Laugh so you don't cry at Syracuse's 'comedy of errors' against Louisville
Syracuse, NY — "A comedy of errors," uttered by ESPN's play-by-play man Anish Shroff, perfectly described Syracuse's 30-0 defeat to the Louisville Cardinals. Their sixth consecutive loss of the season drops the Orange to a dreadful 1-8 record. Shroff was perhaps more accurate than he knew as that first half observation-only became more and more apt as the game progressed.
The litany of bloopers and blunders are best summarized in the following list of laughable lapses: two fumbles lost on kick returns and one interception thrown, 1-10 on third down, 18:46 time of possession compared to Louisville's 41:46, 41 plays to Louisville's 79, and 137 yards of offense compared to the 413 yards reeled off by the now 3-6 Cardinals.
"We're turning the ball over," Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said postgame as he began recapping the Friday night flop. "We're not converting on third down. Those guys got twice as many plays as us. Our defense is out there twice as many times. It gets to be disappointing, obviously, not being able to produce on one side of the ball. It gets extremely frustrating."
This kind of lopsided beating might suggest that Syracuse got manhandled in all three phases of the game, but that wasn't the case. Twelve tackles for loss, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery stand out as defensive bright spots, but the lack of even a single fruitful drive on offense made any hope for a bend-without-breaking defensive stand impossible.
Babers provided support for his defense postgame the way his offense never could.
"I think the defense played extremely well," Babers said. "I really did. You can't realize how difficult it is to go out there and play twice as many plays as the other defense does and twice as many plays than the offense does and still be able to give that effort. Eventually, you're going to break down."
True freshman QB JaCobian Morgan completed five of his 12 passing attempts for 40 yards, throwing one interception before a brutal hit sent him to the sidelines late in the third quarter. Morgan was reportedly evaluated for a head injury but remained on the Syracuse bench for the rest of the game. Babers didn't provide much of an update after the game. Still, he didn't seem nearly as concerned as one ESPN reporter who initially said Morgan's injury would require a trip to a nearby hospital. That statement was ultimately retracted later in the broadcast.
"I never got the message that Jacobean was going to the hospital," Babers said. "We just got to see where he's at. Obviously, we don't want to put anybody out there where they can't protect themselves. And it's just really not fair for you to say anything about that until I hear from the doctors exactly what happened and how he's feeling."
Both back-ups Rex Culpepper and true freshman Dillon Markiewicz got reps in relief, but no Orange quarterback could the get the offense in scoring position. The collective optimism in Morgan's ascent to the starting ranks was practically the sole reason to tune into Orange football. With his health suddenly in question, so is any incentive to watch the remaining two games. Babers, though, still believes this is all just darkness before the dawn.
"Obviously, I'm extremely disappointed," Babers said. "But I'm also encouraged about what can happen down the road. And I have to keep that positive attitude going because I really do believe that's the key. If you're going to go through this much pain on the negative, then there better be an upside of the teeter-totter where you're going to be able to have a lot of positive."
