COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Syracuse was trounced by No. 21 Maryland (2-0), 63-20, on Saturday, not once leading the game.

SU was just a one-point underdog heading into the Week 2 contest, but was outplayed from the opening kickoff, as the Terrapins scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. While redshirt sophomore Tommy DeVito and Syracuse’s passing game finally found some success, there were few positives to take away from the Orange’s worst loss since 2017.

Here’s whose stock is up or down after Syracuse’s loss to Maryland.

STOCK UP

Karleigh Merritt-Henry | Digital Design Editor

Just a week ago, DeVito was in the “stock down” section due to his underwhelming season-opener against Liberty. On Saturday, however, DeVito was the motor that kept the Syracuse offense running, throwing for a career-high 330 yards in addition to three touchdowns. He was far from perfect, committing a few mental mistakes including one interception, but it was a step in the right direction. Now, the redshirt sophomore must improve his decision-making outside of the pocket and stop committing costly turnovers.

Karleigh Merritt-Henry | Digital Design Editor

It seemed like every time the Orange stagnated offensively on Saturday, they decided to just throw the ball up to Jackson and hope for something good to happen. And more often than not, it worked. Jackson had the best game of his college career against the Terrapins, hauling in 7 catches for 157 yards and a pair of scores. He was also responsible for SU’s longest play of the game, a 52-yard catch-and-run touchdown during which he shook off a pair of defenders.

STOCK DOWN

Karleigh Merritt-Henry | Digital Design Editor

After accounting for all three touchdowns last week against Liberty, the Orange’s running game seemed like one of the strong points of their team. Despite the success as a whole, senior Moe Neal’s 42-yard score was the only real explosive play Syracuse had on the ground against Liberty. SU averaged of 4.4 yards per carry in Week 1 compared to just 2.4 versus Maryland. On Saturday, the Orange’s trio of running backs had a long rush of just 13 yards and never found any consistency.

Karleigh Merritt-Henry | Digital Design Editor

Syracuse’s defensive front as a whole could very well be in this space this week, but Robinson, its best player, had arguably the worst game among the group. SU’s preseason first-team all-ACC defensive end lived up to his billing against the Flames in the season opener, recording five tackles including 1.5 for loss and half a sack. That success disappeared versus the Terrapins, who used a combination of run-pass options and quick throws to negate the presence of Robinson and the rest of the Orange defensive linemen. Robinson, in turn, garnered just one statistic (an assisted tackle) during the 32:07 of game time that Maryland’s offense had the ball.

Karleigh Merritt-Henry | Digital Design Editor

Jones, serving as SU’s backup weakside linebacker behind Andrew Armstrong, appeared much more mature last week than the true freshman he is. The Florida native notched a trio of tackles versus Liberty including a tackle for loss, and looked to be comfortable with Syracuse’s defensive scheme and the speed of the game. On Saturday, Jones was exposed and looked lost on the field, specifically when trying to tackle Maryland’s running backs, who combined for 343 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. Jones missed a few tackles, took bad routes to the ball on some plays and wound up not even recording a single stat during the contest.

Published on September 9, 2019 at 11:09 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34