Syracuse routs Wisconsin in Kickoff Classic
Posted: Sun August 24, 1997 at 7:14 p.m. EDT
The Kickoff Classic was settled at the kickoff.
Kevin Johnson returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a
touchdown to set the tone and Syracuse rolled to a
34-0 rout of Wisconsin in yet another Kickoff
Classic blowout today at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New
Jersey.
Heisman Trophy candidate Donovan McNabb completed 11-of-14
passes for 211 yards and a touchdown for Syracuse. He also
scored on a 21-yard run.
Johnson, a native of Trenton, New Jersey, immediately provided
momentum for Syracuse. He ran up the middle, broke a tackle at
the Syracuse 25-yard line, darted to his left at the 30 and then
raced untouched down the left sideline on the opening kickoff.
"We had a return left, I guess Jimmy (Turner) should have caught
it," said Johnson. "Jimmy is the call guy and we bumped into
each other. I tried to sell it up the middle and then go to the
left. I just followed my blockers. We all rallied behind it.
If it jump-started the game, so be it."
Syracuse held Wisconsin star running back Ron Dayne to 46
rushing yards and opened the season with a shutout for the first
time since 1967 when it beat Baylor, 7-0.
"To be honest, our kids played better than I thought they would
in the first game," said Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni. "We
returned the opening kickoff and it jump-started everything. We
put a lot of effort into the special teams and it's great to see
it pay off."
The last five Kickoff Classics have been decided by an average
margin of 31.2 points. Since 1989, the average margin of
victory is 24.3 points. Syracuse's victory was the third-largest
in the annual game. Florida State walloped Kansas, 42-0, in 1993
and Nebraska pounded Penn State, 44-6, in 1983.
Syracuse fullback Rob Konrad outrushed Dayne with 76 yards on
just eight carries, including a one-yard score, and caught two
passes for 46 yards. He had 74 yards on seven carries in the
first half when the Orangemen built a 24-0 lead.
The 261-pound Dayne, who set an NCAA freshman record last year
when he rushed for 2,109 yards, carried the ball just 13 times.
He had nine carries for 33 yards in the first half.
"Obviously, he's a great back," said Pasqualoni. "We tried the
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