Fast Reactions: Balanced North Carolina State offense and Syracuse mistakes doom Orange in 33-25 loss
Alexandra Moreo | Photo Editor
Save for the third quarter, North Carolina State controlled the game, handing Syracuse a 33-25 loss on Saturday afternoon.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Syracuse was held to its second-fewest point total of the season Saturday afternoon in a 33-25 loss to North Carolina State.
The Orange (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) trailed 26-7 at the break and forced N.C. State (4-1, 2-0) to punt on its first three possessions of the third quarter to pull within nine. But the Wolfpack chewed up five minutes of clock with a 65-yard scoring drive to start the fourth quarter and separate itself from SU. Ervin Philips broke the program record for catches in a game, with 17 for 188 yards as Syracuse dropped to 1-10 all-time against the Wolfpack.
Here are three reactions to the game.
Methodical attack
When N.C. State didn’t click through the air, it went to the ground. The Wolfpack balanced its attack nearly even across the run and pass, creating a dynamic offense the SU defense could not contain, save for the third quarter. The Wolfpack found success running the ball to the outside, where SU defenders were tied up or missed on tackles.
Down 13-7, graduate transfer defensive back Devin M. Butler whiffed on a tackle attempt. Nyheim Hines picked up 39 yards on the second-quarter jet sweep, setting up a 10-yard run for Reggie Gallaspy II. He jogged into the end zone to make it a two-possession game.
Chubb’s hub
N.C. State senior defensive tackle Bradley Chubb made a hub out of the SU pocket. He pioneered the Wolfpack front seven and its 11th-ranked run defense to hold the Orange to 59 yards on the ground. When it became apparent SU’s run game was neutralized, Eric Dungey was relied on heavily. The junior threw for 385 yards. It was an otherwise dominant outing for the NCSU front seven.
Penalty delight
Twelve penalties set back Syracuse 93 yards on the day. Tack on costly mistakes, such as a game-opening kickoff that went out of bounds, a Dungey interception on his first throw and several missed tackles, and NCSU gained an edge on the Orange.
At the end of the third frame, Dungey hit Ishmael for a touchdown but it was called back for illegal formation. Then, after Dungey took it to the five, Airon Servais was called with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Rather than a chance to go for it from the five, SU walked back to the 20 and settled for a Sterling Hofrichter field goal.
Published on September 30, 2017 at 4:09 pm
Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21
