AUBURN, Ala. — One by one, Syracuse football players emerged from the locker room, looking eerily similar to one another. They all held the same glazed stare. Their eyes were red, some from exhaustion, others from emotion.

Three hours and 45 minutes worth of football can do that to you.

As the clock passed midnight Central Standard Time, Syracuse still appeared shell-shocked by its triple-overtime, 37-34 loss to Auburn in front of 83,667 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Orangemen realized their best effort of the season — and a 17-0 second-quarter lead — had been laid to waste by a game-winning, eight-yard touchdown run from Carnell Williams.

‘Nobody gave us a chance at all,’ safety Keeon Walker said. ‘People probably said that it’s going to be awful. But we came out there and fought.’

‘It was a war out there,’ center Nick Romeo said. ‘It was a 15-round fight. I got hit in the mouth 15 times. But we came out of there still standing. I can look each of my teammates in the eyes and trust them.’

Especially backup quarterback and co-captain Troy Nunes. With Syracuse trailing, 24-17, in the fourth quarter, Nunes replaced an ineffective and injured R.J. Anderson. Nunes led the Orangemen on a methodical, clock-eating drive, highlighted by four third-down conversions and 7-of-8 passing.

‘I’m proud of myself, but I’m proud of the team,’ Nunes said. ‘We didn’t do much in the second half. We had one drive. At Auburn. Seven minutes. Let’s go. And we did. We took almost all the time off the clock.’

During that drive, which culminated in a 2-yard touchdown pass to David Tyree, Nunes completed more passes than Anderson did in three-plus quarters. Anderson finished 5-of-18 for 67 yards and threw three interceptions.

Afterward, Anderson looked sullen and distant. He said he felt dizzy in the second half, which coaches told him resulted from a hit he took on a scramble. Although Anderson was sacked just once, he faced frequent pressure and was hit hard several times.

Said Anderson: ‘I pretty much don’t remember the fourth quarter.’

As it turned out, plenty would happen afterward that he may never forget.

Special teams blunders kept both teams from scoring in the first overtime. Syracuse lined up for a 32-yard field goal on the first possession, but long-snapper Dave DeAmato botched the snap.

The Tigers’ first overtime drive reached the 10-yard line, and on third down, they elected to attempt a 27-yard field goal. Stud kicker Damon Duval should’ve been automatic from that range, but SU defensive back Jeremiah Mason blocked the kick, sending the game into double overtime.

‘They have the best field-goal kicker in the nation — or at least they say they do — and we go out there and block the kick,’ Romeo said. ‘That’s just heart. We showed a lot of heart out there.’

Syracuse and Auburn traded double-overtime touchdowns. Williams, who moved easily through the Syracuse defense all night on his way to 202 yards on 40 carries, put Auburn up, 31-24, with a 6-yard touchdown run.

But Walter Reyes, who rushed for 111 yards on 19 carries, struck back for Syracuse with a 2-yard score. The SU drive included a remarkable halfback-option pass from freshman Damien Rhodes, who rolled right, then left and threw a 16-yard strike through two defenders to a diving Nunes at the 4-yard line.

Syracuse failed to make a first down with the first possession of the third overtime, but Collin Barber nailed a 44-yard field goal to put Syracuse up by three. But Williams’ touchdown run — an 8-yard dash down the left side — sealed the Auburn victory.

As the Tigers poured onto the field and Jordan-Hare erupted into a frenzy, the Syracuse defense stood momentarily still, watching in disbelief.

‘We can’t let (the loss) be devastating,’ Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘We haven’t even started the conference season yet.’

Published on September 29, 2002 at 12:00 pm