His work done, Walter Reyes pulled his shoulders pads off and rested on the Syracuse football team’s bench. He’d just polished one of the greatest days ever for a Syracuse running back.

And there were still 10 minutes left.

Reyes capped a tremendous season with a record-breaking day in SU’s 38-12 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday. Reyes rushed for 189 yards and five touchdowns on just 19 carries, good for a 9.9 yard average.

Reyes’ five touchdowns – of two, three, 15, 71 and three yards – made him the second SU player to rush for five touchdowns in the same game. The last time it happened was 1964, when Floyd Little accomplished the feat. Jim Brown holds the SU record for touchdowns in game with six, which he did against Colgate in 1956.

Reyes’ performance also gave him 20 touchdowns for the season, which breaks the SU record of 17, which he set last year.

‘Offensive line,’ Reyes said. ‘That’s it. They made my job easy. If I have enough money, then I’ll take them out to dinner.’

Reyes’ best run came at the end of the third quarter. Notre Dame had just scored to cut SU’s lead to 24-12 and seize momentum. On the first play of SU’s next drive, Reyes bounced off tackle and streaked to the sideline until he found himself in a foot race with Notre Dame cornerback Jason Beckstrom.

‘I hope he don’t think he was going to catch me,’ Reyes said.

He didn’t. Beckstrom dove fruitlessly for Reyes’ feet, but the SU running back cruised 71 yards to pay dirt.

Reyes’ game against Notre Dame was reminiscent of his success early this season. For a time, Reyes led the nation in rushing with more than 170 yards per game. But he didn’t rush for 100 yards once in Big East play.

‘In past weeks, they’ve had eight or nine guys in the box,’ Reyes said. ‘That’s not fun to run against.’

Under pressureSometimes, it seems like blue-collar SU defensive tackle Christian Ferrara should show up with a lunch pail and hard hat rather than shoulder pads and a helmet.

So it came as no surprise that, after Ferrara sacked Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn for a 12-yard loss in the second quarter, he got up and calmly walked off the field.

‘Everything that happened for him I don’t think was a surprise,’ defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro said. ‘That’s not to make them sound arrogant, but that’s how (SU’s defensive linemen) prepare. They would have been surprised if that didn’t happen.’

Ferrara led an effort by the defensive line that handcuffed Notre Dame’s offense all game. Led by the defensive line, SU had three sacks and held the Irish to 62 rushing yards. The Orangemen contained running back Julius Jones – who has rushed for more than 200 yards in a game twice this season – to 54 yards.

Ferrara set the tone for the convincing performance on Notre Dame’s second possession. The Irish faced a fourth-and-one on SU’s 35-yard line. Ferrara broke through Notre Dame’s line instantly and dropped Jones for a four-yard loss.

Ferrara said the secret to getting such penetration into Notre Dame’s backfield was watching hours of game film during the week.

‘They’ve played against the best defensive lines in America – USC, Michigan, Florida State.’ Ferrara said. ‘This is a little bit of cockiness, but I think we’re the best D-line they’ve faced. They couldn’t move an inch.’

An old friend

It should have come as no surprise that R.J. Anderson threw a season-high three interceptions on Saturday. After all, Troy Nunes was in attendance.

‘He gave me a hex today, man,’ Anderson said. ‘I threw three picks. I thought I was going to break one of his records. There’s a hex every time he comes. When he’s around, bad things happen.’

Despite the presence of Nunes, a departed SU quarterback who Anderson competed with for four years, Anderson’s day wasn’t all bad. Anderson set a Syracuse single-season record for completions by throwing 17 to finish the year with 186. He broke Marvin Graves’ mark of 171, set in 1993. Anderson finished the season with 2,146 yards on 186-of-300 passing to go along with10 touchdowns against eight interceptions.

Despite the record, Anderson will be most remembered for his playing-time battles with Nunes, who Anderson embraced and had words with after the game.

‘That dude will never get my starting job if I play the way I play, ever,’ Anderson said. ‘It’s not like he’s better. Let’s be real. He’s my buddy, though.’

This and thatSU’s win gave LSU a chance to leap over USC for the right to play in the national championship game of the Bowl Championship Series. It’s safe to say that wasn’t SU’s motivation. ‘Unless (LSU) coach (Nick) Saban gives me a call and says thank you, I really don’t care,’ Ferrara said. … SU wide receiver Jared Jones had to leave the game in the second quarter with an injured left ankle and did not return. He used crutches on SU’s bench in the fourth quarter. … Safety Anthony Smith picked off two of Notre Dame Quinn’s passes, the first player to intercept two passes since Latroy Oliver did in 2001. Smith finished with a team-high five picks this season. … In a show of defiance, SU students chanted an obscene version of the Hey Song after Walter Reyes’ fifth touchdown with 10:23 remaining. SU prohibited its band from the playing the song, which was written by Gary Glitter. … Thump Belton went out in style. After being introduced during Senior Day ceremonies, Belton stopped 10 yards short of his teammates and performed a dance for about 10 seconds.

Published on December 5, 2003 at 12:00 pm