The Syracuse football team takes on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Carrier Dome.
The game will be televised on ACC Network.
See in-game team and individual stats here.
Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game at Ohio to see the latest updates
Halftime: Syracuse 0, Rutgers 0
Defense and special teams miscues have defined the first half here at the Carrier Dome.
Rutgers and Syracuse have both botched field goal attempts. Favorable bounces and dropped punts have also impacted field position in a game in which both offenses lacked explosive plays and struggled to finish their scoring opportunities.
Syracuse coach Dino Babers made a quarterback switch in the second quarter, creating an equal timeshare of snaps between Garrett Shrader and Tommy DeVito one week after DeVito took nearly every snap in a 29-9 victory at Ohio.
DeVito is 7-for-8 for 65 yards. Shrader is 4-for-6 for 42 yards.
Sean Tucker, one week after rushing for a career-high 181 yards, has 30 yards on 10 carries through the first half. His longest run was 9 yards.
SU’s defense held Rutgers to less than 50 yards of offense in the first half.
Second quarter
0:20: Shrader, under pressure, put too much air on a third-down pass toward Anthony Queeley near the end zone.
Andre Szmyt missed a 43-yard field goal nine seconds to play in the first half.
We’ll be scoreless at halftime.
0:35: Shrader evades a sack, then loses the ball, picks it up, then gets called for throwing the ball out of bounds. It’ll bring up 2nd-and-10 with 23 seconds left in the half. The play, after review, shows Shrader’s knee was down before the ball left his hands.
This results in a 10-second runoff, putting the game clock at 20 seconds.
1:00: Shrader throws across his body on the run to hit Harris for a huge third-down conversion to the 20-yard line.
Syracuse uses its final timeout of the half with 35 seconds to play.
1:22 Shrader attempted a deep ball to Harris that was broken up over the top. The lid was about to come off the dome had the two connected there.
Shrader then comes back and hits Sharod Johnson on a timing route near the sideline to pick up a first down.
SU giving Shrader the green light to throw the ball here in his third series. He overshoots Jackson down the left seam for what would have been another chunk play.
2:44: Garrett Williams has been a hit-stick on special teams today, and Rutgers sets up inside SU territory following the short return by Aron Cruickshank.
Williams then defended a deep shot to Bo Melton, and Mikel Jones, Josh Black and Geoff Cantin shut down a 3rd-and-1, before Jones comes up with a huge hit in the backfield on 4th-and-1 from the SU 37.
Jones sprinted toward the sideline, bumped into defensive line coach Vince Reynolds, ripped his helmet off and was mobbed by his teammates as Jones screamed toward the student section.
4:55: Pena drops a line-drive punt but covers up at the SU 15. That’s a nice turn for the Scarlet Knights after the previous series.
Shrader remains in the game for a second series. SU shows a two-back look with Tucker and Lutz flanking Shrader.
Syracuse goes three-and-out for the second-straight series after a completion to Courtney Jackson on the edge comes up short of the sticks. Syracuse uses its second timeout of the half before the punt.
7:28: Following a re-kick after a special teams penalty on SU, James Williams get a friendly roll right in front of the Rutgers bench back to the 36-yard line. That’s about a 15-yard change of field position after the initial punt was returned out to midfield.
McKinley Williams further sets Rutgers back with his first sack of the season, and Stefon Thompson cleans up another negative yardage play. With the dome erupting, the crowd forces a false start penalty. A nightmare series has Rutgers facing a 3rd-and-30 from its own 16.
The field completely flipped on that series.
9:53: Garrett Shrader is in the game for the first time today.
Shrader flares a pass out to Harris for a first down, but the play is negated on an illegal formation penalty with Matthew Bergeron lining up in the backfield.
On 3rd-and-10 from the SU 12, Shrader is tackled behind the line of scrimmage for a three-and-out.
14:09: Rutgers again doing enough on offense to move the ball out of the shadow of its goal line. It still hasn’t sprung an explosive play on the SU defense, but it is moving ball near midfield, setting itself up for high-percentage third-down conversions.
Quarterback Noah Vedral came up short on a 3rd-and-1 stop by Garrett Williams to force another punt in the opponents’ territory. Neither side getting ultra-aggressive here in the first half.
Syracuse will take over at its own 12-yard line.
15:00: A screen play for Adams comes up just shy of field-goal range, bringing on James Williams to punt on 4th-and-10 from the Rutgers’ 38. The kick goes out of bounds at the 11.
First quarter
END OF FIRST QUARTER: Syracuse 0, Rutgers 0
3:55: Damien Alford on the field for SU’s third offensive series. The second-year freshman, who is 6-foot-6, played sparingly last week at Ohio.
Syracuse continues to move the ball on Rutgers, with Tucker and Harris doing the most damage. A chunk run by Tucker gets wiped off the board by a holding penalty on Luke Benson to halt momentum.
7:55: Rutgers strings together back-to-back first downs to move the ball out across its 30-yard line. Syracuse defensive lineman McKinley Williams got in the game on a third-down stop to force a punt.
SU will start at its own 25-yard line following a late hit out of bounds on return man Trebor Pena.
8:06: DeVito finds Taj Harris, who fights for a first down at the 5-yard line before the ball is stripped out by Avery Young and recovered by Max Melton. After Rutgers squandered an early scoring chance, the play is being reviewed and is confirmed.
11:36: DeVito started off the team’s second series with a dart to Harris over the middle to pick up a first down in Rutgers’ territory. He later found Tucker on a well-designed screen play to covert a 3rd-and-6 to move the ball into the red zone.
The ground game continues to be effective, with DeVito and Tucker once again picking up positive yardage.
Syracuse calls its first timeout with 8:06 remaining in the opening quarter and the ball on the 14-yard line.
13:22: The special teams brillance that Greg Schiano and Rutgers are known for shines through with a blocked punt to set up the Rutgers offense inside the red zone.
But the SU defense, much like last week, shut the door down near the goal line, keeping Rutgers out of the end zone following an offensive pass interference penalty that negated a touchdown.
The 53-yard field goal attempt from the left hash never got off the turf. The holder bailed after failing to set the ball, and Garrett Williams finished the job.
15:00: Rutgers won the coin toss and will defer until the second half. Syracuse will get the ball to start.
The SU offense falls behind the chains on an intentional grounding call on DeVito, leading to a punt. The drive started with an early first-down run by Sean Tucker.
Pregame notes
Good afternoon from the Carrier Dome, where Syracuse (1-0) and Rutgers (1-0) will square off for the first time since their Big East days during the 2012 season.
Linemen Dakota Davis, Kingsley Jonathan and McKinley Williams participated near the front of the pregame stretch line. All three will be available for today’s game.
One quick jersey change: Abdul Adams is wearing No. 27.
Freshmen Malcolm Folk and Ja’Vontae Williams will not dress for today’s game.
Earlier pregame:
Early in the pregame, Davis and Jonathan were out with the team dressed in workout clothes, with headphones over their ears. Their playing status can be a factor in a game Dino Babers thinks will be decided at the line of scrimmage today.
Cornerbacks Garrett Williams and Duce Chestnut are among the remaining players staying out on the field during the pregrame routine. They’re practicing techniques one-on-one. The veteran-rookie mentorship brings to mind how Williams, in his first year as a starter last season, often worked out with the older, more experienced Ifeatu Melifonwu.
The student section is packed with more than 30 minutes to go until kickoff. The strong turnout is in line with other home openers, when first-year undergrads get to experience the Carrier Dome for the first time.
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