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LAS VEGAS — For head coach Fran Brown, Friday’s 44-41 overtime victory over No. 25 UNLV began in the bitter Syracuse winter. He constantly had the Orange practicing when it was as cold as six degrees after his arrival on campus. He even said his youngest son, Brayden, would be in attendance for the grueling sessions.

Those practices are where Brown refined his squad to deal with adversity. Any form of it. While the first-year head coach exudes a tranquil aura off the field, he’s a ferocious general on it. His antics are primarily on display during practice, where Brown screams into a microphone that reverberates all around the field, aggressively coaching up his players while simultaneously spreading his wisdom.

Over the winter, Brown made one of his mantras a point of emphasis for Syracuse.

“We believe that we bleed in training so you don’t have to truly bleed in war,” Brown said. “I learned that from (head coach) Kirby Smart at Georgia. We bleed and train, we bleed and train.”

Brown’s Orange are battle tested. They proved it Friday night, weathering a head-spinning back-and-forth affair en route to salvaging overtime. And by that point, the only team bleeding was the Rebels.

Syracuse (4-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) upset No. 25 UNLV (4-1, 1-0 Mountain West Conference) 44-41 to escape Allegiant Stadium with its second ranked win of the year, the Orange’s first multi-win season against ranked opponents since 2001.

Tied 38-38 in overtime, edge rusher Fadil Diggs sacked Rebels’ quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams on a third-and-4 to force a field goal. SU’s defense did its job, and so did its offense. Quarterback Kyle McCord and Co. drove down to the one-yard line, where running back LeQuint Allen Jr. punched in a one-yard touchdown to clinch the pivotal victory.

Allen Jr. exited the game numerous times due to some nagging lower-body injuries. He said it was an eight out of 10 on the pain scale. Nonetheless, he finished with four touchdowns, playing the role of the finisher for Syracuse’s offense. No matter the ailment, the running back was going to be on the field in overtime. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I would die out there for my teammates if I could,” Allen Jr. said. “I just love my teammates.”

Even with Allen Jr.’s explosion, McCord tossing for 355 passing yards and a few game-shifting timely plays by the defense, Syracuse shot itself in the foot throughout the contest. Namely through its punting woes — Jack Stonehouse had a punt blocked for a touchdown, and was forced into holding the ball and taking a sack on another — and a late interception from McCord.

But there was never any panic from the Orange. How could they when Brown himself has put them in even tougher situations? Their confidence is sky high. Just ask tight end Oronde Gadsden II. He knew the outcome from the moment Diggs brought down Williams.

“I knew we were going to get it done,” Gadsden said of SU’s ensuing offensive possession. “As soon as we got the opportunity to go get seven to win a game, I knew we’d do it.”

Gadsden posted one of the best games of his career, tallying 10 receptions for 142 yards. He was the go-to target for McCord after being held to just 16 yards across his previous two games. Big receptions by Gadsden, including a 39-yard play-action strike from McCord in the middle of the first quarter, helped SU’s offense embark on a 14-0 start as Allen Jr. scored his first pair of touchdowns, one of which came on a shovel pass from McCord.

But things quickly turned ugly.

Two explosive plays from UNLV’s offense lead to back-to-back touchdown drives. A 42-yard rush from running back Jai’Den Thomas set up a Williams touchdown pass to Kaleo Ballungay. Then, after a Syracuse punt, star receiver Ricky White III took a drag route 53 yards before Williams ran in a three-yard score. All of a sudden, it was 14-14. And it got worse for the Orange.

White, who also excels on special teams, pressured Stonehouse on a punt that led to a 13-yard loss. The Rebels had a goal-to-go situation and scored with ease to make it 21 unanswered points against Syracuse in the second quarter alone.

SU embarked on a field-goal drive to end the first half, though, as kicker Jadyn Oh nailed a 21-yard chip shot. And it started the third quarter off much like it did the first, scoring 14 straight points. McCord hit Allen Jr. in a tight window in the flat for a six-yard touchdown. Then, one play after safety Duce Chestnut intercepted Williams, freshman running back Yasin Willis skirted along the UNLV sideline for a 21-yard rushing touchdown.

All of a sudden, the Orange were up 31-21. Then they allowed another massive run from the Rebels.

Williams led UNLV to a field goal, then Stonehouse had a punt blocked by White that rolled all the way into the end zone and was fallen on by Charles Correa for a game-tying touchdown late in the third quarter.

“(We won) even with our special teams like that,” Brown said. “So we’re gonna get that better.”

Syracuse went on a nearly eight-minute drive to begin the fourth quarter. McCord had SU’s unit humming. Until he threw a red-zone interception to UNLV linebacker Jackson Woodard on a third-and-9 with 8:05 remaining.

From there, the Rebels promptly marched downfield for a 10-play, 94-yard touchdown drive. It was capped off by a White touchdown, where he torched SU cornerback Clarence Lewis en route to a wide-open nine-yard score.

Throughout the game, though, Brown felt relatively at ease. He said he knew if two players — McCord and Diggs — had massive performances, his team would win. And he was right.

McCord came back from his interception to lead the Orange the length of the field as the clock approached zero. On third-and-goal from the six-yard line, McCord tossed a game-tying touchdown pass to receiver Jackson Meeks in the left corner of the end zone with 23 seconds left.

The clutch drive proved to be absolutely crucial for Syracuse. It carried the Orange into overtime with an offense that was now well in rhythm. All they needed was one stop, and Diggs got it. SU ridded itself of its previous blunders once Allen Jr. reached paydirt, eliciting Syracuse’s bench to flood the field in jubilation.

Friday’s win was in a fitting location for Syracuse. Allegiant Stadium — the $1.9 billion state-of-the-art venue and home of the Las Vegas Raiders — is where a 93-foot ceremonial torch sculpture honoring Al Davis rests above the north end zone. Davis, who died in 2011, graduated from Syracuse University in 1950. He made an eternal imprint on the sport of football as the legendary owner of the Raiders.

Davis coined a famous saying after the then-Los Angeles Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII in 1984: “Just win, baby.”

Syracuse couldn’t have captured the spirit of Davis’ motto much better than it did Friday. Through trials and tribulations, it found a way to make a few more plays than its opponent — the mark of a quality football team.

“Coach (Brown) told us to look to the guy on your left and look to the guy on your right and go, ‘Do you trust him? Do you believe in them? Are you gonna do what you need to do to win the game?’” Willis said. “We believed in each other, and we did what we had to do.”

Published on October 5, 2024 at 12:58 am

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews