SU Athletic Communications Postgame Quotes

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – An early Colgate touchdown was no match for the ACC.

The Raiders struck for an opening TD drive and led 7-0 before Syracuse unveiled its new-generation offense and won the Central New York matchup, 33-7.
 
Jake Melville hit Owen Rockett for a 19-yard TD on the game's opening drive. But the Orange defense stiffened and limited Colgate's senior quarterback to just 82 passing yards for the game. Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey completed 34 of his 40 attempts for 355 yards.
 
Colgate linebackers Charles Cairnie with 15 and Kyle Diener with nine were the game's tackle leaders. Cairnie's total was a career high. Colgate's defense held Syracuse to four field goals to keep the game in hand through three quarters.
 
The Raiders are off next week and then travel to Yale on Sept. 15 for a 1:30 p.m. kick.
 
Bottom Line
• Syracuse 33, Colgate 7

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate opens the season 0-1.
• Syracuse is 1-0.

Quick Rundown
• Colgate scored on the game's opening possession. They needed help – Syracuse ran into the punter, Josh Cerra, resulting in an initial first down – but Colgate went 75 yards in 12 plays covering 6 minutes.
• Melville scrambled left and found Owen Rockett for Rockett's first career TD, a 19-yarder.
• Syracuse answered with 20 straight points and led 20-7 at intermission.
• Colgate limited the Orange to a pair of field goals in the third quarter and it looked like another was on tap early in the fourth when Dungey broke free from a rush and hit Ervin Philips for the game's final TD.
 
Facts & Figures
• This series is now tied, 31-31-5.
• Syracuse won for the 16th consecutive time in the series but scored its fewest points against a Colgate defense since a 21-19 decision in 1955.
• Friday night's game broke a Syracuse string of eight straight games scoring at least 40 points against the Raiders.
• Colgate opened the season for a fourth straight year against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. This was their first Power-5 conference foe in that recent stretch.
• Other opening games the last three years have been against Air Force, Ball State and Navy.

More Key Info
• Cairnie has turned in tackle career bests in each of his last two games. He posted 13 stops last year at Sam Houston State in the NCAA quarterfinals.
• Diener, Trent Williams and Dillon DeIuliis contributed the three Colgate sacks for a combined minus-13 yards.
• Chris Morgan recovered a late fumble for the game's only turnover.
• Sage Attwood spelled Melville late in the game and completed 1 of 2 passes, including a 16-yarder to Rockett.
• First year Abu Daramy returned six kickoffs for a 20.8-yard average and added a 9-yard punt return.
• Cerra in his debut as the Colgate starting punter posted a 40.8-yard average on 10 attempts. His long of 56 in the first quarter rolled dead at the Syracuse 13.
• Cerra finished with three punts inside the 20-yard line against zero touchbacks.
• Two players on each side of the ball earned their first career starts: TE Nick Martinsen, C Andy Simms, LB Trent Williams and DB Cortney Mimms.
• Initial counts show 14 Raiders making their collegiate debuts: DB Abu Daramy, QB Sage Attwood, LB Nick Ioanilli, LB Aidan Gaertner, TB Alex Mathews, PK Tommy Halkyard, PK Chris Puzzi, DL Chuck Moore, OL Terence Sino, TE Nick Diaco, WR Dan Ryan, TE Sam Schlichting, LB Nick Wheeler and LB John Steffen.
 
Turning Point
• Colgate drove the length of the field on its opening drive to take a 7-0 lead.
• But Syracuse answered in six plays over the next 1:45 to tie the score.
• The Orange forced a Colgate punt and added a field goal to cap an 18-play drive. It was 10-7 and Syracuse never trailed again.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (Opening statement) "I'm very happy with our defense. For the amount we put them on the field, particularly in the second half, they did a good job holding up against the tempo they were facing.
 
"They did a really nice job in the red zone, keeping them to field goals that kept it within striking distance for a decent part of the game.
 
"Special teams was good. We knew coming in that we didn't want to give up a big play in that department, and we were able to do that."
 
Listen to the rest of Coach Hunt's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate quarterback Jake Melville: (On the opening drive) "We came out and threw a punch at them and drove down the field. I wish we could have continued that during the game, but it's something that we have to learn from and move on."
 
Listen to the rest of Melville's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate defensive lineman Pat Afriyie (On facing Syracuse) "We were pretty prepared for what they were going to do. We studied a lot from what the coaching staff did at Bowling Green, and we were pretty prepared for what we saw. I don't think anything really was different than what we planned for."
 
Listen to the rest of Afriyie's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate linebacker Kyle Diener (On the defense) "It was nice to see us bow up in the red zone a little bit but we've still got to stop some of those big plays we allowed. We didn't train all summer for this result, but you've got to look at the little things and little victories and get ready for Yale."
 
Listen to the rest of Diener's comments HERE. 

• Colgate wide receiver Owen Rockett (On his touchdown catch) "It was fantastic. We were kind of struggling to get lined up and I wasn't really the primary receiver. It was supposed to go to the other side of the field.
 
"But I saw Jake scrambling and we had practiced that a lot, just reacting, and he put it in a great spot."
 
Listen to the rest of Rockett's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• The Colgate Ticket Office sold approximately 1,200 tickets for the game, and there was a solid Maroon contingent in the southwest corner of the Carrier Dome.
• Announced attendance was 31,336.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is off next week and plays again Sept. 17 at Yale. 
• Kickoff from the Yale Bowl is 1:30 p.m.