For the fifth-straight game, Syracuse football had its game decided in the final minute.

The Orange scored twice in the game's final three minutes, completing a 21-point fourth quarter, capped off by Damien Alford catching a 45-yard touchdown bomb over the top with less than 30 seconds to play.

Syracuse trailed 36-27 with just over five minutes left in the contest. The Orange managed to keep their hopes alive with a march started by Trebor Pena's 51-yard kickoff return into Hokie territory. Shrader directed a seven-play 45-yard march that was capped by his 12-yard scoring toss to Courtney Jackson with 2:23 left in the fourth quarter.

The Orange defense then stepped up big. After yielding a Virginia Tech first down, and following two short ground gains and timeouts by Coach Dino Babers, Rob Hanna blitzed and sacked Hokie quarterback Braxton Burmiester for a 10-yard loss, forcing a punt.

Pena did his thing again with a 15-yard punt return that put Syracuse at its own 30-yard line with 1:04 left and lacking any timeouts. Shrader had two consecutive incomplete passes, followed by consecutive six-yard runs, the second on a fourth-and-four at the Syracuse 36.

Shrader then connected with Sean Tucker on a 13-yard completion and followed that up with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Damien Alford with 19 second remaining. Andre Szmyt converted the extra point to give the Orange a 41-36 advantage.

The Hokies had another chance, but the hail mary attempt fell to the turf in the end zone after it was contested and 'Cuse walked away with its first ACC road victory since November of 2019, snapping a seven-game skid, and evening their 2021 record to 4-4.

Shrader ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more, including one in the final minute, to lead Syracuse (4-4, 1-3 ACC) to a 41-36 victory at Virginia Tech (3-4, 1-2) on Saturday. His three rushing touchdowns tied the program record for rushing TDs by a quarterback in a game, and he now has the second-most rushing TDs by a quarterback (12) in a single season, trailing just Eric Dungey's 15 in 2018.

Shrader began the roller-coaster journey that was the second half with a 21-yard touchdown run that allowed the Orange to move ahead 20-19. After the two teams traded punts, the Hokies regained the lead, 26-20, on a two-yard touchdown run by Malachi Thomas with 6:54 left in the third period.

Syracuse was forced to punt again, but its defense stopped Virginia Tech on a fourth-and-four from the Syracuse 34 that gave the Orange another opportunity. Shrader orchestrated a 13-play, 66-yard drive that he completed with a three-yard touchdown run. The extra point provided Syracuse with a 27-26 margin.

Virginia Tech counter punched, first with a 33-yard field goal and then a 42-yard touchdown run a Malachi Thomas. The Hokies were ahead, 36-27, setting the stage for the dramatic ending.

Shrader finished with 22 carries for 174 yards and was just four yards shy of his career-best ground effort.

An 11-yard burst in the third quarter by Sean Tucker put him over 100 yards on the afternoon. It was Tucker's sixth straight 100-yard ground game, a school record. Tucker has now posted seven 100-yard rushing games in eight contests, this fall. He ended the afternoon with 20 carries for 112 yards and the one score.

Tucker surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on his 28-yard touchdown sprint in the first quarter. Tucker became the first Orange ball carrier to run for 1,000 yards in a season since Antwon Bailey in 2011. Joe Morris owns the Syracuse single-season rushing yards record of 1,372, set in 1979.