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PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Head coach Dino Babers kept quiet on who would start against Pittsburgh. He made it clear that there was no quarterback battle, and that if Garrett Shrader was healthy, he’d start. But since Monday, Carlos Del Rio-Wilson was taking first team reps.

Shrader wasn’t 100%. It was clear from the moment he jogged out to midfield at Acrisure Stadium for warmups that something was off. He stood 10 yards away from Del Rio-Wilson at the 50-yard line, nonchalantly throwing 10 to 20-yard passes as he began to stretch his arm out. He hobbled when he tried to move around and imitate a pocket situation. How close Shrader is to be playing remains unknown, but he didn’t against Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, Del Rio-Wilson, donning a pair of white headphones, quickly slung passes to a receiver. Unknown to everyone outside of SU’s locker room, he was zoning in to start his first collegiate game. Shrader jogged out of the opposing tunnel behind the rest of the team in orange shorts, a blue Syracuse No. 6 t-shirt and a Syracuse hat. Shrader didn’t lose the starting job, but whatever his injury is, Babers once again believed the quarterback couldn’t compete.

“Once they told me (I was starting), I was just ready,” Del Rio-Wilson said. “I’ve been preparing for this all my life.”

Then, Del Rio-Wilson trotted out and orchestrated a bland, unproductive and ineffective offensive performance. The plays and the pre-snap motion was still there but was easily snuffed out. The last drive — overthrowing Oronde Gadsden II by at least five yards and then taking a sack — ensured Syracuse (6-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) wouldn’t come back in a 19-9 loss to Pittsburgh (5-4, 2-3 ACC).

He’d thrown a 45-yard pass down the far sideline to D’Marcus Adams on Syracuse’s last drive. But he overthrew Gadsden by at least five yards and was sacked. A completion would have set up the Orange at the goal line.

Instead, Brady Denaburg squibbed a kick, and Syracuse’s defense, in a last gasp to stop Pittsburgh, wilted by the legs of Rodney Hammond Jr., who finished with a career-high 124 rushing yards. Then Syracuse collapsed. After Sam Vander Haar pinned the Orange at the one-yard line, Pittsburgh sacked Del Rio-Wilson, forcing a safety. The Orange, once the No. 14 team in the country, fell for their third-straight game.

Saturday was the flattest Syracuse’s offense has come out all season. Last year, nine points and the opponent having more rushing yards than its total yards was common. That’s why the Orange fired Sterlin Gilbert and hired one of the most seasoned offensive coordinators in the country. But Del Rio-Wilson led a horrific offensive performance that only boasted 145 total yards.

In training camp, it was clear Del Rio-Wilson had talent. He quickly solidified himself as the backup to Shrader. Fans called for him to replace Shrader at times. He took first team snaps and has worked alongside Shrader all year.

“We already had chemistry with him because we’ve been practicing with him, Shrader and the rest of other quarterbacks,” Damien Alford said. “We connected on certain passes.”

Babers said after the Notre Dame loss that Shrader was banged up, but good. He’d been visibly limping since after the loss to then-No. 5 Clemson. Alford didn’t see any differences between Shrader and Del Rio-Wilson either. He said Del Rio-Wilson liked to get the ball up more and toward the sideline to Alford so he could reach it, but other than that, it was the same system.

Babers also noted that opponents barely had any tape on Del Rio-Wilson before the Notre Dame game — he’d attempted just five passes before. After playing an entire half, teams got the first taste of what the former four-star quarterback would look like in a Robert Anae offense. Del Rio-Wilson did “okay” by Babers’ estimation against the Fighting Irish, but he’d need to be more than okay to beat Pittsburgh.

Del Rio-Wilson flashed his dual-threat ability again, scampering out of a few tackles on a 1st-and-10 to begin Syracuse’s fourth drive. He faked once, then cut up again to avoid another tackle before finally lofting a pass to Alford, who was one-on-one on a fade down the far sideline. Del Rio-Wilson placed it high enough for Alford to extend and leap over his defender for the diving catch and a 31-yard completion. Babers doesn’t want to grade Del Rio-Wilson’s performance until he watches the tape.

“I just wanted him to keep competing, keep his head,” Babers said. “The game can change quickly from good to bad. He just has to go out there with the same attitude.”

But the Orange finished the first half with just 94 total yards, mustering two drives that stalled out before Del Rio-Wilson could get them into the end zone. An average 6-for-12 passing and 79 passing yards in the first half cascaded into an 8-for-23 performance without a touchdown pass. He was inaccurate, routinely overthrowing wide open receivers. Gadsden was notably absent, though he was targeted plenty of times. The lack of chemistry is part of it, as were the “physical” Pitt defensive backs, Alford said.

Babers said Del Rio-Wilson’s overthrows weren’t caused by the 14 MPH wind at Acrisure Stadium, but a combination of things — the defensive line pass rush, miscommunication and inexperience with his receivers.

“I feel like I was worried about their D-line too much,” Del Rio-Wilson said.

Down 7-6, Syracuse needed Del Rio-Wilson to make a play, anything to drum up momentum. The Orange hoped to execute a drive that would at least give them the lead at halftime. Del Rio-Wilson had Courtney Jackson streaking to the Pittsburgh sideline across the field. But the throw from Del-Rio Wilson sailed far above Jackson’s head and out of bounds.

Babers stated the obvious in his weekly press conference on Monday: Pittsburgh would play tremendous defense and run the ball. Syracuse was held to just 10 points the last time it played at Acrisure Stadium. The Panther defensive line disrupted Del Rio-Wilson throughout the game, forcing him to step up and roll out. Del Rio-Wilson could adapt at times but got sacked six times and missed more receivers because of it. Playing without starting left guard Kalan Ellis didn’t help either.

“Sometimes those guys are getting a hand on me, and I wouldn’t be able to get out of it,” Del Rio-Wilson said.

Entering the fourth quarter with just two field goals and one red zone trip didn’t entirely fall on Del Rio-Wilson. He looked rushed, unprepared and surprised throughout the game, but there were dropped passes and receivers who couldn’t get open. Pittsburgh’s rushing game was unstoppable despite being without star back Israel Abanikanda. Kedon Slovis did what he could and found enough success to finish 16-for-23 and 176 yards.

But that fourth drive in the second half, one that started on Pittsburgh’s own 20-yard line following a horrendous punt, continued the tenor of the game into the final 12 and a half minutes. There was one final drive, helped along by his 15-yard scramble and a bomb throw down the seam. But he still missed a wide-open Gadsden and was sacked the next play. Andre Szmyt did bang through his 49-yard field goal, but the Orange were still down 17-9.

First, Del Rio-Wilson handed the ball off to Sean Tucker on the first down, and Tucker ran into Chris Bleich and lost a yard. Then Del Rio-Wilson dropped back and surveyed four tightly covered receivers. He rolled to his right and tried to squeeze in a short pass to Gadsden who sat five yards away in double coverage. Incomplete.

That set up a third-and-11, one that the Panthers rushed six defenders on. Del Rio-Wilson wanted Jackson on the out route, but the ball got tipped at the line. So, Szmyt trotted out for a 46-yard field goal attempt.

Szmyt made one earlier from 48 kicking with the wind. Now, he faced it. Like the offense, like the stagnant rush game, like Del Rio-Wilson’s first collegiate start, it fell just short, effectively solidifying another Syracuse loss.

“The big thing was the third downs and the time of possession … and that’s not being able to match points. They were getting touchdowns, we were kicking field goals.”

Published on November 5, 2022 at 7:07 pm

Contact Anthony: [email protected] | @anthonyalandt