Senior kicker Emmet Kenney took a deep breath before looking down at the ball. He and Stanford football were one 39-yard buzzer-beating kick away from victory.
The Syracuse crowd was raucous with their jeers. They tried with all their might to prevent what might happen.
But they couldn’t do a darn thing.
The Orange (2-1, 0-1 ACC) just found out how weird Stanford (2-1, 1-0 ACC) can make it.
The Cardinal defeat Syracuse Orange 26-24 in JMA Wireless Dome on Friday night on Kenney’s game-winning field goal.
It was Friday the 13s for the Orange as Kenney and junior wide receiver Elic Ayomanor (both wear No. 13) came up huge.
“A lot of confidence [in Kenney],” Coach Taylor said. “He replaced a guy who was arguably the best kicker in the country last year. Those are big shoes to fill. Frankly, I didn’t know if anyone could fill those shoes and he has.”
While Kenney’s kick was the knockout blow, Ayomanor’s reception was the faint that set it up.
With 37 seconds left and on 4th-and-9, sophomore quarterback Ashton Daniels hit Ayomanor on a 27-yard back shoulder throw to place them on the opponent's 18-yard line.
“They left [Ayomanor] one-on-one,” Daniels said. “The amount of trust I have for our connection…I knew there was no one else I could go to on that play.”
The reception kept Stanford’s dream alive until Kenney fulfilled it a few plays later.
Stanford is now 1-0 all time in the ACC.
Stanford head coach Troy Taylor was effusive for his team performance after giving up the lead late in the game.
“I’ve never been around a group of student-athletes with this much character and resiliency,” Coach Taylor said. “Our guys just don’t quit.”
The Cardinal prevailed due to defense, a surprisingly effective running attack and the play of Ayomanor.
Despite Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord putting up big numbers (339 passing yards and two touchdowns), the Cardinal were able to put pressure on McCord all game. Stanford sacked McCord four times and intercepted him twice, including an electric 71-yard pick six from senior safety Mitch Leigber.
“We knew we had our hands full with the quarterback and the receivers,” Stanford head coach Troy Taylor said. “We disrupted [Syracuse’s] routes…we’re able to get some pressure on them.”
“I thought our defense was phenomenal.”
Junior outside linebacker David Bailey had two sacks and forced one fumble which was recovered by Syracuse.
The Cardinal massively won the rushing game 173 to 26 against the Orange. Freshman running backs Chris Davis Jr. and Micah Ford combined for 126 yards on 17 attempts.
“I felt like we stopped the run game,” Coach Taylor remarked. “Made them one-dimensional”
Davis gained more than half of his yards on a 47-yard rush in the second quarter to later set up a 51-yard field goal score from Emmet.
Ayomanor’s stat line wasn’t gaudy (87 receiving yards on seven receptions and one touchdown), but his impact was felt. On the second drive of the game, Daniels slightly overthrew him in the endzone but the six-foot-two Canadian stretched his right arm and stole the ball from the heavens for a 17-yard touchdown – and the Cardinal’s first score in the ACC.
Catch of the Year? Certainly in the running.
“He’s that guy that no matter where I put the ball I have faith that he’s going to go up and catch it,” Daniels commented.
Fellow wideout, sophomore Ismael Cisse, didn’t continue his consecutive game touchdown streak, but had another solid day with eight receptions for 47 yards.
Quarterback Daniels had an inconsistent day. He racked up 178 passing yards on 23-38 attempts for one touchdown and two interceptions. He added 54 yards on 13 rushes.
He was inaccurate throwing to receivers throughout the game, including on the incredible touchdown reception by Ayomanor in the first quarter.
Both of his interceptions were on ill-advised throws where he stared down his receiver.
However, he just did enough on the touchdown drive and the last drive of the game to give the win to Stanford, including the beautiful throw to Ayomanor on fourth down.
“What kept me calm was our defense,” Daniels said of playing in a close game on the road. “They did an outstanding job. I had faith in our defense, and I knew that we were going to get the ball back, and we’re going to have another change to go down and score”
The Cardinal had to travel over 2800 miles for the first game, and they are following it up with another away trip to Clemson next week, but Coach Taylor did not seem to mind it for his team one bit.
“We do a first-class job on our guys traveling,” Coach Taylor said. “We stay at nice hotels. It’s not that big of a deal. We gotta turn it around and do it again.”
“Fortune favors the bold, and it paid off for us.”
The Cardinal won't have much time to catch their breath as they play the No. 21 Clemson Tigers (2-1 , 1-0 ACC) on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. PT in Memorial Stadium. The game will be broadcasted by ESPN.