Costly mistakes halt Syracuse’s 21-point comeback in 31-22 loss to Georgia Tech

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It was all hands on deck for the second straight week. Syracuse has dealt with a myriad of injuries throughout this season, and the bug recently caught the quarterback room. Forced to adopt an unorthodox offense, Syracuse utilized wildcat formations and run options. It worked against Pittsburgh to snap a five-game losing streak and move SU within one game of bowl eligibility.

It wouldn’t against Georgia Tech. But it was close. The Orange stormed back from a 21-point deficit with three touchdowns on their first five drives of the second half, trailing by just two. It had clawed through a dire first half offensive effort and sat within striking distance. Then, down 31-22, head coach Dino Babers played his final card, the one he hadn’t used all season.

Luke MacPhail hadn’t thrown a pass in his collegiate career, but he trotted out to lead a final drive. He caught the snap and keyed in on Damien Alford, but his pass floated into coverage and was intercepted by Kyle Efford. The game, the comeback and the first of two final attempts to earn a sixth win and a second-straight year in a bowl game ended.

What worked against Pittsburgh was absent against Georgia Tech as Syracuse’s offense sputtered. Stymied by costly penalties, the Orange committed false starts and unnecessary roughness calls which handcuffed SU to third and long scenarios. Third and fourth down runs were stuffed immediately. Though the defense stood up and allowed Syracuse’s offense to come back from a 24-3 deficit, the Orange (5-6, 1-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) allowed a late touchdown to Georgia Tech (6-5, 5-3 ACC) and fell 31-22.

“They get an opportunity to go bowling. We hope that we get that same opportunity next week,” Babers said.

Dan Villari and LeQuint Allen Jr. traded snaps out of shotgun. Without Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, Braden Davis, the South Carolina transfer quarterback who has been the third-string this season worked onto the field. He overtook the role that Garrett Shrader had last week, frequently lining up as receiver and going in motion to draw off defenders.

The game plan was working on Syracuse’s initial drive, getting it down into the red zone with just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Allen Jr. grabbed the handoff from Villari on a jet sweep and took off down the sideline and into the endzone. But the play got called back, not only for a hold from Alford, but an unnecessary roughness call against Umari Hatcher which made it 2nd and 31. SU gained just seven more yards before having to kick a 44-yard field goal that cut the deficit to 7-3.

“Some of those guys are not as healthy. We’re still waiting on those guys to get healthy so that they can do the things they used to do,” Babers said.

Syracuse’s offense worked against Pittsburgh because it kept the ball moving. With no penalties and a 6-for-15 conversion rate on third downs, the Orange stayed in front of the sticks. The new-look, relied on a methodical approach utilizing short rushes to get up the field. It worked because Pittsburgh’s offense struggled and the Orange chewed through the play clock simultaneously.

Syracuse’s offensive line has struggled at multiple points this season. With the losses of Kalan Ellis and David Wohlabaugh Jr., as well as an early-season injury to Joe Cruz, the inexperienced unit at times hasn’t held up protection. There have been bright spots like Shrader’s 195 rushing yards against Purdue and Allen Jr. rushing for 100 yards against a prolific Florida State defense. But last week was their masterpiece.

The Orange found themselves down 7-0 after Georgia Tech’s opening drive, capped off by an explosive catch and run by Jamal Haynes. Then a miscommunication in the secondary led to a 53-yard touchdown pass to Dominick Blaylock and Syracuse in a 14-3 hole. Syracuse tried to put together scoring drives, but outside of a Villari rushing touchdown early in the third quarter, nothing worked. Without a true quarterback, there was little the Orange could do offensively.

Down 11 mid-way through the second quarter, Dan Villari tossed out to Allen Jr. on his right on a 3rd and 10. Once again showcasing a wildcat offense without Shrader or Del Rio-Wilson, the Orange were struggling to consistently move the ball. The holes SU once manipulated last week against Pittsburgh were clogged. The play wasn’t clean as Allen Jr. got dragged down after just five yards, forcing an SU punt.

“Those perimeter blocks were key to what we were doing,” head coach Babers said on Monday.

The approach in Syracuse’s 28-13 win over Pittsburgh was installed out of necessity. Without a fully healthy Shrader and Del Rio-Wilson out, the Orange implemented a heavy run-option, wildcat offense. The result — 392 yards on the ground and tight end Villari winning Atlantic Coast Conference running back of the week — stunned the Panthers. It positioned SU heading into Georgia Tech with two chances to earn bowl eligibility and salvage a once-promising season.

“In my heart, I believe any offense, whatever the game plan is, I believe it can work next week,” Allen Jr. said.

It didn’t matter who was on the field for the Orange. There was a chance to have similar success in Atlanta while picking apart a defense that’s struggled all season against the run. The Yellow Jackets, despite being 5-5 with four ACC wins, have allowed 31.3 points per game and a conference-worst 224 rushing yards per game this season. But even though Shrader was suited up with a call sheet on his arm, he stood on the sideline throughout the game. Allen Jr. and Villari had to do it on their own again.

No matter who Syraucse had under center, the mistakes that came to define Saturday night for Syracuse made sure there was no comeback. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Darrell Gill Jr., a true freshman, worked his way up to the 30-yard line. The good return was quickly erased when Eric Singleton Jr. forced a fumble which Georgia Tech recovered. The Yellow Jackets needed one play, a 30-yard rush from Haynes, to extend the lead to 24-3.

Unlike in previous losses, Syracuse didn’t wilt. It responded to Haynes’ touchdown rush with a nine-play drive that ended with a four-yard rushing touchdown from Villari. Though the Orange failed to turn it into any points, they forced a fumble on Georgia Tech’s first ensuing play from the line of scrimmage. Then, boosted by a 53-yard punt return from Allen Jr., Syracuse took six plays to make up the final 18 yards and go down 24-16.

“We didn’t blink. We just kept playing. Eventually stuff started opening up,” Villari said.

The holes started opening up. The once dire offensive scenario the Orange found themselves in began to brighten up. They scored three times in their first five possessions in the second half, storming back from a 24-3 deficit to score 19 unanswered points.

Then mistakes returned.

Jack Stonehouse bobbled the hold on the extra point following Allen Jr.’s one-yard rushing touchdown. It forced the Orange to go for a two-point conversion after they scored on the ensuing drive. Allen Jr. faked a snap to Davis and rushed to the right, but Georgia Tech read the fake — and the play — the entire way. Three Yellow Jackets swarmed Allen Jr. behind the line, with a linebacker easily batting down his desperation pass the Yellow Jackets ahead. The Orange never recovered, letting up a final touchdown.

They’d stormed back, gotten within two points of a team that jumped out to an early lead and kept extending it, but by the end of Saturday night, they sat right where they were coming into the game — on the outside of a bowl game looking in.

“The way we’re playing ball is it eventually wears people down. We closed that distance to make it a game, and it’s just disappointing that we couldn’t get that final touchdown,” Babers said.