Syracuse’s red-zone struggles persist despite blowout win
Margaret Lin | Staff Photographer
Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer looks on in a 30-7 in which the Orange offense only scored one offensive touchdown.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Cole Murphy accounted for more points than the Syracuse offense did.
As the Orange kept the theme of the season alive by repeatedly stalling out in the red zone, SU’s placekicker outscored the rest of the offense in Syracuse’s (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) 30-7 road thumping of Wake Forest (2-5, 0-3) on Saturday. Freshman quarterback AJ Long finished off the Orange’s only touchdown drive by bringing it into the end zone himself, but the rest of SU’s points came from its pouncing defense and Murphy’s three field goals.
“It’s a constant struggle and we’re going to work on it,” offensive coordinator Tim Lester said. “Everywhere I’ve been, when you’re putting in an offense, first you learn to move the ball. Then you learn how to be good on third down.
“And then you learn how to play in the red zone.”
Seven games into the season, the Orange is second to last in the ACC — the Demon Deacons own the bottom spot — with 10 red-zone touchdowns.
On its second drive Saturday, the unit got stuck when a Prince-Tyson Gulley handoff went for a minimal gain and Long threw two incompletions. Murphy salvaged the possession with a 32-yard field goal.
During Syracuse’s first drive of the second half, a 33-yard chuck from Long to Ishmael moved SU inside the 15, but Long took a sack at the 21 two plays later and Murphy came back out two plays later to hit a 41-yard attempt.
“At that point, it’s not about, ‘Oh, we need to get better in the red zone,’” Lester said. “It’s, ‘We need to make sure the team ends up with points.
“We weren’t that aggressive in a couple of situations because you don’t have to be … That’s the way we called it.”
With a 20-7 lead in the third quarter, the Orange struck out on another red-zone chance. Running back Devante McFarlane exploded through a gap and took a handoff 86 yards before getting tripped up at WFU’s 5-yard line.
On the next play, Long dropped in a would-be touchdown pass to Ishmael, but an offensive pass interference flag brought SU up to the 20. Two Ervin Philips touches and a Long overthrow intended for Quinta Funderburk later, Syracuse settled for another field goal.
Said Lester: “We’ve just got to continue to work on it. It’s not easy down there.”
Published on October 20, 2014 at 12:10 am
Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb
