Syracuse, NY – Stanford coach Troy Taylor knew where his quarterback should throw the ball on Friday night’s most important play as soon as his team began pre-snap motion.

Syracuse cornerback Clarence Lewis knew where the ball was going once the Orange positioned their defense on the sideline.

Stanford wanted to throw the ball to star wide receiver Elic Ayomanor. And he would. That meant the Cardinals were going after him.

Despite Stanford’s obvious intent, Lewis could not stop the Cardinal from completing the pass from Syracuse’s 45-yard line on 4th and 9 with 37 seconds left. The throw went 27 yards and set up kicker Emmet Kenny’s game-winning 39-yard field goal.

Stanford won 26-24, earning its first victory as a member of the ACC and handing Fran Brown his first loss as Syracuse head coach.

“I knew where the pass was going,” Lewis said. “I just didn’t know it was going to be a fallout pass with the shoulder.”

“It was a perfectly thrown over-the-shoulder pass,” Brown said. “Their kid made a play. We didn’t make a play.”

The Orange alternated and adjusted the coverage strategies of Ayomanor and Stanford throughout Friday’s game, part of a defensive strategy aimed at keeping the opponent off balance.

Syracuse was quite successful in holding Stanford to points despite missing key players on all three levels of defense. The Orange are still without linebacker Marlowe Wax, entered this game without defensive tackle Dion Wilson and lost cornerback Marcellus Barnes during the game.

Stanford ran the ball throughout the evening, but the Orange allowed just one touchdown on defense and narrowed it three times in the red zone. Stanford scored its second touchdown on an interception return.

Ayomanor caught eight passes for 87 yards and a touchdown that required a superb one-handed catch. It was a fairly normal day for Stanford’s star, who had 1,013 receiving yards last season.

In the decisive game, Syracuse opted for a man-to-man defense against the Cardinals and Ayomanor.

Two timeouts followed the game. Stanford called the first. Syracuse called the second. During the last timeout, Stanford moved Ayomanor to the short side of the field. It sent three wide receivers to the other side.

Syracuse decided to put Lewis on Ayomanor instead of Jayden Bellamy.

Lewis, a transfer from Notre Dame, had played well all night. He had intercepted a pass. He had deflected a pass in the end zone and deflected another pass to Ayomanor.

“A good player and a good player are facing each other,” said Syracuse safety Devin Grant. “It will be 50-50. Of course, I would always put Clarence against anyone. Unfortunately, things turned out differently. But he’s a good player.”

Taylor said Stanford lined up early enough to get a good look at Syracuse’s defense, and before the Cardinals’ helmet communications went dead, he was able to offer one last piece of advice to his quarterback.

“We tried to isolate Elic when they were playing one-on-one,” Taylor said. “If it’s zone, we had a concept for the three-receiver side. If it’s man, he’s got to win. I was actually able to talk to (quarterback Ashton Daniels) because we came out so early and I saw the coverage. I was like, ‘You’ve got to go to Elic.'”

On the decisive pass, Daniels and Ayomanor understood when the wide receiver would abort his route. Lewis did not.

Daniels locked eyes with Syracuse’s safety. Lewis’ coverage was decent considering the challenge. But the throw was perfect.

At the most important moment of the game, Stanford found its most reliable offensive weapon.

“It was a good catch and a good throw, honestly,” Lewis said. “I should have played it better. I wish I had played it better.”

Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Þjórsárden | 315-382-7932

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