WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Syracuse (2-3, 0-2 Atalntic Coast) lost to Wake Forest (5-1, 2-1), 28-9, on a messy Saturday at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hurricane Matthew passing by brought heavy rain and wind throughout the first half and parts of the second, disrupting play.

The two teams combined for two interceptions, six fumbles and six sacks. Orange quarterback Eric Dungey was held to 156 yards passing and no touchdowns.

Here’s a look at where some players and units stood out.

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Sterling Hofrichter, redshirt freshman punter

Despite the rain and winds that were gusting at 19 mph, Sterling Hofrichter did a good job getting his kicks downfield. None of his kicks were pretty. Most of them were low, line drive, knuckleballers, but they got the job done. Hofrichter booted two punts more than 50 yards and two landed inside the 20. His 10 kicks totaled 415 yards — 89 yards more than SU’s offensive total — for an average of 41.5 yards. He forced fair catches three times and one of the punts was muffed, giving SU a chance to get the ball. Wake Forest only returned it three times for 8 total yards.

Parris Bennett, junior linebacker

Parris Bennett notched his third straight double-digit tackle performance with a team-high 12 tackles — and a week after he was carried off the field with an apparent ankle or foot injury. Bennett was at the center of one of SU’s best run defense performances. His best play came on Wake Forest’s first series, when he stripped Demon Deacons punter Dom Maggio at the 1-yard line after Maggio scrambled back to pickup a high snap. The play resulted in a safety.

Steve Ishmael, junior wide receiver

All things considered, no one on the offense had a great day, but Steve Ishmael led the receiving group with five catches for 56 yards. The bulk of the yards came on a 33-yard catch in the fourth quarter where he jumped over 6-foot-1 Wake Forest cornerback Amari Henderson and pinned the ball with his right hand to his chest. Ishmael was open in the end zone with one second left in the first half, but, according to Dungey, the ball didn’t come out of the quarterback’s hand the way he would have liked and Wake Forest intercepted the pass.

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MORE COVERAGE:

• Rate Syracuse’s position groups midway through the season
• Libonati: Blown chances in loss shatter SU’s bowl chances
• Gallery: Check out the best sights from Syracuse’s loss to Wake Forest

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Offensive line

Syracuse’s offensive line had arguably its worst game of the season, giving up five sacks and 11 tackles for loss. With starters Jason Emerich, Omari Palmer and Cody Conway still out, the patchwork group struggled to pickup blitzes, especially on first and second downs. Multiple players said SU was caught off guard by WFU’s early blitzes. SU head coach Dino Babers criticized the group’s execution, adding that Dungey took several hits and consistently had defensive linemen near him when he dropped back to pass.

Kendall Coleman, freshman defensive lineman

Kendall Coleman has been one of Syracuse’s best defensive linemen, despite being a freshman and coming off shoulder surgery in the offseason. But on Saturday, Coleman suffered from a costly lapse in judgment. On one play in the fourth quarter, Coleman shoved a Wake Forest player after a play, earning some sort of verbal warning from a referee. About three plays later, he was called for targeting on a late hit to Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford. Coleman was ejected from the game and will be suspended for the first half of SU’s next game against Virginia Tech.

Published on October 9, 2016 at 5:34 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus