SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Steve Angeli threw for 417 yards and five touchdowns, and added another on the ground, tying Jim Brown and Eric Dungey as the only Syracuse players with six touchdowns in a game, as the Orange rolled over Colgate 66-24 Friday.
With the win, Syracuse (2-1) is 23-0 against FCS opponents. The victory was the program’s 18th straight over the Raiders (0-3).
“Just the fact that you said Jim Brown, and that’s amazing to say that anybody that joins anything with Jim Brown. I mean, they should just go home and be thankful, right?” Syracuse head coach Fran Brown said. “I think football, Syracuse football, it’s Jim Brown, (number) 44.”
The Orange amassed 620 yards, 447 through the air.
Angeli, a transfer from Notre Dame, was 24 of 32 passing. Darrell Gill Jr. led Syracuse receivers with six receptions for 152 yards. Twelve Syracuse players had at least one reception. Jaylan Hornsby, Justus Ross-Simmons and Darien Williams all scored through the air. Will Nixon chipped in with a 2-yard run and Luke Carney ran nine yards for another. Rickie Collins threw for another score in relief of Angeli.
“He’s working really, really hard,” Brown said. “It’s amazing that he got to join Jim Brown, both those guys were amazing here, so I’m proud of him that he had a chance to join that.”
Angeli said it was “awesome” he had joined such an elite duo but he spread the love to his offense.
“It’s not just me, there’s guys that are all over that are allowing that to happen. That’s a collective thing. It’s not really an individual because some guys got to catch the football for me, protect, and everything else, so it’s awesome to hear that,” Angeli said. “There’s so many playmakers, like everywhere. It’s a really special group.”
“I thought their quarterback played really well, and he’s getting better every week,” Colgate coach Curt Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick thought his team showed some moxie in the final 30 minutes.
“Football’s a funny game. The pieces start to come together once you start doing the little things right and we did that more consistently in the second half,” he added.
Colgate quarterback Zach Osborne was 13 of 28 for 135 yards. Jake Stearney took over in the second half and completed 14 of 20 for 148 yards and two scores, both to Reed Swanson. Treyvhon Saunders had 11 receptions for 105 yards.
Colgate had lost its first two games by a combined 10 points, but the Raiders were outclassed after closing to 7-3 on a 40-yard field goal by Luke Vogeler. From then on, it was all Orange as Syracuse scored 38 unanswered points before a Stearney 12-yard pass to Reed Swanson made it 45-10 late in the third.
Gill Jr. made an acrobatic, leaping grab for a 43-yard touchdown that made it 14-3 and Angeli again connected with Gill Jr., this time on a 35-yard pass play to make it 31-3 with 6:50 to go in the first half.
Syracuse recorded back-to-back games of at least 400 yards for the first time in program history.
The Takeaway:
Pure and simple, Colgate was no match for Syracuse, but the Raiders showed a lot of heart, particularly on defense, pressuring Angeli throughout.
Syracuse won in a lopsided manner, but the offensive line is still a work in progress and a real concern heading into conference play. The defense wasn’t all that great either, yielding 408 yards.
A tough road
The easy part is over for Syracuse. Starting next week against Clemson, the Orange face four pre-season top-25 teams and six more teams that were bowl-eligible last season.
I’ll pass
Brown offered a position on his staff to Fitzpatrick, who opted to lead Colgate instead.
Going two ways
Syracuse freshman Demetres Samuel Jr. is the Orange’s version of Travis Hunter. Samuel, who started at cornerback, caught his first pass in an Orange uniform and fielded a punt. Samuel turned 17 just a few months ago.
He’s the one
Treyvhon Saunders’ great start to the season continues. With his 11 receptions on Friday, Saunders now has 34 on the year and 465 yards.
Up Next:
Colgate hosts Fordham Sept. 20.
Syracuse has its first true road test in its ACC opener against Clemson Sept. 20.
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