Recap: Wake Forest 64, Syracuse 43

Saturday, November 11

Syracuse, NY

3 pm

Syracuse University

4-6 , 2-4

Wake Forest

6-4 , 3-3

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Wake Forest	21	3	16	24	64
Syracuse	14	24	5	0	43

11/11/2017 6:33:00 PM | Football

Box Score Cuse TV: Highlights Cuse TV: Dino Babers Press Conference Cuse TV: Syracuse Players Press Conference Photo Gallery Postgame Notes Quotes

Orange and Demon Deacons combine for 1,355 yards and 66 first downs

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In a contest that featured 107 points and an ACC-record 1,355 combined yards of total offense, it may have been a defensive play that settled Wake Forest's (6-4, 3-3 ACC) 64-43 victory at Syracuse (4-6, 2-4 ACC) on Saturday, Nov. 11 at the Carrier Dome.

Jaboree Williams intercepted a fourth-quarter Zack Mahoney pass and returned it 52 yards to the Syracuse 20. The play set up Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford's third touchdown pass of the game to tight end Cam Serigne, and put the Demon Deacons ahead 54-43 with 7:17 left in the contest. Wake Forest held the Orange scoreless the rest of the way to win its second straight game against Syracuse and first in four tries at the Dome.

HOW IT WAS DECIDED
Wake Forest trailed at the half 38-24, but outscored Syracuse 40-5 after the break. The Demon Deacons scored on seven straight second-half possessions, including five touchdowns.

Wolford had a remarkable performance for the Demon Deacons, rushing for three scores and throwing for three more. He was 25-of-38 for 363 yards through the air and ran 19 times for 136 yards. Four of the touchdowns Wolford was responsible for (2 rushing, 2 passing) came in the second half.

Serigne finished with seven catches for 119 yards and three touchdowns. He was one of three Wake Forest receivers with at least 100 yards. Tabari Hines had nine receptions for 124 yards and Scotty Washington had seven catches for 113 yards.

The Demon Deacons also had a second 100-yard rusher in Matt Colburn II who ran 31 times for 237 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown run with two minutes remaining that put the game away.

BABERS' TAKE
"Well obviously you have to take your hat off to [Wake Forest] Coach [Dave] Clawson. That is a fantastic win by his football team. Congratulations on being bowl-eligible," Orange head coach Dino Babers said.

"We are extremely disappointed on our side of the locker room, so to speak. We know that we have to do a lot better. Our effort needs to be a lot better than the way we played out there today. We are disappointed. We have another opportunity next week. All of our dreams are not dead, but we need to play a lot better than what we played today."

OF NOTE
The 64 points scored by Wake Forest represented the most by an Orange opponent in the Dome. Louisville's 62 points scored last season was the previous opponent stadium standard.

The 1,355 combined yards of offense Saturday eclipsed the previous ACC record of 1,351 put up by Clemson and NC State in their 2012 contest. Syracuse (33) and Wake Forest (33) also combined for 66 first downs, another conference record.

Steve Ishmael continued to climb the receiving charts at Syracuse after tying his personal-best effort with 14 catches for a career-high 145 yards. On the Syracuse career lists, he advanced to second in yards, passing Alec Lemon (2,530 yards). He also moved into a tie with Tommy Kane for fifth in touchdowns with his 17th scoring reception. Ishmael passed Lemon (201) on the career catches list and now ranks second behind teammate Ervin Philips with 206.

On the season ledger, Ishmael became the fifth Syracuse player to record a 1,000-yard receiving season, and he moved past Rob Moore (1,064 yards) and Lemon (1,070 yards) to tie Marvin Harrison (1,131 yards) for second place.

Mahoney performed admirably in the absence of injured starter Eric Dungey. He completed 33-of-60 passes for 384 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Mahoney had touchdown throws of 18 and 19 yards to Ravian Pierce, and a 30-yarder to Ishmael. He also ran eight times for 38 yards.

Cole Murphy's 47-yard field goal in the third quarter was the 58th of his career. He surpassed the previous school mark of 57 held by John Biskup (1989-92). Murphy also made a 30-yard attempt in the second quarter and now has a school single-season record 19 field goals in 2017.

The Orange tallied the first defensive two-point touchdown in program history. After a Wolford touchdown pass, the extra-point try by Mike Weaver was blocked by Chris Slayton. Scoop Bradshaw picked up the ball and ran it all the way back to paydirt. The play put the Orange ahead 43-40 with 1:08 left in the third quarter.

Senior linebacker Zaire Franklin finished with a career-best 16 total tackles, including 12 solo stops.

UP NEXT
Syracuse plays its final road game of the regular season when it travels to Louisville to take on the Cardinals Saturday, Nov. 18. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.

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