Syracuse 30, SMU 27: Angeli's touchdown pass with 17 seconds left sinks No. 19 SMU

Syracuse trailed by seven with nine minutes to play and won anyway. Steve Angeli found Noah Meyers for a 2-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left, and the Orange beat No. 19 SMU 30-27 on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome.

SMU outgained Syracuse 421 to 338 and Kevin Jennings completed 29 of 36 passes for 351 yards. It did not matter. The Mustangs turned the ball over twice, Syracuse did not turn it over at all, and the last two scores of the game belonged to the Orange.

How it was won

Angeli opened the scoring himself with a 26-yard run at 10:04 of the first quarter. SMU answered with a 40-yard Brendan Baird field goal and then took a 10-7 lead when Jennings hit Jalen Hale from 9 yards with 12 seconds left in the quarter.

The second quarter was all Syracuse. Tripp Woody kicked field goals of 29 and 25 yards, and Ahmad Miller scored from a yard out with 22 seconds before the break. The Orange led 20-10 at halftime.

SMU came back. Jennings threw a 14-yard touchdown to Yamir Knight at 8:52 of the third quarter to make it 20-17, and a team safety at 12:07 of the fourth cut the lead to one. Kendrick Raphael then ran 13 yards for a touchdown at 9:04, and Jennings passed to Derrick McFall for the two-point conversion. SMU led 27-20.

Woody's third field goal, from 26 yards at 5:26, made it 27-23. Syracuse got the ball back and finished the job with Angeli's throw to Meyers.

Jennings spread the ball around: Yannick Smith caught 5 passes for 95 yards and Knight had 6 for 80 and a score. SMU's ground game was thin, though, with 70 rushing yards on the day. Raphael had 51 on 14 carries and Christian Rhodes added 22 on 3.

Syracuse ran for 138 yards, nearly double SMU's total. Miller carried 18 times for 56 yards and Tylik Hill added 54 on 10 carries. Angeli was 21 of 34 for 200 yards and a touchdown, with Umari Hatcher catching 6 passes for 65 yards and Daunte Bacheyie 3 for 47.

Neither offense was sharp on third down. SMU converted 6 of 13; Syracuse converted 4 of 16. Possession was close to even, 30:26 for SMU to 29:34.

Against the number

SMU closed as an 8.5-point favorite, and Syracuse covered by winning outright. The Orange were +260 on the moneyline; SMU was -325.

The total closed at 58.5 and the teams combined for 57, so the under held. It was 50 points before the final touchdown, and even that score left the total a point and a half short. Full prices and line history are on the game page.

What's next

SMU falls to 6-2 and sees a four-game winning streak end. Its other loss came at No. 23 Louisville. The Mustangs host Virginia Tech on Friday, November 6, on ESPN.

Syracuse is back to .500 at 4-4 and has won two straight by a combined four points, following a 31-30 win at North Carolina with this one. The Orange host Clemson on Saturday, November 7, on ESPN2.