In the week leading up to Syracuse’s game Saturday, Doug Marrone reiterated his confidence in the secondary. Never mind that the beleaguered unit was torched last Saturday by Maine, or that no opposing quarterback had thrown for fewer than 240 yards against the Orange all season. SU’s head coach was adamant that his collection of defensive backs was ready to step up.

Apparently, the breakthrough will take at least another week.

The secondary continued to struggle in Syracuse’s 34-20 loss against South Florida, particularly in defending against the big play. USF freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels went 12-of-20 for 208 yards and two touchdowns, including an 85-yard strike to begin the second half from which SU could not recover.

Though Marrone stressed during his postgame press conference that the Orange lost primarily because it committed seven turnovers, a play on defense may have been SU’s final undoing.

‘It kills you,’ defensive coordinator Scott Shafer said. ‘It’s obvious how we all feel about that particular play.’

The tide of the game appeared to swing in Syracuse’s favor by halftime. With less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Derrell Smith forced a key fumble, giving the Orange the ball on the USF 14-yard line.

Three plays later, quarterback Greg Paulus tossed an 11-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Mike Williams to cut the deficit to 14-13. SU entered the locker room to a standing ovation, trailing by just a point against arguably the best team in the Big East.

‘It’s great because right before we went out there it was, ‘We need to make a play, we need to make a play, we need the offense to get the ball, they’re going to score,’ safety Max Suter said. ‘Greg’s coming up to us, ‘Get the ball back, we’re going to score, we’re going to score,’ and that happened.’

It took 18 seconds for South Florida to ensure the groundswell of momentum would be short-lived.

On USF’s first play from scrimmage, wide receiver Carlton Mitchell burned SU cornerback Nico Scott on an out-and-up. Scott bought the cut to the outside and began to close. Mitchell then darted upfield and was wide open down the sideline. Daniels led him with a long throw, and Mitchell scooted in for the 85-yard touchdown.

Scott made a desperation dive but had no chance. Suddenly, the Bulls had a 21-13 lead, and the score would not be close again.

Marrone replaced Scott with converted wideout Da’Mon Merkerson at corner later in the game.

‘It was real big and got us some really needed momentum because we had the kickoff return and they stopped us at the 15-yard line,’ USF head coach Jim Leavitt said. ‘We hit the big pass and that was big.’

It seemed Saturday may have been a good game for the secondary to step up. South Florida starting quarterback Matt Grothe suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier in the season, forcing the Bulls to turn to Daniels. Grothe, who holds the Big East record for career offensive yards, threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-13 win over SU last season.

Daniels appeared to be more of a challenge for the Orange linebackers and defensive line than the secondary. He came into the game with the reputation as primarily a running quarterback, not a traditional drop-back passer. SU linebacker Derrell Smith said the team had a running back mimic Daniels during practice all week.

But Daniels was up for the task, beating the Orange with his arm as much as his legs. In addition to the 85-yard touchdown, he connected with Mitchell for a 33-yarder to give USF a 14-6 lead. He also converted several crucial third-down plays down the stretch to ensure victory, which Leavitt called one of the keys to the entire game.

After the game, Shafer said he is still not concerned about the secondary and tried to downplay the importance of the touchdown pass to start the second half.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that the secondary is the weakest link on a defensive unit that has otherwise exceeded expectations. Still, no matter how well the rest of the defense performs, Saturday showed how it could all go for naught with one long pass.

‘It’s very tough, but that’s the name of the game,’ cornerback Kevyn Scott said. ‘We might give up some plays but you have to come back out and keep playing.’

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on October 4, 2009 at 12:00 pm