The penalty gave Syracuse a first down and new life after UNLV scored a field goal on the first overtime possession to take a 41-38 lead. Syracuse drove to the 1-yard line, then running back LeQuint Allen fought through a tackle and scored the game-winning touchdown.

Hajj-Malik Williams threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score as unbeaten UNLV breezed to a 59-14 victory over Fresno State in the Rebels’ conference opener last week.

One clear thing is that Syracuse will not back down to anyone. The Orange have the third-highest pass-play rate at 63.81% to compensate for its inability to run the ball. They rank 89th with a rush success rate of 39.6%, which puts the onus squarely on McCord to get the offense going.