1997 Syracuse football rewind: Orange trounce #17 West Virginia

The 1997 Syracuse Orange entered their game against the #17 West Virginia Mountaineers on a four-game winning streak having scored 196 points in that stretch. While the Orange couldn’t keep up that level of scoring, they once again coasted to a 40-10 win.

Syracuse got on the board first on a Donovan McNabb to Kaseem Sinceno 18-yard touchdown pass. The Mountaineers got the next 10 points but McNabb hooked up with Quinton Spotwood on a 15-yard pass. The extra point was blocked so it was 13-10 Orange at the half.

The Orange pulled out a trick play early in the third quarter as wide receiver Kevin Johnson tossed a 50-yard touchdown to Jim Turner. Syracuse failed on the two-point attempt and the lead was 19-10. West Virginia appeared to be ready to close the gap but safety Jason Poles stepped in front of a Marc Bulger pass intended for Anthony Becht and brought it back 96 yards for the score.

One more McNabb touchdown pass, this one to Darryl Daniel followed by a Kyle McIntosh run of 14 yards closed the scoring on a 40-10 Orange win. McNabb was only 13 for 27 but he had those 3 TD passes. McIntosh carried the ball 20 times for 145 yards.

The Orange defense held Bulger to 19 of 32 passing with two interceptions. Syracuse moves to 5-3 on the season, 3-1 in Big East play. They will host the Boston College Eagles next week.