As Eric Dungey lay on the ground, center Colin Byrne and right guard Evan Adams stood still staring down at him. A costly error by the two redshirt freshmen manifested in Dungey taking the brunt of their mistake.

Wake Forest defensive tackle Josh Banks busted through the core of Syracuse’s offensive line on the third play of Saturday’s contest. Byrne’s body shifted toward the left and Banks split in between him and Adams — right through the A gap.

Dungey was sacked, the first of five times against WFU, on his first drop back of the contest. The Orange was forced to punt, and a game in which Syracuse’s offense scored just seven points was off to a start that foreshadowed its end.

“The best thing that Wake Forest did was they attacked some of our young people inside,” Orange head coach Dino Babers said, “and we need to be able to do things to help them in that situation.”

Without three of its five starters, SU’s offensive line has struggled, especially in the interior. All five linemen against Wake Forest were first-year starters. Byrne, Adams and redshirt sophomore left guard Aaron Roberts make up the group that could be the biggest key for Syracuse’s (2-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) offense to run smoothly against No. 17 Virginia Tech (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

Earlier in the week, Babers said two of the three injured former starting offensive linemen are “pretty much done for the year.” He didn’t say whom, but redshirt senior right guard Omari Palmer and redshirt senior center Jason Emerich and sophomore left tackle Cody Conway haven’t played in the last three games. Emerich and Palmer are both listed as “out” on this week’s injury report, while Conway was not included.

That means the inexperienced group SU is left with is likely the one Syracuse will go with for most of the remainder of the year.

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• Beat writers predict Hokies to blow out the Orange

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“With not having a lot of experience on the offensive side, especially in the interior offensive line,” Babers said, “it can be very difficult for them to handle mentally some of the things that are going on.”

The Demon Deacons repeatedly sent two players at the A gap — the space between the center and the guard. That meant Byrne had two players coming at him at once and he struggled picking them up, Dungey said.

The Orange’s five sacks allowed last week were a season high. And even when Dungey didn’t get sacked, he often scrambled from pressure.

“We’re not where we want to be,” Roberts said. “We’re going to get better. We know that.”

Offensive line coach Mike Lynch hasn’t changed his approach, Adams said. He’s still consistent in what he preaches. He just needs his players to do their job.

Jessica Sheldon | Photo Editor

While Palmer and Emerich have been hurt, they’ve assisted Lynch and the rest of the offensive linemen. Adams said Palmer, the player he replaced, has discussed footwork technique and shown Adams drills to practice individually.

As a result of Syracuse’s fast-paced style, Roberts said linemen need to understand blitz packages before the game even starts. Seconds before each snap is too late. And against a team like Virginia Tech, which ranks third in the nation in yards allowed per game (237.6), SU can’t afford more mishaps along the offensive line.

Before the season started, Babers said games were won and lost in the trenches. He compared linemen to hippos and elephants. And with a matchup against the Hokies looming, SU’s depleted group is prepping to correct its mistakes.

“They bring a lot,” Adams said. “They play any front you could think of so it’s going to be important that we stick to our A game.”

Published on October 13, 2016 at 11:48 pm

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