Sam Hartman’s third touchdown pass of the game to A.T. Perry went for 22 yards, giving No. 19 Wake Forest a 40-37 overtime victory against host Syracuse on Saturday.
Wake Forest (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) is the ACC’s only unbeaten team.
The Orange scored first in overtime on Andre Szmytz’s 38-yard field goal. The Demon Deacons won it on their second play of the extra session.
Syracuse (3-3, 0-2) forced overtime on Garrett Shrader’s 28-yard pass to Sean Tucker with 21 seconds left in regulation.
Christian Beal-Smith ran for a 10-yard touchdown with 3:28 remaining, and the Demon Deacons converted a two-point conversion on Hartman’s pass to Jaquarii Roberson for a 34-27 edge.
Ja’Sir Taylor then recovered a Syracuse fumble, but the Orange got the ball back and moved 94 yards in 11 plays to tie the score.
The Orange had defeated Wake Forest in 2019 in overtime.
Hartman, who threw for 330 yards and the three TDs on Saturday, and Perry connected for two long touchdown plays earlier in the game.
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Perry had 137 yards on his three receptions, and Roberson finished with 135 receiving yards on nine catches.
Wake Forest overcame big rushing outings from Shrader (178 yards on 29 carries) and Tucker (153/26). Shrader also threw for two touchdowns.
Syracuse, which lost for the second week in a row, had a chance to expand a one-point lead, but Szmyt missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt with 7:13 left.
Earlier in the half, Hartman’s 69-yard scoring pass to Perry had given the Demon Deacons a 26-21 lead at the 4:32 mark of the third quarter.
Tucker’s 14-yard run enabled the Orange to regain the lead.
Shrader, who gained 111 rushing yards in the first half, ran for a 5-yard touchdown to finish a 10-play drive in the second quarter. He ran for 31 yards on the drive, which resulted in the Orange going up 21-10.
Hartman’s 1-yard run with 48 seconds left in the half closed the gap.
Syracuse had raced to a 14-3 lead, with Shrader’s 24-yard pass to Anthony Queeley coming on the second play of the second quarter. Earlier, Tucker ran 6 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
Wake Forest opened the scoring on Nick Sciba’s 22-yard field goal. The Demon Deacons’ first touchdown came on their fourth possession when Hartman connected with Perry on a 46-yard play.
–Field Level Media