Just like the first 59 minutes of football, Syracuse had its chance. On the final play for SU, wide receiver Steve Ishmael took a sharp cut back to the middle away from the right sideline. Quarterback Eric Dungey rolled toward him and fired a pass. The completion was good for 14 yards. But it needed to be 15 yards for Syracuse to keep the drive alive.

Seconds later, Middle Tennessee State (1-1) took a knee to seal a 30-23 victory over Syracuse (1-1). The one-yard deficit marked the last shortcoming of a game full of them for the Orange. Despite the defense’s success early on, Syracuse’s offense was unable to beat MTSU’s defense, one led by former SU head coach Scott Shafer. He was fired at the end of 2015 and his successor, Dino Babers, admitted he didn’t prepare the Orange for the emotional challenge that Saturday night presented.

“There’s nobody to blame but myself,” SU head coach Dino Babers said. “It’s my job to get them ready. They weren’t ready.”

Syracuse did not gain a first down until the second quarter. Linebacker Jonathan Thomas returned an interception to MTSU’s four-yard line in the first, but SU only went backwards before kicking a field goal to take its first lead, 3-2 (Middle Tennessee forced a safety after a high snap on a Syracuse punt). The Orange saw two more first-half takeaways to give the offense an opportunity to score and while one resulted in a Dontae Strickland touchdown, SU failed to capitalize.

On one second-quarter possession, SU found itself in a first-and-goal situation. For three straight plays, Chris Elmore, Ravian Pierce and Moe Neal stacked up behind Dungey. Two handoffs went to Elmore. One went to Neal. On fourth and eight, Dungey appeared to have a free play when a defensive lineman moved early. But he didn’t as a pass to Ishmael fell incomplete. Dungey pleaded for an explanation from the refs.

“You don’t get to replay it,” Babers said. “You only get one or two chances and once it goes down the you-know-what then it’s no good for you.”

The next Syracuse trip, which also journeyed inside the 10-yard line, finished with just a field goal. Ishmael and Jamal Custis dropped multiple passes. Custis later left the game with an apparent injury and was seen wearing a sling on the sideline.

Through it all, Syracuse’s defense kept it in the game. The Orange led at halftime, 13-9. Then the Blue Raiders adjusted and late in the third quarter, SU lost the lead it owned since 12 minutes into the game.

It started on a third down. Fans roared as they had all afternoon in support of Syracuse’s defense. Then, as he’s done his entire career, Middle Tennessee State’s Richie James hauled in a pass. The Carrier Dome fell quiet as he flew over the middle of the field. He crossed the goal line for a game-tying 28-yard touchdown, the first of three consecutive drives that would finish in a score.

Syracuse had the chance to answer. On the next drive SU reached field goal range before Cole Murphy missed from 40 yards outt.

“We just have to get better and just limit our mistakes,” Ishmael said.

On the ensuing MTSU possession, Ty Lee ran a 48-yard streak through the seam of Syracuse’s secondary. He beat cornerback Chris Fredrick and gave MTSU a seven-point lead. Then, with 11 minutes left, Dungey tucked the ball on a designed run and plugged through the middle of the field 29 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.

But again, MTSU replied with the final blow Syracuse lacked. Running back Shane Tucker capped a 10-play drive by leaping over Syracuse’s Juwan Dowels into the endzone. Syracuse’s next chance ended with a Dungey interception.

“Coach Shafer, he’s a genius,” Dungey said. “He gave us stuff we hadn’t seen before, a bunch of different disguises.”

Shafer, the “genius” who bested the team that thought he was a better fit elsewhere.

Published on September 9, 2017 at 11:22 pm

Contact: jtbloss@syr.edu | @jtbloss