Syracuse Football Report Card: Who stood out in loss to FSU?

The Syracuse football team couldn’t find their first road win in 2017, falling to FSU 27 to 24. ITLH gives their weekly report card on this week’s loss.

The Syracuse football squad suffered another tough loss this past weekend in the state of Florida, this time at the hands of Florida State. Syracuse has now lost two in a row after knocking off previous undefeated Clemson in the Carrier Dome on Friday October 13th.

Syracuse once again fought hard for the entire game but, ultimately came up just short, as Kicker Cole Murphy’s field goal sailed wide left at the end of the game. The kick would have sent the game into overtime and given Syracuse a new life.

Once again Eric Dungey and the Orange offense was stagnant throughout much of the first half. Dungey was picked off on the first offensive drive of the game (stop me if you’ve heard that before). The Syracuse offense has to do a much better job of starting these games out with a lead. Syracuse has yet to win a game when their opponent scores first in this season.

The Syracuse run game was disastrous once again. As a team, Syracuse rushed for 149 and 109 of those were by Dungey. To me, that is the main issue the Syracuse offense has still. If you cannot consistently gain 3-5 yards on run plays then you become an extremely predictable offense.

Ervin Philips set a Syracuse school record for most receptions in school history at 207 and counting. What is remarkable about this is Philips has really only been a wide receiver for the past two seasons. He broke the record previously owned by Alec Lemon (201). Another Syracuse receiver not too far way from passing Lemon is Steve Ishmael (196 rec). Ish was fantastic again this past weekend and Syracuse is still struggling to find that solid third option in the passing game.

The Syracuse defense was once again stellar on third down, only allowing Florida State to convert 1-in-13 attempts. However, Syracuse’s defense gave up the big play far too much. The Orange allowed touchdowns of 51, 54, and 78 yards. This just cannot happen, not three touchdowns of that length. Kendall Coleman and Scoop Bradshaw both did good things in their return to the Syracuse starting lineup.

Lets examine the top performers: