Editor’s note: The article below is a republished game story from The Daily Orange’s Oct. 24, 2000 edition. Syracuse blew a 14-point lead in the 22-14 loss to then-No. 2 Virginia Tech.

Fate spun itself into a dandy treat Saturday night.

It put the Syracuse Orangemen in prime position to know off undefeated, unscathed, second-ranked Virginia Tech.

And, with the swift whack of a sledgehammer and screeching laugh of a hyena, it pulled it all away.

Cruelly, it did so via the turnover. And for the second consecutive Saturday, mishaps on offense did the Orangemen in.

Two second-half giveaways deep in their own territory — and five turnovers in the game — spoiled Syracuse’s bid to upset Virginia Tech, which escaped the Carrier Dome with a 22-14 comeback victory.

“In close games, it usually comes down to the turnover thing,” SU coach Paul Pasqualoni said. “And we did not win the turnover battle. If it’s going to be a close game, how can you win a close game when you don’t win the turnover battle?”

You can’t, SU proved.

At least not when, after shutting down the Hokies’ potent offense all game, you give them back-to-back possessions at the 5- and 21-yard lines.

The first mishap occurred with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. SU (3-4, 1-2 Big East), still holding its 14-3 halftime lead, was buried deep in its own end after a pooch punt to the 2.

On third-and-10, quarterback Troy Nunes attempted to drop back to pass. But right guard Vaughn Smith inadvertently stepped on Nunes’ foot, causing the quarterback to slip.

A wayward attempt at a pass flew into the Virginia Tech (7-0, 5-0) defensive backfield, causing the packed Carrier Dome of 49,033 to shout a collective, “Oh, no.” Its call was answered with a Willie Pile pick — his second of three in the game — and he returned it to the 5.

Two plays later, Lee Suggs took an option pitch left and danced into the end zone. After a failed two-point conversion, the Hokies trailed, 14-9.

“It’s a bang-bang play,” Nunes said of his second interception. “I’m falling down and just trying to get rid of the ball. Obviously, two points is better than six at that point.”

Said offensive coordinator George DeLeone: “We just shook our head. It was a tough play. I know his intentions were good. But at that point it was a tough decision to make.

“The thing Troy needs to do a better of in that situation is not make a bad play worse.”

The next trip down the field Nunes did everything right.

A holding penalty left SU at is 12-yard line, and on second down Nunes, who threw four picks, rolled left from his three-wide set.

He found Maurice Jackson — the recipient of a bobbled 56-yard reception and gorgeous 78-yard touchdown in the first quarter — who spun away from his first defender.

But in a play reminiscent of two years ago, when SU beat Tech, 28-26, on a last second Donovan McNabb-to-Steve Brominski touchdown, Jackson tried to do too much and fumbled.

In ’98, Loren Johnson returned it for a touchdown. On Saturday, Jake Houseright returned it to the 21.

The Hokies pounded the ball on six consecutive plays, and Suggs scored his second touchdown of the game and 14th of the season to give the Hokies their first lead, 15-14. Again, they missed a two-point conversion.

In all, it was 4 minutes, 11 seconds of doom. Turnovers, already the Orangemen’s biggest deterrent this season, again crushed SU.

“The fumble really hurt us. Those two turnovers really swung the momentum around,” DeLeone said. “In every game that Virginia Tech wins, there’s a breaking point that happens. Those two drives really got us out of sync.”

“We just gave this game away,” defensive end Dwight Freeney said. “We dominated on the defensive side of the ball. We had a few mistakes on the offensive side of the ball.”

Syracuse did not dominate, holding Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Vick to 84 total yards, his worst collegiate output.

Fifty-five of them came on the game-sealing touchdown, a bootleg scamper with 1:34 remaining that showcased Vick’s amazing athleticism and sheer speed.

He zoomed down the left sideline after faking a handoff to Suggs, outrunning two SU defenders and bounding into the end zone. He calmly flipped the ball up and took one knee, glad he finally escaped the grasps of the Syracuse defenders that so plagued him all game long.

Tech’s lone first-half points came on Carter Worley’s 47-yard field goal midway through the second quarter. The Hokies, whose offense entering the game ranked fourth in the nation, mustered just 78 total yards in the first stanza.

“At halftime we knew exactly what we had to do,” VT head coach Frank Beamer. “They helped us a little bit in the second half, but there’s something about this team hanging around and finding a way to win.”

They hung and hit the Orangemen hard. Under. 500 again, SU must win three of its final four games (West Virginia, Temple, Miami and Rutgers) if it harbors any shot at its sixth consecutive bowl appearance.

But if the turnover troubles persist and Nunes continues his erratic play, it will be tough. The sophomore quarterback threw eight interceptions the past two weeks, bringing his season total to 13. And again, the passing game dovetailed, and Nunes could not lead the Orangemen in late-game drives.

The most telling statistic for the Orangemen: in the first three quarters, they outscore opponents, 166-85; in the fourth quarter, opponents outscore them, 41-10.

And again on Saturday, the trends that so hinder this version of the Syracuse Orangemen continued.

“We played hard and we played well against one of the best teams in the country,” Nunes said. “Again, we had some mistakes, and it is hard to comeback from those mistakes.”

Published on October 13, 2016 at 10:39 pm