Stanford’s Elic Ayomanor Introduces Himself to the ACC With Two Remarkable Plays to Upset Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Wide receiver No. 13 reached up for a pass that threatened to soar over his head, hauling it in for a remarkable touchdown. The ACC Network went so far as to compare Elic Ayomanor’s first-quarter touchdown Odell Beckham Jr.’s famous one-handed catch for the New York Giants in 2014. Aggressive? Maybe, but there is no denying the impact that the sophomore wide receiver has made on a rebuilding Stanford Cardinal program. On Friday night at Syracuse, he made the night’s two biggest plays in a 26-24  upset win to take his team to 2-1, and 1-0 as new members of the ACC.

First came the one-handed grab at the 7:22 mark of the first quarter. Ayomanor, who finished with seven catches for 87 yards and the score, should be featured on every early-season highlight reel.

One person who wasn’t surprised: Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels, who has come to expect this from his teammate.

“He’s that guy that, no matter where I put the ball I have faith he’s going to go up and catch it,” said Daniels after the game. “That was just another one of his spectacular caches on display, but instead it was on ESPN in a big-time game for us.”

The touchdown was splashed all across social media and is a cinch for "SportsCenter." The bigger play, however, came in the fourth quarter, a play that fans of both programs will only have to refer to as “4th-and-9” for the foreseeable future, in very different tones.

Down 24-23 with just 20 seconds left on the clock and the ball on the Syracuse 45-yard line, Daniels found Ayomanor in a one-on-one matchup with Orange defensive back Clarence Lewis. Daniels delivered one of his best throws of the night, a back-shoulder dime to a falling Ayomanor to convert the fourth down. Daniels was able to center the ball on first down, setting up Emmet Kenney for the game-winning 39-yard field goal.

That play went exactly according to plan, according to Stanford head coach Troy Taylor.

“They started off in man, they switched to zone and then they went back to some man coverage on that last drive. So we just tried to isolate Elic if they went one-on-one, our guy’s got to be able to beat their guy,” said Taylor. “I was actually able to talk to Ashton on the headset, because we got out there so early I saw the coverage, and I’m like, ‘You’ve got to go to Elic.’ He did a great job of holding the free safety with his eyes and throwing a great ball, and Elic created a lot of separation, made the play.”

College football’s new in-helmet communication aided Stanford on the late drive, but Daniels knew there was no one else he could go to in that situation with the Orange facing a mismatch on the outside.

“They left Elic one-on-one, and the amount of trust and respect and for the connection I have with Elic, I knew there was no one else I could go to on that play,” said Daniels. “When Elic’s one-on-one, he’s going to do everything he can to catch that ball, so all I did was give him a chance.”

Ayomanor made his mark as a freshman for Stanford, catching 62 passes for 1,013 yards and six touchdowns. So far during his young career, his best games have come under the brightest lights. In a 46-43 overtime win against Colorado a year ago, on another ESPN broadcast, Ayomanor had 13 receptions for 294 yards and three touchdowns.

While his talent wasn’t a question, Stanford entered the season ranked 17th out of 17 schools in the expanded ACC, seven spots behind rival Cal. The Cardinal introduced itself to its new East Coast home in style, on the back of a bona fide superstar at wide receiver

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