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Crowd of Carrier Dome zoomed, filling the arena with sound. Syracuse had the necessary swing at the beginning of the third quarter. The offensive was on the field, the goal being to return from Clemson's nine-yard line after an interception by Chris Fredrick and return. A touchdown and the Saturday match would be in the points.
Tommy DeVito took the picture, blushing to his right, like so many plays before, and opened fire on the sideline. When he was waiting for a receiver, the ball found Mario Goodrich of Clemson.
While DeVito was meeting with his team-mates on the sidelines after one of his team's best chances – a missed opportunity – to score a touchdown, ESPN's cameras caught him saying: "It's about me."
This was the game for Syracuse, which hosted Clemson in the Carrier Dome for the first time since its victory against the Tigers in 2017. The Tigers played an imperfect game but were significantly better than Syracuse at every turn – they dominated the sliced Orange, ran them to skill positions and otherwise threw a key in almost everything Orange did. Despite all this, the SU (1-2, 0-1 atlantic coast) had every chance of scoring touchdowns, but never regained the magic of 2017 and, inevitably, the No. 1 Clemson (3-0, 2-0 ACC) won a 41-6 victory at Carrier Dome on Saturday night.
Two years ago on the same field, a football event in a seismic college was produced. Syracuse did not finish the season in force, but on the night of October 13, 2017, SU took a major step, passing from the doormat to the attacker Dino Babers. It showed the world that it was changing for the better and that more victories were coming.
A week after being dazzled by Maryland, the Orange were faced with the unenviable task of proving its value Saturday night against a team that, according to Babers, could be the best of its time.
In 2017, the mere fact of not breaking down was enough to show an improvement. Instead, Orange has shocked the landscape of college football. In 2019, two years and a glorious season have been removed from this surprise, covering the gap is no longer enough. Syracuse had the opportunity to show that his season of ten wins was not a coincidence, but the new normal. For two quarters and a half, he succeeded.
Despite dropping 17 points, the South West has largely mastered the powerful Clemson offensive: the half-offensive Travis Etienne – who scored 203 yards and three touchdowns against the league last season – and sufficiently dismissed the offensive for think in the second half, Orange could finally turn the chances of the red zone into touchdowns instead of goals.
But the warning signs of an eruption were also obvious. DeVito rarely had enough time, if he had any, in his pocket. He was sacked six times in the first period. During the first quarter, DeVito managed to make his way from a pocket that collapsed and ran to his right, then was coached by Isaiah Simmons. The line of attack was still called to hold the game.
Even when DeVito had the chance to connect to its recipients, they struggled. Wide receiver Taj Harris dropped out of a cross for a first downhill opening of the SU's shuttlecock, forcing a punt. At the end of the first quarter, while the Southwest was playing an untimed goal due to an offside, DeVito sent a long ball into the end zone, which fell under the hands of the wide receiver, Trishton Jackson. A flag would have denied the game, but the fall has always aroused the same "Oh" exasperated of a hoarse crowd.
But despite SU's success in staying in the game, those missed opportunities cost him a chance to win. At the end of the third quarter, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence watched Trill Williams, a sophomore, before throwing the ball directly at him. Williams returned the interception to the Clemson three-yard line, passing to Lawrence.
The Carrier Dome crowd exploded.
They were silent at the moment when DeVito was crammed with trying to make his way through the middle of fourth and fourth goals, the fourth inning run having failed. When SU unveiled its next series (a fourth bag on DeVito in the shotgun), the fans fell silent. They went to the exits.
To think that the Orange could stick around, make amends for the test of the last weeks and show that he had in fact come a long way since his 54-0 loss to the Tigers in 2016 was not a fake hope. The Orange may have done enough to prove that it is not a fault, even if missed opportunities have left a bitter taste.
When Babers came out of the tunnel, his team behind him, he stopped and stood at the edge of the field. Babers turned around and surveyed the entire arena, recognizing that the sold-out crowd was preparing for Syracuse's biggest match in 20 years.
That was all he was hoping to build, all he had exposed in his famous introductory speech to the press conference that was echoing under the speakers as he plunged into the noise before he engage on the ground. Except Saturday, the eyes were open and they were on the Orange.
The Orange held firm and held up as long as possible. But finally, when it really mattered, Syracuse blinked.
Published on September 14, 2019 at 11:20 pm
Contact Andrew: [email protected] | @A_E_Graham
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