5 Things I Think I Think: What ‘Cuse Needs To Fix Heading Into The Notre Dame Showdown

The Orange had the chance to put themselves on the college football map this Saturday. After all, it would have been the first time that ‘Cuse had started off 3-0 in this entire century, creating unparalleled hype surrounding the program heading into a showdown with eight-ranked Notre Dame.

Sep 13, 2014; Mount Pleasant, MI, USA; Syracuse Orange quarterback Terrel Hunt (10) celebrates with wide receiver Steve Ishmael (8) after a rushing touchdown during the third quarter against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

But Syracuse (2-1) isn’t, thanks to a disappointing 34-20 loss to Maryland (3-1) on Saturday. I recap just what went wrong, as well as how the team can improve moving forward, in the first installment of the weekly 5 Things I Think I Think column:

1. Unless the Special Teams improve, there will be no winning

The winner of a football game is usually the team which receives the biggest breaks at the most essential moments, capitalizing on them with consistency. Syracuse’s special teams has been so poor this season that it doesn’t seem that these breaks will ever come. There was the 25-yard missed field goal by Ryan Norton, and then came the Riley Dixon blocked punt. The chorus of boos after the special teams faltered was well deserved, and clearly won’t be the last time we hear them.

“Before halftime, we could have cut that thing down with a field goal,” head coach Scott Shafer said, “and had a little bit of a feeling coming into the locker room that ‘Hey, a little momentum. It’s such a game of momentum, and then we missed the field goal there and it was disappointing.”

2. The play calling is well, um… Poor

Sep 20, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange head coach Scott Shafer on the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Maryland Terrapins at the Carrier Dome. Maryland won the game 34-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Nunes Magician, a Syracuse blog affiliated with SB Nation, took a look into the Orange’s play calling, and determined, that, well…Its nothing special. When you rack up 589 yards and manage to score a mediocre 20 points, something is wrong. That something is the play calling itself, which has been very pass-oriented even though Prince Tyson-Gulley racked up two 100-yard games and Terrel Hunt has ran for over 240 yards in just three games this season.

3. The pace on offense must be fast, faster and even faster

It has been an undermining fact this season – when the offense flies, so does the score. In their Week 3 matchup against the Maryland, the Orange scored 13 points off of 49 fast-paced plays in the first half, while they scored a mere 7 points on 30 plays in the second half. Terrel Hunt’s dual-threat stature makes him a perfect fit in a rapidly moving offense, and Syracuse should give him the opportunity to consistently play in one.

Sep 20, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange quarterback Terrel Hunt (10) prepares to be hit by Maryland Terrapins defensive back Alvin Hill (27) during the first half of a game at the Carrier Dome. Maryland won the game 34-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Sep 13, 2014; Mount Pleasant, MI, USA; Syracuse Orange quarterback Terrel Hunt (10) runs past Central Michigan Chippewas defensive end Blake Serpa (2) for a touchdown during the fourth quarter at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Syracuse beats Central Michigan 40-3. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

More from Syracuse Football

• Syracuse Football: Cuse boils Purdue, turns attention to Army on Saturday
• Syracuse football only team in country with top-5 scoring offense, defense
• Syracuse Orange: Looking at On3 NIL Valuations of top-five ‘Cuse players
• Syracuse Football: Alumnus Noah Eagle to call Purdue game, that’s dope
• Syracuse Orange: Head of Orange United ready to ‘vie for championships’

4. Syracuse is the only team in the country without an interception, and that must change

Like previously stated, breaks are key in football. ‘Cuse just isn’t getting any on defense, despite allowing the 10th fewest yards in the nation through the first three games. But it simply shouldn’t be like that. Strong safety Darius Kelly missed two potential interceptions against the Terrapins, and defensive tackle Eric Crume dropped a pick which was essentially served on a platter. The Orange should have capitalized on their defensive opportunities, but didn’t, and failed to help the offense out.

5. Penalties, Penalties, and more penalties

Discipline is something that every coach preaches, yet playing with this discipline seems foreign to the Orange. 8.5 penalties per game is 110th in the country, and is simply unheard of for an ACC team. The ‘Cuse have never excelled at  keeping the whistles to a minimum, but how the heck are they supposed to win with all these calls going against them?