SU slow to explain loss
Christian Ferrara looked like he needed a nap.
Rubbing the dark bags under his eyes, the Syracuse football nose tackle struggled to explain the Orangemen’s 48-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday.
“It’s frustrating,” he said, “but I guess I don’t know what to say. It’s eating at everyone. This isn’t a losing program.”
Right now, though, the Orangemen (1-4, 0-1 Big East) are doing anything but winning. And without offering it as an excuse, SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni verbalized what Ferrara’s drained demeanor conveyed.
“I thought we were a little sluggish,” Pasqualoni said. “I don’t know what the reason for that was.”
Perhaps SU was still hungover from its triple-overtime, 37-34 loss at Auburn a week earlier.
Nearly four hours of football and 161 plays will do that to you.
“When you play three overtimes,” SU kicker Collin Barber said, “you’re just worn out physically and mentally. And that hurts you the next week. That’s like playing two games in a row.”
Dismal defense
The Panthers put as much emphasis as they could on protecting quarterback Rod Rutherford on Saturday. And it worked.
The Pittsburgh offensive line left SU’s defensive rush stumped and allowed Rutherford to pass for 279 yards.
On Pitt’s second drive of the game, the Orangemen twice had chances to get to Rutherford but missed by inches, Pasqualoni said.
On third down and 4 at the SU 41-yard line, Rutherford completed a 12-yard pass over the middle to Larry Fitzgerald. Three plays later, on third and 8 at the SU 27, Rutherford found Fitzgerald for a touchdown.
“On Saturday, we didn’t get it done (with the pass rush),” Pasqualoni said. “But we’ve gotten it done and will get it done.”
The SU defense is last in the Big East in average rushing yards, passing yards, total defense, scoring defense and pass-efficiency defense.
When asked to explain SU’s defensive problems, linebacker Clifton Smith paused for a moment, shaking his head.
“We’re just not making plays right now,” he said.
Barber’s boot
At this point, Barber’s taking any field time he can get.
Before Saturday, Syracuse’s sophomore kicker had attempted just three field goals.
So his 28-yarder — a line-drive knuckleball that put SU up, 3-0, in the first quarter — didn’t look all that ugly.
“It went through,” he said, “though it wasn’t the prettiest kick.”
Barber said a pulled tendon in his left foot has forced him to change his follow-through, making his kicks sail lower.
“After that kick,” he said, “I looked up in the stands at my dad, and he was smiling, like ‘What was that?’ ”
Anderson ails
Syracuse quarterback R.J. Anderson sprained his right shoulder Saturday but practiced yesterday.
“I did everything I do on a normal Monday,” he said. “It’s still sore, but it’s not sore to where I can’t throw the ball.”
Anderson left Saturday’s game after a second-quarter hit from Pittsburgh linebacker Gerald Hayes.
“It hurt bad Saturday,” Anderson said. “But it got better when I didn’t throw the ball on (Sunday).”
“He’s got to be 100 percent (for Saturday’s game at Temple),” Pasqualoni said. “You can’t play anybody (at quarterback) who can’t throw the ball.”
Anderson — who’s completed just 40.7 percent of his passes this year — said he received treatment for his shoulder yesterday and it felt less sore throughout practice.
This and that
Steve Gregory is listed as the starting left corner for Saturday’s game. Gregory injured his shoulder against Auburn and sat out against Pittsburgh. Pasqualoni said Gregory warmed up before the Pitt game and asked to play, but coaches decided to keep him out. … Pasqualoni said third-string quarterback Xzavier Gaines will get more snaps this week in case Anderson can’t play Saturday. … Defensive end Josh Thomas, who’s been battling an injured left foot, played 28 snaps against Pittsburgh. “We didn’t want to overdo it too much,” Pasqualoni said. “We had a plan, and we’ll have a plan this week. We won’t know (this week’s plan) until Thursday. But the good thing is, it’s not getting worse.”
