Syracuse had recorded just 115 yards on 29 plays in the first half. Less than four yards per play. An offense so abysmal that it had yet to put a point on the board.

But in an instant, if only for an instant, wideout Steve Ishmael changed that.

SU quarterback AJ Long lofted a pass to Ishmael, a fellow freshman, who hauled it in for a 46-yard gain on the Orange’s first drive of the third quarter.

“It definitely got us going, it got everyone a little juiced,” Long said. “You go into halftime and you’re down (17 points), it wasn’t pretty. But when you give guys a big play like that, it gets everyone juiced and we get back out there and we get the momentum swinging our way.”

The catch was the team’s longest of the day and set up Syracuse’s (3-8, 1-6 Atlantic Coast) only touchdown in a 30-7 loss to Pittsburgh (5-6, 3-4) on Saturday at Heinz Field. Ishmael was one of a few bright spots for the Orange, finishing with a career-high 97 yards on six receptions.

He became a go-to target for Long, whose third-career start was inconsistent when he wasn’t looking for Ishmael.

“I don’t really care about the performance, I really wanted to win,” Ishmael said. “I really don’t care about the stats.”

The freshman’s flashiness cost him as well, when he was flagged for an excessive celebration, completely negating a 15-yard reception on the first play of SU’s first drive of the fourth quarter.

Ishmael said the coaches talked to him about it afterward and that he’s still going through a learning process thats showing itself in mostly positive ways.

“Everybody wants to do better,” Ishmael said. “I can’t really judge how I did. I really wanted to do better, I really wanted to make a bigger impact.”

Published on November 22, 2014 at 10:31 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3