Tim Lester walked through the bowels of the Carrier Dome following Syracuse’s Sept. 4 win over Rhode Island. His face was sweaty, but he masked discomfort and displeasure with a welcoming smile.

The 47-0 win was a secondary topic of conversation. Lester had lost his quarterback, Terrel Hunt, likely for the whole season. He had to portray uncertainty and even optimism onto a situation that was assuredly inevitable.

Two weeks and one day later, he needed to ease a man that had at one point been a fifth-string quarterback, into a starter. Eric Dungey, who only just begun to excel, had taken a hit to the head.

First, Lester went to the more experienced Austin Wilson, but always with the intent to make Mahoney the man. And then when Mahoney did go in, he gradually expanded the types of plays he called as the games progressed and the nerves faded.

“It’s not easy,” Lester said when asked if he was frustrated. “Coach (Scott Shafer) says control the controllables, and that’s something we can’t control. I think the thing that’s frustrating the most is a lot of (the injuries) are flukes.”

Nothing about what Lester has dealt with as the Syracuse offensive coordinator has been easy. Whether it was running George McDonald’s futile offense with backup quarterbacks the final seven games of last season or installing his own during spring practice and fall training camp.

The first four games of the season, though, prove that Lester is the right person to handle the miserable nature of Syracuse’s injury situation. The Orange has run for 345 more yards than its opponents and thrown for five more touchdowns. If Dungey had enough attempts, he’d have the second-best passing efficiency in Division I. Mahoney, a walk-on transfer from the College of DuPage, threw for three touchdowns in one half against an SEC defense.

The injuries may have been flukes — a torn Achilles’ in a non-contact run and a targeting hit that downplayed an SU TD celebration — but Lester’s success in the face of them is not.

“There’s no doubt,” Shafer said. “Having his experience has been comforting for me as the head coach.”

Lester succeeds because he knows the capabilities of his quarterbacks. Even before Hunt went down, he had Dungey go through and highlight all the plays in the playbook that he was comfortable with. Against LSU, he said he planned to keep the offense simple because he was working with an inexperienced starter.

Hunt said he preferred to work with Lester because Lester wouldn’t get mad at him if he had a reason for every decision he made. He doesn’t force players to fit into what he wants to do. He lets players figure out where they fit in his offense.

“Coach Lester’s scheme is amazing,” Mahoney said. “He’s got so many moving parts that it messes with the defense so much, and you never know what can happen next play.”

On Mahoney’s first four drives on Saturday, he completed just one pass and failed to get a first down. Lester could see how he was tense on two disastrous throws to Ben Lewis in one fruitless drive.

But it was Lester’s confidence in the quarterback when it was clear he’d lost it that turned things around. He said he’d take Mahoney out if he didn’t start having fun. Three passing touchdowns later and the narrative of his performance flipped.

Syracuse entered yesterday’s game as an unproven 3-0. It left as a far more respected 3-1.

The season hasn’t spiraled out of control yet. With four quarterbacks used in the first three games, it very well could have.

But Lester has control of the offense, no matter who’s playing in it.

Published on September 27, 2015 at 10:26 pm