Orange special teams falters, provides struggling offense with poor field position
With an offense on the mend and a defense tired from carrying the load, it would have been conceivable for Doug Marrone to look to his special teams unit. The Syracuse head coach could have put the pressure on the specialists to guide SU to victory.
But in a low scoring contest that ultimately turned into a game of field position, the Orange’s special teams unit — fresh off the dismissal of coordinator Bob Casullo — failed to put itself in the right spots to score. In the critical stages of the game, penalties and inefficiency on special teams contributed mightily to the 16-7 loss to Boston College Saturday.
Adding to the aggravation for Marrone is the fact that the Orange finished the game with seven penalties for 68 yards on Senior Day inside the Carrier Dome.
‘It’s frustrating,’ Marrone said. ‘We have seven penalties, and the other team has one penalty. … That has gone on at times throughout the year, especially in our losses.’
With an offense that has only scored two touchdowns in its last 12 quarters, Syracuse needed to win the field position battle. It needed its special teams to put it in a position to score points as much, perhaps, as it has relied heavily on its stout defense all season.
Early in the first quarter, SU set itself up to repeat the reoccurring offensive problems when an illegal block penalty set the Orange back on its first possession. Six plays later, the usually dependable Rob Long muffed a punt, setting the Eagles up in good field position. Though unable to capitalize initially, BC controlled the ball and continually put the Orange offense deep into its own territory.
Again and again, SU’s special teams was unable to put its offense or its defense in a position to control the game.
‘It’s definitely important because no matter how many points you win by, a win is a win,’ SU wide receiver Dorian Graham said.
As the game continued, the problems persisted. The one time SU could have began a drive at midfield or better, with 10:27 remaining in the second quarter, a holding penalty set the Orange back 10 yards. Continually unable to move the ball with consistency, Syracuse punted three plays later.
Later in the quarter, Long punted the ball 40 yards, but a 15-yard punt-catching interference penalty on Graham gave BC the ball at midfield. Just six plays later, the Eagles added a field goal to their tally.
‘It’s always a big thing, especially in this game,’ SU safety Max Suter said. ‘They had times where they had us on our line, and we just couldn’t stop them a couple times. We were in bad field position, and you can’t win games if you can’t stop them.’
On three separate occasions, the Orange began a drive inside its own 10-yard line. An offense that has struggled was essentially put in a position where it had to produce for Syracuse to win.
After gaining some momentum following a 12-play, 80-yard drive in the third quarter, a fumble by kick returner Prince-Tyson Gulley put the Orange back into a field position hole. Though Gulley recovered the loose football, quarterback Ryan Nassib and the Orange had 95 yards of field between his offense and the end zone.
Syracuse eventually punted after eating up 4:40 of clock on eight plays for just 22 yards. On the ensuing possession, BC put the game out of reach with a field goal.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, SU cleaned up the mistakes. But with BC starting the quarter near midfield and the Orange unable to stop the run, Syracuse found itself down by two scores with 6:44 remaining.
Three plays after the Eagles increased its lead to 16-7, Marrone opted to punt because of his team’s poor field position. After the game, he was asked about his decision to punt with 5:22 remaining, trailing by two scores. His answer came back to the field position. And Graham concurred with the head coach.
Said Graham: ‘Special teams play a big role in field position, and we just did not get it done today.’
