The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Syracuse – INSIDE SLANT
Syracuse has made most of its headlines this season for its passing offense … and its losses. In the 14-13 victory over Pittsburgh last Friday, it was the defense and the running game that carried the day.
The Orange offense opened the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter … then didn’t score again. It didn’t matter. Dyshawn Davis returned a fumble 52 yards for another score, and those two touchdowns were all Syracuse would need.
Coming off the bye week, coach Doug Marrone was looking for his team to show some more fight, be more physical on the field. Mission accomplished.
“All bye week (coach Marrone) just wanted us to be physical and play our game, and that what we did today,” senior defensive end Brandon Sharpe said.
“There was some physicality out there. That’s one of the things we talked about quite a bit. I was happy about that. You have a chance to get better if you play this game in a physical nature with the toughness that we had,” Marrone said.
The offense didn’t have much of a day, but came through when needed in the fourth quarter. After the defense forced a Pitt punt with 4:54 to play, Syracuse churned up the field, picking up four first downs and running out the clock to preserve the one-point victory.
“I’m excited for the players. They worked hard. It’s been a long time since we’ve played and we put a lot of work into getting better,” Marrone said. “Credit to them and the coaches. We can enjoy ourselves tonight but we have a lot to work on and we need to get back to work. We need to have the same type of mentality we’ve had in the past few weeks.”
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NCAAF Team Report – Syracuse – NOTES, QUOTES
WHAT’S AHEAD: Syracuse opened Big East play with a win, but faces a tougher test in its second league game; a trip to play an undefeated Rutgers team that enters the week ranked in the Top 25 of both polls.
–In hindsight, the fact that Syracuse ended its eight-game losing streak against FBS teams in a Friday night game against Pittsburgh shouldn’t have been surprising. Prior to that, the team’s last FBS victory was a 49-23 upset of West Virginia on Oct. 23, 2011 — a Friday night.
–Dyshawn Davis took a Pittsburgh fumble 52 yards for a score in the first half, but that has been a rare scene for the Orange this season. Even with that play, Syracuse has forced just five turnovers through five games.
–Syracuse had struggled at the start of its first four games this season, but drove down the field into the end zone on its opening drive against the Panthers.
“I think when you come off of a bye week, you want to come out early and have some success,” Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said. “We didn’t maintain it during that game offensively. To come out early and do that, I would have expected more. You work on a bye week. You work on getting the ball and then bang. You want to get it again and keep going. We have a lot of work to do.”
KEEP AN EYE ON: Pittsburgh’s Devin Street had 10 catches for 130 yards against Syracuse, and Orange cornerback Ri’shard Anderson was chasing Street on most of them. Anderson’s having a tough year, and Tino Sunseri won’t be the only opposing quarterback to try and exploit him in the secondary.
LOOKING GOOD: The Syracuse defensive front dominated the Panthers. Pittsburgh had just 27 yards rushing on 37 attempts, and Tino Sunseri was sacked five times.
STILL NEEDS WORK: Remember when Syracuse had this high-octane offense that drove up and down the field at will, at least after halftime? Where did that go? The Orange had just 305 total yards against the Panthers and didn’t score after intermission.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I was just thinking about being the spark plug out there, trying to get the offensive as motivated as best I could. Just trying to give that little extra edge. I know it was a little tough after the first two scores, we wanted to come out and score the way we did that, and I think it kind of threw us off in the end. So the offense needs to play much better. Starting with me. I have to play better too.” — Syracuse offensive lineman Justin Pugh, on his first game back after offseason shoulder surgery.
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NCAAF Team Report – Syracuse – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES:
–WR Marcus Sales had sixth catches against Pittsburgh, giving him 101 for his career. He’s the 10th player in Syracuse history to pass the century mark in receptions, though he enters the week 49 behind teammate Alec Lemon.
–RB Adonis Ameen-Moore scored on a one-yard touchdown run in the first half against Pittsburgh. It was his first carry of the year, and the first rushing touchdown of his college career.
–DE Brandon Sharpe was a force against the Panthers, finishing with four sacks and six tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
ROSTER REPORT
— LT Justin Pugh made his season debut, getting the start against the Panthers after missing the season’s first month thanks to offseason shoulder surgery.
–S Shamarko Thomas was helped off the field in the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh. He was motionless on the ground for several minutes, and while he was able to walk off with the Syracuse trainers, his status for the upcoming game against Rutgers is uncertain.
–KR Steve Rene was back on the field Friday for the first time since getting injured making a tackle against Stony Brook. He returned two kickoffs for 46 yards against the Panthers.
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