Oct. 8, 2011

Ryan Nassib wasn’t fazed.

Even though Tulane had just tied the game with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, the Syracuse quarterback’s mind was clear as he returned to the field for the Orange’s next drive.

“It’s time to win,” Nassib said after the game. “It’s time to breathe and focus. It wasn’t our first rodeo. All we had to do is just move the ball, get that first first down and just keep chugging.”

Nassib led the SU offense 66 yards down the field, setting up Ross Krautman’s game-winning 21-yard field goal as time expired as the Orange came back to beat the Green Wave, 37-34.

The Syracuse defense blew a lead that was once as wide as 17 points, and the offense mustered just two second-half field goals after a 31-point first half, but the Orange managed to leave the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans with a victory.

“The biggest thought is always the win,” then-head coach Doug Marrone said. “There’s no doubt about it. It’s winning. That’s it.”

In the first quarter, a 5-yard run by Antwon Bailey knotted the score at 7-7, and a 29-yard field goal from Krautman gave SU the edge going into the second quarter.

That’s when the SU offense exploded.

Nassib found wide receiver Dorian Graham for two touchdown passes, then ran one into the end zone from 4 yards out. With 2:58 left in the half, the Orange had a comfortable 31-14 lead.

But it didn’t last.

Forty-seven seconds later, Tulane’s Ryan Griffin connected with Xavier Rush for a 60-yard score, and a last-second field goal as the half ended brought the Green Wave within a touchdown.

“We got down early, but our team never gave up,” Rush said at the time. “We always thought we could come out here and win.”

The Orange defense clamped down in the second half after allowing Tulane 312 yards in the first half. A 49-yard field goal was all the home team scored in the third quarter.

“We got that 17-point lead and we just kind of relaxed,” SU cornerback Kevyn Scott said. “It was like we just took things for granted. We just focused in and locked in and played our game.”

Yet the Green Wave’s defensive unit was just as resistant, holding SU scoreless well into the fourth quarter.

After a Krautman field goal put the Orange up 34-27 with 4:19 left on the clock, the Syracuse defense collapsed – literally. Syracuse cornerback Keon Lyn fell to the ground and Rush easily took a 58-yard pass to the house to tie the game.

That’s when Nassib took the field.

Thanks in part to a third-down personal foul on Tulane, Syracuse marched down the field. Nassib went to Bailey twice for 21 yards and gave him six carries for 24 yards on the drive, as Syracuse brought the ball inside the 5-yard line. Then Krautman lined up his kick and booted it through the uprights.

“We’re going home happy,” Nassib said. “I’ve played this game long enough, and I’ve lost enough games to know that a win is not easy to come by.”

— compiled by Phil D’Abbracio, asst. copy editor, pmdabbr@syr.edu

Published on September 20, 2013 at 2:18 am