The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2017 season / Reign #300 · Game 1,523 of 1,643
October 21, 2017 Week 8 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

Miami takes the belt, 27–19, at home over Syracuse.

Home · New Holder
MiamiAP No. 8 27
AT
Away · Defending Holder
Syracuse 19

AP poll, week 8: Syracuse unranked at Miami No. 8 · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Miami took the belt here, ending Syracuse’s run of 8 days and 0 defenses (reign #299) and starting reign #300. It lasted 34 days and 4 defenses, until Pittsburgh took it on November 24, 2017.

For Miami this was its 13th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 4 times before — and it took it back here.

It was the 4th of 4 belt games between the two; going in, Miami led the belt series 3–0; all-time Miami leads 4–0. Every meeting →

AI-Written

Recap

Miami claimed the College Football Belt with a 27-19 victory over Syracuse, a win built on ball security and opportunistic scoring. The Hurricanes' defense was relentless, intercepting Eric Dungey four times throughout the contest, with Michael Jackson picking off two passes and converting one into a scoring drive that resulted in Christopher Herndon IV's 10-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. Syracuse kept pace through the first half with Cole Murphy's field goals and strong rushing performances from Dontae Strickland, but Miami's Malik Rosier orchestrated crucial third-quarter drives, including a 48-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Thomas that extended the lead to 24-9. Though Syracuse rallied with a Moe Neal rushing touchdown and late field goals to make it close, the damage from Miami's four interceptions proved too much to overcome.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 MiamiSyracuse
Total yards480399
Rushing yards136264
Passing yards344135
First downs2223
3rd down conv.3/139/23
Turnovers14
Penalties–yards5–423–22
Time of possession30:4129:19

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 13:45Syracuse-4 ydEric Dungey pass intercepted Demetrius Jackson return for 4 yds to the Syrac 38 Demetrius Jackson fumbled, recovered by Syrac
Q1 14:30Syracuse+24 ydDontae Strickland run for 24 yds to the Syrac 46 for a 1ST down
Q1 7:25Miami+18 ydMichael Badgley 18 yd FG GOOD
Q1 2:04Syracuse+0 ydEric Dungey pass intercepted Michael Jackson return for no gain to the MiaFl 16
Q2 14:22Miami+10 ydMalik Rosier pass complete to Christopher Herndon IV for 10 yds for a TD, (Michael Badgley KICK)
Q1 0:45Miami+35 ydMalik Rosier pass complete to Christopher Herndon IV for 35 yds to the Syrac 21 for a 1ST down
Q1 1:44Miami+24 ydMalik Rosier pass complete to Travis Homer for 24 yds to the MiaFl 40 for a 1ST down
Q2 13:31Syracuse+0 ydEric Dungey pass intercepted Jaquan Johnson return for no gain to the MiaFl 38
Q2 10:41Miami+39 ydMichael Badgley 39 yd FG GOOD
Q2 12:15Miami+21 ydMalik Rosier pass complete to Ahmmon Richards for 21 yds to the Syrac 29 for a 1ST down
Q2 8:45Syracuse+27 ydEric Dungey pass complete to Ervin Philips for 27 yds to the MiaFl 39 for a 1ST down
Q2 6:19Syracuse+22 ydCole Murphy 22 yd FG GOOD
Q2 8:05Syracuse+20 ydDontae Strickland run for 20 yds to the MiaFl 16 for a 1ST down
Q2 5:37Miami+31 ydMalik Rosier pass complete to Ahmmon Richards for 31 yds to the Syrac 46 for a 1ST down
Q2 1:27Syracuse+0 ydEric Dungey pass intercepted Michael Jackson return for no gain to the MiaFl 28
Q3 15:00Syracuse+27 ydCole Murphy kickoff for 65 yds , Jeff Thomas return for 27 yds to the MiaFl 27
Q3 10:30Syracuse+27 ydDontae Strickland run for 27 yds to the MiaFl 38 for a 1ST down
Q3 8:55Syracuse+40 ydCole Murphy 40 yd FG GOOD
Q3 8:55Syracuse+24 ydCole Murphy kickoff for 65 yds , Jeff Thomas return for 24 yds to the MiaFl 24
Q3 8:40Miami+22 ydMalik Rosier pass complete to Dionte Mullins for 22 yds to the MiaFl 46 for a 1ST down
Q3 2:51Miami+48 ydMalik Rosier pass complete to Jeff Thomas for 48 yds for a TD, (Michael Badgley KICK)
Q3 2:00Syracuse+28 ydEric Dungey run for 28 yds to the MiaFl 29 for a 1ST down
Q3 1:08Syracuse+15 ydMoe Neal run for 15 yds for a TD, (Cole Murphy KICK)
Q3 1:08Syracuse+22 ydCole Murphy kickoff for 65 yds , Jeff Thomas return for 22 yds to the MIAMI 43 MIAMI FL Penalty, Illegal Block (11 Yards) to the MiaFl 11
Q4 9:52Syracuse+45 ydCole Murphy 45 yd FG GOOD
Q4 9:05Miami+26 ydMalik Rosier pass complete to Ahmmon Richards for 26 yds to the Syrac 38 for a 1ST down
Q4 9:52Syracuse+34 ydCole Murphy kickoff for 65 yds , Jeff Thomas return for 34 yds to the MiaFl 34
Q4 6:35Syracuse+33 ydEric Dungey run for 33 yds to the MiaFl 37 for a 1ST down
Q4 5:23Syracuse+53 ydCole Murphy 53 yd FG GOOD
Q4 2:48Miami+33 ydTravis Homer run for 33 yds for a TD, (Michael Badgley KICK)
Q4 2:35Syracuse+22 ydEric Dungey pass complete to Devin C. Butler for 22 yds to the Syrac 43 for a 1ST down

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Miami

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Malik Rosier26/433448.02062.5

Syracuse

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Eric Dungey13/411373.30424.0
Devin C. Butler1/1-2-2.0002.6

Rushing

Miami

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Travis Homer20954.8133
Malik Rosier9455.009
Team3-4-1.300

Syracuse

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Dontae Strickland141057.5027
Eric Dungey201005.0033
Moe Neal14463.3115
Ervin Philips11414.0014
Devin C. Butler188.008
Team1-9-9.000

Receiving

Miami

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Ahmmon Richards69916.5031
Christopher Herndon IV10969.6135
Jeff Thomas26130.5148
Travis Homer4276.8024
Dionte Mullins12222.0022
Darrell Langham11919.0019
Braxton Berrios11111.0011
Mike Harley199.009

Syracuse

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Ervin Philips55711.4027
Steve Ishmael44110.3013
Devin C. Butler33913.0022
Dontae Strickland100.000
Eric Dungey1-2-2.000
Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

Miami

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Michael Pinckney962.53.5000
Sheldrick Redwine6500100
Jaquan Johnson6300000
Joe Jackson5401000
RJ McIntosh5300510
Demetrius Jackson4402000
Shaquille Quarterman4211010
Derrick Smith3300000
Anthony Moten3200010
Michael Jackson3200100
Trent Harris300.50.5020
Kendrick Norton2201000
Pat Bethel2200000
Malek Young2200100
Amari Carter2200000
Jhavonte Dean2200000
Mike Smith2100000
Chad Thomas1100000
Trajan Bandy1100200
De'Andre Wilder1100000
Darrion Owens1000000
Zach McCloud1000010

Syracuse

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Parris Bennett10801010
Jonathan Thomas8400000
Brandon Berry7500000
Zaire Franklin6201100
Christopher Fredrick4400100
Chris Slayton4301000
Rodney Williams4200000
Devin M. Butler3300000
Evan Foster3300000
Alton Robinson3200010
Juwan Dowels2200000
Daivon Ellison2200000
Kielan Whitner2100000
Austin Valdez1100000
Ervin Philips1100000
Jamal Custis1100000
Eric Dungey1100000
Shyheim Cullen1100000
Carl Jones1101000
Kyle Lawrence Strickland1100000
Ryan Guthrie1100000
Kayton Samuels1000010
Kenneth Ruff1000000
McKinley Williams1000000

Fumbles

Miami

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
Demetrius Jackson110

Syracuse

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
Eric Dungey001

Interceptions

Miami

PlayerINTYDSTD
Michael Jackson200
Demetrius Jackson140
Jaquan Johnson100

Syracuse

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

Miami

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Jeff Thomas512224.4340

Syracuse

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Sean Riley11616.0160
Chris Elmore11212.0120

Kicking

Miami

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Michael Badgley2/2100.0393/39

Syracuse

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Cole Murphy4/4100.0531/113

Punt Returns

Miami

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Braxton Berrios11212.0120

Syracuse

No recorded stats in this category.

Punting

Miami

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Zach Feagles623138.50052

Syracuse

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Sterling Hofrichter310535.00040

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 400937502) · This game in the downloadable dataset