The rollercoaster that has been the Syracuse football season took another twist on Saturday with the team’s 13-0 win over Wake Forest. After their season plummeted to an all-time low two weeks earlier with a 56-0 loss to Georgia Tech, the Orange did well to rebound, showing that the Georgia Tech game was nothing more than an aberration and giving their bowl hopes a significant boost.
The Orange defense was most impressive coming off an utterly embarrassing performance two weeks earlier. After getting pushed around and run over against Georgia Tech, the Syracuse defensive line was a difference maker against Wake Forest, despite losing John Raymon to injury against Georgia Tech. Senior Jay Bromley led a group that consistently got a push against the Wake Forest offensive line and consistently flushed Demon Deacon quarterback Tanner Price out of the pocket. Price rarely had the chance to plant his feet before throwing, and it showed, as most of his passes either sailed out of bounds or were significantly underthrown. Of course, it was true freshman Isaiah Johnson who came up with perhaps the biggest play of the game, tipping and intercepting one of Price’s passes, which led directly the Orange’s second touchdown of the game, which essentially put the game away.
The Syracuse offense wasn’t quite as impressive, although they eventually got on the scoreboard after six consecutive scoreless quarters. What finally got the Orange offense moving in the right direction was less predictable play calling, which started towards the end of the 2nd quarter and continues through to the end of the game, giving Syracuse a more balanced offensive attack. Offensive coordinator George McDonald finally began throwing the ball on first down, whereas early in the game the only passing plays came during obvious passing situations, which put Terrell Hunt in bad situations where it’s difficult for a relatively inexperienced quarterback with less than ideal arm strength to succeed.
Even though Syracuse rarely picked up large chunks of yards in their passing game, showing more of a commitment to throwing the ball took a lot of pressure off Hunt, as the Wake Forest defense wasn’t always expecting him to throw the ball when he did. Frequent use of bubble screens also spread out the Wake Forest defense a little more, and opened up some space for Hunt and the running backs to move the ball on the ground. It was far from an impressive performance offensively, but the Orange ultimately gained over 350 yards, with a good balance between the run and pass, and combined with an outstanding effort from the defense, it was enough to get a much-needed win.
The win over Wake Forest keeps Syracuse on track to end their rollercoaster of a season with a bowl game. After starting the season 0-2, the Orange have won four of their last six games, and need just two more wins in their final four games to secure a bowl birth. Even if a trip to Florida State in two weeks is too daunting for the Orange, next week’s road game against Maryland and a pair of home games against former Big East foes Pittsburgh and Boston College are all winnable games. If nothing else, the win against Wake Forest ensures that if Syracuse can keep winning at home (having won seven of their last eight games in the Carrier Dome, heading back to last season), they will play in a bowl game this year.
Bryan Zarpentine covers Syracuse Orange football and basketball for ChatSports.com. You can follow him on twitter @BZarp and @ChatSyracuse. Also, add him to your network on Google, and keep up with Syracuse at ChatSports.com/Syracuse-Orange.
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