syracuse football

Close, but not close enough.

The theme of Syracuse’s season continued as the Orange lost, 24-17, in heartbreaking fashion to the NC State Wolfpack.

Cole Murphy’s 50-yard field goal and Syracuse’s successful onside kick set up a dramatic finish that few of the 40,787 fans could have expected.  The Orange took over at its own 46 after Dyshawn Davis – by rule – wasn’t able to advance a recovered onside kick.  So Syracuse set up with 17 seconds and no timeouts left, needing a game-tying touchdown.

Syracuse’s offense was lifeless in Death Valley.

And the star-studded Clemson defense backed up the hype with a shutdown performance in Memorial Stadium.  The Tigers only allowed two long Cole Murphy field goals and blocked another, en route to a 16-6 victory over the Orange on Saturday night.

AJ Long said this will be one of the most fun games he’ll ever play in his career. When he meets the Clemson defense, he may feel otherwise.

Syracuse (3-4, 1-2 ACC) travels to South Carolina on Saturday to face the No. 21 Clemson Tigers, which allows the fifth fewest yards per game in the FBS.  Last week, Long ended Syracuse’s four game losing streak with a 30-7 win at Wake Forest.  But he realizes he’ll have a harder challenge in his second career start.

He led Syracuse to its first win in over a month.  He’s thrown more touchdowns in two games than Terrel Hunt did in five.  And he became the first true freshman in team history to win his starting debut.  

Even at a young age, AJ Long has shown the traits of a successful college quarterback – the strong arm, the quick feet and the mental confidence.

But Long admits that back in high school, he started thinking he wouldn't be good enough to play Division-I football.  There was always that one trait missing: the height.

First, defensive tackle John Raymon beat the odds by recovering from a severe knee injury faster than anyone expected.

On Saturday, he helped the Orange (3-4) beat the Demon Deacons by assisting on Syracuse’s second defensive touchdown of the day.

"I’m very excited," Raymon said this week on returning to football.  "My team’s excited, my coaches are excited and I feel like we’re all in a good place and we’re all on the same page now. I’m happy I’m back."

Even as the off-the-field allegations continue to surface, it was just another day at the office for Jameis Winston. 

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner completed 30-of-36 passes for three touchdowns.  His calm and confident play led No. 1 Florida State in a 38-20 win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.  The defending champion Seminoles (6-0) are halfway to another undefeated season.   

“To beat the No. 1 team in the country is a very difficult task,” Scott Shafer said.  “I really believed this week that we could beat this team, but we didn’t get that done today.”

It hasn’t been another season of blowouts for Florida State, but they’ve done enough to do what many of the highest ranked teams haven’t – win.  The reigning national champions comes to the Carrier Dome to face a Syracuse team that has lost its last three games. The Seminoles, meanwhile, haven’t lost since the 2012 season.

“There’s a reason why they’ve won 21 in a row: great coaching and great players,” Scott Shafer said.  “We have a daunting task in front of us, but we're looking forward to it.”