Throwback Thursday: Syracuse Tops Ohio State in 1992 Hall of Fame Bowl
Marvin Graves led the Syracuse Orangemen to a 24-17 win over Ohio State in the 1992 Hall of Fame Bowl to cap off a 10-2 1991 campaign that saw Syracuse finish 11th in the final Associated Press Poll. Graves was named the bowl game's most valuable player after throwing for a career high 309 yards, two passing touchdowns and rushing for another score.
Syracuse jumped out to a 14-0 lead after scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions against a Buckeyes defense that had been among the stingiest in the country. On Syracuse's first possession, the Orangemen were facing a second and 21 from midfield. Graves tossed to wide receiver Shelby Hill on a middle screen, and he did the rest racing 50 yards for a game opening touchdown.
After forcing a punt, Syracuse marched down the field on their next possessions, capped by a three yard touchdown run by Marvin Graves on third and goal.
The defenses controlled the action for the next two quarters or so, with Syracuse holding a 17-3 lead in the third. Ohio State scored on a Carlos Snow two yard run to trim Syracuse's lead to 17-10. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes would make a huge special teams play to tie the game.
Pat O'Neill's punt was blocked and recovered by Ohio State's Tito Paul in the end zone with eight minutes left to play. On Syracuse's ensuing possession, it took just two plays to regain the lead. A David Walker four run set up Syracuse to run the freeze option. Graves started to sprint down the line of scrimmage, bounced back into the pocket and launched deep down field.
The play completely fooled Ohio State, and wide receiver Antonio Johnson was wide open for a 60 yard touchdown reception. That score would put Syracuse up 24-17.
Ohio State's next drive would stall after three first downs got the Buckeyes into Orangemen territory. Syracuse would run over three minutes off the clock after picking up a couple of first downs before punting the ball away. Ohio State had one last shot with 1:08 left starting inside their own 10 yard line.
Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit was sacked on the very first play, and Ohio State would turn the ball over on downs to seal the Syracuse victory.
Shelby Hill would finish the game with three catches for 67 yards and a score. Qadry Ismail only had one reception, but made it count as it went for 57 yards. David Walker led all players with 60 yards rushing. Herbstreit finished 14-32 for 174 yards. Joey Galloway had six catches for 88 yards for the Buckeyes.
Syracuse had 408 yards of total offense to just 267 for Ohio State.
Note: Highlights above from SteelBuck 6 on YouTube
