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.”