SYRACUSE, New York (Ticker) -- Thanks to a record-breaking performance by Walter Reyes, Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni may have saved his job.
Reyes rushed for 189 yards and five scores to break Floyd Little's school mark for career rushing touchdowns as the Orangemen salvaged a .500 season with a 38-12 rout of Notre Dame.
In a battle of teams concluding disappointing campaigns, Reyes - just a junior - carried 19 times, including TD runs of two, three, 15, 71 and three yards to raise his career total to 38. He broke Little's mark of 35, set from 1964-66.
"He showed as much of a complete game as you'll ever see from anybody," Pasqualoni said.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Orangemen (6-6) and may get some heat off Pasqualoni, who has come under fire. He has won 101 games in 13 seasons at Syracuse but is just 10-14 the last two years.
"We're here to talk about this game," said Pasqualoni, who declined to discuss his job status. "We probably played our most complete game all year. Too bad it took 12 whacks to get there."
"Coach and I are meeting tomorrow to talk about the future of the football program," Syracuse athletic director Jake Crouthhamel said. "We will go through the evaluation process that we go through every year, with consideration given to all factors - past, present and future."
Despite the win, Syracuse is not eligible for a postseason game because the Big East Conference already had filled its allotment of bowl bids.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Notre Dame, which finished Tyrone Willingham's second season at 5-7 after going 10-3 last year.
Anthony Smith set the tone with an interception of Brady Quinn on the game's opening series. But the afternoon belonged to Reyes, who finished the season with 1,347 yards, 25 shy of Joe Morris' 1979 school record.
R.J. Anderson overcame three interceptions to complete 17-of-27 passes for 290 yards for Syracuse.
"The fact that R.J. was on today meant they had to respect the pass," Reyes said.
Reyes' two-yard TD opened the scoring just over three minutes into the game. After Notre Dame closed to 10-6 on B.J. Fitzpatrick's 40-yard field goal early in the third quarter, Reyes scored twice in less than two minutes.
Just 17 seconds after Quinn's five-yard TD toss to Anthony Fasano, Reyes burst down the right sideline for a 71-yard TD, his longest run of the season.
Quinn was 18-of-34 for 199 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. Julius Jones was held to 54 yards on 20 carries after rushing for 218 yards in last week's 57-7 win at Stanford.
