The Syracuse football team dropped a late, 26-24, decision to Stanford after the Cardinal nailed a game-winning 39-yard field goal with three seconds to play to regain the lead and walk off with a victory.
The Orange defense played a strong game, holding the opposition to 178 yards in the air and collecting two interceptions from Devin Grant and Clarence Lewis, but the Stanford defense limited the Orange to just 26 yards rushing and outlasted a late comeback attempt.
'Cuse took its first lead of the game little more than three minutes prior to the eventual-game winning field goal, after Kyle McCord found Jackson Meeks for the go-ahead score. The Cardinal managed to drive down for the eventual game-winner from 38 yards out in large part to a crucial fourth-and-eight conversion where Ashton Daniels found Elic Ayomanor for a 27-yard gain on a back-shoulder throw down the sideline. It's the first loss for the Orange, who move to 1-1 in conference play and 2-1 overall.
McCord had his third-consecutive game with at least 300 yards in the air as the quarterback finished the day 27-for-42 for 339 yards and two touchdown passes. He also added a 19-yard rushing touchdown, the first of his career.
Trebor Pena recorded the first 100-yard receiving game of his career, surpassing his career-best mark of 88 receiving yards that he set in Syracuse's last game against Georgia Tech, while Umari Hatcher had a deep 67-yard receiving touchdown, the longest of his career.
Stanford (2-1, 1-0 ACC) scored first on a 17-yard touchdown pass on its second drive of the game to grab a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. The Cardinal converted a 38-yard field goal to extend the edge to 10-0 on its following drive.
As Stanford looked to add to its advantage, Grant came up with the first interception of his 'Cuse career in plus-territory. The Orange took advantage of the opportunity, as Brady Denaburg connected on a 30-yard field goal to put Syracuse on the board.
Stanford added a field goal to its lead later in the second quarter, pushing its edge to 13-3, but the Syracuse offense took advantage of the 90 seconds left in the half, as McCord connected with Hatcher on a 67-yard touchdown up the middle. Syracuse went into halftime down 13-10.
The Cardinal struck first in the second half though, as a McCord pass was picked off and returned 71-yards for a Stanford score by Mitch Leigber.
Following the Stanford touchdown, McCord and Syracuse responded with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended in a 19-yard rushing touchdown from the 'Cuse quarterback. The run was the longest of McCord's career and earned him his first-career touchdown on the ground, helping 'Cuse head into the final frame down 20-17.
Stanford opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a drive that ended in a 35-yard field goal to go up 23-17.
Following a three-and-out from each team, Syracuse took its first lead of the contest, compiling a seven-play 60-yard drive that ended in a 13-yard touchdown pass from McCord to Meeks. With 3:13 left in the game, Syracuse held a 24-23 edge.
On the final possession of the game, the Cardinal hit a 39-yard field goal with three seconds left that sealed a 26-24 win over Syracuse, Stanford's first as a member of the ACC.
The Orange close out its four-game homestand to start the season on Sept. 28, when Holy Cross visits the Dome.
