia a week prior with their own 11-point win at home during family weekend. Despite trailing 7-6 after 15 minutes, the Wolfpack scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 20-7 lead into the break. Ball State put up 10 in the fourth quarter amidst a comeback attempt, but an interception from junior corner Chris Ingram sealed the victory as his team improves to 3-1 a month into play.

Pittsburgh Panthers (2-2, 0-1)

Result: 35-34 win vs. No. 15 UCF

The Panthers scored on a fourth-down “Pitt Special” with 56 seconds left to play, with junior quarterback Kenny Pickett coming down with the touchdown reception to stun UCF and end their 25-game regular season winning streak at home. Pitt started off hot and had an early 21-0 lead in the second quarter. UCF responded with 10 points to finish out the second quarter and 21 points in the third quarter alone, but could only muster a field goal in the fourth quarter before falling on the road. After two tough games against top-15 programs, the Panthers will host Delaware in an FBS vs. FCS contest.

Florida State Seminoles (2-2, 1-1)

Result: 35-24 win vs. Louisville

After the Seminoles almost suffered another late collapse for the umpteenth time this season, Florida State rallied for a late touchdown and a defensive stand to secure a double-digit victory over the visiting Cardinals. Wisconsin grad-transfer quarterback Alex Hornibrook replaced an injured James Blackmon and completed 75 percent of his passes for 255 yards and two scores.

Boston College Eagles (3-1, 1-0)

Result: 30-16 victory at Rutgers

The Eagles hit the road for the first time this season and stole a W in New Jersey — their first Big Ten road victory since 2003. BC dominated up front, running for 272 yards, and the Eagles offense found the end zone once in each quarter as the result of a thorough, all-around effort. Boston College will return back home next week as they host Wake Forest on Parents’ Weekend.

Duke Blue Devils (2-1, 0-0)

Result: Bye

Duke rode a two-game win streak into its bye, and will travel to Blacksburg next Friday to take on Virginia Tech in a 7 p.m. showdown.

Louisville Cardinals (2-2, 0-0)

Result: 35-24 loss at Florida State

The Cardinals did all they could to erase a 21-point deficit late in the contest, but came two possessions short of sending the Seminoles spiraling downward in 2019. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Malik Cunningham threw for a career-best 286 yards, but couldn’t find the end zone when it matter most to halt Louisville’s two-game win streak. Louisville has a week off before hosting Boston College in the first weekend of October.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-0, 0-0)

Result: 49-7 win vs. Elon

Homecoming weekend turned into a bloodbath as the Demon Deacons dismantled their FCS for at home by six touchdowns. The Phoenix failed to put up more then 200 yards of offense and only got 88 yards through the air, while the Wake Forest offense was just a hair under 400 passing yards and had 214 yards on the ground — making for the fifth-most yards in school history. Redshirt junior quarterback Jamie Newman threw for five passing touchdowns, as he became the first ACC quarterback to pass beyond the 1,000-yard mark in 2019.

Week 4 opponent W-L: 7-2

2019 total W-L: 28-15