RALEIGH, N.C. — Syracuse never allowed itself to comeback. After two-and-a-half-quarters of dismal offense, the Orange started picking up first downs. Tommy DeVito found Sean Riley for quick routes in the slot. He pitched to screen routes on the outside. He even scrambled for a first down and later dished Trishton Jackson for the game’s lone SU touchdown.

But in the end, those plays didn’t matter. The ones that did, the early ones and the later ones, were so strikingly similar and those are what undid Syracuse (3-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) in a 16-10 loss to North Carolina State (4-2, 1-1) at Carter-Finley Stadium. The game was bookended on Orange penalties, which accounted for two of Syracuse’s 12 penalties on the night. North Carolina State finished with eight sacks, and the Orange didn’t score a point in the first 30 minutes of the game. 

“It started to click toward the end but we just got to make it happen faster,” DeVito said. 

After failing its first two Power 5 tests against Maryland and Clemson, a Thursday night on the road was expected to provide answers. Was 2018 just a one-year blip or had Syracuse’s offense started to figure things out before the idle week?

Syracuse committed a penalty on the kickoff, and the offense moved in that backwards direction for much of the first half, finishing the first quarter with 27 total yards. Swing passes struggled to gain yards. Runs were stuffed at the line. Even when quarterback Tommy DeVito had time, like on a 3rd-and-8 midway through the first quarter, receivers weren’t open and passes flew toward the stands.

DeVito and head coach Dino Babers both noted that NC State rushed three defenders early in the game, leaving eight defenders in pass coverage — a look Syracuse wasn’t expecting. It seemed DeVito didn’t want to run, at least it wasn’t an ideal option. 

He’d left the Holy Cross game in the fourth quarter wincing following a long throw down the field but insisted this week this week he’d be “good to go.” 

During pregame warmups he came out wearing more padding around his ribs and chest then usual. He occasionally grabbed his chest after warm-up passes. When the white jerseys came from the opposite side of the line, DeVito didn’t utilize his legs. At least not early on when he notably hit the turf a few yards short of a the sticks on a third down, avoiding a collision with an NC State linebacker. 

He’s always wary of not taking unnecessary hits when running, he said. 

“I was good physically going into it,” DeVito said. “Just some bumps and bruises. I was definitely not limited at all going into it.”

Devito and Babers both said the quarterback wasn’t limited on long throws. Still, Syracuse only completed on one and it nearly shifted the first half. After NC State called a timeout with 18 seconds remaining, and with the Orange facing a 3rd-and 10, Tommy DeVito slung a 52-yard completion to Jackson down the field. With 12 seconds left, the Orange took one of their five first-half sacks and kicker Andre Szmyt trotted onto the field. Even the best kicker in the country in 2018 couldn’t salvage the Orange’s dismal first half, as the lone glimmer of hope bounced off the field goal post.

Two series in the second quarter epitomized the Orange’s struggles. One started with a first down. Then two sacks, one that included intentional grounding, sent Syracuse’s offense to a 3rd-and-37. The next had a few first downs. Then a false start and a sack. And another false start and a sack. By the time Syracuse punted it was 4th-and-31.

“It was kind of no in between, they either blitzed or dropped everybody deep,” Jackson said.  “And so it wasn’t an in between so we couldn’t kind of put a finger on it.” 

A 10-play drive in the third quarter gave Syracuse’s offense hope. The things the offense normally does well — quick routes to the running back, a vertical route down the sideline and a Jackson comeback route — strung one after the other. Babers opted for a field goal instead of risking a 4th-and-7 from the NC State 14.

With 5:31 left, NC State called timeout amid a Syracuse drive. It looked like the Orange were prepared to self-destruct once more. The SU offensive line false started twice before snapping a third-down play. On the fourth down, DeVito did something he rarely did on Thursday: tucked and ran for a first down, finishing with a gingerly fall to the ground just beyond the first down marker.

“Everybody doesn’t know what he’s going through,” Jackson said referring DeVito’s upper-body injury. “For me, looking in his eyes, I could tell he’s in pain but he’s never going to stop.”

For a brief moment, it looked like Syracuse was going to pull it off. It looked as if they overcome the forgettable offensive blemishes that stacked up throughout the three quarters prior. 

But the faults of the first half returned. DeVito was sacked and the clock ran. Then a false start kept it running. It’s still running really, rapidly ticking away time in the 2019 season as the Orange struggle to find offensive consistency. 

Published on October 10, 2019 at 11:40 pm

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