For the first time this season, the Syracuse Orange offense actually won the first down battle. It’s not going to cushion the blow of losing to Liberty, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Sean Tucker was very effective in the first half and that running helped set up a nice touchdown throw from Rex Culpepper to Taj Harris. Gaining over 5 yards on first down put the Orange in good situations to score more than the 14 points they managed and it was mistakes on other downs that cost Syracuse 10 points.