The AJ Long era has officially begun.
With a pair of injured quarterbacks, Scott Shafer now turns to his third-string passer to try to end a four game losing streak, save Syracuse’s season and, possibly, save his own job.
Syracuse couldn’t upset top-ranked Florida State last week, but Long impressed in his college debut. The true freshman completed 16-of-27 passes for 167 yards against the Seminoles along with two touchdowns and two interceptions. It was a rare bright spot for the Orange, who’s lost each of its last four games by at least ten points.
“Did he make mistakes? Yes,” Shafer said. “But all-in-all, the opportunity to be baptized by fire against No. 1 in the country, I thought the kid did a pretty darn good job.”
Now, Syracuse travels to Winston-Salem to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday. It’s a battle between teams looking for their first conference win.
Syracuse’s starting quarterback, Terrel Hunt, fractured his fibula and will most at least another three weeks. Backup Austin Wilson won’t play either after taking a hard hit in the head in the second half against Florida State. Instead, it’s Long who gets his first career start for the Orange (2-4), which hopes to start the second half of the season on a better note.
“It was a goal that I had so it was nice to have it reached,” said Long, on becoming Syracuse’s starter. “But at the same time, I know that with that there’s more responsibility to make sure that the offense goes and we don’t continue to have the same struggles that we’ve had these past weeks and the weeks so far.”
WAER's COVERAGE OF SYRACUSE - WAKE FOREST STARTS WITH COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF AT 11:30 am, GAME TIME 12:00 noon. DOUBLE OVERTIME TAKES YOUR CALLS AFTER THE GAME.
Long brought up the team’s ineffectiveness in the red zone as one of the problems he’s hoping to correct. The struggles near the goal line continued even with a change in quarterback. Two productive second quarter drives were limited to field goals, not touchdowns. On another possession, the Orange turned the ball over on downs at the Seminoles 6-yard line. Steve Ismael couldn’t stay in bounds on a fourth down fade from Austin Wilson. At halftime, the Seminoles outgained the Orange by just 36 yards. But they led the game, 24-6.
“When we get around the six-, seven-yard line – it gets to that awkward yard-line,” left tackle Sean Hickey said. “Are we going to run or throw or bring in the heavy formation? As a player it can get awkward. We just have to execute better in the red zone.”
And Long won’t have everyone to work with when he gets in those key situations. BrislyEstime is out, Ashton Brolyd is doubtful and Ben Lewis is questionable.
“You have to adjust the offense to the people you have to play with,” Shafer said. “It’ll be fun and it’ll be interesting to see how he comes out to play in his second one.”
What to Watch For
- Wake passing defense – Long and the injury-depleted Orange receiving corps have a challenging matchup against a veteran secondary. The Demon Deacons only allow 184 passing yards per game. “They’re a solid defense,” Long said. “They’re technically and fundamentally sound. They don’t miss a lot of assignments so this week’s going to be a tough week for our offense. We have to make sure that we’re on point.”
- Long Runs– Long showed some elusiveness last week against the Seminoles. Long uses his legs to pick up yards, but also to roll out of the pocket and buy himself some extra time. “He’s just a guy who can extend plays,” wide receiver Jarrod West said. “He’s young so he doesn’t know very much so he’s going to take shots and all the receivers know to stay alive because any time he could throw it up there."
- Call Me Ishmael – One big question: can receiver Steve Ishmael build on his two touchdown performance? Both Long and Ishmael say they have good chemistry after working with each other throughout the season on the scout team. Now, the freshmen duo gets to show off their magic, thanks to a slew of injuries to players ahead of them.
News and Notes
- Last week, Long became only the ninth true freshman quarterback to play for Syracuse. On Saturday, he will become the fifth one to start a game. The last true freshman to start for the Orange was Joe Fields in 2004.
- Long’s debut was the most statistically successful in team history as he completed more passes (16) and threw for more yards (167) than any of the previous eight quarterbacks in that position.
- Out of 125 FBS teams, Wake Forest is last in rushing (31.0 yards per game) and total offense (212.8). Like Syracuse, the Deacs play a freshman quarterback in John Wolford.
- It’s only the second trip for Syracuse to Wake Forest in team history. Back in 2006, the Demon Deacons beat the Orange in a 20-10 home victory. But, Syracuse holds a 2-1 series lead with a pair of Carrier Dome victories in 2011 and 2013.