NEW ORLEANS — Syracuse players proposed multiple explanations for why Tulane had so much success passing the ball after Saturday’s game.

Some rationalizations were more obvious and geared toward specific plays, such as losing the ball in the lights or having a cornerback fall down. Others included a lack of defensive pressure on the quarterback, Tulane’s receivers simply making good plays and miscommunication in the defensive backfield.

But for SU head coach Doug Marrone, those excuses weren’t to blame.

‘You start in position, make sure you finish in position and then, you have to make a play,’ he said. ‘And that’s really as simple as it is. It’s not any more creative than that.’

One week after putting up 199 yards in a loss to Army, Tulane torched the Orange defense for 471 yards — 355 of them through the air. SU managed to hold on for the 37-34 win, but the struggles that have haunted Syracuse’s pass defense re-emerged in the Louisiana Superdome. The Orange entered the game ranked 106th in the nation against the pass, and it didn’t help that status after allowing its most yards through the air yet this season.

‘Really, it’s not scheme,’ Marrone said. ‘They’re on it, but it’s just a matter of finishing the play and making the play.’

The biggest issue for Syracuse on Saturday was giving up big plays. Tulane had five plays in the first half that went for more than 20 yards.

The Green Wave went deep into the playbook to pull out multiple trick plays early on. In the first half alone, it ran a reverse, a reverse pass, a hook and lateral, and a throwback pass down the opposite sideline from where quarterback Ryan Griffin was rolling out.

‘It’s tough to defend the trick plays,’ cornerback Kevyn Scott said. ‘They did a good job. That’s the purpose of trick plays. They just kind of got us.’

But only two of those went for big gains. The other three came on plays that could have been run by any team.

Orleans Darkwa burst upfield on a draw play that went for a 40-yard touchdown on Tulane’s opening drive. Later, a screen pass moved the ball from the Green Wave 25 into SU territory.

And Scott was beaten on a go route that resulted in a 60-yard touchdown for Tulane freshman Xavier Rush. Scott turned around late to locate the ball and was left in the dust as Rush ran into the end zone after making the catch.

‘Kevyn Scott has to turn around,’ Marrone said of the long score. ‘The guy takes a deep ball, you just have to make a play on it.’

But Tulane’s success in the air came from more than that. Quarterback Ryan Griffin completed 24-of-30 passes and registered his first 300-yard passing game of the season. At one point, he completed 15 consecutive passes.

Freshman receiver Xavier Rush entered the game with one catch on the season, but registered four catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns — scores from 60 and 58 yards — against the Orange.

‘We really weren’t working as a team,’ safety Shamarko Thomas said. ‘We were trying as individuals, but we’re going to get it together.’

SU did clean up the defense to hold Tulane to 10 points in the second half. But Tulane still fought back and managed to tie the game on one final big play.

Two Green Wave receivers crossed with each other off the line before one went deep down the left sideline and the other went deep down the hash marks. SU cornerback Keon Lyn got crossed up trying to stay between the two receivers and lost his footing when the ball was in the air. That allowed Rush to haul in a 58-yard touchdown to tie the game with less than three minutes left.

Fortunately for the Orange, the offense drove down for the game-winning field goal on the ensuing possession. And unlike last week when the defense played well enough to win while the offense struggled, the defense credited the offense with the victory.

‘Sometimes we’re going to need them, sometimes they’re going to need us,’ Scott said. ‘It’s a team game. We can’t ever point fingers because they really came through. All credit goes to them.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on October 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm