SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 17, 2012
Syracuse 31, Missouri 27: Ryan Nassib found Alec Lemon for a game-winning 17-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left as the visiting Orange came back from 14 points down to beat the Tigers and secure bowl eligibility for the second time in three years.
Nassib finished 26-for-40 for 385 yards and two touchdowns while Lemon caught 12 passes for 244 yards and both scores. Andrew Baggett hit a 46-yard field goal with 1:52 left, nearly spoiling the Syracuse comeback bid.
Marcus Sales added eight receptions and 85 yards for the Orange (6-5). James Franklin led Missouri (5-6) with 279 passing yards and two first-quarter touchdown tosses before leaving the game with an injury early in the fourth quarter.
Franklin connected with Dorial Green-Beckham (70 yards) and Jimmie Hunt (30 yards) before Prince-Tyson Gulley scored from 1 yard out to pull Syracuse within 17-10 at the break. Nassib found Lemon for a 13-yard score 46 seconds into the fourth quarter to tie the game.
After Kendial Lawrence, who finished with 27 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown, and Jerome Smith traded 3- and 8-yard scoring scampers in the fourth quarter, Baggett gave Missouri the lead. Nassib then engineered a seven-play, 81-yard drive spanning 1:32 to seal the victory.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Facing a fourth-and-10 with 37 seconds left, Syracuse opted to go for it rather than send Ross Krautman out for a 53-yard field goal. Nassib hit Lemon for a 19-yard connection to extend the drive. … Backup QB Corbin Berkstresser orchestrated the six-play, 79-yard drive that Lawrence finished off. Berkstresser finished 4-for-8 for 85 yards and an interception … Lemon’s 244 receiving yards are good for second place in Syracuse’s single-game record book behind Scott Schwedes, who hauled in 249 against Boston College in 1985.