Syracuse Football lost this weekend to Middle Tennessee State 30-23. Regardless, Inside the Loud House brings you the Top 5 plays from the game.
The Syracuse Football team hit a bit of a blip this weekend that may keep them from reaching six wins and a bowl game. The Orange lost a shocker to Middle Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon, 30-23. The Orange were favored by over 16 points in the matchup according to ESPN.com.
Syracuse football must find to a way to regroup from this traumatic loss at home in what fans and the media considered an automatic win for the ‘Cuse. They play Central Michigan this Saturday in the Dome at 3:30pm.
The Chippewas are 2-0, and upset a Kansas Jayhawks football team on the road (in a blowout I might add) last week in a game in which they were massive underdogs. Central Michigan also went to a bowl game last year, The Miami Beach Bowl, while the Orange were at home contemplating their lousy 4-8 record.
The Orange will need to come in focused and well prepared or they’re season will be over before it even started. The Orange have one of the most difficult schedules in the country this year, so they cannot afford another loss this week.
Even though the Syracuse Football team lost, the Orange did have a couple highlight plays. I wish I could do 10 like last week for the CCSU game, but this week there wasn’t that many to choose from. It was that bad (sorry ‘Cuse fans). Anyways, without further ado check out these moments from the loss to MTSU.
5. Dontae Strickland- 4-yard Run on 4th and Goal
Syracuse Football didn’t run the ball very well at all these first two weeks. This is further evidenced by the fact that it took the Orange until 4th and Goal before finally punching it in.
On the play, early in the 2nd quarter, Dontae Strickland was handed the ball and went up the gut out of the I-formation, and per usual was stopped because of lack of decent blocking. He pretty
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much ran into a brick wall at the line of scrimmage in other words.
Since he wasn’t going to get in any other way, he turned around and pushed with his legs until he barreled in upside down into the end zone. The fact that it was that hard for him to get in shows how lousy the run game has been due to the lack of push by the offensive line and the very small holes they create for runners to plow through.
Wide open…
The Orange have got to fix this issue before we face the likes of Clemson, Florida State, and the rest of the ACC. The fact that we scored at all though needs to be looked at as a good thing though. The score finally put the Orange ahead again by one point at the time 10-9.
The Orange ended up only rushing it for 126 yards as a unit, with most of that coming from Eric Dungey with 53 total yards according to ESPN.com. Strickland who scored the touchdown, only had 24 yards on 10 carries.
To put that in perspective, that’s a clip of just over 2 yards a carry, which is horrible. The fact that he scored at all becomes even more fortunate after seeing that statistic. But hey, a scores a score and hence one of the few highlights this week.
4. Parris Bennett Fumble Recovery After Zaire Franklin Causes Fumble
It’s hard to believe but the defense was the star of this game for the Orange, at least early on. The team helped force three turnovers in the first half alone. The Orange had two forced fumbles they recovered, and an interception. This one was the first turnover of the game, and really got the Orange faithful at the Dome pumped up.
Middle Tennessee quarterback Brent Stockstill went back in the shotgun formation and handed the ball off to running back Brad Anderson. Anderson would find a seam as many of the Blue Raiders running backs did throughout the game, and take it for over five yards. All in all, the Blue Raiders ran for 94 yards, according to ESPN.com, but it felt like more.
Unfortunately for Anderson, the Orange saw they didn’t make the tackle in the trenches so they were forced to make a play in the secondary. As a result, two Orange players came charging at Anderson in hopes of making the tackle. One of those was star defensive player Zaire Franklin.
Franklin, who was behind the runner, reached out and around the runner for the ball all while diving for the tackle. The result was a stripped ball which tumbled to the turf. Parris Bennett dove on the ball, giving the Orange possession.
It was a key play for the Orange early in the contest and showed MTSU that the Orange would put up a fight in this one. Unfortunately, that same energy didn’t carry into the second half and as a result the team fell to 1-1 and suffered their first loss of the season.
3. Jonathan Thomas Interception in MTSU Territory
This play was huge for the Orange early in the contest. Syracuse had already forced a fumble early, and this interception by Jonathan Thomas in MTSU territory showed the Syracuse-D was here to stay, at least for the first half.
Middle Tennessee quarterback Brent Stockstill was back alone in the shotgun formation. He hiked the ball and immediate looked for a receiver attempting a slant route on the outside. However, the Orange blitzed and got to the quarterback right as he released it making it easier for the Orange to Thomas to jump in front of the pass from out of coverage.
Thomas had gone back in coverage to defend, but when he saw the quarterback turn his head left out of the snap, he moved to reach the pass before it got to the receiver. He did so, and took the interception 15 yards, to the Middle Tennessee 4-yard line, giving the Orange a look at 1st and Goal.
Short fields to work with…
Thomas made a nice read on the play which is what led to the interception. The fact that the Orange got to the quarterback out of the blitz is also noteworthy, as the Orange hope to continue to do that throughout the season.
Like the Chris Slayton play, which you’ll read about next, the Orange unfortunately weren’t able to punch the ball in for a touchdown or pick-six, as he only had one man to beat; the receiver who missed the catch and tackled him fro behind. However, it was a good play and set the Orange up for a score.
Unfortunately, the interception only led to a field goal and loss of three yards on three plays, but hey, that’s the kind of game it was for the Orange. You take what you can get and this defensive play by Thomas was definitely one of the highlights of the night.
2. Tipped Pass Behind Line of Scrimmage by Chris Slayton Leads to Fumble Recovery by Brandon Berry
This play, was pretty awesome because no one but the Syracuse Football players realized it was a fumble at all. In today’s college football you usually don’t see a whole lot of screen passes behind the line of scrimmage that aren’t caught. However, if they aren’t caught and/or its a backwards pass, then it’s a live ball and a fumble which can be recovered by the defense.
With that knowledge in mind, that exact play happened in this game. Luckily when the moment arose, the Orange were smart enough to capitalize on it.
On the play, the MTSU quarterback Brent Stockstill passed the ball to Isiah Upton, but Chris Slayton batted it away like a block in basketball. Since the pass was behind the line of scrimmage it was a fair ball and Brandon Berry immediately jumped on it.
The Orange could have picked it up and taken it to end zone for a touchdown, but when the Orange players tried picking it up, they had a hard time corralling it, so they then jumped on it to secure it.
I think it was a missed opportunity, but hey that’s just me. It was still one heck of an awesome play and one the Orange defense should continue to look for throughout the season.
Next: Syracuse Football: Top 5 bittersweet oranges from loss to MTSU
Lots of teams make plays like that, sometimes a few times a game even. It’s just a matter of expecting it, blocking or forcing it, and then being smart enough to jump on it or pick it up. Its not always easy to keep all that straight when you’re just trying to focus on your defensive assignment, which makes the play even that more impressive. Nice work Orange!
1. Eric Dungey 29-yard Run for Score
This run by Syracuse Quarterback Eric Dungey was the best play of the game by far offensively, and that’s saying something. The Orange did not have much of a running game at all, and this running play was their longest. There weren’t many seams for Dungey, Strickland, or any of the other running backs to go through, but on this play, there was just enough room.
Dungey took the snap alone in the shotgun, faked a quick pass, and then tucked it and ran. He saw a small hole in the middle and darted towards it. He scampered through barely touching a defender and then was quickly into the secondary.
Once there, to his surprise, no one came to meet him or tackle him. He was off to the races and in for the easy score. The play went for 29-yards, and tied the game late in the 4th quarter at 23 points apiece.
Unfortunately, (as you’ve probably heard me say too many times to count now), the Orange would give the lead right back as the Blue Raiders would score on the following possession on what would end up being the winning score.
Next: Syracuse Football: Top 10 Plays vs. CCSU (video highlights)
The run though was one of the best Dungey has had all season, and he can thank his offensive line for creating a seam for once for the easy score. Without the small hole, it would have been yet another small gain or none at all for the Orange. Luckily it gave the Orange some hope they could win, but they just fell short.