Halftime: USF 14, Syracuse 13

Posted Oct 3, 2009 by Joey Johnston

Updated Oct 3, 2009 at 01:46 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y.—The Syracuse Orange struck just before halftime, getting an 11-yard touchdown pass from Greg Paulus to Mike Williams in the left corner of the end zone, cutting the University of South Florida’s lead to 14-13 af halftime.

Syracuse’s touchdown was set up by a major blunder—USF’s third turnover of the half—when Bulls running back Moise Plancher lost a fumble at the USF 14-yard line with 1:36 remaining until halftime.

Syracuse, which had four first-half turnovers of its own, got the Paulus-to-Williams connection on third-and-7 with 29 seconds remaining. Williams, an impressive looking athlete, leaped high for the alley-oop pass, threading between USF defenders Quenton Washington and Mistral Raymond.

USF is fortunate to be leading this game. Both USF touchdowns were set up by Syracuse turnovers. The Orange controlled much of the first-half flow, but injured their chances with the four first-half turnovers.

USF will get the ball to start the second half. The Bulls need to come out forcefully in the second half because Syracuse surely has the momentum now.

Again, it’s USF 14, Syracuse 13 at halftime in the Big East Conference opener for both teams.