Stats Sheet Tells Different Story for Orange

 Sometimes the stats sheet lies.  Despite outgaining the Maryland Terrapins by a wide margin, Syracuse disappointed in its return to the Dome and lost 34-20, Saturday.  Despite the loss, there are some positive takeaways for the Orange.

On the day, the Orange tallied 589 total yards including 370 on the ground.  The team punished the Maryland defense on most drives, but in the end, they just couldn’t put points on the board.  The offense moved the ball at least 20 yards on every drive in the first half, and all-but three after halftime.  When the team had a chance to seize momentum early in the first half, it couldn’t find the end zone and had to settle for field goals.  But, unlike in weeks past, the offense mixed the play calls up and moved the ball down the field with ease.

A target of plenty of criticism in the early part of the season, PTG silenced his doubters with an efficient performance yesterday.  On the day, Gulley ran for 139 yards on just 14 carries.  He averaged 9.9 yards per carry and found himself bouncing outside of the tackles all day long.  Gulley also added 25 yards on two receptions.  He had a huge run for 39 yards in the second quarter and plenty of double-digit first down runs.  PTG proved that he should be the top back on the SU depth chart with his huge performance.  Repeating this performance across the whole season will be important to the Orange’s success in the future.

While¬†Hunt missed a lot of open receivers¬†and threw a demoralizing pick-six to Maryland’s William Likely, he used his legs effectively.¬† Hunt carried 23 times for 156 yards on the day.¬† While he only completed 50 percent of his passes, he gashed the Terps defense for big yards all day long.¬† Averaging 6.8 yards every time he tucked the ball, he read the Maryland defense well and kept the ball on numerous options.¬† Hunt‚Äôs running ability is essential to the team‚Äôs success down the road.

While the secondary had a day to forget, the front seven of the Orange’s defensive unit was making big plays all day long.  Not only did it hold Maryland to just 89 total yards on the ground, but it also added three sacks.  Cameron Lynch was a huge part of the defense again, leading the team with seven tackles.  Because John Robertson abused the Syracuse defense with his legs in the Orange’s opener, C.J. Brown could have proved to be a problem for the defense.  But, the unit was able to contain Brown to just 25 yards rushing.  He did his damage through the air to multiple receivers.