Seventeen Seconds From 7-1: Syracuse Stuns No. 19 SMU 30-27 in the Dome, and the ACC Race Just Got Harder

By Brooke Calloway, RF Sports Radio SMU voice

Pony Up, people, and take a deep breath. SMU had this game. Up seven with nine minutes left, up four with three and a half to go. Then 17 seconds on the clock, a tight end most of us had never heard of, and a long, quiet flight home from upstate New York.

The facts

Steve Angeli threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Noah Meyers with 17 seconds left, and Syracuse beat No. 19 SMU 30-27 on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome, per the Associated Press. The Orange took over at their own 32 trailing 27-23 with 3:36 left and went 68 yards in 11 plays. It was Syracuse's first win over a ranked team since Nov. 30, 2024, per the AP.

Kevin Jennings was 29-of-36 for 351 yards with touchdown passes to Jalen Hale and Yamir Knight and no interceptions, per the box score. Knight had six catches for 80 yards. Kendrick Raphael's touchdown run, followed by a two-point pass to Derrick McFall, gave SMU a 27-20 lead with about nine minutes left after an SMU safety cut the deficit to 20-19. Tripp Woody's third field goal made it 27-23 with 5:26 to go.

SMU outgained Syracuse 421 to 338, per SMU's postgame notes, but trailed 20-10 at halftime after Syracuse scored the last 13 points of the first half. Angeli was 21-of-34 for 200 yards and also ran for a 26-yard score.

SMU falls to 6-2, 4-2 in the ACC. Syracuse is 4-4, 2-4. The Mustangs host Virginia Tech on Friday, Nov. 6, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, according to SMU's schedule.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: I said Saturday morning this was a trap game, and I hate being right like this. SMU did a lot of things well. More than 400 yards of offense, 351 through the air, no turnovers from the quarterback. You are supposed to win that game.

But the defense that lives on third down could not get off the field when it mattered most. An 11-play drive at the end of a game is not a fluke. It is a unit that got tired, or a plan that got too soft. Either way, that has to be fixed before November.

The first-half finish hurts just as much. Giving up 13 straight points before halftime in a road dome is how you hand the crowd its voice back.

Here is the good news. One loss does not end anything. Win out and SMU still has a real say in the ACC race. But the margin for error is gone.

What to watch next

Watch the new AP poll Sunday afternoon and the Virginia Tech week injury notes. For our pregame look at the trip to Syracuse, read our Oct. 31 SMU-Syracuse preview, and follow the Mustangs on our SMU Football page.

Radio question: was this loss on the defense for the final drive, or on the offense for not putting Syracuse away earlier?

Sources: AP News - Syracuse scores with 17 seconds to go to defeat No. 19 SMU 30-27; SMU Athletics - SMU falls at Syracuse, 30-27 (recap and postgame notes); Syracuse Athletics - SU-SMU game book; SMU Athletics - 2026 football schedule.