Syracuse’s (3-5, 0-4 Atlantic Coast) losing ways continued on Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida, falling 35-17 to Florida State (4-4, 3-3). The winless ACC start is SU’s worst since it joined the league in 2013, as the Orange are now the lone team in the ACC without a conference win.

Just like it did against Pittsburgh a week ago, Syracuse started slowly against the Seminoles and failed to score a touchdown until the second half. Unlike Pittsburgh’s near comeback, though, the Orange’s defense struggled and fell behind 35-3. While SU scored two rushing touchdowns in the fourth, the game was already over.

Here’s whose stock is up or down after Syracuse’s loss to Florida State.

 

Even though both scores came during garbage time, the Orange had their best game on the ground since Sept. 21 against Western Michigan. Running backs Moe Neal and Abdul Adams struggled in the first half, but the duo both converted goal-line touchdowns in the final period. In total, SU’s backs ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns in addition to 32 yards from Tommy DeVito, accounting for the team’s highest rushing total in over a month. Adams and Jarveon Howard both ran for more than five yards per carry and while their performances came in a loss, it was a positive sign for a team that hadn’t run for over 100 yards against an ACC team since last season.

Syracuse’s preseason All-American safety continued his successful return from injury against the Seminoles, finishing second on the team with seven tackles and first with three pass break-ups, tying a career-high. Cisco was injured during the third game of the season against Clemson and missed a month before returning last week against Pittsburgh. He made six tackles, including a pair of big hits across the middle, last week. His return doesn’t solve all of SU’s issues as a team or defensively, but certainly has solidified a defensive backfield that has been plagued by injuries since the start of the season.

An already-thin offensive line depth chart got thinner last week when Ryan Alexander left the program and Dakota Davis left Saturday’s game due to injury. Alexander had played in all seven of Syracuse’s games and started six of them before supposedly calling position coach Mike Cavanaugh, instead of head coach Dino Babers, to tell him that he was leaving the team. Babers called Alexander a quitter after the game, which featured true freshman Matthew Bergeron starting in Alexander’s place at right tackle. Junior Patrick Davis also saw his first game action since SU played Holy Cross, nearly a month ago.

If Syracuse had any chance of beating the Seminoles, it’d have to stop or slow down running back Cam Akers, and it failed to do so. Akers racked up 144 yards on the ground and four touchdowns, including three scores in the first half. It took Akers just 20 carries to reach those marks, equating to a 7.2 yards per carry average, and it wasn’t until the second half when he was injured and left the game that SU was able to slow Akers down. Florida State’s 241 rushing yards and five touchdowns as a team were both the highest totals allowed by the Orange since Sept. 7, when they were exploited defensively on the ground by Maryland.

All graphics by Kevin Camelo | Co-Digital Editor

Syracuse’s reign as the team with the longest takeaway streak in the FBS lasted just one week, ending Saturday after reaching 21 games. The Seminoles offense looked firmly in control of the contest throughout and even held SU’s defense to just two sacks, almost a sack and a half less than it had been averaging. With defensive backs Cisco and Ifeatu Melifonwu back and fully healthy and the special teams units still among the best in the country, the takeaways will still continue for the Orange. But the play of this year’s Syracuse defense has taken a step back from that of the 2018 team, which forced a turnover in every game.

Published on October 28, 2019 at 11:13 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34