Resurgent Sutton rushes for 144 yards as Wildcats crush Orange

 

WERE YOU THERE?

Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories! I was there »

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	11	25
Total Yards	225	484
Passing	103	215
Rushing	122	269
Penalties	5-36	6-65
3rd Down Conversions	3-14	5-11
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-0
Turnovers	1	2
Possession	28:42	31:18

Air/Ground Leaders
Syracuse Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Robinson 14/28 103 0 1	Northwestern Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Bacher 23/35 215 3 1
Syracuse Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Brinkley 9 49 1 28 Carter 6 45 0 32	Northwestern Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Sutton 21 144 0 25 Conteh 12 71 0 20
Syracuse Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Davis 4 38 0 18 Lobdell 2 22 0 13	Northwestern Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Brewer 6 48 0 12 Sutton 4 41 1 12

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				SYR	NW
	FG	10:33	Patrick Shadle 36 Yd Drive: 10 plays, 63 yds, 4:27	3	0
SECOND QUARTER				SYR	NW
	SF	12:22	Andrew Robinson Tackled By Quentin Davie In End Zone	3	2
	TD	03:20	Jeremy Ebert 16 Yd Pass From C.J. Bacher (Amado Villarreal Kick)	3	9
THIRD QUARTER				SYR	NW
	TD	13:22	Curtis Brinkley 2 Yd Run (Patrick Shadle Kick)	10	9
	TD	08:14	Tyrell Sutton 12 Yd Pass From C.J. Bacher (Amado Villarreal Kick)	10	16
	TD	02:13	Brendan Smith 26 Yd Interception Return (Amado Villarreal Kick)	10	23
FOURTH QUARTER				SYR	NW
	TD	08:18	Josh Rooks 2 Yd Pass From C.J. Bacher (Amado Villarreal Kick)	10	30

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Tyrell Sutton showed his old form, running for 144 yards while C.J. Bacher threw three scoring passes to lead Northwestern to a 30-10 victory over Syracuse in the opener on Saturday.

With their star running back healthy and a seasoned Bacher at quarterback, the Wildcats are aiming for their first bowl victory since the 1949 Rose Bowl after going 6-6 a year ago. They looked ready, despite a few glitches.

A 1,000-yard rusher as a freshman and sophomore, Sutton carried 21 times and turned in his 13th 100-yard rushing performance after being limited to 522 yards in seven appearances because of an ankle injury last season.

His fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the second half gave Syracuse the ball on the Northwestern 9 and set up a 2-yard run by Curtis Brinkley that put the Orangemen ahead 10-9, but Sutton quickly made up for it. He connected with Bacher on a 12-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive to make it 16-10 midway through the third, and the Wildcats pulled away from there.

Brendan Smith intercepted a pass from Andrew Robinson and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown that made it 23-10 with 2:13 left in the quarter, and Bacher hit tight end Josh Rooks with a 2-yard scoring pass midway through the fourth that made it a 20-point game.

Bacher, who averaged a Big Ten-leading 304.7 yards last year, settled down after a shaky start and was 23-for-35 with 215 yards and one interception. The senior got picked off on the first drive and had two passes broken up on the second after throwing as many interceptions as touchdowns (19) last season.

Syracuse got a 36-yard field goal from Patrick Shadle on the opening possession, but it was more of the same for a program coming off a 2-10 season.

They managed just 225 yards on offense -- just 68 in the second half -- compared to 484 for Northwestern.

Robinson was 14-for-28 for 103 yards and an interception. He was also called for an intentional grounding in the end zone early in the second quarter, resulting in a safety that made it 3-2, and he had little help from what should be an improved running game that should be better now that Brinkley and Delone Carter are healthy.

The Orangemen managed 122 yards on the ground -- 62 in the first quarter. Not a good start for a team that gained an embarrassing two yards per carry and 753 in all last season.

Brinkley broke off a 28-yard run on the first possession that set up Shadle's field goal. But he finished with 49 yards on nine carries after missing the final four games with a broken leg.

Carter carried six times for 45 yards after sitting out last year with a dislocated hip.

He fumbled on his first attempt after a 2-yard gain early in the second quarter. Syracuse recovered at its own 5, but Robinson was called for intentional grounding with Quentin Davie bearing down on him in the end zone.