Ryan Nassib’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Michael Acchione midway through the fourth quarter prevented a massive upset and gave Syracuse a 21-14 win over Rhode Island.

The FCS foe, picked to finish eighth in its 11-member conference, silenced the Carrier Dome by erasing two separate deficits. Nassib, though, fresh off last week’s overtime heroics against Wake Forest, went 5-for-5 on the game-clinching 80-yard drive that propelled the Orange to their first 2-0 start since 1999.

The senior quarterback finished his career-best day 29-of-37 for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Syracuse needed everyone one of them as it was missing three regulars on defense. Steve Probst almost played the hero for Rhode Island (0-1), connecting with Anthony Baskerville seven times for 88 yards and a touchdown that tied the game at 14-14 early in the third quarter. The Rams, though, ran just one more play in Orange territory from there, as a secondary that was torched for 326 yards last week limited the air damage to just 154 yards and picked off two passes in this win.

Despite their effort, Rhode Island still held the ball for five more minutes because the Orange went 3-for-12 on third-downs. Nassib’s efficiency overshadowed Syracuse’s weaknesses up front, as the ground game rushed for just 36 yards on 25 carries against a defense that started two new middle linebackers. Antwon Bailey followed up his second 100-yard game with 43 yards on 13 carries.