Syracuse left Death Valley bruised and battered. The Orange (4-5, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) came away with a 54-0 loss at the hands of the No. 3 Tigers (9-0, 6-0) and may have lost starting quarterback Eric Dungey beyond just Saturday with an apparent head injury after he was hit in the upper body area in the first quarter of the game.

Here’s a look at where some of SU’s players and units are trending after the game.

Stock up

Moe Neal, running back

The freshman running back led all rushers in the game with 64 yards on seven carries. His best run and Syracuse’s best offensive play of the game came when he broke through the line, cut left, then back right and got in a foot race with Clemson’s defenders. They tracked him down after 49 yards, but it set up SU’s only scoring chance of the game.

Neal earned more carries with Dungey out and as the twos and threes played more because of the blowout, giving him chances to display his shiftiness. After the game, head coach Dino Babers said Neal is playing more like a sophomore and his physical size is what’s holding the 5-foot-11, 169-pounder back. His day was cut short by an apparent knee injury that required ice, but he said after the game that he is fine.

Austin Wilson, quarterback

Wilson struggled in his appearance off the bench, completing 17-of-27 passes for 116 yards and two interceptions. But he was also going up against 11th-best passing defense and 12th-best total defense in terms of yards allowed. Though Babers refused to evaluate Wilson’s performance before watching the tape of the game, the important thing is that Wilson was the first quarterback off the bench. He took reps with the twos during the week, he said, and Babers said “the situation” was right for Wilson. 

Stock down

SU’s bowl hopes

A loss to Clemson was pretty much assumed, but the Orange’s shot at a bowl likely took a significant hit with the loss of Dungey and injuries to other key contributors. Speculating on injuries is a dangerous game. But Dungey appeared to be stumbling and needed help walking to the locker room after a hit that caught him in the helmet. Though he returned to the sideline in street clothes, he’s a player that was hit several times in the head last year and missed four games and parts of others because of it. To make matters worse, Daivon Ellison and Brisly Estime also suffered injuries and didn’t return. The extent of any of the injuries is unclear.

Zack Mahoney, quarterback

Mahoney has been listed as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart all year long and was the only other signal caller to see the field besides Dungey before the Orange’s game against Clemson. Mahoney had played in six prior games this season. While Mahoney did get much action on Saturday, going 1-for-4 for 8 yards, he was the second QB off the bench, following Wilson. Babers wouldn’t address the pecking order going forward, but Wilson said he took snaps with the second team during practice all week.

Defense

Syracuse’s defense looked like the one of old, getting torched for big play after big play and long drive after long drive. Clemson put together its three longest drives of the season against SU on back-to-back-to-back drives. They went 95, 89 and 86 yards, respectively, and all for scores. The last of those drives was finished up by backup Nick Schuessler, who threw for two touchdowns before being replaced by the third stringer. The Tigers put up their most yards in the first half this season and feasted on SU’s defense.

Cole Murphy, kicker

Murphy missed another field goal on Saturday, a 30-yarder which he pushed wide right that was SU’s best chance to avoid a shutout. He’s now missed seven of his last nine kicks going back to Week 4 against Connecticut. He did have a nice surprise onside kick that likely would have been successful if it had not been recovered too early, but until he starts connecting on kicks, Murphy’s stock will keep plummeting.

Published on November 6, 2016 at 5:55 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus