In the week leading up to the Central Michigan game, Zack Mahoney took his spot across from the Syracuse defense.

He is, or was, Syracuse’s scout-team quarterback and that means impersonating the upcoming opponent’s quarterback. His latest assignment was to channel Chippewas quarterback Cooper Rush. He had a great week throwing the ball but that wasn’t supposed to matter for the Orange any time soon.

“A lot of times I rotate other guys in there, but (the defense) came to me and was like, ‘We like him,’” SU offensive coordinator Tim Lester said of Mahoney, a sophomore walk-on. “He does such a great job with the cadences and everything they tell him to do to mimic the opponent, he does.”

But after freshman quarterback Eric Dungey left the game with an upper-body injury in the second quarter, Mahoney became one of Syracuse’s options at quarterback. After splitting snaps with sophomore Austin Wilson as the Orange scratched for any offensive consistency, the SU coaches decided that Mahoney was their best bet in overtime even if it was his first college game.

And he delivered on the first possession of the extra period, leading Syracuse (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) to a game-winning touchdown and 30-27 win over Central Michigan (1-2) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday.

“You always picture yourself, as a little kid, in overtime or the fourth quarter when the clocks running down,” Mahoney said. “We were given an opportunity and we took care of business.”

Mahoney’s only in his fourth year as a quarterback at any level, but Lester said he has picked up the offense and successfully tweaked his throwing motion after enrolling at Syracuse last January. Lester adds that there’s nothing Mahoney can’t do as a quarterback, and he scores well on all the quarterback tests. For that reason, Lester was comfortable running a lot of the offense when Mahoney was in the game.

“I didn’t want to just throw him in there immediately, I just kind of eased him in,” Lester said. “He was reading everything right and seeing everything right and it got to the point where I felt like he was our best option.”

Mahoney was 3-for-3 for 6 yards and had one carry for 12 yards in regulation. Then, with Syracuse down 27-24 and needing a field goal to stay alive, Syracuse ran the ball twice and faced a 3rd-and-5 at the Central Michigan 20-yard line.

Tight end Kendall Moore, filling in for starter Josh Parris, found space on the right side of the field and Mahoney found him for 13 yards. Two plays later, Mahoney rushed to his right on an option and pitched the ball to freshman running back Jordan Fredericks, who ran 4 yards and dove at the right pylon for the game-winning score.

When the touchdown call was confirmed, Mahoney was lifted into the air by center Jason Emerich in the middle of an all-out celebration in front of the Syracuse bench.

Improbably, the walk-on went from being Cooper Rush to beating him.

Published on September 19, 2015 at 6:43 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse