Garrett Shrader threw for 286 yards and one touchdown, ran for another score, and LeQuint Allen tallied on three short runs as host Syracuse demolished Western Michigan 48-7 on Saturday afternoon.
Shrader played just the first half, completing 19 of 30 passes and leading the Orange (2-0) to points on all of their possessions before intermission. Freshman Donovan Brown made three catches for 89 yards, including an 86-yard touchdown, and Isaiah Jones and Umari Hatcher had five receptions apiece, for 86 and 83 yards, respectively.
The Broncos’ Jalen Buckley carried eight times for 87 yards, 75 of them on the second play from scrimmage. He burst through the line and down the right side to give Western Michigan (1-1) a 7-0 lead just 30 seconds into the first quarter.
Buckley ran for 194 yards on 30 carries in Western Michigan’s season-opening 35-17 win over St. Francis (Pa.) on Aug. 31.
Western Michigan’s Jack Salopek was 15 of 22 passing for 110 yards with one interception, which Jason Simmons Jr. brought back 84 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, making the score 45-17 at the break.
Allen’s first touchdown, from 1 yard out, gave Syracuse the lead at 10-7 with 8:55 left in the first period.
After Western Michigan’s early strike, it punted five straight times, and the Orange kept scoring quickly. Brown’s touchdown catch was followed by Shrader’s 18-yard scoring rush early in the second quarter, and then TD runs of 1 and 2 yards by Allen.
Brady Denaburg of Syracuse added field goals of 36 and 33 yards in the first and third quarters, respectively.
The Orange, which piled up 677 total yards in whipping Colgate on Sept. 2, amassed 496 more on Saturday — 343 in the air between Shrader and backup Carlos Del Rio-Wilson.
Western Michigan managed 318 total yards but also hurt itself with nine penalties for 99 yards.
Both teams have road games against Big Ten opponents next week. Western Michigan meets Iowa while Syracuse travels to Purdue.
–Field Level Media