FB : Converted safety Graham has career day at wide receiver for SU in win over Tulane
NEW ORLEANS — Dorian Graham’s switch to offense finally looks to be paying off for Syracuse.
The speedy senior, who came into SU as a defensive back and saw most of his action as a kick returner in his first three years with the Orange, had a career day at wide receiver in Syracuse’s 37-34 win over Tulane on Saturday. Graham led Syracuse with four catches for 55 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career.
‘It feels great,’ the receiver said. ‘It goes back to the saying, ‘Hard work pays off.’ And that’s what came about for this game. I’m glad to execute and help my team get a win.’
Graham never caught a pass before this season, but the coaching staff has been high on the converted safety because of his speed and the matchup problems it creates.
And that’s exactly what SU took advantage of in the win Saturday. His first touch came at the start of the second quarter on a reverse, and he picked up a first down before losing his footing trying to cut inside of a block.
His next touch came on that drive’s final play. With SU facing a third down at the Tulane 10-yard line, Graham blew past his man on a fade and quarterback Ryan Nassib dropped the ball over his shoulder for the senior’s first career touchdown.
‘Dorian is a phenomenal athlete,’ Nassib said. ‘He’s just gotten so much better that it’s so hard not to give him the ball. He’s so fast and so good with the ball after the catch, you just want to get him the ball.’
Graham’s first score was all about his speed, but his second touchdown flashed some of his development as a receiver.
Again on third down, this time from the Tulane 1-yard line, Nassib checked out of a run play and into a slant for Graham. The receiver easily beat his man to the inside, made the catch and took a big hit from Toledo safety Kyle Davis. But he managed to hold on to the ball and put Syracuse up 31-14 in the first half.
‘Dorian Graham has been doing better and better each week,’ head coach Doug Marrone said. ‘And he’s been winning for us. He won on a slant for a touchdown. He’s been winning deep. When you have a guy that’s winning, we’re going to make sure we find a way to get him the football.’
Third down still an issue
Just when Syracuse’s offense seemed to be clicking on all cylinders, the Orange attack bogged down for an entire quarter.
On five straight possessions beginning at the end of the second quarter and lasting until the start of the fourth, Syracuse went three-and-out. It finished 7-for-15 on third down in the game, but that only bumped the Orange up to 40.5 percent on the season.
‘As an offense, we didn’t execute (in the second half),’ running back Antwon Bailey said. ‘We stalled on a lot of drives early, so it was a mixture of good defense and poor execution.’
Perhaps the biggest problem for Syracuse during that stretch of three-and-outs was the distance it had to cover on third downs. Three of them were 11 yards or longer, one was a third-and-5 and the last was a third-and-7.
Marrone said the third down distances were a key part in the Orange’s lack of success on offense in the second half.
‘If you’re not an elite team, which we’re working to be,’ Marrone said, ‘when you get in these situations where they’re very difficult to manage, you’re not converting.’
When Syracuse’s offense was successful in the first half, the third down conversions came at will. Graham’s two touchdown catches came on third downs. The Orange went 5-for-7 before the stretch of three-and-outs started at the end of the second quarter.
But when the offense started to sputter, it allowed Tulane to hang around and eventually tie the game late.
‘We had a couple penalties that killed us and were backing us up,’ Nassib said. ‘They just made some good adjustments at halftime, stuff we weren’t ready for. They were doing some stuff against us they haven’t been doing all year.’
Published on October 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm
