Running out the clock: Week 4 edition

Here’s my recap of Saturday’s game, which saw the Syracuse football team pull out another overtime victory, 33-30. Unfortunately, Toledo asked the Mid-American Conference to vacate the game because an official missed the call on a crucial extra point by SU with 2:07 left in regulation. 

Speaking of SU’s kicking game, Ross Krautman’s four field goals Saturday tied his single-game career high. He also kicked four against West Virginia in 2010, a 19-14 victory for the Orange. Krautman is now ninth all-time in school history in field goals made with 23.

The special teams unit appears to have improved after last week’s performance. Both Jeremiah Kobena and Dorian Graham averaged over 30 yards per kick return, while the new starting punter, Jonathan Fisher, had two punts inside the 20-yard line.

The tackles leader is once again, Phillip Thomas. He notched 10 against the Rockets. Right behind him was true freshman Cameron Lynch with eight. Lynch would also have the lone sack on Toledo’s Austin Dantin.

Though the talk before the game discussed the two-headed quarterback monster of Toledo, only one stood out. Dantin had over 300 total yards with 258 through the air and another 50 on the ground. Despite those numbers, Dantin only factored in one Toledo touchdown.

Give credit to David Fluellen and Morgan Williams of Toledo. With normal starter Adonis Thomas out with an injury, Fluellen and Williams combined for 94 yards on 19 carries, with two touchdowns. The duo also contributed 57 yards receiving on seven catches.

Of course, any discussion of Toledo’s receivers begins and ends with Eric Page. Page showed why he is a Biletnikoff candidate, grabbing 13 receptions for 158 yards. Those 13 receptions tie the SU opponent record set by Joe Albano of Army in 1970. Page also had three less receptions than the entire Syracuse offense.

Let’s also not forget that Toledo’s offense had a ludicrous 22-play, 75-yard drive that ate an incredible 10 minutes and 34 seconds off the clock. Toledo did not equal that amount of time on offense on its next four drives combined.

Of course, Syracuse had its successes offensively. Antwon Bailey finished the day with 114 rushing yards, while Prince-Tyson Gulley finished with 66. Both were higher rushing numbers than any individual on Toledo.

On John Mackey Day, tight end Nick Provo showed where he belongs in Syracuse football history. With 56 catches, Provo is now tied for second with the most catches by a tight end at Syracuse. He’s currently tied with Marty Chalk. And prepare to be demonized by this Provo statistic: His current career receiving yards is 666.

Ryan Nassib is only the fifth SU quarterback to throw 30 touchdown passes in his career. He currently has accumulated 31, making him fifth all-time in program history. It appears that Nassib’s ranking could change as soon as next week. Number four is Troy Nunes, who threw for 32 in his career. Number one is Donovan McNabb, who threw for 77.

Next week, Syracuse faces Rutgers at the Carrier Dome at 12:00 p.m. The Scarlet Knights are 2-1 and coming off a home victory against the Ohio Bobcats, 38-26. On offense, the team is led by junior receiver Mohamed Sanu, who managed 176 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 16 catches last week. The game will be broadcast on the Big East Network.