Syracuse’s coaching staff was under fire following the opening night near-disaster against Villanova. But Terrel Hunt highlighted a reassuring victory for the Orange¬†on Saturday.¬†SU coasted 40-3 over Central Michigan,¬†in part to the starting quarterback‚Äôs return to the lineup. The Syracuse offense lit up CMU‚Äôs defense, while Cooper Rush looked frightened in the pocket on the other side.
The Chippewas struggled to get anything going on both sides of the ball. Give Scott Shafer credit for motivating this group during the two-week layoff. Shafer constantly mentioned how he was looking forward to the program’s response after the scare vs. Nova. The head man did that and more to earn his place in this week’s Fizz Five.
- Shafer smartly keeps Thomas Rawls’ absence a secret  
The shocking Rawls scratch that came moments before gametime was obviously very helpful for the Orange. The other backs tallied just 34 yards on the ground. Shafer did not even bother telling his team about the former Michigan running back’s absence.
“When I heard he wasn‚Äôt going to play, I didn‚Äôt want to say anything to the kids because they were really juiced up to try and slow him down. Unfortunately we didn‚Äôt get an opportunity to play against him.”
Shafer wanted SU’s level of focus at an all-time high. Shafer conjured up a high school move, as Syracuse stayed in Lansing and then traveled to Mount Pleasant the morning of the game. The squad was fully dressed when it got off the bus, ready to play. It worked. Let’s hope he doesn’t have to go this far again for motivation.
- The Syracuse D threw the first punches as promised
Durrell Eskridge was one of many SU defenders who admitted the Orange took its first game lightly. The defense sacked Rush five times and ignited a flame with two scoring plays. Marqez Hodge scored on a 36-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown and Cam Lynch notched a safety Dyshawn Davis was benched in the 4th quarter against the Wildcats. He responded. Davis and Lynch each had a team high four solo tackles, plus Davis added a forced fumble. Syracuse came out swinging. The D gave SU the lead and it never looked back.
- Adonis Ameen-Moore proves his worth
Ameen-Moore rushed for over 100 yards on nine carries to pace the offensive attack. He’s been a non-factor in many ways since missing the 2012 Pinstripe Bowl against West Virginia. Categorized as a “Marrone guy,” Adonis is out to prove he belongs in this offense. His performance shows Prince-Tyson Gulley does not have to do it all. Ameen-Moore is close physically to Jerome Smith, a bulldozing back that can bleed the clock and break out with a big run. It was also encouraging to see Ervin Phillips contribute out of the backfield. George McDonald is starting to develop his trust across the depth chart.
- McDonald opens up the playbook
The Mailman received a lot of criticism for his play-calling against Villanova. Saturday’s 464 yards included a plethora of wrinkles. McDonald needs to stick to the ground game foremost. The run sets the tone, and McDonald ability to use all five RBs helps in recruiting. He tells all of his players and recruits that playing time is available for everyone. The offense has been designed so that Hunt can work in tandem with the running game. Balance existed in the pass game, too. Hunt hit eleven different receivers Saturday, including handymen Brisly Estime and Ashton Broyld. If these dynamics continue to improve, the Orange offense could be scary in November.
- Hunt’s leadership shines  
The SU scoring early was not the key, the team’s morale was. Hunt helped leave Nova in the rearview and put away a lesser opponent quickly. Hunt legged out 92 yards, which helped him punch in a career-high three rushing touchdowns. Although he fell short of The Fizz’s prediction of 180 yards passing, Hunt scored those three rushing touchdowns consecutively in the 2nd half. He wasn’t satisfied with just winning the football game. Hunt wanted to crush CMU’s defense. The Orange hopes this momentum carries into this weekend’s matchup with Maryland.
Posted: Brendan Glasheen
13 responses to “Fizz 5: Syracuse Displays Its Weaponry in Response to Early Criticism”
Please stop with the hype… They beat a poor team badly. The are still a probably 4 win team this season. You do the kids no favor with this kind of hyped up crap when they haven’t played a real team. Maryland is hardly a powerhouse. Hunt is a slow motion statue that will get his brains beat in once the ACC teams show up…there is a real good reason why they are picked second to last in the ACC. We can beat Maryland and Wake. After that it’s a crap shoot. Let’s hope we win so we have a shot at 5 wins.
We’ll never know if the outcome of the game would have been different if Central Michigan hadn’t dismissed their top WR and RB for the game.
Yes,Syracuse looked a lot better in the second game of the season and now they face Maryland in the dome. Let’s wait and see if you print the same type of article praising the orangemen. The game this week is going to be another dog fight.
Terrel Hunt running the ball 13 times isn’t the answer to being a successful football team.
The one thing I noticed during the game that no one is talking/writing about is in the 4th quarter with the game score 33-3 Shafer used his second string players(both sides of the ball) quite a bit,giving them all real game time experience,giving those players time to improve their skills that will help them all down the road. The only player/position that didn’t get any game experience was the QB position. So I have to ask why? Why wasn’t the backup Austin Wilson or Mitch Kimble given any playing time in the game? Maybe you ought to go ask those type’s of questions and then post them here for us to read.
Because they perfer to print hyped up crap!
Ron..I’ll give you a guess..Hunt needs the reps. If there is any chance of him becoming serviceable he needs reps. He was also in need of a confidence builder. Trouble is.. They will get to where you and I have predicted…someone else at QB.
Another guess….Shafer knows this team is limited. If he can play kids for experience and the recruits hold up…next year could save his job. Be his third year.
I repeat…these kind of articles do no one any favors. It’s lazy hyped up crap that merely sets the kids up for a long year. If they didn’t hype us in pre season the criticism after Nova would have been much milder.
Remember.. The ACC Conference games are right around the corner!
‘Hyped Up Crap”‚ĶReally? All that was printed in the article was true and actually happened. We won 40- 3, so we did a lot of good things. You can not describe it another way!! You can only beat who you play!! We played two teams, that we were supposed to beat..and we beat them. Why can’t we just enjoy that? This team is not perfect,the season is still young and let’s hope that they continue to improve. The negativity is certainly not encouraging. Would you be happy if we were 0-2? We play a very tough schedule‚Ķ‚Ķand I for one, would not have it any other way‚Ķ.so let’s keep challenging our team and coaches‚Ķ..to get better!
Dr. Bill
One of my faults has always been to look at both sides of the coin. While I’m happy that were setting at 2-0 right now,I also agree with everything that Cuse17 had to say. I don’t find his comments as being negative at all. When people in the media make a statement as Hunt playing like an elite QB,well it kinda gets me riled a bit. I tend to look at things for what they are and I believe that if Terrel Hunt continues to run the ball 13 plus times in a game for the rest of the year he might get injured. I can’t understand why they didn’t put Austin Wilson in in the 4th quarter for reps. Isn’t that how you build your players giving them game experience when the game is won or lost by half time or in the third quarter?
I believe Cuse17 was right on point,Maryland isn’t a cream puff team that’s going to come into the dome and lay down and play possum and let the Orange run all over them.
Cuse17 your never ending pessimism is so refreshing. The point is not how the defense played in my opinion it’s how the offense played against a team that had all thier defensive players and we dropped 40 and could have been upwards to 50 or 60 had a block or two been made. I would love to hear who the 4 wins would be against seeing as somehow you only see Cuse getting two more.
Easy… Maryland and Wake. We have a legitimate shot at NCSt. After that it would take a miracle!
You guys can live in your world where Hunt is an “elite” QB.
We had two wins against teams we should most definately beat! We played well in one and sucked in the other. I take no pleasure in our situation. I wish we could win them all. We are
Ranked second to last in the ACC. We have a long way to go. I believe Safer can get us there, but false optimism and hyped up expectations accomplish nothing.
Hunt is mediocre and Coach MCD needs to learn to coach.. as well as call a game!
My concern is with prince Tyson gulley … He looked better as a freshman he isn’t producing at all so what he had one long run against Villanova the rest of his runs have been shit. I think Hunt is decent enough to get the job done at Qb l. I think Estime is exactly the same as last year he’s good for no more than 50 yards and maybe a touchdown. Eskridge is nearly the most overrated player in college football if he is truly one of the best safeties for the NFL draft then there won’t be any safeties drafted in the first 3 rounds. I want more from estime ishmael erv Phillips and all of our tight ends and then on d I want more play for Isaiah Johnson Chauncey scissum Zaire Franklin and then I wouldn’t mind seing big Wayne Williams out there.
@Cuse17 I agree we can’t get carried away with a win over a Rawls-less Central Michigan team. I think Dr. Bill has a great point. Syracuse can only control what’s on the field, not its schedule. Last year’s non conference slate was a lot tougher, so SU has caught a break this year. First 3 and 0 start could be coming for this program since 2001.
@CDL PTG is definitely a concern, but Hunt said last night he is pumped he has 5 legit running backs to hand the ball off too. The key is versatility and how McDonald integrates all of his weapons. He did that Saturday, again, against a lesser opponent. All of your concerns and questions I think get answered this weekend. Big test for the Orange.
Here are my thoughts on the Syracuse QB situation. What bothers me about Hunt is his inability to drop back and hit receivers down field. I am not sure if it is a lack of really good wide receivers or poor QB passing technique, or a combination of both! His arm strength looks good, accuracy is an issue and his deep ball is too straight line and not enough arc. He does make a lot of positive plays with his legs. We seem to have some weapons at wide receiver , running back, and tight end. We have only seen one game and a half, I think we need to see some more games before we can judge if he has improved. What other options do we have?‚Ķ.Not Wilson, he is one dimensional! He down the field passing appears to be better than Hunt’s, his mobility is not as good, and his decision making and reading defenses is what you would expect for a redshirt freshman. I believe the coaching staff feels that Hunt gives this team the best chance to win‚Ķand for all of his deficiencies, I think he is the best we have until some real talented kid like a Marvin Graves, or a McNabb ‚Ķ..or even a Billy Hurley comes along‚Ķ.
DR BILL, i was with you 100% up until you started in on Austin Wilson. I’m trying to remember,wasn’t there some questions on Marvin Graves when he first started,wheather he was good enough or not to be the QB? The same goes for Billy Hurley,if I remember correctly there was a lot of chatter on/about him too.
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