George McDonald flipped through the final stats, read one story, then told another.

“At the end of the day it’s a win-and-loss business,” McDonald said. “And we lost because we didn’t execute. Our defense played well enough for us to win.

“… Regardless of the stats. All I care about is the wins and the losses, and I thought today was a day where our offense didn’t do enough to help the team win.”

Syracuse’s offense put up 589 yards of total offense, 370 rushing yards and 26 first downs. Maryland had 369 yards of offense, 89 on the ground and 17 first downs.

The Orange defense cleaned up its early miscues while the offense continually stalled, and Syracuse (2-1) fell to Maryland (3-1) 34-20 in front of 40,511 in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. SU’s defense held the Terrapins scoreless from halftime to the 4:17 mark of the fourth quarter, but Hunt and the offense were shut out for the entire second half until there were 48 seconds left and the game was effectively finished.

“We understand how the formula works and that is win the turnover ratio by at least one by the end of the game,” head coach Scott Shafer said. “Rush the ball for more than 50 yards than our opponent and protect in the kicking game or don’t give up a big play.

“In two of those areas we came up short and that’s why we lost the game.”

Maryland scored a touchdown on its first two possessions, the first a 25-yard pass from C.J. Brown to Marcus Leak and the second a 90-yard screen to running back Brandon Ross.

Then Cole Murphy, a walk-on freshman kicker that has taken kickoffs this season, replaced Ryan Norton and hit a 49-yard field goal, which was followed by an 8-yard touchdown run by Hunt at the start of the second quarter.

But the Terrapins answered with a field goal and touchdown of their own, before a miscommunication between Hunt and receiver Adrian Flemming turned the game on its head. Flemming ran a short button hook and Hunt stepped in to throw to him. But Flemming left the spot and cut toward the middle of the field while Hunt’s throw went right into the hands of Will Likely.

Likely ran the interception back 88 yards to give Maryland a 31-13 lead. Syracuse’s first turnover of the season was as untimely as it was unwanted.

Norton pushed a 25-yard field goal wide left in the closing seconds of the first half, and that was the closest the Orange came to scoring until the game was out of reach. The SU defense shut out Maryland in the third quarter, but the offense didn’t take an opportunity to cut into the 18-point halftime deficit.

“It’s not the offense’s fault,” junior cornerback Julian Whigham said. “Obviously, we would’ve liked to have more points, but as a team we need to execute and we didn’t do that and it’s disappointing.”

Syracuse’s second turnover of the season and game came at a less opportune time, with SU down 18 with 6:29 left. Hunt lost the ball on a designed quarterback run. Darius Kilgo scooped up Hunt’s fumble and Brad Craddock knocked in a 44-yard field goal three plays later, effectively sealing the game.

Without the final scoreline, the Orange offense looks like something of a machine. But Maryland didn’t turn the ball over, Riley Dixon had a punt blocked and the Syracuse offense was largely unimpressive when it needed to impress the most.

“It happens like that,” McDonald said. “It’s part of coaching, it’s part of raising kids.”

Published on September 20, 2014 at 5:00 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse