Syracuse football vs. Villanova photos: Nova at SU, Aug. 29, 2014 Second Half
Syracuse's Prince-Tyson Gulley runs the ball in overtime against Villanova on Aug. 29, 2014, at the Carrier Dome.
(Stephen D. Cannerelli | scannerelli@syracuse.com)
Syracuse, N.Y. — Center John Miller and left guard Rob Trudo charged down on the left side of the Villanova defensive line. Tackle Sean Hickey powered through the gap, looking for a linebacker to claim at the second level. Prince-Tyson Gulley darted through the massive hole in trail, ultimately scampering 65 yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter.
All down the throat of the Wildcats defense.
"My line made a great hole for me," Gulley said. "All I did was go through all my reads and bust it out."
It was exactly how Scott Shafer wanted to control Syracuse's season opener against the FCS opponents. He said as much earlier in the week. And it was exactly how an FBS team should exert its natural advantages of size, speed and depth.
Unfortunately, it was only one play. And during the rest of the Orange's 27-26 double-overtime victory against Villanova on Friday, there was no such push up front.
Aside from his touchdown, Gulley ran for 38 yards on 10 carries. Adonis Ameen-Moore, George Morris II and Devante McFarlane combined for 23 yards on 16 carries. And while Ameen-Moore also found the end zone early in the third quarter, he was unable to score on five goal-line attempts from inside the 3-yard line in overtime.
"We pride ourself on the run so when we get to the 1-yard line, we want to be able to run it in," offensive coordinator George McDonald said. "Unfortunately we didn't. We'll go back and look at the tape and see what happened, but our M.O. is 'We run the football' and we should be able to get it in."
McDonald didn't think the quality of SU's ground game was affected by the absence of guards Nick Robinson (sprained foot) and Omari Palmer (knee). Rather, he was quick to credit the Wildcats' unconventional 3-3 stack defense..
With the linebackers lining up directly behind the three down linemen, it was often difficult for run blockers to know where their targets will be.
"They lock the box so it changes your blocking schemes, your combos," McDonald said.
He added that the Orange was preparing for the defense throughout camp, but when Terrel Hunt — who ran three times for 25 yards — was ejected for punching VU linebacker Dillon Lucas, the game plan had to change.
Austin Wilson couldn't run the zone-read packages that Hunt does well with. And more importantly, McDonald was stripped of a Hunt-specific red zone package that quarterbacks coach Tim Lester, who ran the 3-3 stack as a defensive coordinator at North Central College in 2007, said would have been effective.
"There's a chunk of plays that feature Terrel inside the 10 that we didn't have at our disposal," Lester said. "It would've worked. We just didn't have him to do it."
Ultimately McDonald, like Shafer, leaned on the victory most. A win is a win and a 100-yard rusher is a 100-yard rusher (Gulley finished with 103 rushing yards yards), he said.
But the lack of a consistent running game is cause for concern moving forward. Syracuse has two weeks to review film and make adjustments before taking on Central Michigan on Sept. 13.
Said McDonald: "Every team that plays their first game, there's going to be mistakes. I think the beautiful thing is to make mistakes and still find ways to win."
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