WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Wake Forest’s freshman quarterback couldn’t escape. As the Syracuse rush closed in on Sam Hartman, he scrambled left. He stepped no more than a yard before his ankles were yanked out from underneath him by a diving Ryan Guthrie.

On the next play, Wake Forest receiver Greg Dortch cut across the middle on a slant. Guthrie read the route, leaping over Dortch and batting the ball away.

“My key went inside and I was able to add in on the quarterback,” Guthrie said. “And the guys up front did a great job all day of putting pressure on that quarterback, and a few times I just got back there.”

After No. 19 Syracuse’s victory over Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon at BB&T field, Guthrie joked “I finally made it,” before walking in front of the media scrum. Guthrie, who led SU (7-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) in tackles against both North Carolina and North Carolina State, tallied two sacks, a pass breakup and 11 tackles against the Demon Deacons. While SU’s defense allowed 434 yards, it didn’t crumble in a 41-24 win. Only two Demon Deacons (4-5, 1-4) plays hit for more than 25 yards. In Syracuse’s second road conference win in three seasons, Guthrie served as a microcosm for defensive growth.

“For our defense to have six sacks, and the way they controlled the line of scrimmage and got after it, they made some mistakes there’s no doubt about it,” head coach Dino Babers said, “But when you have as many tackles for losses that we had, and then you’re able to run the football on offense and control the clock, I mean just really, really proud of the total team performance.”

In Syracuse’s previous two road conference games, its opposition ran wild in the second half. Clemson’s Travis Etienne ran for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Pittsburgh’s top two running backs combined for 299 yards. The Orange’s inexperience at linebacker showed. Guthrie, who started as a defensive end last season, wasn’t adjusted to his new role.

On Saturday, Matt Colburn, who ran for 243 yards against Louisville a week ago, mustered 67 yards on 15 carries. Wake Forest’s next highest rusher was its quarterback, Hartman, who netted 51 yards on the ground once accounting for sacks.

“It comes up with reps, you got to make mistakes to learn really,” Guthrie said. “Especially at linebacker, think about last year compared to this year and how much more I know just from making mistakes.”

Wake Forest’s first run of the game gained one yard. Guthrie and linebacker Kielan Whitner’s bursts through bottled up Colburn, filling the small hole left over after the defensive line penetration. Guthrie noted that the linebackers improved play stems, from “triggering faster,” inferring the position group is reacting quicker. In the losses against Clemson and Pittsburgh, the linebackers were a step behind. The defensive line often filled gaps but the linebackers didn’t cover the holes quick enough.

“Penetration stops all the stretch action,” said defensive tackle Kenneth Ruff. “All the little zones they were doing. We got constant penetration, he didn’t know where to run the ball to.”

Against Wake Forest, Guthrie didn’t wait. Wake Forest’s offense reacted to him. Several times in the first quarter, he pressured Hartman. On a third-and-goal, he ripped Hartman down as the quarterback scrambled outside the pocket, forcing an errant throw into the end zone and an eventual Wake Forest field goal.

Ruff, who recorded his first career sack in the win, noted that Hartman being a freshman plays into how the defense can get in the quarterback’s head. In the second quarter, Guthrie, who hadn’t started the play blitzing, pounced. Hartman’s feet chopped rapidly as he evaded a sprawling Kendall Coleman only to meet a streaking Guthrie, who swung Hartman around once before burying him into the ground.

“The quarterback feeling that kind of pressure, during the RPO he doesn’t really know where to give to the ball. He doesn’t know what to do,” Ruff said. “So that was part of our game plan just having constant pressure on the quarterback.”

All season long, Syracuse’s pass rushing has saved it. A top-30 team in sacks has survived by preying on opposing quarterbacks. Rarely, until Wake Forest, did that include a multi-sack game from a linebacker.

But Guthrie understands his role better now. He’s a linebacker.

“He’s seeing the field better,” Babers said. “And when he hits things he’s hitting them in a bad mood.”

Published on November 3, 2018 at 6:15 pm

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