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The Wildcats mounted an impressive comeback, but a fourth quarter missed field goal led to an overtime loss.
Villanova nearly delivered one of the biggest upsets of college football's opening weekend Friday night, taking Syracuse to double overtime before falling 27-26 after a fake field goal touchdown.
Starting Orange quarterback Terrel Hunt was ejected in the second quarter after throwing a punch at an opposing player. Syracuse led 10-7 at the time, but the wheels quickly fell from their offense after Hunt's dismissal. Austin Wilson came in and averaged 4.8 yards per attempt on 10/15 passing.
All seemed well for the Orange coming out of halftime, with Adonis Ameen's Moore two-yard touchdown run extending the lead to 17-7. Near the end of the third quarter, Poppy Livers returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown, bringing the Wildcats within three. Villanova tied it up midway through the fourth on Chris Gough's 25-yard field goal, culminating a 19-play, 80-yard drive that spanned over nine minutes of game time.
Quarterback John Robertson led the Wildcats down the field on another long drive, running all but 12 seconds off the clock. Gough missed the ensuing 25-yard field goal, forcing the game to overtime.
Syracuse's defense held on Villanova's first overtime possession, forcing another short field goal attempt from Gough. He hit the 24-yarder, giving the Wildcats the 20-17 lead. The Orange started strong on their first drive of overtime, running for 24 yards on three carries, but the drive ended in a 22-yard field goal after Villanova's goal-line stand.
Syracuse made it to the goal-line again on their second drive of overtime, and scored on the fake field goal. Villanova scored a touchdown on the ensuing overtime drive but failed on the two-point conversion attempt, sealing the loss.
The Wildcats are now 3-16 all-time against FBS schools, with their last win against a top division program coming in 2009 against Temple. An ACC school has not lost to an FCS school since 2011, when Duke was defeated by Richmond. Last season, a record eight FBS teams lost to FCS schools in college football's opening weekend.