Syracuse v. Temple report card

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Nassib had another solid day vs. Temple

Syracuse won its final Big East game in school history with a 38-20 victory over Temple on Saturday. Here are the grades from the game:

Offense: A-

After fumbles on their first two drives of the game, Syracuse really turned it on after that. Besides the 38 points on the board—SU’s third straight game with 30 or more points—the Orange gained 475 total yards with 260 yards on the ground.

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Nassib had another solid day vs. Temple

Jerome Smith surpassed 1,000 yards on the season with his 96-yard day, which was the fifth straight year SU accomplished that feat. Prince-Tyson Gulley, after an initial fumble, was solid as well with 83 yards and a touchdown.

But the story of the day was Adonis Ameen-Moore, who rushed for a career-high 57 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Ameen-More, who had only had 51 yards on the season, thrived in the tank package, and showed some agility as well.

» Related: Video highlights of Syracuse’s final Big East game

As for their leader, Ryan Nassib, he finished with 215 yards passing and a touchdown, drawing rave reviews from Orange head coach Doug Marrone. “I’m not a very good storyteller but I am very proud of him,” Marrone said. “I can promise you he’ll be playing again. You’ll see him on Sundays (in the NFL).”

Defense: A

It was a pretty dominant performance against a team that gained 534 yards on the ground just a week before against Army.

Temple running back Montel Harris didn’t have quite the same success against the Orange as he did in his 300+ yard outing against Army. Though he rushed for 106 yards, he also had the ball stripped twice. Once, the ball went out of bounds, and the second, Harris stepped out of bounds before losing it when the ball was whistled dead.

Juice Granger threw just four passes against Army, but he threw 23 against the Orange, going for 173 yards and a touchdown. Still,  he was errant in the final quarter, and was picked off by Keon Lyn twice. Once, Lyn returned it all the way for a touchdown, which put the game out of reach.

» Related: Syracuse ends Big East play on high note

Special Teams: A

The Orange turned in another solid performance this week.

Less was more with Ritchy Desir, who didn’t try to do too much, and made a couple of tough fair cathces. The special teams also recovered a muffed punt, and Ross Krautman was perfect on the day with a field goal from 26 yards and five extra points.

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.